Fitness on the Go in the Decade of the iPod

If variety is the spice of a workout, then meet variety’s new best friend: the MP3 workout movement. Let’s face it: if you’re a gym rat, you’ve probably been bored of flat, tired routines and wished for a little variation than the traditional 40 minute tread-mill pounding. And too many personal training sessions can leave your bank balance too fragile to handle ad hoc shopping sprees.

Now, several websites are offering MP3 workout files that you can purchase online and download to your iPod or MP3 player of choice.

For example, iTrain.com, the brainchild of co-founders Grace Lazenby and Sebastian Reant, offers a variety of workouts by fitness experts in a highly sophisticated, easy-to-use format. Simply log-on to iTrain.com and download the type of workout you want to do on gym equipment such as the treadmill or stationary bike. There are also workouts that incorporate climbing, body sculpting or graceful ballet-like moves—you can do these at home.

Workout bundles at iTrain.com include a Resolutions Package ($49.99 for 12 months), a Monthly Motivator bundle ($9.99 per month) or a la carte options that start at 99 cents each.

Says co-founder Grace Lazenby, “I was constantly at the gym, and I realized that what people really need is entertainment. Music is such an important part of iTrain because it motivates people. When the iPod came out, I saw the potential to create a totally different world for exercise enthusiasts. Everyone at Equinox (in Los Angeles) had an iPod.”

Lazenby professes that her philosophy is that there is “no one perfect exercise,” since it depends on your personal preference and body type. iTrain has eleven different programs, and each workout has different levels.

“iTrain workouts have commentary by five of the top trainers in the country who have been in the business for a long time,” says Lazenby. “It’s like getting a personal training session at your home or at the gym for a fraction of the cost of hiring a personal trainer.”

A veteran pilates trainer, Alycea Ungaro, is featured on iAmplify.com, a website containing a variety of MP3-downloadable files on a spread of topics from Beauty, Health to Business. Her “Portable Pilates” workout starts at $4.95 and guides the listener through a series of pilates exercises to tone and strengthen the core abdominal area, as well as the back, buttocks and thighs.

“I wrote an illustrated book in 2000 called Portable Pilates, and iAmplify.com approached me about taking some of this content to MP3 files,” Ungaro says. “Pilates is the perfect exercise to lay a foundation for fitness. It ensures mind and muscle control.”

The basic pilates workout is for beginners of all levels. Ungaro records each exercise individually, and also records the workout over and over again so that they’re never the same. She also agrees that sound plays a key role in recording these workouts, and a good soundtrack conveys a proper sense of movement. “The tempo has to be attractive,” she says.

To download these workouts visit www.iTrain.com and www.iAmplify.com.