Tucked away on my bookshelves are my old training diaries. Well worn diaries tracking every exercise session I completed, all part of an overall plan leading to the final goal - usually a marathon somewhere in the world. But how times have changed ...
Now, my progress is tracked, charted and analysed online. And for anyone that is interested, you can not only follow my progress, but join me as well!
I'm using a number of tools to help me maintain my enthusiasm. These include: -
- Polar S625x Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) and Polar ProTrainer software
- RunKeeper for the iPhone (GPS route tracking application) and their website
- Daily Burn for the iPhone and their website
PolarS625X HRM (http://www.polar.fi)
This HRM includes a footpod that is normally strapped to your shoe to measure distance. I've opted to substitute RunKeeper for the iPhone for this, but everything else is logged in my HRM. All details are logged during a training session, including Heart Rate, Altitude, Temperature, and Calories are stored and downloaded into Polar ProTrainer
RunKeeper for the iPhone (http://www.runkeeper.com)
This fantastic application for the iPhone utilises the in-built GPS of the iPhone and tracks the exact course of your training session as you complete it. At the conclusion, the details are immediately uploaded to the RunKeeper website, logged against my profile, a Tweet is submitted to Twitter and a Status Update added on Facebook, so my friends can see what I've done and keep me honest.
I then upload the HRM file from Polar ProTrainer for the session, and that is included with the data on RunKeeper.
For anyone wanting to follow my progress, check out http://www.runkeeper.com/user/nzrunner.
Give it a go yourself, and grab their free iPhone application from here.
Daily Burn (http://www.dailyburn.com)
This website, along with the application for the iPhone enables me to track all the fitness sessions I complete, including hockey matches I play, hockey training, pool sessions, stretching, etc. Along with a complete Nutritional log, Weight tracking, Workout plans and Goal setting, Daily Burn can be used to track everything that I do to my body during the course of a day.
I don't plan to use it to it's full extent at this stage, but will endeavour to log enough in here to keep me honest.
You can follow my progress by heading over to http://dailyburn.com/locker_room/nzrunner.
For anyone that wants to try out their iPhone application, it can be downloaded from here.
Facebook and Twitter
As a regular user of both social networking sites, these just offer me a way to get positive reinforcement from my friends and colleagues.
So, in my quest to attain some fitness again, I'm using technology to help me. Why not join me. Sign up to RunKeeper or Daily Burn, join my "team", and lets have some fun getting fit!
Sometimes I miss my old paper diary. *sigh*
