Print
It might seem like an oxymoron to the average geek: getting healthy with your PC. Sure, you can lift your turbo-charged, water-cooled desktop as if you were doing a common bench press. And you could probably tie the ends of the two front speakers in your 5.1 surround sound system together, creating a crude jump rope for exercising right out of your home office / basement dwelling / dorm room. But while these fitness techniques might improve your personal health, they're not very beneficial for the longevity of your beloved computer system.
Let's fix that.
We're taking a look at fitness-themed applications in this week's freeware roundup. And while you might roll your eyes as you head back to your local meat locker for a punching session, don't brush off the notion of computer-assisted fitness just yet. From applications that help you map your heart rate, to nutrition guides, to a comprehensive guidebook of exercises that you can do right at (or near) your desk, this batch of freeware apps will help you transform your PC into your very own personal trainer.
What it does: The name is pretty self-explanatory, but we'll offer up this minor description as well. This app lets you time out your heart rate, akin to what you might do at the doctor's office or with one of those fancy little $100 devices from The Sharper Image. How does it work? No need for electrodes or plugs here--just mash a key on your keyboard every time your heart beats. While you could admittedly perform the same function using a stopwatch and the counting skills you learned at an early age, Heart Rate Monitor gives you a delicious little graph for your efforts!
Download it here!
What it does: Enter your age, height, weight, and select your fitness level. This handy little calculator takes care of the rest, giving you a rundown of your Body Mass Index and showing you just where you fit on the too little/just fine/too much spectrum of similar people. The program also measures exactly how many calories you need to eat on a daily basis in order to maintain your current weight -- eat less to lose weight, eat more to gain weight. It's that simple!
Download it here!
What it does: GymGoal Lite is the perfect tool for the exercise newbie: it offers a range of painstaking techniques that you can use to enhance your physique. But more than that, it does so by grouping each exercise according to what muscle it actually targets. Once you've picked an exercise to try, the program gives you a detailed instruction list of how to actually go about working said muscle area. And even if you can't figure it out from there, you're treated to diagrams that show you exactly what to do. This little fitness app could not be more helpful.
Download it here!
What it does: Recipe Manager isn't the most pleasing of programs to look at. But it does a more than adequate job of helping you track exactly the kinds of foods (and associated nutritional benefits) that you're shoveling into your body. Select your nom-noms from the pre-populated list of foods or type in your own--you're free to enter all the nutritional requirements, as well as directions for how to make your favorite culinary creations. It's a great tool for the calorie-conscious, although we'd love to have an application that lets you input and graph exactly what you've eaten as well...
Download it here!
What it does: Eyestrain is a serious issue for those who find themselves chained to their PCs for the better part of the day. Before you know it, hours have passed and you've barely shifted your gaze away from your desktop (or WoW raid) to take a break. That's not healthy, especially if you're continuing the same activity day after day, week after week, year after year. EyeDefender sits in the bottom of your taskbar and forces you take breaks at pre-set intervals by popping up photos, predefined rest patterns, and eye relaxing techniques onto your screen. With just a short break every hour, you can increase your ocular health and prevent Computer Vision Syndrome from ever occurring.
Download it here!
Comments are closed on this article
allie_valenza
May 25, 2011 at 9:53am
This is a very nice application. I am happy to see that there are people who promote a healthy lifestyle, not only by focusing on a healthy diet but on sports as well. I have to say that it's not only the physical health that should be taken into account. The mental health is very important as well. My yoga teacher training program is very complex and he helped me realize some important things like how to manage the energy in my body and stuff like that.
James Harris
March 02, 2011 at 8:25am
This is good for those people that are health conscious. This apps that are for health purposes but these are just simple apps nothing compared to the one personal trainers chicago can give.
geeknight
November 22, 2010 at 11:28pm
Great apps, it is good way to control health and fitness by knowing some data behind. If there are phone version, that would be perfect.
jillian grey
January 10, 2011 at 2:56pm
I agree! THis is definitely a great application if you want to look closely on how healthy are you or if your lifestyle is healthy. And good thing it is free! Instead of downloading those games that consumed big amount of space in your hardisk, this is the application that is more important.
Den.Fletcher
October 24, 2010 at 8:24am
I don't see anything wrong with computer assisted fitness. All the health clubs I've ever been to had some kind of software that kept records of my fitness exercises and diet. It's a lot faster to calculate how many calories your burning and how to adjust your diet accordingly.
mobilitylinks
October 23, 2010 at 5:31am
Really this is a nice info. I am very impressed with your article. Thanks for sharing it with us. Personal Trainer Powerplates
Trampoline
September 22, 2010 at 11:16pm
Features sites that focus on physical fitness, good nutrition, and exercise. Includes sites for health clubs, fitness experts, magazines, equipment and supplies, ...
<a href="Trampoline">http://www.comfortinnovations.com.au/</a>
don7
June 07, 2010 at 5:01am
I’m impressed, you know what you’re talking about
<a href="http://www.sixpack-secrets.com">Beyond Six Pack Abs</a>
Arthurdep
December 08, 2009 at 5:29am
Be patience!
Browse and Buy all Anti-depressants drugs at Antidepressants pharmacy.
Kolo
May 06, 2009 at 3:01pm
With a combination of the calorie counter, recipe manager and gymgoal lite there is no excuse for not getting fit. The last step is always down to personal determination to get away from the computer and do the exercise. I'm a big fan of the rowing machine and find it hard to keep track of my caloric intake so the recipe manager will definitely help me step up to the next level of cardio training. Thanks.
3rdegreeBurn
February 18, 2009 at 7:56am
honorable mention: Cron-o-meter. "CRON-O-Meter is free, open source, and cross-platform dieting software."
http://spaz.ca/cronometer/
TheMurph
February 18, 2009 at 11:31am
10 points to Gryffindor! And by that, I mean "3rdegreeburnador," as that app is an awesome catch. Well-done. ANd well-worth checking out!
Keith E. Whisman
February 18, 2009 at 3:52am
David it's good to see you leaving articles here. How is your new career progressing or did you decide to stay at MaximumPC after all?
If you've seen my pic then you know that I need alot of software like this. I just don't see how software is going to take away 120 pounds off my belly. I've stared at those pictures for a few minutes and I still feel just as fat as I did befor I looked at those pictures of the software.
You see if you have me in the pic on the bench there would only be room for one illustration.
That picture of me in the Feb issue was taken with a wide angle lens. I just filled in the picture.
TheMurph
February 18, 2009 at 11:29am
I'm keeping it real. I write for a bunch of places, including dear ol' Maximum PC, so perhaps you'll see me around the 'Net. : )
Haven't seen the picture. But. Uh. Do enjoy the freeware tools, if they are of use to your. er. Goals
