There may be a better way to get together and workout.

Looking for workout friends? Don't want to drive or take the bus to the health club? Ever heard of a garage gym?

Invented by Paul Camerer, 89, these garage or basement gyms may be the next hot fitness trend in America. Camerer (also known as Pinkhouse), an avid and certified Heart Zone Level 1 Blue Jersey, started the workout when he invited neighbors to join him in his garage for a 50-minute spin using wind trainers and any bike they had. The Pinkhouse Gym workouts have now been held for several years. Here's a video sneak peak of one of the early morning workouts: http://www.prospermag.com/video/138- 1424

Unleash yourself from the web of wires and work out with a Bluetooth connection and a mobile phone. Here are a half-dozen new ways to train - run or walk - while using the latest training method tools. They'll enhance the training experience and without getting tangled in wires.

1. The Alive Heart Rate Monitor (www.alivetech.com). Uses this wireless technology to send medical and sports information from the monitor to a Bluetooth enabled phone. The phone stores or immediately transmits the data to a central monitoring center.

2. Sports headphone kit for the active audiophile from Bluetake Technology for the iPhone. It connects with an audio dongle that plugs into your MP3 player allowing both phone calls and music without using wires.

3. The Faster Fitness Wireless Workout software allows personal trainers to access client information via Bluetooth technology on a handheld device eliminating the paper system that tracks clients' progress.

4. Handheld mapping applications from Earthmate.com using their Blue Logger GPS, is a GPS device that tracks your location and position as you skate, ski and move.

5. The Nike-Phillips co-developed MP3-Run in the shape of a hockey puck with a steep sticker price, combines a speed-and- distance monitor with an MP3 player via Bluetooth wireless technology.

6. TDK Systems Europe has embedded Bluetooth into exercise machines that records data and sends it via Bluetooth to computers for analysis and printing or to a Bluetooth enabled device.

(Watch soon for Bluetooth wireless technology to integrate into physiological sensors in "smart" fabrics. The technology will easily be stored a cellphone mounted to bike handlebars or stationary exercise equipment.)

To make the most of your training and eliminate "junk" workouts, consider a physiological test. Heart Zones USA recommends a New Leaf test, which provides the information needed to focus on fitness strengths and weaknesses.

Physiological tests are not just for pro athletes. Fitness and recreational athletes should get tested because they have limited training time and need to maximize it. The most important data from a physiological test includes: training zones based on threshold or maximum heart rate, oxygen consumption called VO2 max, caloric expenditure by zones, and your rank among others of the same gender and age with a cardiovascular (CV) score. The higher the CV score, the higher your scorecard grade.

Physiological testing works best when you understand what the numbers mean - how and why you need to alter your training program to fit your fitness. Don't you want to know how fit you are? Contact Heart Zone and we'll schedule an appointment with a certified Heart Zones Metabolic specialist near you. Telephone (916) 481- 7283 x 111 or email staff@heartzones.com for more information.