You know that wall you hit around 2pm every afternoon? This app of the day, Wake-Out, is supposed to keep you going with a few exercises you can do at your desk.
What is it about that 2 o’clock hour that makes us sleepy? There’s science behind it I’m sure, but while most people just reach for another cup of coffee others try to take a nap.
Or, you could try a new mobile app called Wakeout that’s supposed to get your blood pumping again in the span of about 4 minutes. The app even advertises itself as “better than coffee.”
Wakeout isn’t like most exercise apps. It’s a workout app for iPhones and iPads. It has 5 categories of workouts for the times we find ourselves fighting to stay awake: before you roll out of bed, afternoons in the office, evenings on the couch and a workout for quiet places with other people around such as coffee shops. There’s a 5th workout for people who are on computer keyboards all day that’s supposed to ward off carpal tunnel syndrome and stress in the hands.
Each workout has a video demonstration of the exercise and a countdown clock. The app has its own blood thumping music and it changes with each exercise.
The Office Drowsiness Killer routine features exercises such as pushups you perform leaning against a desk, coffee lunges, and office squats. The workout took about 6 minutes to complete and I’ll admit, the urge to nap had left me.
The carpal tunnel exercises included letting my fingers crawl across the desk, interlocking my hands and trying to pull them apart and resting my hands palms-up and doing sort of a bug leg crawl.
Wakeout was a featured app for iPhones when it first was released late last year. It isn’t a free app; a monthly subscription is $7.50 or you can subscribe for an entire year for $99.
There is no Android version.