Health and Fitness | Gear Diary

What to Look For in a Good Health App

It seems like there are apps for everything these days, from banking to meditation and everything in between. There are plenty of medical and health apps as well, each claiming to have the answer to your burning illness and wellness questions. Even a good majority of medical records are kept in an electronic format now. How accurate are these apps? What should you look for in a good medical app, and when should you click that “uninstall” button? Let’s explore the answers to those questions. Accuracy Is Essential for Health Apps The most important thing when choosing a medical app…

Health and Fitness, Reviews

ShoeCue Can Change Your Running Form in Any Shoe!

There’s an enormous debate in the running world about how your feet should hit the ground. For a long time conventional wisdom said heel first, but in the last few years, there’s been a push towards a more natural forefoot-first style.

Health and Fitness

The Next Big Fitness Metric: Breathing

Todays’ wearable technology is being used to track a great many statistics related to fitness and health. Devices from Fitbit and Jawbone, for example, can be used to monitor heart rate, calories burned, total activity time and much more.

Editorials, Health and Fitness

Your Fitbit Alone Won’t Help You Lose Weight

Fitness trackers are one of those gadgets that sound really great on paper; they will motivate you to move by telling you how sloth-like you are! Some people swear by them. Others think they’re a gadget destined for the fad junk drawer. Unfortunately, even if they have staying power as a trend, a new study indicates they probably aren’t helping you lose weight!

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Bozlun B15P Band Is Feature Packed and Bargain Priced

I rarely do this, but I am reviewing the Bozlun B15P Band on a bit of a curve. If it were priced in line with comparably equipped fitness trackers, I would not be nearly as generous as I am going to be in this review, because the band is only $32.99 on Amazon.

Health and Fitness

Going Analog with My Workout Log: Bring Focus and Mindfulness to Your Workouts

I am usually a big advocate for keeping notes and logs digitally. First of all, it’s far more efficient to make notes searchable, and second of all, my handwriting looks as though the evil hand from “Idle Hands” went on a bender and then started taking notes for me. But I’ve stumbled upon one very productive exception: a workout log.

Events, Health and Fitness

QardioCore Makes Breakthrough in Preventative Healthcare

QurdioCore is the first wearable electrocardiogram monitor. The $449 device records more than 20 million data points, streaming the user’s live medical data to their smartphones. It is the first monitor to be IP65 certified making it splash and rain resistant.

Events, Health and Fitness, Outdoors

Wearables Aren’t Dead Yet at CES

It appears that wearables aren’t as dead as suspected. That, or companies still had product in the pipeline and figured they would go ahead and release them anyway. In any case, Garmin, Casio, and Intel/New Balance have all thrown their hats into the tracking ring (wrist?)!

Events, Health and Fitness, News & Features

Lattis Announces Revolutionary New Ellipse Bicycle Lock System

If you’ve visited a large city any time lately, you’ve probably encountered racks of public bicycles available for short-term rentals by tourists and urban residents alike. Where I live here in Nashville, our B-Cycles are red and scattered at dozens of stations around town.

Health and Fitness, News & Features

The Yoak Is the Coolest Fitness Innovation of 2016

Fitness, especially home fitness, has evolved quite a bit in the last few years. Suspension straps, kettlebells, and just plain bodyweight workouts have become extremely popular, and it’s been fascinating to watch equipment evolve to meet these new needs. So when I stumbled across The Yoak, I had to learn more.

Health and Fitness, News & Features

The Misfit Phase Hybrid Smartwatch: Classically Inspired Fitness Tracking

I’ve been wearing a Misfit Ray, and while it’s one of the prettiest and useful fitness trackers I’ve worn, I still wear a watch because I’m old-fashioned and like to wear one. With the introduction of the Misfit Phase Hybrid Smartwatch, I can have a fashionable analog watch combined with the Misfit technology I’ve come to appreciate.

Health and Fitness, News & Features, Reviews

Finally a Good Night’s Sleep with the Leesa Mattress!

Over the past thirty nights I’ve had the pleasure of laying down on the Leesa Mattress and honestly, it’s been a pleasure to have such luxury beneath me.

Health and Fitness, Reviews

PAX Era: The On-Demand Slim Extract Vaporizer Ready for Medical Use

If you live in the state of California, and if you have a prescription for medical marijuana, there is a new product that you should pay attention to — the PAX Era Extract Vaporizer. when used with Bloom Farms extract pods, this on-demand vaporizer makes administering your prescription as simple as taking a puff.

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Withings Pulse Ox: Track, Monitor, Sync, and Stay Healthy

The Withings Pulse Ox caught my eye because it not only measures and monitors steps, distance walked, sleep, elevation climbed, and calories, but it also measures your heart rate and blood oxygen level.

Health and Fitness, News & Features

Polar Announces the New M200 Running and Activity Tracking Watch

The wearables market is becoming as crowded as the starting line at the NYC Marathon, with devices of every price and feature set floating around. Want a heart rate monitor? Need a color screen? A personal coach? Maybe just your steps?

Health and Fitness, Reviews

The Withings Thermo: Easy Accurate Temperature Readings without Contact

A healthy adult’s temperature hovers in the 98.something range, but we normally don’t give our temperature a second thought until we feel like crap. But once we feel bad, the first thing we want is that tangible proof that we aren’t just being wusses — that we really can call in sick — and that’s why we have thermometers.

Health and Fitness

The Bellabeat Leaf Urban Is Probably the Most Mindful Fitness Tracker Yet

Sure, any health tracker can count your steps and maybe your sleep, but the new Bellabeat Leaf Urban tracks steps, sleep, and monthly cycles though the app; it has stress-predicting and tracking technology together with mindfulness management features, and it is pretty.

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Signia Has Made Hearing Aids Sexy; No, Really!

If the old-fashioned “ear-trumpet” is what you think of when you think of a hearing aid, you’re only a couple of centuries behind on the tech. Today’s hearing aids are tiny, little things that help their wearers hear well without being obvious or conspicuous.

Health and Fitness, Outdoors, Reviews

PKparis K’asq Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headset: No Wires Whatsoever

Most of the “wireless” headphones we’ve reviewed still have a wire that connects to each of the earphones on either side of the wearer’s head; the PKparis K’asq Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headset removes that wire and puts the entire package in each of the wearer’s ears. How well could that possibly work?

Health and Fitness

GO CUBES: The Best Cup of Coffee You’ve Ever Chewed

I like drinking coffee, but I don’t like stale coffee breath or feeling like I need to brush my teeth after every cup. After seeing GO CUBES at a recent event, I was intrigued. The premise is that there are two cups of coffee in each pack of four; two gummy cubes equals one cup.

Health and Fitness, Reviews

The TruMedic InstaShiatsu+ Neck & Back Massager with Heat: Perfect for Dad

I tend to hunch while typing; it’s completely unconscious and unintentional, but it results in me bunching my neck and shoulder muscles to the point of pain. I love the idea of a massager that I can passively operate on my own — without having someone else hold it, or without having to angle and hold it myself.