Better Nutrition November 2020

sports, and fewer people getting outside
for physical activity means sticking to a
fitness routine is harder than ever.
“Covid-19 has accelerated the evolution
of wearables and digital fitness by at
least three to five years,” says Iqbal. “What
Covid-19 has enabled is faster adaptation
of technology with consumers.”
One of the best benefits of the union
of technology and fitness is that it leads
to innovative and fun ways to work up
a sweat—some are so fun, in fact, that
you’ll actually be excited for your next
“workout” instead of watching the
clock. Here are some of our favorites:
BoxVR
If you’ve ever
taken a boxing
class or religiously
popped in a Tae
Bo video, then you’re going to love this
new twist on a boxing workout. BoxVR
helps improve rhythm, agility, hand-eye
coordination, and stamina with its
adrenaline-pumping virtual reality boxing
workouts. The app—which works with
Oculus, Steam, or PlayStation VR, and
needs to be purchased separately—
transforms your living room into a
virtual boxing ring where you’ll jab,
uppercut, weave, and deflect punches
in routines that are choreographed to
awesome beats by professional fitness
instructors. The workouts range from
three-minute warm-ups to hour-plus
endurance classes. The app also tracks
your progress and calories burned to
help keep you motivated—as if being
transported into your own video game
isn’t motivation enough?
99 Walks
Walking is the most
underrated form of
exercise, despite its
numerous benefits—
it improves cardiac health, boosts
mood, improves posture, and enhances
circulation, and it’s a great low-impact
option for people with knee, ankle, and
back problems. But sometimes it can be
hard to find the motivation to go for a
walk. Enter 99 Walks: a monthly
walking challenge app that inspires
people of every age and ability to get up
and get moving. You can use it to walk
outdoors, walk around your house or
the mall, or walk on a treadmill. There
are daily classes, monthly rewards
(stainless steel bracelets with inspirational
messages), pace data, meditations,
podcasts and music, virtual teams, and
a supportive community to engage with.
Soon, you’ll be walking with purpose.
Sure, you could
just create a
playlist and have
a living room
dance party, but
wouldn’t you
rather learn some
new moves and
make sure you’re
hitting all your
muscle groups?
ClassPass
Not only is the same
old fitness routine
mind-numbingly
boring, but your body
quickly starts to get used to the moves—
and that’s when plateaus happen, making
it impossible to hit your goals. Instead,
confuse your muscles and take your
fitness to the next level with ClassPass,
an app that aggregates the best workouts
from studios and on-demand platforms
around the globe. Don’t be overwhelmed
by the fact that there are 50,000 weekly
digital options to choose from (that can
all be done in your living room either
with real-time instruction during a live
class or on-demand to fit your schedule),
because you can easily sort based on
genre, length, and studio. You’ll have
fun switching things up and exploring
such categories as HIIT-style workouts,
strength-training, yoga, Barre, Pilates,
kickboxing, and more.
Verv
If doing a dull cardio
workout makes it
seem as though time is
standing still, maybe
it’s time to try dancing! Sure, you could
just create a playlist and have a living
room dance party, but wouldn’t you
rather learn some new moves and
make sure you’re hitting all your muscle
groups? Verv—a holistic health and
wellness app featuring fitness classes,
nutrition info, sleep stories, healthy
recipes, and meditations—recently
launched hip-hop style classes led
by expert dancer and trainer Mike
Peele (who has appeared in videos
with Beyoncé, Madonna, and Rihanna,
among others). Each workout lasts
approximately 20 minutes and can
burn 400–800 calories. And the routines
are so high energy, you’ll forget you’re
not rocking out at a concert.
Stealth
Anyone who believes there’s nothing
more dreadful than an ab workout
has never tried a dynamic core
workout with Stealth, the device
that lets you work 29 muscle groups
while playing video games. You’ll use
your body as the game controller
while you twist and turn to compete
for high scores. How? By using your
abs, glutes, legs, low back, obliques,
arms, and shoulders to balance in
a plank position. Simply place your
smart phone on the board, pull up
the app, and you’ll have an unlimited
number of gameplay options at
your fingertips. Since no two
workouts are the same, you’ll never
get bored.
NOVEMBER 2020 • 27