As many parts of the country shivered through the coldest morning in years, we thought it was the perfect time to round up some winter workout gear to keep you warm and moving regardless of the weather outside.
Just in time, Aldi has released a collection of fitness Special Buys available this week, including some gear that means you won’t even have to leave the house to work up a sweat.
Plus there are some other cosy and colourful options around for any budget.
It’s never too late to kickstart those health and fitness goals for 2023, or if you need a little bit of extra help to keep on track, Aldi’s fitness range is landing at the perfect time.
Arriving on Saturday January 28, this Special Buys range includes tech gadgets, clothing and at-home equipment.
You can build your own at-home gym with a full range of exercise equipment including dumbbell sets, weights, and resistance bands.
Plus the cult-favourite massage gun is also making its return for the bargain price of $89.99. The perfect tool for recovery.
If you need some new athleisure for your wardrobe, there is also an extensive range of adult fitness clothes.
Customers are encouraged to visit the Special Buys Delay page here to know which of these items will be available at your local Aldi and when.
Check out some of the new gear we’re excited about.
As someone who has been using a Fitbit for years I was excited to see what Google came up with after merging the best of Fitbit’s health tracking capabilities with Google’s Wear OS in its brand new Pixel Watch.
And I was definitely not disappointed. Though there are a few hiccups one might expect in a first-generation smartwatch, overall the Pixel Watch stands apart from Samsung’s suite of Galaxy watches enough that it almost feels like an Apple Watch for Android users.
Last month Google unveiled its first ever smartwatch the Pixel Watch. (Supplied)
The new 41 mm Google Pixel Watch features a circular, domed-shaped Gorilla Glass display that’s scratch- and water-resistant. I wore it during a two-week holiday to the US that included horse riding, 4wdriving and two days at a theme park hitting up roller coasters and there is not a mark on it.
It does promises up to 24 hours of battery life but when I compare it to how long a Fitbit can last these days as soon as you decide to do anything on it during that time the battery life left a little to be desired.
The battery only just lasts long enough on a day-to-day basis when you have the screen always on, the health-monitoring features active, and the “bedtime mode” with sleep tracking overnight.
But if you track any exercise during the day, or in my case clock up over 30,000 steps traipsing around Disneyland, then the watch won’t last the night, meaning you will have to charge it before bed to track your sleep. Good news is you’ll get 50 per cent battery back in just 30 minutes.
The Google Pixel Watch did the rounds at Disneyland. (Nine/Supplied)
The watch certainly looks and feels well made, and is comfortable to wear. Despite being quite thick, its smooth finish slides under shirts and jumpers without issue.
It also assists with emergency SOS and supports a handful of Google services, including Google Wallet, Gmail and calendar updates.
Combining all of this with Fitbit’s tracking capabilities, was certainly the highlight, as the Pixel Watch can monitor a user’s heart rate and sleep quality, offers 40 workout modes, and learns user behaviour over time.
It will work with most Android phones with access to the Google Play Store. (Supplied)
The experience is very similar to what you get on Fitbit’s Versa and Sense fitness trackers, providing steps, calories, sedentary alerts, all-day heart rate and ECGs, but no irregular heartbeat notifications, temperature sensor or fall detection yet.
And the sleep tracking is good, with cycles, breathing rate and heart-rate variability all recorded.
It’s a feature the Apple Watch always fell a little short on, due to the need to add additional apps in order to track sleep, and very rarely did the battery last long enough for that.
Plus, if you add a Fitbit premium subscription you get even more information about your sleep habits, including a monthly sleep profile. I tend to bounce between a bear and a tortoise it seems.
The Pixel Watch includes Fitbit’s tracking capabilities, such as its sleep tracking. (Supplied)
Because the watch does so much and is essentially integrating the best of two different worlds, it can take some time to set up. But once everything is optimised it’s incredible easy to use and very responsive. (though there is not much hope of using the on-screen keyboard to respond to any messages with adult-sized fingers!)
It will work with most Android phones with access to the Google Play Store but not with Apple’s iPhone. And while you can get it in a 4G LTE option that is only currently through Telstra.
Google Pixel Watch starts at $549 (Bluetooth®/ Wi-Fi) and is available at the Google Store, Officeworks and Harvey Norman. The 4G LTE version is available for $649 at the Google Store and Telstra. Accessory bands start from $69.
As someone who has for many years refused to switch completely over to Apple (though my iPod is still going strong), the Google Pixel Watch seems to bridge that gap a little, though it is priced a little higher than the Galaxy Watch by Samsung.
And yet, the way it merges the best of Fitbit with Google’s Wear OS, could just make it my favourite watch yet – now we just need to work on the battery life!
There are stylish eco-friendly new pieces for men and women – including hoodies, tees, shorts, joggers, jackets, accessories and more.
The products use a variety of materials, such as the Quilted Ravioli fabric (made from 60 per cent recycled polyester) which is found in the Joggers, Shorts, Pullover Hoodie, and Rec Crew. The fabric is treated with a plant seed-based finish to help wick sweat.
Check out some more sustainable activewear so you can work out for you and the planet.
When it comes to specific types of training, true exercise buffs know not all footwear is created equal.
“When we run in a shoe that doesn’t have the correct support we run the risk of injury,” fitness model and wellness advocate Sophie Guidolin tells 9Honey.
In the past, this saw the mum and author swapping into multiple different trainers per workout.
“Once upon a time I needed a squat shoe, running shoe and general weights shoe,” she says.
Squat shoes would be a nightmare to run in, being typically heavy and featuring a heel, according to the fitness pro.
More recently as Reebok ambassador, Guidolin has made the switch to Nano X1’s, an all-purpose trainer that she says finally allows her to pound the treadmill, squat and box jump in one session.
“When you wear a versatile shoe you can include high-intensity movements and exercises are supersets then — from deadlifts to box jumps to running. No need to change your shoe!”
Keen to trade in all your trainers for one multi-functional pair? We’ve rounded up some of the best cross performance shoes in the biz.
Wearables have (surely?) reached their peak by now. With a dizzying number of smartwatches competing for your Christmas and Boxing Day dollars this summer, it’s worth asking: what’s so good about the new Fitbit Versa 3 ($399.95)?
The swish new smartwatch, which landed in Australia earlier this year, is certainly easy on the eye, with a subtle new look that takes its design and interface cues from the brand’s top-of-the-line Fitbit Sense. This includes softer lines, greater comfort and more effortless navigation. Oh, and the magnetic charger certainly ups its cool factor, too.
Fitness buffs can choose from four different infinity band colours — black, lunar white, midnight and — my favourite — pink clay.
But given the significant price hike for the third iteration of the smartwatch (with Fitbit Versa 2 currently retailing for $249 — almost $150 cheaper), Aussie shoppers will no doubt be wondering what they’re getting for their extra coin — though it’s worth noting that the price tag is still significantly more affordable than the cheapest Apple watch, with an entry price of around $599.
9Honey road-tested the device, outlining some of our favourite new features so you can decide for yourself.
PIctured: Fitbit Versa 3 smartwatch in ‘Midnight’ and ‘Pink Clay’. (Fitbit)
1. Active Zone Minutes
Many of the newer model Fitbits (including the Charge 4 fitness tracker) now include Active Zone Minutes — a nifty little feature that tracks your heart rate and buzzes when you enter your fat burn/cardio/peak heart rate “zone”. The real-time buzzing does deliver that extra hit of endorphins in the short-term, but I like how it also tracks your weekly exercise goal of earning 150 Active Zone Minutes a week, based on World Health Organization recommendations. I found the feature particular telling on morning walks — because it’s a given that a body combat session is going to tip you into peak heart-rate territory, but it’s nice to know those park stairs are putting you through your paces as well.
2. GPS
I first fell in love with this feature on the Charge 4, and it’s an oh-so-welcome addition on the Versa 3. No need to bring your phone along to track your run — you don’t even need to fiddle with buttons on the touchscreen interface, because soon after you start jogging the Fitbit running app kicks in, and automatically tracks your run pace, distance and records it all on a map, so you can pour over all the geeky stats later and monitor for improvements on each subsequent run. That’s not the only way in which GPS is utilised but it’s certainly my favourite.
3. Built-in speaker and microphone
Thanks to a swish new audio tech upgrade, the Versa 3 gives Android phone users the ability to answer phone calls via their wrist — sadly, an Android user I am not, so I didn’t get to test it out. But I was able to test out the Spotify app — music lovers can choose from partners Deezer, Pandora and Spotify to create curated playlists that they can control with a flick of the wrist. Unfortunately, it does need to connect to your phone via bluetooth to access this feature, so you can’t go phone-free just yet. My bluetooth headphones easily paired with the smartwatch for listening.
More techy folks can also enjoy the addition of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, useful for voice controlling your smart home devices, setting reminders, checking the whether or updating your shopping list. I am not this techy.
4. Fitbit Pay
I also lucked out with the very cool Fitbit Pay feature, but it’s definitely worth a mention as it lets you add cards and use your watch to pay for retail items at the swish of a wrist. As fate would have it, none of my bank cards were compatible with the app, but there are tons of major Australian banks that are — ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, Bendigo and Bankwest to name a few.
If you’re Sydney based, this feature can also be used to pay for various transit trips, including Sydney trains, NSW TrainLink Intercity trains, Sydney and Newcastle light rail and Sydney Ferries.
5. Swim proof
One can’t help but feel that making the Versa 3 water-resistant for up to 50 metres was a bit of an unnecessary flex — I mean, 50 metres, Fitbit?Really?
Of course, as we wade into what’s already proving an oppressively hot and sticky La Niña summer, I’m the last person you’ll hear complaining about getting to take the smartwatch into the ocean or pool for a dip, leaving me free to track pool laps or shower without removing it. Fabulous!
The writer was given a Fitbit Versa 3 for review, but all opinions are her own.
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