Whether working from home is new for you since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic or you’ve been working from the comfort of your couch for years, there are pros and cons no matter what to being in the house all day. While snacking on your favorite foods far away from the judgment of your office peers is definitely a perk, the lack of a work commute to an office probably makes most people quite sedentary.
Fortunately, the tech industry has come around again to save the d ay. If you’ve got a bad case of Couch Potato Syndrome, some of the newest apps, gadgets, and products in conjunction with a fast internet connection are bound to give you some great motivation that will get you out of your at-home funk and into a more active lifestyle.
1. Noom
When you’re at home all day surrounded by snacks, keeping yourself on a healthy track can be a challenge. Noom is a relatively new app that makes dieting easy. By using a psychology-based approach, Noom helps users develop new healthy habits that they can use to change their lives and the way they approach food and exercise rather than just delivering a quick fix to weight loss issues.
2. Smart Yoga Mat
Yoga is a great way to find peace, relaxation, and even get a little sweat going during your workday. If you don’t have access to yoga videos however, coming up with your own workouts can be problematic. YogiFi is out here changing the game now by providing yogis with a smart mat that utilized artificial intelligence to communicate with your phone or tablet. You can choose from any number of yoga workouts or instructors that walk you through your practice, and there’s even an aroma therapeutic dispenser that lifts your senses with various scents while you move through your yoga.
3. Athlete Recovery
If you’re someone who has a pretty consistent workout schedule, you probably deal with frequent muscle soreness. Since physical therapists and massage therapists are closed until states begin to fully reopen, Hyperice has a line of products that are great for self-massage. Though they are not meant to replace doctors, these massage and recuperation tools are good alternatives for the time being. Plus, the reward of a post-workout massage is a decent incentive to begin exercising again, right?
4. Mirror Personal Training
Mirror is the newest craze in at-home workouts. For those of us who need someone else to motivate us into exercising, this inventive new product brings all the ease and convenience of personal training to your home. Mirror, per the name, looks exactly like a normal mirror when you mount it on your wall. Once you turn it on, however, you can connect to a personal trainer or even participate in fitness classes ranging from barre workouts to kickboxing. Connect your Apple Watch or heart rate monitor to keep an extra eye on how your body reacts to certain workouts.
5. Biometric Workout Wear
When everything else in the world is smart, why not create smart clothing for the ultimate athlete? Biometric clothing can come in the form of shirts and tank tops that measure your heart rate to socks that monitor your running style and deliver advice on how to improve your form and reduce your risk of injury.
6. Air Quality Devices
No one feels motivated to get off the couch when the air inside feels muggy and uncomfortable. Air quality devices come in all shapes and sizes and are the best way to monitor the quality of your air to detect temperature, pollen levels, humidity, carbon dioxide, and more.
7. Humidifiers
If you’ve got yourself an air quality monitoring device already, then you probably are already aware of the humidity levels in your home. If they’re not substantial and you’re dealing with dry, chapped skin or nose bleeds, a humidifier can help, especially if you’re showering more often because of frequent workouts and thus drying out your skin.
8. Smart Watch
The brands of smart watches are nearly endless, but investing in a good one can mean investing in your health. These watches can detect heart rate and some can even tell oxygen levels. There are also ways to set alarms on the watch that remind you every few hours to get up, walk around, and even take a drink of water.
9. Vibration Fitness Machines
Believe it or not, vibrations on your body while you plank or squat can help you burn ever more calories, as your body must stay strong and stable despite the small movement. Fitness machines that utilize this simple but clever method send gentle vibrations while you exercise and allow you to complete a great full-body workout in just 15 minutes.
10. Smart Scales
No one likes using a scale, but that’s only because we now know that fitness and health is about more than just weight loss. A smart scale will show you your current weight, but it’ll also give you other important figures like your BMI that relate to your health goals and with your internet connection it’ll sync this information easily to your phone for review.
