Early every January, Vegas goes high-tech: four days of more HD-than-HD TVs, smart-everything, and our robotic future. It’s the CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, and it’s the event to get a first look at and touch of the latest in fitness technology. This is our top five in new fitness tech for CES 2020.
NURVV RUN
If you want to do it right and safely, running isn’t as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. Nurvv Run helps you perfect your foot strikes and strides and minimize injuries, and it keeps a careful record of your runs and their cadence, whether outside or on a treadmill. Each shoe insole features 32 precision sensors which take measurements 1000 times per second to capture data from your runs. The companion iOS app translates this data into information you can use and provides helpful tips to improve your technique. Available in 19 women’s sizes and 20 men’s sizes, Nurvv Run sells for $299.95.
ERGATTA DIGITAL ROWER
Meet the world’s most beautiful rowing machine. It’s made of cherrywood with a glass-like water container with a waterflywheel, but, this being CES, Ergatta is high-tech, too. The 17.3 inch monitor features three game-like modes: interval workouts, race workouts (against others), and open row. This was the second connected rowing machine introduced over the past year. Hydrow, which features watery views on its 22 inch screen, came first. With their interactivity, both bring some pizazz to the usually boring act of rowing indoors. At $1999, the more elegant Ergatta is the better bargain. Check out www.ergatta.com
SAMSUNG GEMS
You know those futuristic concepts cars at auto shows that attract the most “wows” but never hit the streets. This might fit into that category. It’s only conceptional for now. Nevertheless, it probably points the way to a near-future reality. When Samsung introduced GEMS (Gait Enhancing and Motivation System) at last year’s CES, it was a robotic lower-body exoskeleton for walking rehabilitation. This year the device was reimagined as a workout device. It provides increasingly greater resistance and monitors and analyzes your form. In the CES demonstration, it was paired, via augmented reality (AR) goggles, with an AR personal trainer. Like that wow-car, in this form, it may never be for sale, but you can glimpse where things are heading.
MATEO BATH MAT
We told you there was smart-everything. How ’bout a smart bath mat? Step on it, and it measures your weight, body composition, shoe size (great for kids), and it even analyzes your posture. We’re dubious about body composition scales, which are not very accurate, but we like that this mat/scale only serves up the numbers on an app, and the app keeps and analyzes your stats. So, you don’t need to obsess about your weight daily. You can get weighed without thinking about every time you shower, and, if you want, only check the app periodically, or you can set it to alert you when you’ve hit (or missed) a target. The most advanced mat is $179, but there will be cheaper, simpler versions. Check out www.mateo.ai
MAXPRO
This was our favorite workout product at CES 2020, and it’s relatively low tech. Claiming to be the world’s most versatile full-body portable fitness machine, MAXPRO weighs under 10 pounds and folds up to fit into a backpack, briefcase, etc. Its secret is its PowerClutch™️ technology, which allows it to be easily adjusted from 5 to 300 lbs. (2kg to 135kg) of resistance. You can do 300-pound squats, 40-pound one-arm curls, 200-pound shoulder presses, 180-pound pulldowns, resistance runs and leaps, and on and on. You don’t have to pump out light reps or improvise exercises, because this “portable gym” truly allows you to get a full, intense workout anywhere.
The unconnected MAXPRO is currently $429. With an app to monitor your workouts, it’s $549. In addition to the foldable base, both come with a long bar, two handles, two ankle/wrist straps, and door mount brackets. Additional accessories are available. Check out www.maxprofitness.com
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