Look down at your BlackBerry and imagine him (or her) being your own personal gym buddy – With a few little tweaks, I’ve been able to get my BlackBerry to guide me as I workout, play my favourite tunes with one key access to change my music on the go, while conveniently having it strapped on my waist (and once I upgrade to the Storm – strapped to my arm). It does about everything a perfect gym buddy would do for me, except for being a spot of course.
So on that note, I’d like to share a bit of what I know to help you also transform your BlackBerry into your very own personalized gym pal.
To start off, if you don’t already have one, you are going to need a BlackBerry. There are lots of models out there to choose from, but all the BlackBerries released in the past few years are media-ready and would be a great choice. The BlackBerry Pearl is great as it has a small form-factor and is quite light. It can fit compactly into your gym shorts as you workout.
The newer media rich models, such as the Bold, the new Curve, or even the new touch screen Storm, are great with their higher resolution screens. It is much easier to navigate through songs and apps, and also, you can load video podcasts on it to watch while running on the treadmill or ellipitical trainers.
Now once you get your Blackberry,
- Load up your music on your BlackBerry
Connect your BlackBerry music playlist to your iTunes – This part is free as well and great if you already have your workout music playlist ready in iTunes. You can read all about syncing your iTunes library with your BlackBerry using BlackBerry's Media Sync, by reading our previous blog post here. It is now available for both the PC and Mac. Alternatively, you can also use Roxio Media Manager that comes with the BlackBerry Installation CD when you bought your BlackBerry.
Protect your BlackBerry from all that workout sweat with a silicone skin case. You can get a sleek looking case with almost any color of your choice. Most cases are below $10 so worth the investment.
Get a set of earphones. We like the ear-buds headphones as they really help block out the noise at the gym so you can focus on your workout. They also hold a little better when you are running on the treadmill or ellipitical trainers. The JBuds J2 Premium Hi-FI Noise Isolating Earbuds
are a great deal and they are a great, durable set of headphones that's not too pricey so you won't feel bad sweating over it.
- Carry your workouts on your BlackBerry using Gym Technik.
This part is easy since it's free. If you are a beginner, Gym Technik on your BlackBerry will guide you from start to finish for your workout. Complete with visuals and descriptions, it is the ideal gym partner.
For regular gym users, it is quite common for us to forget what weights we lifted the last time, or even how often we've been working out for the past month - Gym Technik takes care of this for you. If you're going to bring your BlackBerry to the gym to listen to your music, why not track your workouts on it too?
So if you don't have an account yet, then make sure you sign up here to get your BlackBerry loaded with the right tools to be your gym buddy.
- Reconfigure some of your shortcut keys for quick access to music as you workout
From using Gym Technik and my music on my BlackBerry, I've learnt a few shortcuts and key configurations that are great for using the BlackBerry at the gym.
Setup one of your BlackBerry convenience keys “Application Switcher” – This allows for easy toggling between Gym Technik and your music playlist as you workout. You can easily set this up with the following steps:
- Visit the “Options” on your BlackBerry
- Select “Screen/Keyboard”
- Scroll down to “Right Side Convenience Key Opens” and set it to “Application Switcher”
So they next time you’re at the gym and need to change the tunes you’re listening to as your tracking on Gym Technik – Just hit the right side convenience key and scroll over to your media list, and in one motion you’re changing your music. And do the same to toggle back to Gym Technik.
You might wish to configure your Home Screen too by moving a few items around.
- Move your Browser to the top ribbon.
- There are actually 2 icons you can get to your music. One is your media library icon, one is your music library icon. Move the media library out of the way and move your music library icon up into the top ribbon. This way, you don't have to constantly go into your media library and click music. It's just one shortcut directly into your music.
Starting/Stopping/Skipping Songs Without Looking At Your Screen
A little known shortcut key if you've actually thumbed through the BlackBerry user manual, is the music controls shortcuts. These shortcuts are great as you can feel for the buttons of your BlackBerry through your workout gear and quickly change the songs.If you have music playing on your BlackBerry,
- If you hold down either the Volume Up, or Volume Down control, it will allow you to skip through the songs on your BlackBerry.
- If you press the Mute button, it pauses or resumes the current playing song.
With these "tweaks" to my BlackBerry I have really been able to get my Bold to be that dedicated gym partner on the days when I don't seem to have my actual gym buddies around, or even when they are - Except when I need a spot of course.
Train Like The Professionals
Manage your fitness and track your workouts through your smartphone using your Free Gym Technik account.
