Japanese joggers to get exercise earphones with attitude
'Get off your fat arse, you lazy good-for-nothing...'
Not everyone can afford a personal trainer, so Japanese company Sega Toys has come up with the next best thing: a pair of headphones that nag you to exercise more.
Sega Toys' Body Trainer headphones monitor your exercise
The Body Trainer cans look like a pair of standard sporty headphones, but include a small clip that attaches to your earlobe through which they monitor your heartbeat.
Three exercise programs are built into the cans, including a 25-minute jogging session, but if the earlobe attachment decides you’re not keeping up the pace, then you’ll get a gentle reminder to “please exercise a little bit harder”.
A voice also tells you to calm down if you’re overstretching yourself.
Unfortunately, there’s no mention of different voices, so we don't know if you'll be able to choose to have an army drill sergeant scream at you Full Metal Jacket style, a nagging partner demand you take the binbags out, or a personal trainer suggest you’re at risk of a nasty leg cramp.
Nag, nag, nag
The headphones do allow your own music to be played though them, so exercise should be a little easier until the reminder kicks in. Buttons on each ear allow you to control all the usual features, such as volume and track selection.
A small display is built into the cans as well to display the various workout options, but it’s unclear if it’ll also show your vital signs to passers-by that find you on the pavement and gasping for air.
Sega Toys, not to be confused with the video game company, will launch its Body Trainer headphones in Japan this April for ¥5775 (£25/€35/$50). A European release date hasn’t been given. A video of the headphones at work can be downloaded here.
COMMENTS
COOL
What a good idea, we all know that we slack of this way it will give us a kick.
Just a small thing
I've been to Japan, and fat arses seem about as rare there as likeable politicians. Obviously this product is targetted at the western world.
@Jan Buys
I think you're missing the point; these are clearly for people who don't :)
@what?
Might have been smarter to post anonymously. Unless that's a fake name and some poor innocent is about to find himself in a great deal of trouble with no idea why.
HR
Problem with these things is the maximum and minimum HR limit's are usually too low; will it be adjustable?
I won't be in danger of anything other that breaking a sweat at 170bpm, so lets hope the nag limit can be adjusted to a suitably high level, and not a nanny-state-esque 155 or something. At which point I'm practically walking.
Paris 'cos she jogs too.
