RETAIL SHOPPING FACILITY WORKOUT SYSTEMS AND METHODS

1 . A customer controlled retail cart workout system, comprising:

a cart coordination control circuit;

a shopping cart comprising a cart control system, a wireless transceiver, and a resistance modification system configured to adjust a resistance level corresponding to different amounts of force to be applied in physically moving the cart along a surface;

wherein the cart coordination control circuit is configured to:

associate the shopping cart with a first identified customer;

wirelessly communicate with a first user interface unit associated with the first customer;

receive, through a cart resistance control software application (APP) operated on the first user interface unit, a resistance control instruction specifying a modification to the resistance level; and

communicate a resistance adjustment instruction to the cart control system causing the resistance modification system to adjust the resistance level applied to the shopping cart.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the cart coordination control circuit is further configured to obtain, from a first customer profile exclusively associated with the first customer, a set of at least one initialization instructions defining at least an initial resistance level, and to communicate an initialization instruction comprising the set of at least one initialization instructions to the cart control system in response to associating the first customer with the shopping cart, and causing at least the resistance modification system to set the resistance level to the initial resistance level.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the cart coordination control circuit is further configured to receive, through the cart resistance control APP operating on the first user interface unit, a cart identifier of the shopping cart, and implement the associating of the shopping cart with the first customer based on the received cart identifier.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the cart coordination control circuit is configured to obtain workout goals associated with the first customer, determine a route through the shopping facility to achieve at least part of the workout goals, and communicate route instructions to the first user interface unit that the first customer is to follow while pushing the shopping cart.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the cart coordination control circuit in determining the route is configured to access a shopping list associated with the first customer identifying at least one product desired by the customer and determines the routing to include directing the first customer to a location within the shopping facility of each of the at least one product identified in the shopping list.

6 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the cart coordination control circuit is configured to receive workout statistics corresponding to at least distances traveled by the customer and resistance levels corresponding to the distances traveled while the first customer pushes the cart, adjust the route based on the workout statistics and the workout goals, and communicate adjusted route instructions to the first user interface unit.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the cart coordination control circuit is configured to: receive, though the cart resistance control APP, a selection of a first preset workout routine selected from multiple different preset workout routines, and cause resistance level change instructions to be communicated over time to the cart control system to cause modifications in resistance levels consistent with the first preset workout.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the cart coordination control circuit is configured to: receive, though the cart resistance control APP, a modification of the resistance level, and communicate a resistance level change instruction to the cart control system to cause a modification in the resistance level consistent with the received modification of the resistance level.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the cart control system is configured to wirelessly receive directly from the first user interface unit through the cart resistance control APP a modification of the resistance level, and causes a modification in the resistance level consistent with the received modification of the resistance level.

10 . A method of providing retail customers with a workout while shopping at a retail store, comprising:

by a cart coordination control circuit:

associating a shopping cart with a first identified customer, wherein the shopping cart comprises a cart control system and a resistance modification system configured to adjust a resistance level corresponding to different amounts of force to be applied in physically moving the cart along a surface;

communicating wirelessly with a first user interface unit associated with the first customer;

receiving, through a cart resistance control software application (APP) operated on the first user interface unit, a resistance control instruction specifying a modification to the resistance level; and

communicating a resistance adjustment instruction to the cart control system causing the resistance modification system to adjust the resistance level applied to the shopping cart.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

obtaining, from a first customer profile exclusively associated with the first customer, a set of at least one initialization instructions defining at least an initial resistance level; and

communicating an initialization instruction comprising the set of at least one initialization instructions to the cart control system in response to associating the first customer with the shopping cart, and causing at least the resistance modification system to set the resistance level to the initial resistance level.

12 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving, through the cart resistance control APP operating on the first user interface unit, a cart identifier of the shopping cart; and

implementing the associating of the shopping cart with the first customer based on the received cart identifier.

13 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

obtaining workout goals associated with the first customer;

determining a route through the shopping facility to achieve at least part of the workout goals; and

communicating route instructions to the first user interface unit that the first customer is to follow while pushing the shopping cart.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the determining the route comprises:

accessing a shopping list associated with the first customer identifying at least one product desired by the customer and determining the routing to include directing the first customer to a location within the shopping facility of each of the at least one product identified in the shopping list.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

receiving workout statistics corresponding to at least distances traveled by the customer and resistance levels corresponding to the distances traveled while the first customer pushes the cart;

adjusting the route based on the workout statistics and the workout goals; and

communicating adjusted route instructions to the first user interface unit.

16 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving, though the cart resistance control APP, a selection of a first preset workout routine selected from multiple different preset workout routines; and

causing resistance level change instructions to be communicated over time to the cart control system to cause modifications in resistance levels consistent with the first preset workout.

17 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving, though the cart resistance control APP, a modification of the resistance level; and

communicating a resistance level change instruction to the cart control system to cause a modification in the resistance level consistent with the received modification of the resistance level.

18 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

wirelessly receiving, at the cart control system and directly from the first user interface unit through the cart resistance control APP, a modification of the resistance level, and causing, through the cart control system, a modification in the resistance level consistent with the received modification of the resistance level.