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gyMP3

Listen to your heart.
 
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Most modern running machines monitor your pulse, and all running machines know what speed you're running at.

gyMP3 would be a simple piece of software designed to play music which matched your aerobic workout, selecting an MP3 track with a BPM directly proportional to your heart rate.

If your heart rate fell lower than the recommended exercise level (set by your gym instructor), gyMP3 would select a motivational track, say, smells_like_teen_spirit_9999bpm.mp3

If the user's heart rate became dangerously high then a safety MP3, such as rogerw_old_durham_town_0012bpm.mp3 would immediately kick in.

Rather than constantly fiddling with the speed button, you'd just get lost in the music.

Fishrat, Oct 01 2003

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       I like the title. Although music the ideal music tempo probably should not match your heart rate, just be influenced by the difference between it and the fitness trainer's recommendation.   

       Changing songs mid-track would be a little unnerving to me. Perhaps have the same song recorded multiple times at different tempos, and indexed at certain breakpoints in the song. That way the same song could be continued, from the same point, just at a slightly different tempo. Breakpoints could happen at roughly 15 second intervals (at the average tempo) to keep the changes from happening too often but still allow for reasonable workout intensity control.
BigBrother, Oct 01 2003
  

       [BB] Sure, I'll buy that with the caveat that the Roger Whittaker MP3 should always crash in as blatantly as possible; so that it can immediately slow a dangerously high heart rate, and for the comedy value.
Fishrat, Oct 01 2003
  

       what [BB] said about it picking the optimum bpm, I reckon you'd only want it to choose at the end of the track which is playing now, no more often. A great add-on for your iPod.
neilp, Oct 01 2003
  

       Why not implement a fade feature to take care of the song switching?
Eugene, Oct 01 2003
  

       This could easily be done with computer generated house music. You get bread. Alternatively, the treadmill could be hooked to one of those coinop Oompah bands, providing the energy. When you were really moving along, the band would get more juice and would speed up. This avoids computers, AI, and all the rest, and helps promote that great oomaph sound.
bungston, Oct 02 2003
  

       I think [bungston]'s lo-tech oompah approach is v. seductive. Maybe we could just hook the treadmill up to a mechanical one-man-band? The only trouble with both ideas is that as the runner slows down, so would the music, which is kind of sort of the opposite to what was initially planned. I'd love to hear an oompah version of "Durham Town" though.
Fishrat, Oct 02 2003
  

       [Rods] Are you deliberately describing my patented dance floor moves? I find the 'slightly in front/slightly behind' technique looks best when coupled with silently mouthing "...two ...three ...five"
Fishrat, Oct 02 2003
  

       Nice +, but I think it would be more fun, if, as you increased the speed of the treadmill it also increased the bpm to match ones pace (based on ones running gait). You could then choose whatever music you liked and still run in time. Imagine ol' Roger at 160 bpm.
nichpo, Oct 02 2003
  

       [nichpo] Like a dizzy mouse running over a 12 inch record wearing rubber mouse-shoes?
Fishrat, Oct 02 2003
  

       [Fishrat] Sounds like the making of a prototype. I'll hold the mouse, you put on the shoes.
nichpo, Oct 02 2003
  

       No on the mouse, silly.
nichpo, Oct 02 2003
  
      
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