Pocket Personal Trainer

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- What's your exercise routine? In a national survey, six out of ten women said they exercise three or more times a week. But even if you do have good workout habits, you know the usual routine can get boring, and a gym membership or personal trainer can cost big money. Now, there's a new kind of personal trainer you can put in your pocket.

For Anne Smith, it's a $55-a-month gym membership.

"You just fit it in as part of your regular routine, like brushing your teeth," Smith told Ivanhoe. "You got to do it."

For Stacey Gonyea it's a personal trainer.

"I guess maybe about couple hundred dollars a month, or people can spend more it depends on how often you train," Gonyea said.

And we spend $5 billion a year on fitness gear -- from barbells to iPod diets and timing chips.

The latest trend -- a pocket-sized trainer in your phone. We asked personal trainer Karlyn Nguyen, a certified personal trainer at Personal Fitness Fit For Life in Syracuse, N.Y., and her client Linh Nguyen to put it to the test for one week.

This iPhone application takes you step by step through 100 exercises

"It does give you a wide variety of different exercises," Karlyn explained. "The bad thing, I think, it would be really hard for somebody to learn those exercises if they've never seen somebody doing them in action and having somebody correct them."

On the plus side…

"You can log how many repetitions, and so you can see your progress day to day and that's really nice," Linh said.

At just $1.99, it could be a workout bargain, but like anything else, you have to stick to it.

"It might be a good concept and it might have good exercises on it but it people won't use it, people aren't doing it, then it's pretty worthless," Karlyn said.

The iPhone's iFitness application and other workout programs are designed to let you take your workout wherever you go. But both Karlyn and Linh agree no gadget or program can provide the motivation a personal trainer can to help you stick with your workout routine. If you can't afford a trainer or gym membership, they suggest working out with a friend to keep your exercise plan on track.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Karlyn Nguyen, knguyen@gmail.com