Has watching the 2010 Winter Olympics inspired you to get fit? New gadgets that coach couch potatoes to be more active can help, but only if you stick to a training schedule.

The latest fitness trackers promise to keep you motivated by helping you monitor the calories you ve burned and the progress you ve made toward fitness goals like losing weight, perfecting yoga poses or running a marathon. Anything that gets people moving is a good thing, says John Rowley, the director of fitness at the American Institute of Healthcare & Fitness, an integrated wellness facility based in Raleigh, N.C. These make it a little more fun and interactive.

One staple of this category is the pedometer, a device that records the steps you take. Many companies have offered new takes on this device for novice athletes, some incorporating odometers (which measure distance traveled) and accelerometers (which measure physical orientation). In 2005, Adidas and Polar introduced a short-lived line of sensor-integrated workout gear. In May 2006, the Nike+ iPod workout coach kit debuted (the latest version costs $29). Manufacturers newest lines are designed to more accurately measure your physical activity. Many of these devices also interface better with cellphones, MP3 players and home computers to track progress.

Of course, digital coaching isn t as strict as having a personal trainer, but the accountability of tracking your workouts can help inactive people build and stick with a fitness habit, says Todd Galati, the certification and exam development manager for the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit that promotes physical fitness. Studies have shown that people monitoring their activity with a pedometer or other device will take extra steps to meet goals, he says. Even professional athletes keep detailed records of their workouts.

How helpful such gadgets are depends largely on your fitness level. With consistent use, they can help even regular gym-goers move past their comfort zone into longer and more challenging workouts, says Christian Fox, a coach with strength and conditioning program CrossFit South Brooklyn in New York.

Just be careful not to use the tracker as an excuse to pig out or scale back activity. Even the most advanced trackers can only estimate calories burned. It s giving you a ballpark figure, Galati says. One hundred calories burned isn t exactly 100 calories, it s about 100, plus or minus 20 to 30.

There may also come a point at which you ll need to ditch the gadgets for a real-world gym workout. An American Council on Exercise study in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin La Crosse found that Wii Fit games didn t burn nearly as many calories as actually running or boxing. And most games offered fairly low intensity workouts, meaning they didn t raise the heart rate enough to burn calories and generate workout results in already-fit users.

If you re in the early stages of getting fit, here are five new gadgets that could enhance your workout:

Adidas miCoach monitor
$70 (Zone); $140 (Pacer)

Pick one of two miCoach devices based on your workout needs. The Zone kit monitors your heart rate, along with your workout time and calories burned. Colored lights indicate which heart-rate zone you re in, helping you to meet endurance, weight loss and other fitness goals.

Looking for running-specific coaching? The Pacer kit also tracks distance, pace and stride. Colored lights tell you to speed up, slow down or maintain your pace. Sync the pacer with your MP3 player (any brand will do) to get audible cues during your workout, or with your computer afterwards to log workout records and training goals.

Nintendo Wii Fit games
Prices vary

The Wii Fit balance board and game pack had been out for just eight months when the 2008 Olympic Games got underway. Since then, other manufacturers have taken advantage of the Nintendo console s interactive capabilities to create a host of new exercise titles. A few options:

* My Fitness Coach 2 ($40) lets gamers work out with one of four digital trainers, with exercises personalized for their fitness level and goals. Further your goals with a healthy diet based on more than 100 recipes included. Users can track their fitness and diet progress.

* Your Shape With Camera ($70) tracks your workout with a motion-sensitive camera. Customize a workout to your body type, abilities and fitness goals. The camera projects your image onto the screen next to the in-game host so you can check positioning and accuracy. If, say, your push-ups are less than perfect, the game could offer pointers to improve.

* EA Sports Active ($60) lets you work out alone or with a friend. The 20-minute exercise circuits are based on fitness goals, muscle groups or intensity. The Wii remote tracks your movement and progress. Pick a fitness goal, or tackle a 30-day exercise challenge. A $40 expansion pack offers more workouts.

Philips Activa MP3 player
$130

Available in April, this 4GB MP3 player uses your digital music to enhance your workouts. An accelerometer tracks your progress. Then, you can let the device pick songs with a tempo that matches your current or desired pace. You can also pinpoint songs that already pump you up when you re exercising and instruct the player to build a playlist of similar tunes. Sync the player with your computer to track data about your workouts and log progress toward goals that you set. Lagging behind? A mid-workout voice prompts you to pick up the pace.

Philips DirectLife monitor
$99 (device, plus a four-month service membership)

Pocket the DirectLife monitor and it tracks your daily movements, using details such as your height, weight, age and gender to translate the activity into calories burned (The device is waterproof, so you can wear it swimming.). Lights illuminate with each 15% increment toward your daily goals. Plug the monitor into the USB port of your home computer and it syncs the data with the DirectLife web site to view daily activity hour-by-hour and your progress toward fitness goals. Starter kits come with a four-month membership. After that, you ll pay $12.50 per month. Factor in the long-term costs before you buy.

Samsung MyFit Wellness MP3 Player
Price not yet released.

This MP3 player s apps draw on its sensors to create personalized fitness tools. An accelerometer tracks workout times and calories burned, while a diet app with food database lets you monitor calories consumed. Other apps log water intake and measures to quit smoking. Manage your workouts and health information to create fitness goals and work toward them. The device is scheduled to be released in the middle of this year.