Nike+ Ipod – great for fitness motivation

My niece just came back from a long weekend in New York with a great gizmo for running – a nike + ipod sport kit – and it seems to be just right to improve your fitness motivation – fun too.

Apparently these have been around for a while and the whole thing has just passed me by. (Well, I AM in a non-running phase just now)

For once the technology seems pretty easy to master even for those of use still working out how to record something on the VCR long after everyone else has moved onto Tivo or Sky+

Anyway this kit my neice bought has a sensor to fit in your Nike+ shoes and then a receiver to plug into your ipod nano (has to be a nano) and away you go running.

Actually though my niece has these anyway, you don’t really need the expensive shoes just something to fasten the to them that you can buy for next to nothing (see here for a shoe pouch you can use as an alternative).

Once you get going, your ipod nano tracks your running time, distance, pace and calories burned and at the end of your workout you can transfer your workout data to itunes and nikeplus.com to and see your progress in full color and graphic detail. You can get voice alerts during your workout too where the music neatly fades in and out around the alert.

Online you can set challenges, goals and resolutions to keep you motivated.

But the best thing is downloading upbeat music to keep you going – there are special selections at itunes and my niece has a great victory song she uses every time. As she says “I ran 7 miles yesterday because of my ipod – I never did that before”.