Posted on: Tuesday, March 13, 2001
Web brings you a step closer to being fit
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
By now, most people have concluded that chronic Web surfing contributes more to fanny flattening than fitness. But if you can pry yourself eventually off the ergonomically correct computer chair, there are a few health sites that do what they can to prod you toward a workout, short of delivering that swift kick.
One is FitnessHeaven (www.fitnessheaven.com). It’s a commercial site that, thankfully, also offers some freebie services to those of us whose workout budget covers a ratty T-shirt and shorts, but little else.
Among the resources available to those who register for free: an “Ask the Experts” column on health, calculators for several diet and fitness measures, finders for gyms and therapists (though we couldn’t find any Hawai‘i therapists listed) and a medical encyclopedia.
Our favorite freebie: the “Virtual Trainer,” displayed as a buff figure (male, as shown here, or female) with clickable body parts. Choose the part, and get a selection of exercises, with videos demonstrating how they’re to be done.
For an annual $35 fee, you get “Gold Member” privileges, including diet and fitness plans and a cool feature called Web Racing. Supposedly it allows you to hook your stationary bike to your computer and race with someone via Internet, watching a video simulation of your progress. But unless you have a fancy-schmancy, Internet-ready bike, you need a retrofit kit that costs close to $200 — giving your wallet more of a workout than you might like. |
