Men’s Fitness Australia – June 2017

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FAST BYTES

●Game Changers Gear

48 MEN’S FITNESS JUNE 2017

With their high-tech brains and drill sergeant drive, this gear will get

you in shape asap. By Michael Frank

A

A long-awaited new breed of wearables (aka smart watches, heart

straps, etc) has finally arrived. We’re talking trackers that not only

record workouts, sleep quality and activity but also advise you in

all aspects of your physical life: You don’t just see metrics, you learn what to

donext.Thisnewkindofwearablecanevenwarnyouwhenyoushould

back off a bit to prevent an injury that might stall you in your drive toward

your fitness goals. How brilliant is that?

SHOES

Under Armour

SpeedForm Record

Equipped Sneakers

WHAT THEY ARE

Atrioofnewrunning

kickswithembedded

tracking sensors.

WHAT THEY DO

Test stamina before

you run to make sure

you’re rested so you don’t

overtrain; and, during

runs, capture pace,

distance and stride rate.

Eyeballthelatter(onthe

paired MapMyRun app)

to be sure your form is

fluid—thatwayyouwon’t

stress your knees, ankles

andfeetbypounding

the pavement.

BUY THEM

$219.99,

underarmour.com.au

Smarten up

Get bent

■Cricflex is an arm

sleeve embedded

with sensors, which

detects an illegal

bowling action,

displaying the

results on a smart

phone. Time to

chuck the chuckers.

Outta line!

■In the US,

Universal Orlando’s

new Volcano Bay

theme park will

issue trackers that

virtually queue you

up for rides, then

ping when it’s

your turn.

Call of duty

■Smart body

armour/helmets

may detect if nearby

blasts cause

soldiers brain injury,

the Office of Naval

Research says.

TRACKER

Fitbit Alta HR

WHAT IT IS

The world’s thinnest

heart-rate-sensing

fitness band.

WHAT IT DOES

Fitbit already has activity

tracking dialled — counting

steps, prompting you to

move, etc. The new Alta

HR goes further, tracking

if you’re in fat-burn mode

during workouts and

crucially, teaching you

to sleep better: It studies

your sleep and twigs

you to, say, hit the hay

before 11 pm, as that yields

deeper recovery, or not

workouttoolate,because

that makes you wired,

andsoon.Allofwhich

yields a stronger, better-

performing you while

you’re awake.

BUY IT

$249.95, fitbit.com

HEADPHONES

Jabra Sport Coach

Special Edition

WHAT IT IS

Wireless ear buds with

a built-in sensor to track

your progress.

WHAT IT DOES

The built-in TrackFit

motion sensor

automatically counts

your reps and monitors

your movements. Set

up your own workout

circuit with the Jabra

SportLifeappandlet

thein-ear“coach”count

your reps, guide you

through the circuit and

track your performance.

Comes with a limited

three-year warranty

against failure from

sweat, so you know

it's the real deal.

BUY IT

$224.99, jabra.com.au

Forget your
wrist tracker?
No worries. This
shoe monitors
pace, distance
and stride rate.

The latest wearables

can prevent injury by

warning you to back off.

Family ties

■Get within 30m

ofyour kids, and

Japan’s beta Tottori

West Family Time

watch/app adds

the minutes to your

“family time” goal.