I’ve bounced between a number of different workout programs; I started with Stronglifts 5×5, then You Are Your Own Gym. Both programs had dedicated apps, so I didn’t have to think about how to track my progress. Since then, I’ve concocted a frankenworkout, but I needed an easy way to track the routine, and Simple Workout Log is my favorite!
There’s a great deal of evidence out there that monitoring your heart rate as you workout can help determine your effort and assist with modulating your workout intensity. There are chest straps, wrist monitors, even hats…and now you can add bras and shirts to the list!
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.
Protein powder and other supplements can be controversial. Some see them as a useful tool to aid in meeting nutritional goals, or in recovering or prepping for workouts, while others doubt their efficacy. Adding to the complication is that most protein powders are whey (dairy) based; there is an alternative for vegans and anyone who avoids dairy with Vega supplements!
Jawbone is one of those companies that seems to sit just below the surface of mainstream success. They were well known for Bluetooth speakers and headsets, then they were an early pioneer in fitness wearables. All that seems to have crashed down quickly around them, and it looks like Jawbone is in an ominous position.
The Nox Smart Sleep System combines the Nox, a smart sleep light; RestOn, a non-wearable sleep sensor; and the Sleepace mobile application to monitor, track, and improve your sleep. The Nox will provide soft sleep-inducing light and sound while you are falling asleep, the RestOn will monitor your sleep, and the Nox will wake you naturally with light and sound.
We could all take a bit more care of our teeth, but wouldn’t you like the ability to actually see HOW well you are cleaning the inside of your mouth, especially in those hard to reach places? You are in luck.
It should be common sense by now, but since concepts like Lumidiet exist, apparently this isn’t clear to everyone: magic belts cannot zap away your fat, either through vibration or LED lights. Lumidiet’s Indiegogo campaign is an especially egregious example of these false and misleading gadgets.
Dyson, a brand synonymous with high-end vacuum cleaners, fans, and humidifiers, has turned their focus to personal care products. Four years and $71 million dollars later, today they have announced the Supersonic Hair Dryer.
Kellogg’s has never had a great reputation in the allergy world. For example, Kellogg’s would not tell someone if their allergen is in a product if the allergen is not required to be labelled by the FDA. Now they’re really getting dangerous, though, with the addition of peanut flour into various savory and previously nut free crackers.
The only thing worse than a sick toddler is taking a sick toddler’s temperature. It’s easy if they’re sleeping, but once the sick kiddo is awake/grumpy, all bets are off. We’ve survived our first year of my son’s preschooling with the requisite colds, so when Kinsa offered to have us review the Smart Thermometer we were all over it! The Kinsa Smart Thermometer looks like a cross between a regular digital thermometer and a headphones cord. You plug the thermometer into a compatible iPhone or Android smartphone, and use the Kinsa app as the interface to see your child’s temperature….
If you’re looking forward to staying healthy this Spring, and need a little boost to help you stay motivated, you’ll be happy to know that Qardio has teamed up with Target to bring digital healthcare to the masses! Qardio is an award winning digital health company that’s whole mission is to transform the way health is looked at by creating simpler, smarter solutions that everyone from doctors to patients can use. And today they are continuing the trend by announcing that their QardioArm and QardioBase health devices are two products that will be featured in Target’s new “Connected Health” section…
Whether you are in your mid-twenties and dealing with hormonal breakouts, or in your forties worrying about dryness and the onset of wrinkles, skin is your largest and most likely least understood organ. OKU is a device that is supposed to look “beneath the surface of your skin and see what you can’t see with the naked eye.”
Over the past couple of years, I had managed to gain some very unwanted pounds rather rapidly. I thought at first that my weight gain was hormonal, or perhaps I had a thyroid problem. I was running and walking long distances regularly, and I was (sporadically) writing down what I ate, but I wasn’t seeing any results.
A little over a year ago, I received a “bed in a box” for review. Fast forward a year, and my wife Raina suggested moving from a queen mattress to a king. Eve Mattress was one of two companies kind enough to send one of their kind mattresses for review; I’ve been sleeping on it for two weeks.
Fitness apps are a growing business, but not all of them are created equal. Some offer great tracking for running and biking. Others offer a few broad cross training choices, but nothing more substantive. Pear Sports aims to be a bit of everything, from cross training to cardio, with training programs and experts from multiple fields all in your pocket!
Running in good weather is easy. All you need is shorts and a t-shirt and off you go. Rain and cold are a bit tougher since you need to balance comfort with layers. Brooks, whose motto is “Run Happy”, wants you to be comfortable in all weather, and they asked us to test their Seattle Shell jacket for that reason!
While at Mobile World Congress, I caught a demo of the new Oral-B Genius, the world’s first toothbrush that “sees what you don’t”. Using a combination of Oral-B’s Position Detection Technology with Triple Pressure Control and a professional timer, the Genius helps you brush like your dentist recommends. Take a look …
Soylent is a very unfortunate/amusingly named meal replacement drink that has the added cachet of being crowdfunded via Kickstarter; basically, it’s the hacking and disruption movement coming for your food. The company says a steady diet of Soylent could replace your meals, as it is formulated to be nutritionally balanced. I had a free sample, and here’s what I thought:
Running shoes are the most subjective item to review, since everything from shoe type to foot size to personal preference become factors in judging the shoe. Having said that, I feel pretty comfortable saying the Brooks Pureflow 5 are probably the best running shoe I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing in the last several years. Read on to learn why!
Have you heard of Theranos? The name might seem vaguely familiar because they are a wildly successful start-up that’s raised over 9 billion dollars! They claim they have a faster, more efficient way to test blood using a drop instead of the traditional blood drawn from the vein. Unfortunately, it looks like the enthusiasm over their idea may be misplaced.