Exercise Equipment Reviews

Progio Training Companion

Thank you to Darren Hughes of Satellite Fitness, here in Melbourne (Australia), for alerting me to the Progio Training Companion, a pocket device that provides fitness instruction (with its own video screen) and monitors your progress.

According to the Progio website:

Progio is an interactive hand-held fitness system that provides step-by-step instructions of your personal workouts, monitors your heart rate and tracks your workout results. It’s like having your personal trainer in your pocket, anytime, anywhere.

With Progio, you can work out in the gym, in your home or while you’re on the road. You work out on your time, without an appointment, in any place that’s convenient for you.

Progio partners with leading trainers and coaches worldwide to bring you a wide variety of workout choices. You purchase fitness, sports or rehab workouts from the best training resources online and those workouts are automatically synchronized with your Progio device.

An introductory video is also available at the website.

Ubergizmo wrote:

The Progio Training Companion comes with a 320 x 240 resolution display, showing you exercise videos while keeping track of various information like progress, your pulse rate, and even time your workouts. All performance data is then uploaded to the Companion Worlds website where you can chart your progress graphically while downloading other workout plans that help you improve in specific areas. The Progio Training Companion retails for $399 or $499 with the heart rate monitor, elevating it to a purchase where only serious health buffs would indulge in.

Business Wire said:

A stylish, all-in-one hand-held personal mobile fitness device, the Progio Training Companion gives users a virtual, digital personal trainer they can take with them to use at the gym, at home, while traveling or wherever they exercise or train. It provides users with comprehensive, interactive workouts complete with videos demonstrating proper form and cadence for each exercise on a color LCD display. Designed for action, the unit is rugged and sweat-proof, yet it's as easy to use as a digital music player.

"The Progio Training Companion works much like popular portable music players, such as iPods, for which users have a wide range of sources for content to put on the device," said Dirk Bartels, CEO, Companion Worlds. "It connects to the Internet, so users can access a number of Web sites to download a variety of sports and fitness exercise programs from leading trainers, coaches and fitness portals. One site configures workouts based on the user's personal profile; another one lets the user's personal trainer design customized workout programs. Whatever the content source, the workouts are automatically downloaded onto the Progio Training Companion. It's the next best thing to having a live trainer or coach with you when you work out."

May  16th, 2007