6 Tools To Help Transform You Into An Athlete

Face it, you’re a nerd (you are reading Gizmodo, aren’t you?). Nerds and sports have traditionally been mutually exclusive, but that’s no longer the case. Technology is your friend. Here are six tools to make you a champ.

Image via Shutterstock

Finis Swimsense Monitor
In swimming, the quality of your stroke is everything. The Finis Swimsense is loaded with magnetometers and accelerometers which can tell you your stroke count, stroke rate and distance-per-stroke for the four major stroke (freestyle, back, breast, butterfly). You can then upload that data to your computer where you can analyse your cumulative data and find out where you need to improve. $US200.

Keiser Air300 Runner
The preferred training tool of future football Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the Air300 Runner trains the lower body to improve acceleration and power to make football players more explosive from a standstill. Our own Andrew Tarantola explains how it works:

Users lean forward at a 45-degree angle against the front shoulder pads and place their feet in the pedal stirrups. These are connected to swing arms that use externally compressed air as resistance. This allows the machine to precisely match the user’s exertion and provide the perfect amount of drag-anywhere from 10 to 345 pounds worth. The compressed air also prevents the need to have 300+ pounds of weight stacks slinging through the air, always a good thing.

$US4000.


Adidas AdiZero Crazy Lights Basketball Shoes
Nike are the ones who normally get the cred for having the techiest shoes on the market, but its actually Adidas who currently make the lightest available basketball shoe. Weighing just 278g apiece, it owes much of its lightness to SprintWeb, a super light mesh material which covers most of the shoe and lets your foot breathe. In basketball, a quick first step can be lethal and a light shoe never hurt. $US130.


Tiger Woods: My Swing iPhone App
When it comes to Golf, form is everything. Putting your weight on the wrong foot or not twisting your hips enough can be the difference between getting on the green and getting lost in the trees. The Tiger Woods: My Swing iPhone app can record video of your swing and tell you all the ways you’re terrible at golf. If you still have the resolve to improve after that, you’ll know how. $10.49.


Prince Synthetic Gut Tennis Racket Strings
Preferred choice of serious tennis players when it comes to their rackets. Made of an ultra soft material taken from a cow’s stomach, Gut minimises impact shock (thus preventing tennis elbow) while allowing players to maintaining power and control. But it’s expensive. The most expensive. However, synthetic gut provides most of the same advantages while being dramatically cheaper. $US5-$US15.


Lib Tech Banana Magic Snowboard
When it comes to Snowboarding tech, Lib Tech makes some of the most advanced boards around. Their Banana Magic board has extra deep sidecuts, which allow you to effortlessly manoeuvre with speed and stability in all conditions. $US700.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.