Whether it's because you're at school or work all day, finding the time and energy to workout is difficult. So, why not make it easier on yourself and find a partner to workout with via iChat Theater?

When iChat went Leopard, it included a series of features and enhancements. One of these enhancements was iChat Theater. iChat Theater allows you to share documents, photos and videos with your buddies in an easy and oh-so-Apple elegant way. With Snow Leopard, iChat Theater gained the capability of displaying content at a higher resolution: up to 640 by 480 pixels.

While photos and presentations translate well over iChat Theater, I've found that sharing videos is not without its hiccups unless you have an extremely fast and consistent Internet connection with robust upload speed. I've found both video and audio quality to be unacceptable for watching movies or TV shows.

But this doesn't really matter when you're working out.

Sure, there may be some lip syncing (audio delay) and the video quality may not be the greatest, but hey, you're working out: you've won the biggest battle already. And, you're not alone: your buddy on the other side of the iChat will push you along as well.

To start iChat Theater, click on "File" and then select "Share a File with iChat Theater." After selecting your file, you will be asked to start a video chat. You'll then need to highlight the buddy you'd like to invite, and the click on "Buddies" and then selecting "Invite to Video Chat."

Alternatively, you could start a video chat with a buddy and then initiate iChat Theater.

My sister recently purchased the P90X workout program for me as a gift, and an intense workout regimen it certainly is. After I opened up the box set, I immediately created an iPhone formatted version of it (HandBrake), which I take with me when I workout at the gym or the park with a friend of mine. On days when I'm working out at home (after a long day's work, of course), the workout sessions are done over iChat Theater.

So while iChat Theater can't do all the heavy lifting for you, it certainly finds alternative ways for you to motivate yourself to do it.

For the most part, I've been disappointed with iPhone fitness applications. I'm not talking about Nike+ but rather the third party apps found in the Health & Fitness section of the App Store.

Apps that track your routes tend to be battery-killers (not really their fault, more due to the way the SDK insists they work). The ones that create exercise playlists depend on time-exhausting Mac-based solutions that have to analyze your iTunes tracks for their beats-per-minutes, creating a heavy investment with a minimal payoff. Genius on the iPhone does a decent job, without that time commitment.

I don't quite get the food and exercise logging apps -- I find that it's simpler to do all that on my primary Mac, using a physical notebook (you know: paper, pen, old tech) when I'm on the go. As for the stretching and exercise guides, I find them awkward. I'd rather use a DVD or a Wii-based game (I adore Gold Gym's Cardio Boxing, for example) where I don't have to keep referring to a 4-inch screen all the time and the sound is clear, and the instructions are easier to follow.

So what am I missing here? What are the really good iPhone-based fitness apps? I feel like all the ones I've tried just keep missing the point: to make exercise better or funner(™ Apple). Yes, they make exercise more portable, but do they provide a better win over Nike+, a bike computer or a garmin?

Please do chime in in the comments. Let me know what iPhone Apps I have been missing, and which ones will improve my exercise experience, whether in the home or on the jogging path. Surely, there have to be some winners out there, and I'd love to hear about which apps are working for you, and why.

Apple products and the bike go together well. They seem to appeal to the same sort of folks: evangelistic, committed aficionados willing to pay any premium, to be brutally honest about it. Oh, and let's not forget, they love to talk at length about these objects of their affection at parties. You know who you are. You've got a copy of Colorado Cyclist in your bathroom.

So it seems like getting the iPhone working for you on the bike would be a no-brainer. And it pretty much is. Here are five apps that I've found I like, most centered around the fact that the iPhone's built-in GPS gives cyclists the kind of on-bike information they want, and the après vélo experience they crave until the next fix, I mean "ride." From the outset, you'll need a bike mount, if you want to take advantage of these apps' functions en route. Otherwise, the iPhone slips just fine into a jersey pocket, and will hold a GPS lock even though a ziploc sandwich baggie. Mount-wise, pickings are slim, but there are a few out there that are relatively low-profile. Plus, battery life can be a problem. Most endurance athletes are out there for hours at a time, and GPS tracking can quickly drain an iPhone battery. if you take care to turn off everything non-essential, you may be able to get that whole ride in. Or, you can do what this guy is doing; he's building an iPhone bike mount with power. Maybe now the iPhone can make its RAAM debut.

On to the apps!

1) Ascent Mobile. I have a warm place in my heart for Montebello Software's Ascent. If I harken back to the old days, Garmin could barely be bothered to come out with a Mac version of its then-popular TrainingCenter software and had shunted all its Mac users to MotionBased. Ascent came through with elegant desktop software that tapped into the data side of the bike geek. Finally, a place to really churn through the routes and elevation, while watching your heart rate, speed and cadence throughout that quad-shredding ride. You can zoom right into your loop post-ride and slice and dice the data to see any element of it you like. What's more, Ascent really made it look good. By the time Garmin came out with its watered-down and feature-hobbled Mac version of TrainingCenter I was so over Garmin software. I used it strictly for the route-upload function and kept everything else on Ascent, with an online version stored on MotionBased for route sharing (though I've since moved from MotionBased to RunningAhead now that RA has GPS upload.) So I was thrilled to hear that Ascent was coming out with Ascent Mobile, $9.99US.

Ascent Mobile gives you all the relevant data you could want on a ride, plus lots of ways to check out your ride right on the iPhone afterward. Best of all, it naturally syncs with the desktop version of Ascent, sold separately. Can I let go of my trusty Garmin Edge 705? Quite possibly. We'll see where this little relationship goes. (Oh, and yes, Erica, it gives your max speed.)

2) B.iCycle. Ok, maybe you're more of a "just the facts, ma'am" kind of rider. We've got one for you, too. B.iCycle, $9.99US, is a simple, GPS-based tracker that gives you some easy stats during your ride. It saves your tracks for later viewing on a map, and gives you all of the essential features you might want, without too much feature clutter. It has a nice map view for on-bike routing, and a way to email your route to yourself afterward. Think of it as a very inspired bike computer.

3) Bicycle Gear Calculator. Ok, grease monkeys, this one is for you. It's obviously not intended for on-bike use, but half the fun of the sport is the tinkering you get to do with your bike while you're not on it, talking about it at parties, or relentlessly reloading chainlove.com for the next steal. Now you can talk gear ratios with ease. Input chainring size, sprocket size, and crank length and all the relevant math is done for you. Plan ahead for a big hill ride and get your bike properly geared so you look like Laurent, Stefano, or Marco (may he rest in peace) on those hills. $4.99US at the iTunes store.

4) iMapMyRide. iMapMyRide is another GPS tracker, but is borne out of the website mapmyride.com, which is the sister site to mapmyrun.com, a favorite of mine, pre-Garmin Forerunner. The nice thing about this app -- other than the fact that it's free -- is that it is built to work well with the website, which is a great place to discover new routes and make connections with other like-sported people. I can't say the app itself is revolutionary in any way, but if you're already multi-sport and have been taking advantage of the MapMyFitness community-based functions, iMapMyRide may be a useful way to go for you.

5) TrailGuru. I didn't want to leave the mountain bikers completely out of the loop, so here's something for you singletrackers. I'm not entirely sure how this differs from some of the other GPS-based tracking software, but the community associated with it seems to be more interested in off-road use, so you may find that you discover new and interesting ways to tear up the trails near you. It seems to be a fave around TUAW, so I'd be remiss not to mention it. If you have experience with this app, let us know in the comments.

I'm still working on integrating the iPhone into my fitness endeavors. I admit I love my Garmins (yes, I have both the Edge and the Forerunner.) And I can't imagine I'd be brave enough to do with my iPhone what I did with my Forerunner 305: put it under my swim cap at the start of a triathlon. But you never know. If you ever see a fellow race participant with what seems to be a very oddly-shaped head under that swim cap, come and introduce yourself to me.

I've struggled with my weight for a long time. In my free-wheeling post-college days I lived with my two best friends, sitting around playing video games, drinking beer and eating Taco Bell. I put on a lot of weight in a short amount of time with that diet and exercise schedule, topping out at 260 pounds. I decided enough was enough, and I strapped on my running shoes, straightened up my eating habits, and lost almost 90 pounds.

In the years that have followed, my weight has gone up and down several times, and I'm at the point now that I need to get serious about losing weight again. According to my BMI, at 6'3" I should top out at 199 pounds, and right now I'm at 225.

This time my weight loss should be easier since I have 3 secret weapons: my iPhone 3GS, my Mac and my AppleTV. Read on for my weight loss plan and how these Apple products will help me achieve my goals.

Since its introduction in May 2006, the look, feel and features of the Nike+ website have undergone relatively minor changes. Which makes the redesign (still in beta) of the site all the more noteworthy. By putting familiar faces in different places, as well as adding some new faces, Nike has added some polish on an already great and revolutionary fitness motivational tool.

When the second generation of iPod touch was announced, one slide on the presentation included built-in support for the Nike+iPod sensor. The cool thing was that you no longer needed the unsightly dongle hanging off your device. The touch just "sees" the Nike sensor and you could add it to the device quite easily. Plus, the app looked great on the bigger screen of the touch, and allowed you to multitask -- not that you should play Dizzy Bee while jogging, OK?

I hadn't thought about it until I got my phone home, but the sensor works just fine with the 3GS. As expected, the app is identical to that on the touch, although Apple posted a tech note regarding answering calls while using the Nike app, something you don't worry about on the touch. If you've never tried using the Nike sensor with either a touch or the iPhone, read on. Oh, and I don't have a Nike remote watch doohickey, but apparently those will work on the 3GS as well. If the Nike thing isn't your bag, we ran down some competitors a while ago.

To pair the device, go to Settings > (in App-specific settings) Nike+iPod and flip the switch to ON. At the bottom (you can see in our gallery) choose either Sensor or Remote, depending on what you've got, and you'll be prompted to move around (sensor) or press a button (remote). That's all there is to it -- the proprietary wireless connection kicks in and pairs the two devices instamagically.

Just like previous iterations of the Nike system, you can change the PowerSong, voice, and units. One new twist: a new Lock Screen pref that will alter the locked-screen display to read in portrait or 2 available landscape modes. Very handy if you have a mount on your treadmill. What, you don't have a mount on your treadmill? Me either.

Now, after pairing, you should have a shiny new app on your screen that has the Nike logo and a plus sign. Unfortunately, my sleepy morning eyes couldn't find the app, but a Spotlight search found it for me. Here's Apple's notes on setting things up.

Keep reading for a short round-up of how the unit works while running.

iTreadmill (App Store link) is a pedometer app for your iPhone or iPod touch. I spoke with the developer, who demoed the app for us at WWDC. It looks nice, appears to perform well, and features a respectable number of ways to customize and tune the readings. Pedometer apps may not save the world, but if you're looking for something much less expensive than the Nike+iPod device, this will do in a pinch. There's also a Lite version (App Store link) if you want to try it yourself.

App Cubby announced that a new iPhone app, Health Cubby (click opens iTunes) arrived in the App Store today. Health Cubby (US$4.99) is a personal fitness tracking app with a difference -- it adds a social networking element for working with friends and family members to keep motivated to exercise more and eat less.

The social features connect you with up to 7 other people, share your progress in achieving fitness goals, and even send motivational messages. To do that, you set up a private account with App Cubby for data syncing and sending messages.

Health Cubby has a great online user manual complete with screenshots. Instead of tracking meals with points or calories, the app has you enter a 1 to 5 rating. Rating a meal a 1 means you put the all-you-can-eat buffet out of business, while a 5 is a low-calorie, healthy meal. You also set goals for strength, cardio and...vices! While the first two involve exercise, the third item makes you set goals to reduce the number of times you indulge in a vice. My goal is to reduce my beer drinking to one a day (yeah, right...).

I've put Health Cubby on my iPhone right next to Weight Watchers Mobile. It'll be interesting to see which app I use most often. Check the gallery below for screenshots of Health Cubby in action.

In case you're wondering why I've been writing about exercise and food applications lately, it's because I'm trying to lose a few pounds, OK? When I saw the press release for BeFit from Jon Brown Designs today, I jumped (well, would you believe moved slowly?) at the chance to post about this app.

BeFit works like most food tracking applications in that it lets you count exactly how many calories you're taking in. If you take in fewer calories than you expend, then you'll lose weight over time. BeFit includes over 7,000 foods from the FDA/USDA food database. Spotlight search is built into the application to make it easy to search for foods, and when you find them they're displayed with a full Nutrition Facts panel like those on food packages.

You can create a huge number of individual tracking lists, rename them, and sort them. If you're just looking for certain nutrients to track (e.g., carbs or saturated fats), you can hide other nutrients, then get a running total for those items you're interested in.

BeFit 1.0 is US$15.95 and existing customers of Jon Brown Designs get a 50% discount. All purchasers of BeFit 1.0 receive free upgrades through version 3.0. There's a demo available from the BeFit website.