No one ever said staying or getting fit was easy â€" or cheap.
There are so many fitness tracking gadgets to chose from these days, and many more reasons why you might want one. Wearable trackers offer convenience and constant motivation. But price-wise, how do they compare to your gym membership? How do they compare to each other?
Nike+ Kinect, naturally, wants to convince you its Xbox-based system is an effective price proposition. Below is their gym cost infographic; we've gone further and added the details and cost of other fitness gadgets.
The fee listed for an average gym membership seems high to us (living in San Francisco, I still pay slightly less than that and go to a pretty good gym). A spokesperson for Nike+ Kinect said they were surprised at the high number â€" but when they factored in high-end gyms (like Equinox), it added up.
A site called Statistics Brain suggests the average gym cost is $55 per month, seconding that information. Also, keep in mind many gyms have an initiation charge of about $100.
We also compiled a cost breakdown of gadgets and game consoles that you can use in place of, or along with, your gym routine. And this isn't an either/or situation, you can take your Fitbit tracker or LINK armband to the gym, or workout using Wello while you're on vacation.
Check out how the prices of these gadgets and consoles compare:
Wii Fit: The Wii Fit requires you to buy the Wii console, plus a balance board. The console costs about $165 and the board retails for about $100. The Wii Fit will certainly make you sweat, and it's a lot of fun. You can workout with up to 8 people, so long as everyone has a balance board. It comes with preloaded workouts, like yoga and strength training.
larklife: From company Lark, the larklife is a two-wristband system to track your steps/calories burned, and another to track your sleep. The larklife system comes with a daytime band, a nighttime band, one larklife core (the brains that you move from the day to the night band), a micro-USB charging cord, a USB AC adaptor and syncs to the free larklife app for iOS devices. It retails for $150.
Fitbit: This company offers a number of fitness trackers that all sync using Bluetooth to the free mobile and web applications. The Fitbit Zip costs monitors steps, distance and calories burned. It costs $60. The Fitbit One tracks what the Zip does, plus stairs and you can wear it at night to track your sleep. It costs $100. Launching this spring is the Fitbit Flex, a wristband that monitors activity and sleep. It costs about $100.
MOVband: You wear this tracker like a watch; you can even buy changeable wristbands for about $5 each to mix-up the colors. The MOVband tracks all your movements and syncs that data (via USB) to your free online account where you can monitor your activity level. The tracker costs $30.
Nike+ Kinect: Kinect for Xbox 360 is a pretty intuitive device. It uses a sensor to read your steps, so unlike the Wii, no board is needed. Just place the Kinect on a shelf by your TV or on your media stand facing you. Combine that technology with Nike's fitness know-how and you have a kick-butt at-home workout. Create a custom workout on Nike+ Kinect that matches your fitness level. It retails for $50, and the Xbox 360 plus the Kinect devices costs as low as $99 plus a two year contract for about $15 per month, or buying the Xbox 360 4GB with the Kinect without a contract costs about $300.
Wello: This is not a gadget or device, but a website where you can connect with a personal trainer and workout together live via video chat. It's important both people have a good Internet connection for this to work. Training sessions are offered in 30 or 60 minute sessions, and prices depend on the level of training the instructor has and range from $19-119 per session.
BodyMedia LINK: The LINK armband is the only armband BodyMedia sells with Bluetooth (a must-have feature on a tracker). The LINK counts steps, calorie burned, sleep and it can sync to a heart rate monitor. It retails for about $150. You can sync the data the LINK tracks to the free SparkPeople website, a massive community of fitness enthusiasts, where you'll also find lots of health and fitness information. Or to the free BodyMedia FIT app on your iPhone or Android device. BodyMedia also gives you three months free access to its web application as part of the LINK purchase price. If you want to continue using the web app after three months it costs $7 per month.
Up by Jawbone: This waterproof wristband tracks sleep and exercise habits. You can also track calories by entering food items, or for a faster way to record your eating habits, Up lets you take pictures of your meals and write how you felt afterwards. It retails for $129.99. There have been complaints, though, that the end cap on the wristband falls off easily. And you need to take the cap off when charging or syncing the device (it does not have Bluetooth). The iOS app has a 4+ rating, and reviews for the Up are mixed on Amazon (keep in mind the newest model seems to have much better reviews that the original).
Nike+ FuelBand: This wristband tracks your activity level with an accelerometer. You can set a goal and monitor how close you are to reaching that goal through the app. The data from the wristbands syncs to a several apps. It costs $150.
Have you swapped your gym membership for a fitness gadget? Do you use both? Tell us in the comments.
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, kzenon
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