fitness

I've reviewed and thoroughly enjoyed some of the very best custom in-ear headphones on the market, including the JH Audio 13 Pro headphones and the Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors, so I thought it was about time to check out an entry-level custom in-ear. The Ultimate Ears UE 4 Pro model retails for $399, and looks much like the company's other custom models. No surprise there; they all come from impressions made from the customer's ear canals, hence the "custom" part of custom in-ear headphones, from UE or other manufacturers. Each one is a unique, hand-built … Read more

There's a big question being explored right now about the intersection of health and social media: Does the tracking and sharing of personal fitness and diet data motivate us to get, and stay, healthy?

A host of Web sites and mobile apps are banking on the answer being yes. FitDay provides a free diet journal; Daily Burn offers logs to track diet, exercise, and weight; an Awareness app promises to upgrade one's mental software; and dozens of other sites and apps cater to specific types of diets, exercises, and desired outcomes.

So the just-launched Humana fit social network, designed to help users live healthier, more active lives, is going to have to offer some pretty stellar features to stand out.… Read more

Weight loss is a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States, and it's no surprise that software developers want a piece of that action. eFit Free Edition is a basic meal planner and weight tracker that lets you keep a record of your food intake. Although it works well enough, it's not nearly as full-featured as similar programs we've seen.

The program opens with a pop-up window encouraging you to take a survey about your weight loss plans. At the end of the survey you are given a code that will disable the survey pop-up in the future. … Read more

According to a survey of users on goal-setting Web site 43 Things, the most popular New Year's resolution for 2011 is to lose weight. (This is Jasmine's utter lack of surprise.) Indeed, many of the top resolutions year after year are health-related. Drink less, get fit, quit smoking, manage stress, be happy, and run a marathon all continually rank high on the list.

Luckily, there is plenty of technology available to help you reach any of those goals. Of course, it would be irresponsible of me to attempt to cover it all in one article; after all, carpal … Read more

MP3 players serve many purposes in our lives. They drown out the crazies on public transportation, keep our road rage in check during rush hour, ensure that we're entertained on long flights, and help us stay motivated at the gym. In fact, one of the top reasons why people buy portable audio devices is to have them as fitness companions. And you may not know it just by looking at them, but the iPhone and iPod Touch are excellent tools for watching your weight and keeping in shape--you just need the proper enhancements.

First and foremost, if you're … Read more

If you're like most folks, your New Year's resolutions included something like "lose weight" or "get in shape." Easier said than done, right?

Try FitnessClass, a new iPad app that serves up more than 200 workout videos. No trips to the gym, no fitting your workouts to someone else's schedule--just on-demand professional classes for just about any kind of workout you want: fat burning, core strengthening, arm toning, and so on.

In fact, you can search for classes based on your goal (weight loss, strength, etc.), the time you have available (from 10 … Read more

LAS VEGAS--CES 2011 was the first to group sports and fitness tech into a dedicated zone, appropriately named the Fitness TechZone. The overarching theme throughout these booths (and those at the neighboring Mommy Tech zone) has been about mobile monitoring (of heart rate, memory skills, anxiety levels, sleeping babies, and more).

Unfortunately, even among the coolest booths, it was hard to find any truly new and exciting tech. Everything felt like a spin-off or extension of previous years' unveilings. It seems that we're still a few years off from, for instance, heart-rate monitors that don't require those finicky … Read more

LAS VEGAS--On the heels of a study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) reminding us that only a small percentage of resolutions are kept each year, this year's Consumers Electronics Show will, for the first time, include a Fitness TechZone, where the latest sports and fitness tools and innovations will be on display.

Sponsored by Living in Digital Times, the Fitness TechZone is described as a "focused lifestyle exhibition and conference embedded within the International CES." In simpler terms, it's gadgets gone wild for sports enthusiasts and digital couch potatoes alike.

The more than 25,000-square-foot … Read more

Once upon a time, we mortals could make resolutions and, as quietly as we wanted, get busy ignoring them. Those days are numbered. Which is a good thing for personal health and wellness, right?

This week, Sprint gets more heavily involved in the your-phone-knows-when-you're-lying game by partnering up with BodyMedia, enabling the FIT armband to transmit such personal data as vital signs and sleep patterns using Sprint's 3G wireless network.

To mark the occasion, Sprint will be showcasing its suite of apps (dubbed the Sprint ID BodyMedia Pack) for its Android-based phones at the Consumer Electronics Show in … Read more