My Nike+ Experience and iPod Sports Kit Review

For the past week, I’ve had the chance to experience Nike+, which I’ve previously only seen a number of people using, especially during the huge promo earlier this year in Fitness First where Nike had free Trial Sessions for people to try out Nike+ for themselves.

If you’re wondering what Nike+ is – it’s basically the combination of the Nike Plus Sports Kit, a Nike+ pair of shoes, and of course – Apple’s iPod Nano. The sports kit consists of a receiver you connect to your iPod Nano, and a small, oval shaped sensor (a piezoelectric accelerometer) that you insert under the sockliner of your Nike Footwear. Nike+ is the unique combination of these items, working together to be your ‘workout partner’ (though I’d like to personally call it a motivator) that will give you live feedback on the progress of your run!

With the receiver plugged into your iPod – you can now keep track of your running pace, distance, and calories burned for all your previous running sessions. I’ve always been able to keep track of my weight training progress – and now, I’ve got a neat way to keep track of my runs too.

Music has always been something I simply CANNOT DO WITHOUT when I’m at the gym, and I even talked about The Mental Influence of Music at the Gym back in June 2006. Powerful workout music has always given me that extra push when I’ve needed it, especially when it comes to getting my cardio sessions over with (which is difficult for most of us unless we’re really excited about running?). So now when Nike and Apple came along with something that was DESIGNED to do exactly that… how can I NOT take notice?

My Experience with Nike+
My first run using Nike+ was one week ago. Although I covered only 1.64km, it was great fun as I didn’t know what to expect during my run. Upon completion of my run today morning, it was REALLY NEAT to hear feedback via my earphones from Lance Armstrong (seven-time Tour de France champion), saying “This is Lance Armstrong - Congratulations, that was your longest workout yet!”

I don’t think it’s cheesy – I like it and I think it’s a great idea to feature motivational feedback from real athletes – a great ending to your workout.

The COOLEST feature – Spoken Feedback!
With Nike+, my iPod Nano now becomes my running coach and personal motivator – giving me spoken feedback through my earphones every time the center button is pressed (no need for me to look down at the screen during my run). Yes, it talks to you! The spoken feedback is also heard at regular intervals depending on the type of workout I’ve chosen before I begin running- there is a choice to measure progress via distance, time, or by calories burned. Also, you get to choose between hearing from a male or female feedback voice. I did try the male voice out, hoping to hear a deep, stern, and serious voice – something really motivating… however, the voice wasn’t something I expected to hear – so I decided to stick to the female voice for now.

An Online Community to keep track of progress
Once you’re done with your workout, you can then sync your iPod with iTunes – specifically your workout data which is then displayed separately in iTunes.

*iTunes even has a ‘Sports’ selection and allows you to purchase music designed for use with your workouts

With your iPod docked and synced with iTunes, you can see your latest workout’s time, distance, average pace, and calories burned, as well as a workout history. iTunes can also automatically send all this information to the Nike+ Online Community (free to register) where you will be able to view line graphs of every run you’ve completed, displaying average speed, and more. The graphs are gorgeous and allow you to visually track your progress and performance. I find this to be one of Nike+’ s greatest strengths.

Logging into my nikeplus account today, I’m able to see that I have run a total of 8.4km in 3 days – This is information that I’ve never been able to utilize before – but now I can.

Why I would recommend Nike+
The last time I remember having fun running around was probably when I was a little carefree kid, running around barefooted in the dirt causing mischief. Years after that… running only became a bore… something I sometimes felt ‘forced’ to do as part of my lifestyle. Nike+ changed all of that for me and made running fun once again.

This is something you need to experience for yourself. Runners or walkers, whether casual or serious, will find lots to like in the Nike+iPod Sport Kit. It is easy enough to use even for beginning runners, and serious enough for competitive runners.

I have YET to try out my Nike+ in the great outdoors, where I believe it would prove even more useful – unlike running on a treadmill, it’s pretty tough to measure distance and progress when you’re running outside.

Nike+ is also a fantastic extension of the iPod’s usefulness, making it more than just an MP3 player and more relevant to us fitness enthusiasts. I love it for its workout statistics capability - I love being able to know that I’ve run 8.4km over the past 3 days just as much as I love knowing that this site received 35,000 page views last month.

Here in Malaysia, I’ve been told that Nike is currently running a promotion at 3 Nike stores – Mid Valley, 1 Utama and KLCC where customers who buy a pair of Nike+ enabled shoes are entitled to a FREE Nike+ Sport Kit. All you need to do is download the voucher from www.nikeplus.com.my. The promotion runs till end October - that gives you 7 days to go out and get it!

If you’re still not convinced… just remember this - it WILL motivate you to run harder and more often than you normally would. Now… tell me that’s not good enough for you?

If you still can’t grasp how cool the Nike+ System is… then check out the video below:

Your friend and coach,
DM

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