Fitness chain Crunch today unveils its first app, which is free, for iPhone and Android users to more easily find locations, see class schedules, and avoid the lines by checking in remotely.

Not that Crunch gyms, of which there are roughly two dozen throughout New York, California, Florida, and Oregon, are boasting terribly long lines these days. Founded in 1989 by former stockbroker Doug Levine, the chain was bought by Bally in 2001 and filed for bankruptcy in May 2009, at which point it was acquired by New Evolution Fitness Company, which in turn was co-founded by one of the … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Childhood obesity is a concern throughout most of the U.S., and yet most scales are not child-specific, nor do they take body fat measurements.

So Tanita's BF-2000 IronKids Wireless Body Fat Monitor, for children ages 5 to 17, is an intriguing concept. Just unveiled at CES this week, the monitor is set to be released in March for $150.

Company reps tell me the monitor uses alternating current signals to measure body impedance (a process known as biometric impedance) for body fat calculations. The whole process takes about three seconds for a reading.

Tanita is actually releasing … Read more

LAS VEGAS--For all the bicycle enthusiasts, especially those interested in longer-distance touring, China-based Jooyn Power Shenzen is introducing a rear-wheel mini generator that can power the company's bike lights, sound system, and controller up to 18 volts/1 amp. Each light includes a USB port for powering other devices at around 5V/1A, and the generator doubles as a rear light that flashes during rotation.

Solar-based systems are cool, but when reliable lighting is most important (say, for riding at night), they're just not optimal. If Jooyn's new generator (pricing and release dates to be announced) adds … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The UWaterG2 MP3 player is truly tiny. Weighing in under an ounce, it's 1.75 inches tall and 1.25 inches wide. Even with its new orange "life jacket" that hooks around the top to keep it afloat (see photo), the device feels weightless.

And while the UWaterG2 has not been entirely reinvented for this year's CES, it's about to get a major upgrade this spring, with models that boast 4GB and 8GB of memory instead of the current 2GB. (The 2GB model is on sale in time for CES for $59.95; no … 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

Just in time for New Year's resolution season, a site called Fitango has launched, intending to provide a marketplace where people can buy "plans" from experts who can offer online tutorials in anything from training for a marathon to transitioning to a vegan diet to learning as much Italian as possible one month before traveling to Florence.

It's structured like an app store. Pick an "Actionplan," pay for it (though some are free), and you'll receive instructions, including video and audio, where applicable, over a given span of time. You're invited to … Read more

Here's one for all the fitness and gadget gurus: the i-dration device.

The prototype bottle, which developer Cambridge Consultants is calling the first in a new generation of hardware apps (although we've found others), dispenses hydration advice by wirelessly transmitting real-time data to a smartphone. The bottle's sensors monitor not only fluid quantity but also temperature and drinking frequency.

The corresponding smartphone app, in turn, uses the phone's built-in accelerometer and gyroscope to measure exercise levels, and then fuses data from a heart-rate chest band with pre-entered details (i.e. height, age, weight) to assess the … Read more

On a whim last week, head high school basketball coach Eric Cooper Sr. downloaded a $1.99 iPhone app called Phone Aid to brush up on his CPR skills. His timing couldn't have been better.

During team practice the very next day at La Verne Lutheran High School in California, 17-year-old star center Xavier Jones stumbled while trying to receive a pass and collapsed on the court, his heart having stopped, reports the Los Angeles Times.

With CPR tips from his new mobile app fresh in his mind, Coach Cooper, with the help of Assistant Coach John Osorno, was … Read more