Nike+iPod: Making Exercise Tolerable

I hate working out. No, really. I hate it. A lot. But I hate weight and feeling icky and unhealthy even more, so I force myself to do it. I force myself to run.

But honestly? I invested (a small fortune) in some products and gadgets that make running tolerable. I actually kinda look forward to running. And it's all because of my dear friends at Apple (and the people at Nike, who I don't consider to be dear friends because they seem to be trying to make their workout clothes look really awful and ill-fitted on my averagely proportionate, not-too-large-but-not-too-small body. Booo for that, Nike. Booooo.)

When I first learned of the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, I knew I had to have it. The premise is that you put the little circle thingie in your Nike+ shoe (mine are like those, but with different colors) and plug the little square into your iPod Nano (I bought a black refurbished one). After a brief, painless calibration run, you start exercising. Your iPod Nano displays a special Nike+ menu that allows you to choose a distance-, time- or calorie-specific workout. You choose the kind of run you want, indicate your "goal" (which is in sarcastic airquotes because you can run less or more than the goal and it makes no difference whatsoever) and start running.

A pleasant voice will give you periodic updates on the distance completed and your pace, and you can also press the center button of the iPod to get an update whenever you'd like. The data is also displayed on the iPod screen, but if you buy the special Nike+ Sport Armband, you can't actually see the screen. Which is just as well, because the last thing I have energy for while I'm running is trying to crane my neck around to read the iPod screen affixed to my arm.

(What is NOT just as well is the fact that the armband has a little fabicy cover that goes over the clickwheel of the iPod. Your iPod slips around a bit, and the next thing you know you're canceling your workout when you were just trying to get a freaking progress update. I solved this problem by cutting a big ol' hole in the armband so I can touch the actual clickwheel. It's a problem that's easily solved, but when I'm paying $29 for a piece of fabric that straps my iPod to my arm, I expect the manufacturer to have already worked those things out on my behalf.)

So anyway, once you're done with your run you come home and sync your iPod with iTunes, and iTunes will send your workout data to the Nike+ website. There you can view your runs by distance, time and calories, see how one run compares to another, keep track of total miles logged, etc.

The Nike+ website is, in my opinion, where the real strength of this whole setup lies. My exercise stumbling block is always lack of motivation. If I didn't exercise for three days in a row? Pffft, whole week was shot, might as well just wait until next Monday and start over. But logging my miles and being able to see the total miles I've logged, getting to see my pace increase overtime ... that is freaking MOTIVATIONAL, people. It totally keeps me going.

I've uploaded screenshots of my total runs over time (it's not all of them because they didn't all fit in one shot, but it's almost all of them) and my most recent run to demonstrate the awesomeness of the Nike+ website (and also, look at me and my improved running stats, woo woo!) My distance per run has been consistently higher the last two months, and while I'm still not running the entire 4 miles, I am walking less, thereby increasing my overall pace. My pace during the running parts has also increased. And I would have no way of knowing that if I wasn't using the whole Nike+ setup. Clickety-click on the thumbnails for larger versions of the screenshots.

Unfortunately, motivation comes at a price. I spent $110 on shoes, $109 for a refurbished Nano, $29 for the Sport Kit and $29 for the armband (not to mention the money I dropped on cute workout clothes from Adidas), almost $300 in total. It can be done for less money -- you can buy this instead of the product-specific shoes if you have a pair you're happy with (I did not), and refurbished Nanos are going for as little as $79. So you're still looking at a $100+ investment, but if you really want to get serious about running, it's well worth the investment.

And if you're really enthusiastic about spending money to fuel your workout addiction make exercise more palatable, you can also invest in a video iPod and a season pass to your favorite show to help pass the time on the treadmill. Trust me, there's nothing like a classic episode of Grey's Anatomy to help you forget about the fact that your lungs are about to explode.