It's no secret that Boulder is one of the fittest and most innovative cities in the country. Two locals,
Jason Ryer and
Joel Lenorovitz, have teamed up to combine these traits in the creation of their own company, mobileXware. The objective of this start up is to use modern mobile devices, such as cell phones, BlackBerrys, and mp3 players, as channels to enhance fitness and health. The Co-founders plan to achieve this goal through a downloadable program called xFit, which offers various fitness exercises that can be done anywhere a mobile device can be carried.
How did they come up with the idea for mobileXware? It all started while Ryer was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia several years ago. He wanted to keep up with his fitness routine but had one major problem: There was no access to a gym in the small village where he worked.
"During my service, other volunteers turned me on to a workout that really helped mix things up and keep my exercise routines fresh. They used a standard deck of playing cards, shuffled the cards, and flipped one at a time. They assigned an exercise to the cards beforehand; for example, Ace for abs, Two for push-ups, Three for lunges, and so on. We called it The Deck," explains Ryer.
Ryer then passed the concept to others, introducing them to his newly discovered workout routine, and also began using a more advanced deck of cards with graphical and text descriptions of specially designed exercises. Lenorovitz was immediately sold on the idea and integrated the workout into his fitness routine - first during his travels to Antarctica where he worked on a research ship, and then at home as well because it offered such an effective and convenient workout.
"I loved the card concept of The Deck but thought that it could be taken a step further. With more and more uses for cell phones and other mobile devices, I thought, 'why not put your workout on your mobile device and carry your exercise routine with you everywhere?' It would be the ultimate in convenience for working out," states Lenorovitz.
Ryer and Lenorovitz now have a home office in Boulder and are just beginning to market xFit.
"Our goal is to get xFit on as many different devices as possible and in the hands of as many people as possible, thereby helping people get in shape and stay fit," says Ryer.
Future plans include release of additional xFit-compatible content modules featuring yoga, Pilates, free-weight, Swiss ball, kettle bell, and other exercise methods to help users expand their fitness routine even further.
More information about the founders, mobileXware, and xFit can be found on the website www.mobileXware.com.