Athletics- All natural or technologically enhanced?

Which do you prefer? Getting your exercise in the great outdoors, or treading on the treadmill, popping in DVDs or plugging into your headphones?

A decade ago, technology was found red handed as the reasoning behind the child obesity epidemic. Television, video games and iPods kept kids indoors and plugged in, stationary on the couch.

Now, a slew of electronics have come forward to shatter that idea. Nike’s recent partnership with Apple can do everything from keep record of your running distance, to change tracks on your iPod to fit the rhythm of your run.

A new Nike ad in the March 2008 edition of Women’s Health Magazine boasts how the Apple partnership can sense your speed and distance, showing them instantly on your iPod. After knowing your stats, the ad states “Boom. Now you’re being coached, pushed and encouraged”.

Technology’s transformation to the health field, which had previously been an anti-technology, personal driven field, has changed things. Nike claims their product can be your new drive, keep you encouraged, and produce the feedback of a coach.

Where do you stand with technology aiding in your workout routine? Do you rely on the stats from electronics to keep you going, or do you thrive on breathing in fresh air when you’re able to run outside?