It’s cold, it’s wet and no doubt that motivation you felt this time last month to pull on your trainers and venture to the gym, park or spin class isn’t quite what it was. Fear not though, there is plenty of new tech you can rely on to fill that expanding chasm between Ironman ambition and sofa reality. We’ve picked ten top bits of tech, most of which featured at CES in January, to motivate you to keep to your 2016 fitness ambitions.
1. Wake up and smell the coffee
When it’s pitch black outside and the first thing you hear is the sound of wind and rain buffeting your bedroom window at 6.30am, you need all the help you can get to drag yourself out of bed. The new Sensorwake alarm clock is unique, in that it is totally silent. Instead it uses the power of smell to wake you up, and with a choice of Croissant, Espresso, Seaside, Jungle, Chocolate and Peppermint aromas (they come in Nespresso-style pods) to choose from, you’re sure to be in a good mood right from the start of the day.
$89 (US only currently)
2. Upgrade your watch
Everyone seems to have a fitness tracker on their wrist these days. The new Fitbit Blaze is arguably the most impressive product available now. With GPS, heart rate monitoring and a stylish appearance coupled with an attractive price tag (£159.99) and 5-day battery life, one of these on your wrist will no doubt help you to hit your targets.
3. Bring the outdoors inside
Sometimes it really is too grim outside for a ride or run. Zwift allows you to bring the outdoors into your front room with detailed 3D landscapes where you compete in real time with other cyclists around the world after hooking up your turbo trainer to a computer. The iFit NordicTrack Escape, launched at CES, takes this concept to another level with a new interactive treadmill that can take you anywhere in the world, albeit with a hefty price tag.
4. Leave Google Glass in your wake with some real smart glasses
Heads up displays are commonplace in cars, and now you can see your speed, time and distance in front of your eyes during a ride or run with a pair of Kopin Solos glasses.
5. Pull on some smart socks to smash your 5k target
If you’re looking to take your running to the next level, these sensor-laden smart socks promise to tell you more about your gait, foot strike and cadence than you ever thought possible.
$399
6. Buy a basic band to track your every move
If a simple fitness band is what you’re after, the new Withings Go could be the one for you. With an 8 month battery life and a £50 price tag, it will monitor all your activity and calorie expenditure each day, and it also tells the time.
7. Track what’s going on inside
The traditional bathroom scale has been superseded in a big way in recent years. Devices can now accurately monitor your body fat levels, metabolic rate and muscle mass and transmit them directly to your phone via Bluetooth. A new launch from My Fitness Pal owner, Under Armour, looks set to be a winner with all the data they have from their popular fitness apps tying into the data from the scales
$400 (US only currently)
8. Get competitive
Strava’s been around since 2009 as a free social fitness platform, where you can see what all your friends (as well as a load of top professionals) have been up to. With well over a million active users around the world and a plethora of challenges, training plans and opportunities to beat your mates, it’s a great way to log your progress.
9. Monitor the gun Show
The GymWatch, which you can attach to either your arm or leg, is able to measure strength and communicate it directly with your phone. It uses clever algorithms to calculate your explosive strength and muscle strength in real time.
£79
10. Take it all off
Of course, when your every move, breath and calorie is being logged in minute detail, it can be liberating sometimes to just take it all off and enjoy a walk, run or ride in the fresh air without the weight of numbers holding you back. It is meant to be fun after all.