Forever Fit – One of the biggest obstacles to health and wellness is one of fitness and fitness is something that can be obtained by most people. Most people here in America are unfit and this is avoidable. To be and maintain fitness requires some form of exercise on a regular basis and most exercise isn’t fun so most people who do so exercise out of external motivation (the negative consequences of not exercising). This motivation is hard to sustain without repeated effort. Hence fitness boot camps are effective while people are enrolled and participating as the instructors keep people busy with varied exercises once the class begins. That motivation isn’t there at home. Most of the exercises in a typical boot camp do not require any special equipment so they could really be done at home – but that doesn’t happen in practice because people aren’t motivated at home.

How do we solve this and consequently the problem of fitness in America and most of the world?

The answer is a fitness app that can run on any modern smart phone paired with a Bluetooth headset that can send exercise instructions and encouragement by voice, be operated by human voice (speech recognition) so that there is no need to use your hands or keep looking at a phone (really awkward while working out), and can create a randomized workout based on the user’s criteria.

I would also include a facility to join or start a shared workout with other users who decide to do an online shared workout so you are not working out by yourself.

Another (VISUAL) option – (for users with a Samsung Gear VR) and compatible phone or inexpensive Google Cardboard alternative to see each custom exercise demonstrated in animation and executed in VR (Virtual Reality) whilst working out. These can work as these headsets are wire free and can be used while working out. With image pass-through enabled ( which allows the user to see the outside world at the same time – the animation of the exercise would be superimposed upon the view of the real world ( effectively augmenting reality) and allowing the user to still remain visually connected to the real world. The visual scenery can be altered like you are moving through a virtual forest while doing pushups or cycling movements with your legs and twisting your body left and right to avoid bumping into virtual trees in the forest.

The exercise programs would be selected through voice driven / or touch as an alternative options.

The user would be able to make various selections and save them for later:

• total workout duration
• duration of each exercise
• level of difficulty
• area to target (whole body, arms, legs, chest etc)
• random workout
• workouts including equipment (medicine ball etc)

The user would be able to control and change the workout mid workout if they wanted to by saying “repeat exercise”, “Skip exercise”, “end workout”. The app would also ask questions of the user and offer words of encouragement. If ( by reading the accelerometer) the user appeared not to be moving much , the app could repeat words of encouragement e.g. “ one more ..” or “you can do it”.

Technology

• Android or IOS
  Unity 3d
• Smartphone
• bluetooth headset
• Gear VR or Google Cardboard (optional for enhanced experience)

In conclusion – this app would be :

• really easy and simple to use – yet highly configurable
• require minimal setup and commands to use effectively yet be able to process many instructions
• fun – as its quick to fire up and by combining pieces of different exercises (e.g. left hand on the ground , while raising and lowering the right leg)
• versatile – doesn’t require equipment and can be used anywhere ( even in an office)
• inexpensive and accessible to most (smart phone and Bluetooth headset that you use for hands free speech).