If making gains is worth any price, these gadgets are for you.
By Amanda Burrill, MS
Talk of fitness tech usually has something to do with a band worn on your wrist to track steps, calories, and even sleep. It’s great that these simple gadgets inspire a healthier lifestyle in the layperson. For those of us already embodying #FitnessGoals, it’s time to turn it up a notch.
There’s a device for everything these days, and one’s head could spin right off trying to keep track of the latest and greatest innovations. I looked a little deeper into fit tech devices and found some interesting contenders that delve deeply into your skin, muscles, and even your mind in the name of enhancing performance.
Whether you’re a competitive athlete or weekend warrior, these bits are worth your consideration. Just remember, while these doodads and wing-dings can help you along the way, nothing can stand as substitute for clearly defined goals and an unrelenting commitment to crushing them.
Halo Sport
Price: $749
Where to buy: HaloNeuro.com
They say performance is mostly mental, so what have you been doing for your brain lately? If the technology locked into these headphone-things can push you to unlock your true greatness, the price tag is worth it. The Halo Sport headset was developed after a decade’s worth of scientific research by neuroscientists and engineers. Transcranial direct-current stimulation, already used to treat chronic pain, depression, and Parkinson’s, is used during the proprietary “neuropriming.” The headphones play music, yes, but they also emit a gentle current for 20 minutes during warm-up. The claim is that this current primes the motor cortex, helping neurons fire faster in a temporary state of “hyperplasticity.” It improves the brain’s response to training and drives accelerated performance gains. Faster results? That’s a no-brainer.
Naked
Price: Reserve now from $700
Where to buy: Naked.Fit
Competitors rejoice. Naked captures your 3D body image so you can visualize your body’s changes on the Naked app. Track your volumetric body fat percentage, accurate body measurements, and weight. This program allows you to track muscle growth and fat loss, and the “heatmap” highlights where you’re gaining and losing muscle and fat. Even cooler for those who love the “before” and “after” view is the time-lapse capability of seeing your body change over time. Naked’s “turntable” base doubles as a scale; the only one of its kind that works on carpet or hard floor.
Slendertone Connect Ab Toner
Price: $25
Where to Buy: Slendertone.com
As we go through our day, the brain sends signals to the muscles via nerves, making them contract and relax to accomplish simple everyday tasks. Slendertone utilizes clinically proven electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to emit similar signals directly to your abs, causing them to contract and relax. This may be of interest to you if you sit long hours on the job, but the Slendertone belts can also be worn while out doing daily activities. This USB rechargeable, app-controlled ab-toning belt strengthens all of the abdominal muscles to include the transversus abdominis, the deepest and most difficult to activate. The app offers five high-intensity programs depending on your training goals, gives personal coaching and motivation, and of course, tracks progress.
NormaTec Pulse
Price: From $1,595
Where to by: NormaTecRecovery.com
The leg day aftermath may never be the same. NormaTec Pulse, created by a physician bioengineer to enhance blood flow and speed recovery, boasts a fan base of elite athletes. The claim is that the patented technology helps athletes recover faster between trainings and after performance. There’s a master control unit and attachments that go on the legs, arms, or hips. Compressed air works to massage limbs, mobilize fluid, and speed recovery, much like the kneading and stroking done during a massage. From pure strength training and functional fitness to endurance athletes, there’s a boatload of research pointing to this technology for a performance edge. If you have the green, go for it.
Mio Slice
Price: $129
Where to Buy: MioGlobal.com
So this looks like a regular fitness tracker, but it has something extra. It’s the first one to feature the personal activity intelligence (PAI)—a personal score for staying healthy. This system turns your heart rate into a single score, showing you how much activity you need to stay healthy. Once you have this score, it’s up to you to do enough quality exercise to keep your PAI above 100. Many people go to the gym and lift their weights, and maybe even see gains, but are you actually healthy? This will make sure you are. It also delivers the data many other trackers show: daily steps, calories burned, and sleep quality. In other words, a comprehensive look at your overall fitness for about a C-note.
Athos
Price: from $398
Where to buy: LiveAthos.com
In short, this is “smart” performance apparel that is 100 percent relevant to every weightlifter out there. Athos uses advanced biosignal technology to monitor and analyze muscle activity in real time, allowing you to improve your exercise form, see what muscles are firing, and how hard you’re exerting yourself. The ultimate goal of this smart technology is to assist you with shaping and improving your workouts so that you get the best out of every rep and set. You can track your progress and set benchmarks by connecting to the Athos application, which also tells you active time versus rest time. This ain’t cheap, but it’s a game-changer in the bodybuilding world.
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