by , 2:15 PM EST, March 4th, 2008

Nike and Apple announced on Tuesday that they are working with gym equipment manufacturers such as Life Fitness, Precor, Star Trac and Technogym to make their cardio equipment Nike + iPod compatible.

"The Nike + iPod experience revolutionized running. Now we�re revolutionizing the gym cardio experience," said Trevor Edwards, Nike�s Vice President of Global Brand and Category Management. "We�re enabling people who go to the gym an opportunity to set goals, track progress, and compete in challenges with their friends and with other members of www.nikeplus.com. It�s a groundbreaking tool for people who want to maximize their workouts."

Apple also commented. "The iPod is an essential part of millions of people's workouts and now users can easily set goals and track their progress with Nike + iPod," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing for iPod. "We're excited to be working with Nike and leading equipment manufacturers to bring the Nike + iPod experience to the gym."

At participating gyms, including 24 Hour Fitness nationwide and Virgin Active Health Clubs internationally, members will soon be able to use Nike + iPod to track their workout and log their data on www.nikeplus.com.

For example, the system will allow members to track their progress, set goals, and even propose challenges. Personal trainers will be able to better track fitness progress. In addition, the data is sent from the user's iPod to the Nike site and coverted to "CardioMiles" so that users of cardio equipment can easily set goals and participate in challenges with runners and with users of other cardio equipment, according to Nike.

"Nike�s innovative Nike + iPod running experience combining music, personal coaching and fitness networking has forever changed the way people run, creating in its first year, the world�s largest online running destination," Nike said.