So you’ve got your new fitness device. You put it on. Admire how snazzy it looks. Check out the functions. This little beauty can measure your heart rate, your calories and even track your sleep patterns.
And then comes the big question. What, exactly, are you supposed to do now?
It is the big conundrum for anyone wanting to get fit. You buy a tracker and then simply struggle to get the most from it. The stream of data is fascinating at first, in a what-does-it-all-mean sort of way. But you don’t know how far to run or what to eat.
And pretty quickly your motivation fades… and fades… until you dump the device in a draw and end up back on the couch.
The best solution? Use a digital fitness plan which works in tandem with a wearable device
The expensive answer is to hire a personal trainer. These drill sergeants will guarantee results. But the bill for a few sessions can cost more than the wearable device. Worse, they may be good at some aspects of fitness, such as cardio work, but not up to date when it comes to nutrition theory.
The best solution? Use a digital fitness plan which works in tandem with a wearable device.
The plan should offer nutritional advice, set out exercise routines and keep energy levels high by harnessing scientifically proven motivational triggers. Crucially, the plan should be targeted at a real-life goal, like losing weight, body toning or running 10k.
The Kiqplan range of fitness plans was built to meet this need. The plans, delivered as a smartphone app, provide a comprehensive training regime, using the data from a fitness tracker, smartphone or smartwatch.
It is compatible with a wide variety of fitness devices, such as Fitbug, Jawbone, Fitbit, Withings, Misfit, Samsung, Garmin, Nike+ and iHealth. It also works perfectly with ordinary Android and Apple smartphones such as the Samsung Gear S and the soon-to-be-released Apple Watch.
Rather than simply charting your miles run, your calories eaten or steps taken, the plans turn your data into training programmes designed to meet specific desires and ambitions. Take the Bikini Hot Kiqplan. Many women take up exercise in the spring with an eye on how they’ll look on the beach on their summer holiday. The Bikini Hot plan uses data from the fitness tracker or smartphone to tailor the perfect programme. It creates a daily work-out schedule, backed up by fitness videos and expert health tips. It uses calorie data to offer nutritional advice, including easy-to-make recipes.
For men who want to get fitter and toned for the summer, there is the catchily titled Sun’s Out, Guns Out. This Kiqplan delivers all the advice, dietary information and exercises men
need to look good in the summer. It is a fool-proof day-by-day fitness regime, which interprets the data delivered from a fitness tracker or smartphone to track progress.
For pregnant women there is the Healthy Baby Bump plan. This provides a gentle series of activities which is ideal for mums-to-be. Post-birth, mums can switch to Goodbye Baby Bump. As the name suggests, the plan is designed to hit a specific goal. This is part of the reason the success rate for Kiqplans is so high. The focus is clear and the advice always relevant, boosting the ability of users to stick with the programme.
“Our range is created by personal trainers, dieticians and qualified fitness experts,” says Fitbug’s Paul Landau. “What you get is all their specialist advice in one package, tailored precisely to help your chosen goal.”
Kiqplan’s trump card is motivation. It uses scientific principles to keep users fizzing with enthusiasm. Mr Landau explains: “We tap into hopes, aspirations, fears, optimisms. We understand the dynamics of motivation.”
A big part of this is keeping fitness fun. “When we say fun, we don’t mean childish,” he says. “It is about celebrating what you have achieved and helping you smile through the strain.”
The essence of Kiqplan is to take the business of getting fit away from the dry charts and numbers delivered by tracking devices. “It is about the softer side,” says Mr Landau. “Helping people go on a journey. People choose realistic, desirable goals and then get everything they need to get there.”
The Kiqplan approach is novel, but the firm itself is an old face in the space. Parent firm Fitbug has been making fitness trackers for a decade. “We have taken all that knowledge and applied it to Kiqplan. It has been built using that experience, plus the input from specialists, such as nutritionists, motivational experts, personal trainers and running coaches,” says Mr Landau.
Kiqplan offers everyone that expertise in an engaging, intuitive package. Above all, it works.
Visit Kiqplan.com
THE KIQPLANS
Retailing at £19.99, Kiqplan offers a family of training products including
- Slim & Trim – a weight-loss programme for women of all shapes and sizes
- Beer Belly Blaster – a male-focused weight and fitness programme to tone the torso
- Healthy Baby Bump – a personalised health and fitness plan for mums and baby in trimester 1 and 2
- Goodbye Baby Bump – toning programme to help ladies get back into the shape they were nine months ago.
These plans will be launched in May
- Your First 5k – getting you in shape for your first 5k run; training plans, nutrition and conditioning to overcome those first-run fears and get you to the end with a smile on your face
- 10k Run Ready – push yourself further with a more intense coaching programme to beat your personal best
- Bikini Hot – look great and feel great as you soak up the sun with a summer fitness and body toning plan to get you beach-confident
- Sun’s Out, Guns Out – look sharp and shape up for the summer with an all-round body toning, conditioning and work-outs to look great as the temperature rises
