Upgrade your treadmill experience! iFit helps you bypass boring routes to fitness, and this free guide shows how. Our iFit guide can be useful whether you’re deciding to buy a treadmill with iFit or are already an owner. Learn about workout creation, stats tracking and iFit’s online community.
Table of Contents
Read the iFit guide straight through or skip around…
Part 1: iFit Workout Programs and Challenges
– Google Maps workouts
– Video workouts
– Time and distance workouts
– Challenges
Part 2: Stats Tracking
– Your Fit Score
– Log workouts
– Log nutrition
– Log weight and sleep
Part 3: Building Community
– Add your biography
– Add other users to your iFit account
Free iFit Membership
Besides reading our iFit guide, undecided readers might try a 30-day free iFit membership. Even without access to an iFit-friendly fitness machine, you can use a trial membership to explore the app on your desktop computer or mobile device. You can create workouts, view message boards, and log health activity such as calories consumed, outdoor walks and bike rides.
Introduction
iFit is an all-in-one fitness app. Its vibrant Google Street View workouts stand out in treadmill ads, but the app also provides workout programs in more traditional formats and is an easy-to-use health tracker for data about sleep, diet, exercise and more.
Key points about the app include:
The app can sync with iFit treadmills and other iFit cardio machines to log workout data automatically.
iFit can track fitness activity that takes place elsewhere at home, outdoors or with other gym equipment.
You can access iFit from anywhere. iFit apps work with fitness machines, Bluetooth mobile devices, desktop computers and TVs.
The four fitness equipment brands using iFit are ProForm, NordicTrack, FreeMotion, and Reebok. (These brands all have the same parent company, Icon Health and Fitness.) iFit wiring is included on many of their treadmills, elliptical trainers and exercise bikes.
Part 1: iFit Workout Programs and Challenges
With iFit there’s always a path less traveled. Choose from an infinite variety of workouts including programs that you create and programs posted by iFit or community members.
Main categories of iFit workouts are Google Maps workouts, video workouts and time/distance workouts. Workouts that users design can also be turned into competitions or challenges. Here are overviews.
Google Maps Workouts with Google Street View
Hike the Himalayas, run the Boston Marathon or enjoy the Pacific coastline — all from your treadmill with iFit Google Maps workouts. You can virtually experience just about any route in the world. Two basics of Google Maps workouts are:
iFit treadmills with inclines can automatically adjust to mimic topography. Entry-level treadmills can tilt up to 10 percent. Top-of-the-line treadmills with iFit have generous incline ranges of -6 to 20 percent.
Enjoy the view! As you walk or run, an interactive Google Street View (if available) will stream to your screen. Roads with Street View available are highlighted during workout setup.
Some treadmills with iFit, such as the Boston Marathon 3.0 Treadmill, have race routes preloaded to their consoles. On most iFit treadmills though you’ll download a program before workout time. Draw your own route or choose from premium content:
Draw a Google Maps Route
Train virtually along scenic coastlines, busy cities, national parks and more! Choose “Create” and then “Map Based Workout” to get started…
Set up an interactive training route by using the “Search Location” box to zoom in on a region, and then simply click map points. In the screenshot below we’ve clicked most points for a run through scenic Barcelona. We can choose “Close Loop” to let iFit finish drawing a route.
As you draw, helpful data are displayed such as the route’s total distance, elevation changes and an estimate of calorie burn. Note that your weight must be logged (go to “Log”) for the calorie function to work best.
Choose a Premium iFit Workout
Setting up map workouts is fun, but you can save time choosing an iFit Premium workout instead. Access these by choosing “Library” from the main menu. Some program titles are “Backpack Europe,” “Famous 5Ks” and “Calorie Burn 4 Week Training Program.” Here’s a sampling from the ever-growing selection:
The difficulty of iFit Premium workouts can be filtered by levels 1 – 5.
Video Workouts
iFit members have access to an ever-growing library of workout videos for training away from the treadmill. These are high definition and feature celebrity personal trainers such as Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Jillian Michaels. Some examples of iFit video series are “Kickboxing” and “Fit Mommies.” Here are some program graphics:
Each iFit video series has many workouts to help make exercise a regular activity.
Customized Time and Distance Workouts
As shown above, one option in iFit is creating map-based workouts. Additionally iFit lets you easily build workouts with specific speeds, inclines and distances. iFit provides a template; simply move the speed and incline lines to change settings.
In the image below, the pink line shows speed being set for different segments of a workout. The default for speed is 1 mph.
To adjust the incline, click the square “Incline” button and a yellow line will appear. The iFit program builder can overlap speed and incline settings to help you understand a program’s overall demand:
In addition to pushing yourself with such workouts, you can challenge other iFit members to beat your time. Read on for an overview of iFit challenges.
Challenges
Bring out your competitive side with iFit challenges! Challenges are workouts designed and shared by iFit members to help push each other toward goals. Create your own competition or accept a challenge posted by your friends or iFit.
How to Create a Challenge
Creating a challenge is much like creating a personal workout based on a map, time or distance. You can post a previously created workout as a challenge or design something new. Either way, here are the steps.
Choose “Create” from your toolbar. Then select “Challenge”:
iFit will prompt you to set up the activity. In this screenshot we’re choosing dates for the competition:
Here we’re about to draw a map-based challenge:
And here is our finished route through a redwood forest:
Next during setup, iFit asks for an invitation list. Then a summary of the challenge is shown for review. The final step is pressing a blue “Create” button to launch the challenge.
How to Join a Challenge
You can join challenges that were posted by iFit or your friends and followers. Find these challenges through the main menu “Challenge” button.
Check the different tabs to see challenges categorized as Public, Created (by you) and Invited (by friends/followers). Accept an available challenge and you’ll be able to schedule the activity on your iFit workout calendar.
After you compete you can see your ranking on the “Completed” tab. For a more detailed view, click the badge icon to see your ranking based on age, gender, treadmill type and other data.
Part 2: Stats Tracking
Keeping track of treadmill exercise and other health activities is easier with an app like iFit — and the more you pay attention to your health stats, the more likely you are to make smart health decisions. iFit can help you track your calories, track your activity, chart your sleep and chart your weight. See how everything fits together!
To access the tracking section of iFit, click “Stats”:
First you’ll see your Fit Score. This number is from 0 to 100. It reflects your fitness activity (exercise and nutrition) in relation to your goals over the past seven days. You’ll start at zero…
… and get motivated as your Fit Score climbs!
Track your stats by clicking “Log.” You can add information about workouts, weight, nutrition and sleep:
Logging Workouts
The exercise logging features are easy to use; simply fill in the blanks. iFit can calculate the distance and elevation for your outdoor running or cycling routes, plus the app will automatically calculate your calorie burn. Your recently logged workouts get displayed beneath your Fit Score like this:
You can repeat workouts on your history list any time.
Logging Nutrition
The nutrition log on iFit can simplify your calorie tracking with its database of thousands of foods and beverages. Easily find a nutritional description of the foods you’ve eaten and click to add the info to your log.
Here’s a search for an afternoon snack of almonds:
iFit lets you review items before adding them to your journal. We also had raspberries waiting for approval:
And now the snacks have been logged:
Logging Weight & Sleep
Tracking your weight and sleep is easy with iFit. By logging these items you’ll help build a helpful overview of your health. Logging your weight in the beginning is especially important because otherwise an iFit treadmill will show calorie data that assumes a 185-pound user.
See how sleep, diet and exercise work together as you pursue your fitness goals. You can see charts of your data by choosing “Menu” and then “Stats.”
Part 3: Building Community
Socializing within iFit can add motivation to your training. One benefit mentioned above is the option to experience challenges with your friends and followers. You can also follow posts from the whole iFit community or just your circle. For example, here’s a message board post that shows a map workout:
iFit members can follow one another just like members in other social media platforms.
Set Up Your Profile
An iFit profile includes room for a brief bio that all iFit users can read. Attract like-minded community members by posting info about your fitness interests.
To set up your bio, choose “Profile” from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the iFit screen. Then choose “Edit.”
When members see profiles they like, they can click “Follow” to send a request:
Add Users to Your Membership
Share the wealth! With a premium iFit membership you can add up to three users to your iFit account. Add friends and family to your workout community and exchange workouts, challenges and motivational messages.
To add users, click on “Settings” or “Profile” beneath your username in the upper right corner. Then click “Secondary Users.” Enter the email addresses or existing iFit usernames of people you’d like to add to your membership plan.
More iFit Info
This free iFit guide from TreadmillReviews.net has shown workout setup, stats tracking and other key features of iFit. For more detailed information visit iFit.com. With a free iFit account you can access the manufacturer’s online database with guides for iFit installation and answers to frequently asked questions.