Developer: lolo fit
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPod Touch
iPhone Integration Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.67 out of 5 stars
Folks who exercise a lot or teach aerobics classes know the importance of setting the right tone and maintaining intensity throughout their routine. For those who like to set their workouts to music, this can mean hours of finding just the right songs with perfect intensity and similar tempos. Tempo Magic attempts to circumvent this issue by allowing users to speed or slow the tempo of songs in a uniform manner, and at a base level it works. The downside is that a lack of options and a lot of technical shortcomings make the app mostly useless for all but the most devoted users.
The interface of Tempo Magic is extremely elegant, allowing you to add songs to your playlist with a couple of taps and control the BPM (beats per minute – a measure of tempo) of any song with a simple swipe of the slider in the middle of the screen. There are also options to lock all songs on the playlist at either the same BPM or the same percent speed increased or decreased. So If you want all your music played at 180 BPM that’s fine, or if you just want all your songs to be 8 percent faster the app can do that as well.
The big drawback comes in the fact that if the songs you choose to go in Tempo Magic don’t already share a similar speed then the resulting playback often turns into a mess. Setting a song that’s naturally 100 BPM to 160 or above often turns into a mash of undecipherable sound, while setting everything to be 5 percent faster than before means that slower songs will still be slow compared to more upbeat fare. This issue can be partially offset if you already have a workout mix or some other playlist of similarly paced songs, but if you don’t, then trying to find the right mix can be an exercise in trial-and-error. Another issue is the fact that the app doesn’t play well with some forms of DRM, so there’s no way of knowing which songs will work and which won’t until you try and add them and Tempo Magic tells you it can’t.
For exercise nuts, fitness instructors and even DJs, Tempo Magic is a neat app that might put a new spin on how they play their music. For more casual folks the app holds very little appeal and will likely be met with quizzical looks and a lot of misunderstanding. For these folks it’s a fun novelty, but not worth the $5 investment.
Developer: Medical Productions
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad
iPad Integration Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
If you are serious about exercise – the weightlifting, strength training, old school kind of exercise – then iFitness HD for the iPad might prove a good resource and training companion for you. It contains a wealth of information on over 300 different exercises, and these can be combined into an array of personalized workouts based upon your needs.
Opening the app presents a user with many, many options. Users may choose a particular region of their bodies that they wish to work on – arms for instance – and a quick touch of the arms icon pulls up all of the available exercises pertinent to that region of the body. All exercises include pictures to demonstrate the proper way to execute movement, but well over a third now also feature video, which is a handy inclusion. When you are finished with a particular exercise, you can log it in the app’s built in exercise log.
It’s this use of logs and documentation that permeates every aspect of iFitness HD. If there’s something you want to track during your exercise routines, iFitness has a way to track it. You can even sync your data to the iFitness servers so it’s never lost and so it can sync with the iFitness iPhone app.
For those interested in even greater customization, there is the option to create individualized routines built around your own needs and abilities. I only wish there was a way to have a routine play automatically, with voice, video and music, something like All-In Yoga does.
While iFitness has a tremendous array of exercises, videos and photos, it still seems to be lacking some essential element needed for a good virtual trainer. The use of voice and music (particularly during routines) as well as videos for all exercises would be a great improvement over this current incarnation.
Still, iFitness offers a great deal of content for a low price. If you want to track your way to better fitness, I can’t imagine a better app.
Developer: ARAWELLA CORPORATION
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad
iPad Integration Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 4.33 out of 5 stars
The iPad is quickly establishing itself as more than a simple media consumption device — more than just a viewing/listening device for movies, books and music. Some developers are beginning to see the potential for the iPad as an actual teaching device, one that can interact and grow with students as they develop skills. All-In Yoga HD is part of this new vanguard of apps. It is not without a few minor issues, but it does show how the iPad can improve on the standard book or even video approach for teaching a skill.
Opening the All-In Yoga app presents users with a small, simple number of options. You can look at the pose base, a composite encyclopedia of all available yoga poses in the app, or the “My Programs” section, which allows you to choose from several ready-made yoga routines (ranging from beginners to advance/guru) or design your own based upon your own needs. Once you have selected or created a program, you can save it and run it at any time.
When you start a yoga program, you have the option of having pose instructions spoken, playing background music (currently limited to in-app music – no integration with your iTunes library at this point) and even having pose videos play in some cases. Each pose is timed and will automatically proceed to the next after the assigned time passes.
Once you have completed a yoga routine/program, the calendar on the home screen marks the date of your yoga, the time you spent in the routine, and which routine you worked through. This is a handy feature for anyone wishing to track their development as a yoga student and a great inclusion in the app.
If there is one nit to pick with All-In Yoga HD (and, thankfully, there seems to be only this one), it’s that it is severely gender-biased towards women. Everything, from the app icon to the background screens in-app, is pink with flowers everywhere. The poses are all performed by women, though, strangely, the audio instructions are spoken by a man. I’m not proposing that the developer have a male version and a female version – just a more gender neutral app. I’m sure there are many men (myself included) who practice yoga and would like to feel included in an app as strong and useful as this.
All-In Yoga HD is an impressive app for anyone interested in beginning a yoga routine or growing further as a yoga student. Gender bias aside, it is a fantastic app, and one that shows the potential of the iPad as a teaching/learning device.
Couch to 5K – The popular Couch To 5 K (C25K) Program was originally designed at CoolRunning.com to help new runners ease into the sport, allowing thousands of runners to participate and enjoy one of the most basic human activities without injury or pain. This is one of the more well designed C25K apps in the App Store, having been designed by Felt Tip, Inc. (experienced Mac and iPhone developers). Use this app to train yourself across 9 weeks, starting with very short activities and getting to 5K. You can use it with your own music playlists and it even integrates with Nike+. Voice prompts for starting and stopping can be made with a male or female voice, and includes a built-in music control tab for controlling your iPod functions while on the go. Share your runs with Facebook and Twitter friends, as well. It’s like having a trainer run along with you.
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-05-27 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness
Running Log – Some of us just want to track our data and don’t really want fancy GPS mapping or a trainer to tell us what to do. For those folks, Running Log may be the ticket, an app that simply lets you record your runs and make notes about them as to effort, duration, intensity, etc. See your stats in a handy report screen, or flip your iPhone sideways to landscape mode and see a visualisation graph of your entered data. Simple and effective for runners who already have their plans and runs in place.
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-09-09 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness
RunKeeper Pro – The granddaddy of running apps, this one tracks how far you went, how long it took, what your pace/speed was, how many calories you burned, and the path you traveled on a map. You can then upload each event to the runkeeper website, for archiving, sharing, and comparing your runs with yourself and others. Runkeeper Pro also includes interval training systems with voice prompts, iPod and playlist integration (start specific playlists when you start running), geo-tagged photo capabilities, time splits, and more. If you want it all in one package, this is the way to go.
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-01-14 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness
Motion Traxx – Far more than some electronica playlists, Motion Traxx is an app that streams the podcast of the same name, allowing listeners to run, walk or work out to music specifically crafted around workouts and BPM (beats per minute) to help motivate, maintain, and cool down a run or workout. In addition to being able to stream the podcasts (no iPhone space taken up by downloaded podcasts), users can bookmark favorite episodes, resume where they left of playback. Bonus content includes an advanced Run / Walk interval routine coached by Jeff Galloway, a respected runner, coach, and marathon enthusiast, and a boot camp style ‘indoor’ workout coached by celebrity trainer Kim Lyons, who starred on the hit reality TV show The Biggest Loser.
If you have an iPhone and want to keep track of your caloric intake and output, then FitClick Diet & Workout Tracker is one option for doing so. Working in conjunction with the Fit Click website, Fit Click Diet & Workout Tracker keeps track of your daily calorie balance by allowing you to input the foods you eat and the exercise you do each day and balancing them out for your review. New users must register with Fit Click to get started and give basic information, including your age, gender and target weight.
If you already use the Fit Click website, then you may be pleased to learn that Fit Click Diet & Workout Tracker syncs to the website, making it easier to keep track of your weight management plan. Conversely, if you are not a Fit Click user, you can still use the app to do basic calorie management, check the calorie content of foods, the approximate productivity of specific exercise, and how it all fits in to your calorie budget day to day.
The interface of Tempo Magic is extremely elegant, allowing you to add songs to your playlist with a couple of taps and control the BPM (beats per minute – a measure of tempo) of any song with a simple swipe of the slider in the middle of the screen. There are also options to lock all songs on the playlist at either the same BPM or the same percent speed increased or decreased. So If you want all your music played at 180 BPM that’s fine, or if you just want all your songs to be 8 percent faster the app can do that as well. 
If you are serious about exercise – the weightlifting, strength training, old school kind of exercise – then iFitness HD for the iPad might prove a good resource and training companion for you. It contains a wealth of information on over 300 different exercises, and these can be combined into an array of personalized workouts based upon your needs.
It’s this use of logs and documentation that permeates every aspect of iFitness HD. If there’s something you want to track during your exercise routines, iFitness has a way to track it. You can even sync your data to the iFitness servers so it’s never lost and so it can sync with the iFitness iPhone app.
The iPad is quickly establishing itself as more than a simple media consumption device — more than just a viewing/listening device for movies, books and music. Some developers are beginning to see the potential for the iPad as an actual teaching device, one that can interact and grow with students as they develop skills. All-In Yoga HD is part of this new vanguard of apps. It is not without a few minor issues, but it does show how the iPad can improve on the standard book or even video approach for teaching a skill.
When you start a yoga program, you have the option of having pose instructions spoken, playing background music (currently limited to in-app music – no integration with your iTunes library at this point) and even having pose videos play in some cases. Each pose is timed and will automatically proceed to the next after the assigned time passes.
If you have an iPhone and want to keep track of your caloric intake and output, then 
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