Nike+ Training Club app offers free sport-star training drills

Denzil Pinto 08:54 14/08/2014
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  • Maria magic: Follow in Sharapova’s footsteps by using Nike’s app.

    Turn your home into a gym by reaching for your smart­phone, as a new generation of revolutionary workout apps place expert fitness instructions at your fingertips.

    Millions of people are now turning to their phones to keep in shape, ensuring an effective ses­sion wherever and whenever they want.

    And with sky-high gym member­ship prices putting many people off, these cost-effective workout apps for Android and iPhone users make it cheaper than ever to keep in shape.

    While there are hundreds of apps out there, seeing positive results on your body is a key ele­ment for those who exercises.

    One of the market leaders is the free to download Nike+ Training Club app (N+TC), with approxi­mately 15 million members follow­ing the same exercise routines as tennis superstars Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, footballer Hope Solo, British 400 metres runner Perri Shakes-Drayton and American sprinter Allyson Felix.

    It’s a convenient and effective alternative to a personal trainer with access to a range of activities that work for some of the finest athletes out there?

    The app also provides a cure to the problem of trying to fit exercise into a packed schedule, allowing you to break sweat at a time most suitable to the hectic demands of juggling work and family.

    Users will also never be short of motivation despite the absence of human interaction according to Marie Purvis, who is a Nike Train­ing Club master trainer and one of the original archi­tects of the N+TC app.

    “The four-week pro­grammes encourage the female athlete to keep pushing herself to be better, just as a personal trainer would,” she said.

    “By following the advice in the app and sticking to the programme, she’ll be able to achieve her goals.”

    She added: “The app is a powerful tool in large part because of its impressive library of workouts.

    “But its value also lies in its abil­ity to educate, inform and inspire athletes through training tips, fit­ness knowledge and motivational messages.”

    Although it’s aimed at women, this shouldn’t put off men downloading the app, which is packed full of very demanding and intense exercises.

    The full-body train­ing app caters to every fitness level and this is shown when you go on the homepage after download­ing the simple and easy to understand application on your smartphone.

    You can choose from four exercise options that you want to work on – ‘Get Lean’, which are high interval cardio drills, ‘Get Toned’ – which consists of lightweights, ‘Get Strong’ – which features increased weights and reps to build your strength and ‘Get Focused’ – a series of 15-minute workouts to target specific areas such as drills on hips and building speed and stability.

    Whichever category you choose, there are different fitness levels – beginner, intermediate and advanced – for a workout which can range from 15 to 45 minutes.

    The aims of the workout is introduced at the start so you know what parts of the body will be tested throughout the session.

    Before you begin the workout, you can see how each exercise is done with photos, a how-to description (step by step) and video demonstrations with voi­ceover. The routines are properly described by the narrator, who also motivates you during the workout.

    After completing a tough workout, you will see how many calories you have burned, how many minutes you’ve taken and be incentivised to keep on pushing with a breakdown of how many points you have earned on your way to unlocking future rewards.

    You can also work out to your own rhythm as the app allows you to play your own music, with an added bonus provided by the fact you don’t need to use the Internet to access it.

    With Nike’s high-profile athletes featured in the app it provides motivation to work hard like the stars and make a positive impact on your body.

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