The Digital Jane Fonda

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The New York Sun

Nearly a quarter-century after a leotard- and leg warmer-clad Jane Fonda came out with her first workout videocassette, there’s a new generation of guided exercise regimens. These are formatted not for a VCR, but for a digital music player.

iPods have been popular with joggers and gym members since they made their debut five years ago. Nike and Apple recently developed a sneaker insert that wirelessly signals an iPod — tracking its user’s time, distance, pace, and calories burned during a walk or run. And iTunes (www.itunes.com) offers more than two-dozen free fitness podcasts, which guide listeners through a variety of aerobic, weight-training, yoga, and Pilates workouts. Some of the routines are geared toward newer, video-enabled iPods, and include a visual demonstration of the movements.

Those willing to pay for a virtual trainer have more options, especially now that a growing number of exercise instructors are selling downloadable iPod-friendly training seminars online. Content and costs vary widely. Cycling coach Matthew Reyes’ “20-Minute Indoor Cycle Sweat Fest,” for example, costs $5 at Audible (www.audible.com). The “Pumped Mama,” an audio-visual three-tiered post-pregnancy workout, meanwhile, is $49 at PumpOne (www.pumpone.com); and a range of marathon preparation programs is available for $99 each at Training Peaks (www.trainingpeaks.com). There’s even a canine-friendly option: For $20, dog owners can purchase “Bow Wow Bootcamp” (www.bowwowbootcamp.com) — billed as “a great fitness workout for pooches and their pet humans.”

The appeal of a digital workout is similar to that of its video predecessor. Trainers may urge exercisers to speed up, slow down, or attempt a specified fitness challenge. In her $50 weighttraining program, “Sound Body Trainer” (www.soundbodytrainer.com), instructor Traci Godfrey reminds listeners to focus on their form. “Are your knees bent at a 90-degree angle?” Ms. Godfrey, who has created seven “Sound Body” audio workouts, asks. “Is your back against the chair? … You know you’re using the right weight if it begins to get tough at the 10th or 12th repetition.”

A 46-year-old mother of three, Tammy Cassaro, discovered the MP3 training series “Cardio Coach” (www.cardiocoach.com) two years ago, and said she has been “hooked” ever since. “It’s like having a personal coach saying, ‘Keep going. I know you’re tired,'” Ms. Cassaro, who lives in Delmar, N.Y., said. “At the very minute you want to stop, you hear, ‘Don’t quit now.'”

“Cardio Coach” founder Sean O’Malley created his first digital audio workout in 1998 — three years before Apple introduced its iPod — for one of his personal training clients who owned an early MP3 player and traveled frequently for business. About five years ago, Mr. O’Malley began selling his exercise MP3s for about $15 each. He has since produced nine cardiovascular workouts, all of which can be used while exercising on treadmills, elliptical, or stair-climbing machines.

Though tens of thousands of people have purchased Mr. O’Malley’s workouts, the MP3 trainer was initially a hard sell, he said.”At first people were unfamiliar with the technology,” he said. “Having a voice guiding you through an interval workout wasn’t a concept that existed.”

Some of those exercising Sunday along the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan said they intended to try some of the guided MP3 workouts on the market. Others, like 30-year-old Midtown resident Mary Wilson, said they were content listening to a medley of her favorite tunes. When it comes to getting through a challenging workout, Ms. Wilson said, “Music is more important than someone telling me what to do.”


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