Bluetooth has come a long way since the days of bulky hands-free headsets, so here are my top 7 new-era Bluetooth fitness devices for 2013-2014.
Cast your mind back to the early days of Bluetooth and what it meant to you when you first heard about it. It has since become a way to play and sync music from smartphones to speakers and gain great popularity. Fast-forward to 2013 and we have Bluetooth 4.0 on our doorstep with some incredibly useful devices that rely on this technology. In this article I will be focusing on the top 7 fitness devices that have flourished through the development of Bluetooth. These devices are designed to give the training athlete more freedom and precision, and the ability to use their device for a longer period of time without the need to recharge the device.
Polar H7 Heart Monitor
Training athletes monitor their heart rate to gauge the intensity of their workout. The Polar H7 does a lot more than just count your heart’s beats per a minute. This device will record your duration of exercise, average pace and distance covered during workout, calorie burn-count and body fat loss in relation to current body fat percentage. This device can be hooked up to various fitness apps and is specifically designed to be compatible with popular gym equipment.
Lumoback Posture Belt
More and more 9-5 workers are stepping away from the desk and hitting the gym at any given opportunity. Office workers that are not supported with quality office chars can develop bad posture over time. The LUMOback posture belt is designed to improve your posture through alerting you when you are slouching. The device works both when you are inactive in your office chair, as well as when you are running or walking through town. The belt connects with the iPhone app and vibrates to alert you to your bad posture. Over time this awareness of posture will improve your ability to become fit and healthy.
Mayfonk Athletic Vert
This device has set itself apart from the mass of fitness devices that measure horizontal movement. The Mayfonk Athletic Very clip-on belt measures the height of your jumps using Bluetooth 4.0 to send data to the app to analyse your movement. The data is studied to understand where repetitious movements could lead to a sports injury.
Scanadu Scout
If you have ever wondered if you are ill, or if it is in your head then the Scandu SCOUT is designed to give you an idea of what is going wrong in your body. You simply hold the device to your temple and allow it to measure your body temperature, pulse, and heart rate. The data is then shared with the accompanying app, and you are diagnosed.
Wahoo Fitness KICKR Power Trainer
When you are constrained to using your ‘at home spin bike’ you can remove the back wheel and mount the frame onto the Wahoo Fitness KICKR Power Trainer stand. Once mounted the stand will capture various key elements of your workout. The stand then wirelessly shares data to the Wahoo iPhone app where you can find out more about your performance.
Larklife Wristband
The Larklife wristband is designed to be worn at all times to monitor your daily activity. You can find out how many calories you are burning, how many steps you are taking, and the number of hours of sleep you are getting per a night. Incorporating the Bluetooth technology, Larklife then share the data with the Larklife app so you can study your activity over a period of time.
iHealth Pulse Oximeter
If you have ever suffered from breathing issues then you will understand how frustrating it can be to have to visit the doctor to get checkups on a regular basis. The iHealth Pulse Oximeter is the latest gadget on the market to measure your blood oxygen saturation levels and pulse rate without any need for appointments. The device displays the findings on the LED screen as well as through the iPhone app.
Image Credit to Ed Yourdon.