There
are two kinds of people in this world who exercise – the app-ers and the
hapless…
It's early morning, relatively speaking.
You're ready in your all-new Nike Flyknit Racer. The iPod gets into your
pocket. Your Timex Ironman’s next, followed by your Polk Audio UltraFit sports
headphones (with tangle-free planar cables and moisture shields), and the Tune
Belt Sport Armband for your brand new iPhone (protective cover, waterproof
design, unique ear bud cord organizer – the works). You strap your app-heavy mobile
onto this. What you can't wear, clip on or shove into your pocket goes into
your backpack. Ready? It's time to pump up the volume with a remixed theme of Eye
of the Tiger or Ek Tha Tiger and hit the road - it's time to run.
Since when did an exercise as simple as
running get so complicated? Forget power jogging and power sprinting, one
didn’t even have Power shoes to wear for a morning run, a decade ago. How did
all this change?
As always, blame it all on the t-word. In
recent times, technology, through apps, has stood us in good stead through all
those hours of sweat and dirt, being our willing partner in grime. In fact, most
apps have been named appropriately to emphasize this affiliation, like FertilityFriend,
BP Buddy, WeightDate, SportyPal - and of course, an App Mate to handle all
these apps.
Apps like calorie counter, session counter
and km counter help keep track of various unpleasant facts while you run. Just
as there are many ‘counter’ apps for running, there are also several apps to counter
running – these help you dismiss suggestions from fitness freaks who unnecessarily
force you into physical activities. So when they talk about the benefits of
walking, your app can tell them how running is more effective, and if someone
recommends running, you could pitch for trekking. Likewise, trekking can be
countered by cycling, cycling by swimming, which in turn can be proved inferior
to walking – and you realize that it’s a great way to have everyone go around
in circles. It can get pretty exhausting, but then, it certainly beats getting
tired by exercising.
But there are apps for fatigue too. So,
when you feel that compelling urge to put your head down and rest for a while,
there's the useful Lap Counter from iTunes to help you count those laps that
could make vantage resting points. Just make sure you don't try this in your
neighbourhood park or in places where you can be identified.
There are other apps that have resulted
from a moment of inspiration - like iStepLog, created by a software engineer
who went on an early morning walk after a particularly rainy night and
accidentally stumbled on a tree that lay across the road. To cater to the
Indian market, related apps have been launched, like iStepPuddle, iStepPoop and
iStepDitch, to help you watch where you are stepping.
But it is important that you don’t take
these apps too literally - not all apps deliver what they promise. There could
be times when the deluge of apps could leave you all muddled up, but an app
like Better Brain really doesn't get you that for 150 bucks - it merely tries
to exercise your existing brain with some activities.
There are a host of apps for yoga too. But the
challenge is to hold your smartphone in one hand, balance the other on the ground
and with one leg in the air, try to wrap the other around your waist. It's
called the ek app pada bakasana, or the one legged crane holding android device
pose.
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