Jabra gets into coaching with earbuds that help you train

Fitness fanatics having a hard time getting in the mood to train might have a new way of getting in the spirit of things, as Jabra unveils a coach that talks to you as you work out.

It’s something that Jabra calls a world first, with the “Sport Coach” being the company’s first entry into what will likely be a growing market with a virtual coach always in the ear of someone working out and training.

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You can think of it a bit like Siri, the voice assistant on Apple’s iPhone, with Jabra employing a motion sensor in the earphones and an app connection to an iPhone or Android handset to get a virtual coach to talk to you as you move, run, jump, and train.

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“Our goal at Jabra is to design innovative sport audio solutions to enhance the training experience for people working to get fit, stay fit and constantly exceed their goals,” said Karen Powell, Senior Director of Sales for Jabra in Australia and New Zealand.

With the Jabra Sport Coach, that appears to be the main goal, with an app on a smartphone allowing people to setup their workout on an activity-by-activity basis, complete with diagrams as to how the activity should be undertaken.

Once that is done and the training has started, the app communicates with the Sport Life headset and tracks what is being done, allowing music to be played while the audio coaching is happening, while the headset works out where the activity is in relation to time or reps, giving advice and attempting to boost confidence as it happens.

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For music, support for Dolby Digital sound is included, with a microphone included here too, incase you need to make or take phone calls as the user trains. A touch of water-resistance can also be found, with IP55 resistance, which should be ideal for sweat, though not necessarily running in the rain.

“With the growing popularity in Australia & NZ of fitness classes, gym memberships and number of individuals working out at home or with personal trainers, there are numerous possibilities for our in-ear audio solutions combined with biometrics,” said Powell.

“Findings from Service Skills Australia’s Sport, Fitness and 2014 Recreation Report indicate that one of the most recent trends in the fitness sector has been the delivery of higher-intensity cross training programs such as cross fit. The Jabra Sport Coach launch means we can now provide even more value for fitness enthusiasts, based on their preferred mode of exercise.”

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Jabra’s Sport Coach Wireless will be available for a recommended retail price of $199 at Rebel Sport and JB HiFi around mid-July.