Introduction: Ab Workout Timer

About: Hello, I am currently completing my dietetic internship to become a Registered Dietitian. I love all things related to food and nutrition and am always striving to find new ways to make meals easier and health…

Never miss a workout again! Now that the weather is getting colder, many of us are less motivated to run outdoors or go to the gym. In this case, we have to get creative with workouts we can do indoors and at home. One of my favorite home workouts includes doing yoga and adding an ab session afterwards. Using the LinkIt ONE, I have programmed it to time my ab exercises and buzz when it is time to move to the next exercise. With the help of this device, I no longer have to futz with the timer on my phone or resetting my stopwatch!

Step 1: Gather Supplies

We will be using quite a few different Grove sensors in this project. I recommend picking up the Arduino Grove Starter kit. This package comes with a Grove base shield that's compatible with the LinkIT ONE, as well as a ton of different sensors, including the ones you will need for this instructable.

  • LinkIT ONE Board
  • Grove RGB LCD
  • Grove Button
  • Grove Arduino Base Shield
  • Grove Buzzer

Step 2: Connect Grove Sensors

To get started, we need to hook up all of the Grove sensors. First, plug your Arduino Base Shield into the LinkIt ONE matching up the pins. Next, follow the picture above to plug in your three sensors:

  • Plug Grove RGB LCD into I2C port
  • Plug Grove Buzzer into D2
  • Plug Grove Button into D3

Step 3: Fitting the Pieces Into Place

Now that you know your grove sensors, it's time to put it all together.

Download the attached code file and put it on your LinkIT ONE. If you've never worked with the RGB LED before, you might want to check out tutorials online.

To start the timer simply press the button. The screen will display a clock that counts down in addition to telling the user which ab focused exercise to do.

An example of an ab circuit could include: 30 sec Center Plank, 30 sec Left Side Plank, 30 sec Center Plank, 30 sec Right Side Plank. You can add other ab exercises if you want too such as a Russian Twist, Bicycle Crunches, Leg Lifts, etc. Feel free to play around with exercises that challenge your body to individualize your workout.

Every time the exercises changes the device will buzz to let the athlete know it is time to move onto the next exercise. After the workout is complete, the device will go into sleep mode until the user hits the start button again.

Step 4: C'est Fini!

You're finished! You've just created a fully functional ab timer. With this tool you will have beach ready abs in no time.