The Big Idea: Enhancing your workouts with technology and data
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - The ever-evolving world of technology can help us improve our fitness more than ever before.
The company Zwift, for example, brings multi-player gaming technology to indoor cycling, changing your workout forever. Zwift works in real-time. It sets you up against riders anywhere in the world on one of three courses: London, Virginia and a fictional island.
All you need is a bike, an indoor trainer, and computer or tablet to run the program on. The software even pairs with an app so you can interact with other riders, change courses, and set your workouts.
Cyclist Allan Rego has been using the technology since it launched in 2015. Rego most often uses it in the winter when he can't get outdoors every day.
With this type of technology, you can feel the ride itself. Whether it is the flat roads or the grueling climbs uphill, it is a truly immersive environment and full riding experience. The smart trainer adjusts resistance based on the gradient in the game, the quality of draft with other riders, and the bike you choose to use in the game.
Meantime in orange-lit studios worldwide, Orangetheory Fitness prides itself on taking the guesswork out of your workout by sticking to science.
Coaches like Brendan Bellantoni are there to guide the class through an hour workout centered around technology and your heart rate. Everyone wears a heart-rate monitor so you can see results on the screen. A variety of screens not only show your exercises but more importantly monitor your heart throughout the class. The goal is to get to at least 84 percent of your maximum heart rate for 12 minutes or more.
The high-intensity training is scientifically structured to keep you in that target zone to spike metabolism and increase energy.
No matter how you get your sweat on, just think of technology as another piece of exercise equipment because like it or not it is the future of fitness.