Did you hear?…FIBO 2011 names fitness product award finalists

Germany’s main international trade show for fitness, wellness and health named eleven product finalists in three categories for its annual FIBO Innovation Awards, to be presented at the show in Essen, Germany, April 15.

Officials with FIBO 2011, said in a statement the finalists “allow new forms of exercising, help to increase fitness and health of the users and bring high-tech into the fitness studio.”

It’s the 12th year for the innovation awards and the 26th year for show, which runs April 14-17 at the Essen Exhibition Centre. During the show, the nominated products are on display at the Innovation Forum in Hall 7.

An independent jury of experts, presided over by the TÜV Rheinland Group, and in cooperation with the Fit For Fun magazine, will award the prizes. The jury consists of journalists, sports scientists and sports physicians.

In the Training Equipment category, finalists are:

• IM-lifter, a virtual load machine, by Intelligent Motion GmbH (Austria) – simulates loads up to 250 kilograms (about 550 pounds) for lifting and lowering exercises in a safe and efficient many. Comes with a large graphic display that provides direct feedback with training data. (www.intelligentmotion.at)

• Fitwalker Advanced, a self-propelled treadmill by Nessfit World (Italy) –allows for natural walking exercises, but also the ability to mix it up with hops and skips in individual or group workouts. (www.nessfit.com)

• Paddlelite, a paddle training piece by Paddlelite (Germany) – allows the user to change the resistance level of the equipment during training without having to leave the paddle seat. And judges liked its space-saving size of just 190 centimeters (about 6.2 feet) in length, 55 centimeters (about 1.75 feet) in width and just 30 kilograms (about 66 pounds) in weight. (www.paddlelite.com)

• Adventure Playground, training equipment for gymnasts, by Cube Sports GmbH (Germany) – replaces horizontal and parallel bars and balance beams with a modular plug system that can be configured in different ways. (www.cubesports.de)

In the Health category, finalists are:

• My Wellness Key, a portable fitness data tracker, by Technogym SpA (Italy) –records users’ physical activity either through their motion or plugged into a compatible fitness machine, and then alerts them to keep their workout goals if they are not being met. It measures both exercise quantity and intensity. (www.technogym.com)

• Fraunhofer ISST, a fitness and health data network, by Ergo-FIT GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) – strives to improve the transfer, professional accessibility and security of training-related data from the training equipment, the national and private health-care sector and hospitals among each other. (www.ergo-fit.de)

• HS-1C, a heart rate monitor sensor, by Wtek (Italy) can be worn on the finger like a ring rather than on the chest. (www.wtek.it)

•  TwistFit, a pocket-size training device, by TwistFit – Siebeneicher Sport Products (Germany), where users twist two straps together to create tensile forces of up to 20 kilograms (about 44 pounds) per side. (www.twistfit.de)

In the Design category, finalists are:

• Ironpower Dynamax, a gyroscope whole-body trainer, by Kernpower Co. – trains the muscles and arms. The faster the rotor turns, the greater the required force will be. (www.kernpower.de)

• Ciclotte, a modern exercise bike (pictured above), by Lamiflex SpA (Italy) — brings abstract design and style to fitness equipment with a large metal circle acting the base of the bike. The bike’s resistance is obtained by creating a magnetic field with the circle through pedaling. (www.ciclotte.com)

•  Kinesis Stations, a line of modern weight and functional training equipment, by Technogym SpA (Italy), offering simple, straightforward machines with a sleek, modern design. (www.technogym.com)

For more on the nominations, and the 2011 FIBO event, click here.

To see a 2010 SNEWS story about last year’s finalists, click here.

To see who won the 2010 competition, click here.

–David Clucas