MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Nike + Apple iPod experience coming to a gym near you

Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 10:56 AM EST

Nike and Apple revolutionized the way people run with Nike + iPod and now the companies are redefining the way people work out by bringing the Nike + iPod experience to gyms around the world this summer.

Nike and Apple are working with major gym equipment manufacturers such as Life Fitness, Precor, Star Trac and Technogym to make their cardio equipment Nike + iPod compatible so health club members can easily track workouts on cardio equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes and stair climbers. Nike + iPod users will simply plug in their iPod nano into the equipment at the start of their workout to automatically record their progress. Users can then connect their iPod with their computer to upload the workout to http://www.nikeplus.com

"The Nike + iPod experience revolutionized running. Now we’re revolutionizing the gym cardio experience,” said Trevor Edwards, Nike’s Vice President of Global Brand and Category Management, in the press release. “We’re enabling people who go to the gym an opportunity to set goals, track progress, and compete in challenges with their friends and with other members of http://www.nikeplus.com. It’s a groundbreaking tool for people who want to maximize their workouts.”

"The iPod is an essential part of millions of people's workouts and now users can easily set goals and track their progress with Nike + iPod,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing for iPod, in the press release. "We are excited to be working with Nike and leading equipment manufacturers to bring the Nike + iPod experience to the gym."

At participating gyms, including 24 Hour Fitness nationwide and Virgin Active Health Clubs internationally, members will soon be able to use Nike + iPod to track their workout and log their data on http://www.nikeplus.com

• Nike + iPod will allow gym members to track progress, set goals and make challenges on http://www.nikeplus.com

• By using the http://www.nikeplus.com coaching tools, personal trainers now have the ability to help clients chart their progress

• When gym users connect their iPod nano to their computer, their workout data is sent to http://www.nikeplus.com through iTunes. This workout data is converted to “CardioMiles” so that users of cardio equipment can easily set goals and participate in challenges with runners and with users of other cardio equipment

• To date, Nike + iPod runners have logged close to 50 million miles on http://www.nikeplus.com - making it the world’s largest running club

Source: NIKE, Inc.