Personally, my favorite part about my iPods (I’ve owned 5) has always been using them in the gym. Through the years I’ve tried every type of accessory in and out of the gym. Having a great playlist of music has made my workouts all more enjoyable and more productive. I’ve found several necessitates for my work outs that I want to share.

The most important accessory you will ever buy yourself for your workouts will undoubtedly be a sports armband case. I didn’t end up buying one of these till my 3rd iPod. They can be quite expensive but worth every penny. (TDAccessory.com has a great one for only $7.99) I used to just try to fit my iPod in my pocket and try to workout without an armband holder. This was a miserable situation. Not only did I look like an idiot but also the wire kept getting in the way of any exercise I tried to do. Running on the treadmill was the worst part; my iPod sometimes bounced out of my pockets and fell on the ground.

An armband holder makes working out really easy. You iPod is securely and comfortable held over your biceps. Anytime you want to change the playlist, stop, or change the volume it’s always accessible through the armband case.
The second thing that changed my gym experience is a pair of in-ear headphones. The standard Apple head phones are great for thing that don’t require movement like sitting on the bus or subway, but when you’re on the move, jogging, running, or doing any sports, it just falls out. I can’t tell you how often my earphones used to fall out. The in-ear headphones I got from TDAccessory.com not only have better sound quality then the regular earphones that came with my iPod, they also stay securely in my ears.

Finally because I do martial arts I use a dock to connect my iPod to any stereo to play music will I train. Whether you do yoga, box, train martial arts, play basketball, tennis, or anything with a group, having a dock to connect your iPod directly to any stereo or sound system makes the workout immeasurably better. Now you can make and change playlists and bring your entire music collection to practice, no more burning cd’s that will waste money and time.