Apple Patent Outlines Plans For Real-Time Exercise Tracking, Fitness Contests
February 3, 2012
Word on the street -- er, in the patent office -- is that Apple might be gearing up to ditch its Nike + iPod partnership in favor of expanding a more official, in-house iOS fitness initiative.
Uncovered by AppleInsider, the recent patent filing outlines a simple way for exercisers to compete with one another in real-time:
horse elliptical.
What I really need is an app that alerts me whenever I run out of protein powder...
[Lead image: rerunrunning.com]
Apple provides one example where two runners are each working out on treadmills that feed real-time stats to their connected iOS devices. The two runners are able wirelessly sync their iOS devices together during the run an view each other's current pace, distance, calories burned, heart rate, blood pressure, and even blood oxygen levels. "These treadmills may be located in the same building, or they may be located in different buildings, in different cities, or even in different continents," Apple says in the filing. "In this example, media on one media player can be shared between the two treadmills. Also, data from both treadmills can be displayed on each treadmill, thus showing the users their respective standings in the competition."As a personal trainer myself, I'm wholeheartedly pro anything that makes working out more fun and engaging for the folks who need it, and this approach could definitely provide a catalyzing boost. Unfortunately, though, such tech only suits cardio-based workouts, which fall more or less outside my personal fitness goals as a matter of focus. I do some cardio (not enough any more), but my bread and butter is the weight rack, and there's really no way -- with modern smartphone sensors arranged as they are -- to automatically count and log and chart one's lifts. But, until then, this'll have to do. Who knows, maybe it'll get me more excited to get back on the
