Categories
Mostly Everything

Does the Nike+ kit really encourage you to stay fit?

Nike Plus Baby!

How apt for the holidays. A bought a Nike+ kit a few months ago about the same time I got the fatty nano. Inspired to lose weight and reinvigorate my athletic self (I used to be able to do a one mile run in 7 minutes – not bad) I set out on the adventure of jogging around the village park.

Does the Nike+ kit really encourage you to stay fit? This is the subjective question that potential Nike+ buyers probably ask themselves. “Will I really use this?” is the resonating thought that can be categorized in mental cabinets where similar questions such as “will I really use this gym membership?” are filed. Honestly, it is all up to you. The PHP 2,1xx.00 price tag (the price fluctuates – I’ve seen this go as low as PHP 1,7xx.00) can be seen as an opportunity cost to two months in the gym or … Xando carb blocker pills! Hehe.

The Nike+ kit is composed of an accelerometer which you put in your shoe and a sensor which you attach to your iPod. I haven’t seen the new arm bands to hold the fatty nano so you may have to be creative in finding a place to put this. There are some Nike tees that have a slot sewed on to hold your nano and that’s really cool. Some people have created mods if you don’t own a specialized Nike+ shoe – a big marketing gimmick if I should say.

There is a huge online Nike+ community. After every workout, the Nike+ syncs to iTunes and uploads workout data to a server which also compares your run to everyone else around the world. If you have a group of friends whom you would want to do running challenges, this would be a great way to keep track. I know Anton and Banggigay are into this.

At the end of the day, the Nike+ kit is an added luxury. Since you’re probably listening to music while you run – on an iPod, then this may be something neat to own. You don’t need it, but it’s cool to have.

It really is motivating though to have Lance Armstrong’s voice pop in after your workout congratulating you for beating your previous record.

By Jayvee Fernandez

Jayvee Fernandez is a tech enthusiast and sitting Techbology Editor for The Philippine STAR.

He is also an EAN certified SCUBA Diver and underwater photographer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. His photos and videos have appeared in various international and local publications including Random House Germany, Discovery Channel Canada, and CNN.

8 replies on “Does the Nike+ kit really encourage you to stay fit?”

Yes the Nike+ sports kit is really wonderful. But if you don’t have enough dough for it you could always just get a pedometer.

Just be carefu where you do your runs as those ipods tend to attract attention.

You might want to join the upcoming 2008 Clark Freeport International Marathon at Clark Field Pampanga slated on January 13, 2008 (Sunday). You can choose from 5K, 10K and 42K. More info at http://www.clarkmarathon.com

Is this an official name? How politically incorrect of Nike! I’ll start a campaign to call it the… “gravitationally-challenged Nano”! hehe

I might just get it when I get back. 🙁 *misses the ipod classic he lost*

This to me equals marketing gimmick. If you want to run, go out and run. If you want music there’s a myriad of ways to do it, it doesn’t have to be an ipod and a tricked out pedometer.

My own problem with running while listening to music is that my sweat glands are overactive. Any earphones I use will inevitably be covered in sweat after a 1 minute run, which is just gross.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.