Health Tech | Gear Diary

Why I Don’t Run First Thing in the Morning

Yesterday afternoon we had a surprise softball game for Kev’s youngest at 5:30. We made it to dinner at 7, and we were home by 8. Since I hadn’t yet had time to get my run in, I thought I would go ahead and do it before it got too dark. I was almost to our back gate, a little over two miles into the run, and it was getting pretty dark. I saw a rattlesnake about 15 feet away, stretched out across the middle of the crushed limestone road. There was just enough daylight left that I felt safe getting…

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-hands-love-people-5701251/

Editorials

Breast Cancer and Elective Mastectomies – If You Knew You Had a Faulty Gene, Would You Delete It?

I am 46, and I have been getting a yearly mammogram every year since I turned 40; six mammograms, and so far each one has been normal. Breast cancer doesn’t run in my family, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling apprehensive every time I have to step up to the machine, and it doesn’t keep me from worrying during the “manual examination” when I go in for a yearly checkup with my gynecologist. Cancer is scary; cancer that attacks your lady parts seems even more so. I can’t imagine what it would be like to watch my mother suffer…

Health and Fitness

R U A MILER? National Run a Mile Days – The Monday Mile

Today marks an important – though totally artificial – milestone: the day Roger Bannister first officially broke the 4 minute mile. It is important because it removed a mental obstacle – and it is artificial because it is an arbitrary round number. That mark remains a goal for all milers and a remarkable achievement for any runner. The American Running Association is using the anniversary to push fitness and running among young people with their ‘R U A MILER’ campaign. The American Running Association is hoping that by pushing the mile in schools they can get more kids involved with…

News & Features

Re-Timer Offers Portable Light Therapy for the Sleep Deprived

During the waning months of my career at Borders, I worked two weeks of overnights during a store remodel. Actually working in the middle of the night wasn’t the hard part, what was tough was going to bed when it was broad daylight and waking up as the sun was setting. I bought a sleep mask, which helped, and I had very considerate roommates who tiptoed around and kept it quiet near my room. In any case, the experience left me with a lot of respect for the people who work third shift and other odd hours. There are many…

Health and Fitness

What Every Athlete and Weekend Warrior Should Have

One of the aftershocks of the Boston Marathon bombings this week is that racing is going to drastically change. Competitor.com, the organizers of the wildly popular (and often sold-out) “Rock n Roll” marathons has already said they’re working on updated security procedures, and runners at New York Road Runners are being told they can only bag check items in official clear plastic bags, with absolutely no backpacks or other bags placed inside the clear ones for security reasons. Organizing yourself for a race is going to become more than just training and showing up, but there is one item every…

Health and Fitness

My One-Year Runnerversary – The Monday Mile

I have posted several times about running as well as other fitness and health issues over the past year; I have also started a weekly ‘Monday Mile’ feature – and everyone has been amazing and supportive throughout, with loads of great discussions and tons of new stuff I have learned. At this point, I have no hesitation calling myself ‘a runner’ — something I would never have done before last fall. But when I look back to when the moment was that I turned the corner from being a ‘guy who jogged to control weight’ to ‘a runner’, it was Easter…

Editorials

Who Has Your Digital Back in an Emergency?

This past weekend my brother had a massive heart attack, and while he is now stable he has a long road ahead of him. Right after it happened he was treated – it was amazingly fortunate that it happened in a gym with a doctor next to him and a nurse on staff! It is a symptom of our far-flung society that aside from his ex-wife and high school daughter, I am the closest one in terms of distance – and I live nearly FOUR HOURS away! In situations like this it is worth asking who has your digital back…

Health and Fitness

Tips for Your First 5K – The Monday Mile

Over the past week or so, several folks at Gear Diary have started (or re-started) running as part of training for a 5K road race. We’ve been having a number of discussions, and Carly and I have been recalling running our first races. Since spring has officially started and even in the northeast we’re starting to see temperatures climb to near 50ºF during the day – which means weekend runners! So I thought it would make sense to take a bit and offer up some tips for your First 5K! Here we go: Get an App: Dan & Judie are…

Health and Fitness

Food Is for Fuel – The Monday Mile

Image from Food is for Fuel.com I wrote about eating disorders recently because I was surprised at just how much of an issue it was for runners. There has been a lot of coverage due to the recent Eating Disorder Awareness Week campaign, and I have learned a lot of sobering things. One important thing was a comparison to drug addicts and alcoholics: whereas people dealing with those disorders need to work to avoid using them on a one-day-at-a-time basis, people with eating disorders need to cope with their problem while simultaneously having to use the object of their difficulty…

News & Features

Merrell’s Four Fundamentals of Fitness with Tim Ferriss

Earlier this year I reviewed Merrell’s M-Connect line of shoes and was blown away by the comfortable but minimal fit. Merrell has really committed to making great minimalist footwear, and that commitment doesn’t end when you slap on the shoes. They want to know that you’re really getting good use out of your shoes, and enjoying yourself fully. That’s why they’ve teamed with Tim Ferriss, the self-proclaimed “human guinea pig” and author of The 4-Hour Work Week, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef to offer up the four fundamentals of fitness. Yes, Tim Ferriss apparently likes when things come…

News & Features

Polaris eBike Makes You Go WHOOSH!

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of commuting by bike. It’s not practical for my job, unfortunately, but it just sounds very appealing to combine exercise with commuting — plus it’s far cheaper than using a car. I have a few issues with using a bike as a main vehicle, though: One, I would constantly worry about being sweaty, and two, I am a very poky bike rider. Even on a fully tuned up bike, there are children on tricycles who would zip past me! If I were in a position to seriously try biking every day work, though,…

Health and Fitness, Outdoors

Hypothermia Warning Signs – The Monday Mile

Over the last week I have heard a few stories about runners getting into a bit of trouble with the elements, and reflecting on how hard it is to interpret hypothermia warning signs … when you are the one who has gotten into trouble. One veteran runner had a ‘stomach emergency’ mid-run which led to too much exposure, and the inability to get warm. Fortunately there was a nearby gym where he stopped and called his wife to collect him. He noticed that he had a hard time operating his phone, and while driving home she remarked that the scary…

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Merrell M-Connect Line of Running Shoes Brings Natural Movement and Adventure to Your Feet

When’s the last time you walked outside barefoot? It’s fun to be in your bare feet and feel the texture of the ground and the way your feet move differently without shoes. But while it’s possible to run and hike barefoot, and some people embrace that wholeheartedly, many of us prefer to strike a balance between barefoot and big clunky “traditional” running shoes. Merrell’s M-Connect line of minimalist shoes is designed to give you everything-the feel of being barefoot, but the protection of shoes. They have a variety of models, from very minimal to hiking-oriented. Merrell was kind enough to…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Workout Indoors with BodyWeight Exercises – The Monday Mile

Last week I had a day where I planned to go out for a run, but the conditions were too icy, so I was home after about 2.5 miles to avoid possible injury. I already had myself warmed up and wanted to get in a workout, so I did the next best thing – an indoor bodyweight workout! Within a half-hour I had done a great workout that had me dripping with sweat and exhausted – and no equipment required! After years of everyone thinking you needed some expensive equipment to get a decent workout, folks are starting to realize…

Health and Fitness

Super Bowl Snackin’ – Plenty of Healthy Choices or Guilty Indulgences

Even though my family aren’t huge football fans (and lost our reason to care about the game itself two weeks ago), we enjoy using the Super Bowl as an excuse to have an ‘appetizer fest’. Our spread runs the gamut from fresh veggies to Buffalo wings with everything in between – so there are opportunities for healthy choices and decidedly UNhealthy choices. At the top we have a ‘one serving’ image of chips and seven-layer dip, which is part of the latest ‘This Is One Serving’ series from Greatist looking at Super Bowl snacks. Those guides are always an eye-opening…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Here Are Just Some of the Other Benefits of Sex

Sex is great because … well, if I have to explain THAT then I probably can’t help. But aside from the obvious benefit of being sex, there are numerous health benefits … and the folks at Greatist have detailed them out with links to some of the studies. Here are a few: • It can ward off the cold and flu • It can improve overall physical fitness • It decreases risk for heart disease * It lowers risks during pregnancy Head to Greatist to check out the full list, along with all of the links to the studies and…

News & Features

The Tricorder Could Be Just Around the Corner

I love Star Trek. One of the things I like the best about Star Trek is the gadgets, and the gadget I have always thought was the coolest was the Tricorder. There were, of course, two different Tricorders. One was used to look at items in the environment to get away teams the info they needed to find people, to discover other objects and more. The other is the Medical Tricorder that Dr. McCoy, Dr. Crusher and Dr. Bashir used to determine the extent of a red shirt’s injuries and other medical uses. Now the Xprize foundation, with the help…

Health and Fitness

Even if the Science is Murky, ‘Meatless Monday’ is Worth Your Effort

Choosing a dietary plan can be challenging, because sometimes it seems that for every bit of ‘nutritional science’ that tells us one thing, there is at least as much counter-evidence. No carb, all-carb, low-fat, loads of fat, Paleo, South Beach, Vegan, all-juice and on and on … it makes it very difficult to know what to do. Here is one thing I will suggest – join the ‘Meatless Monday’ campaign. Why? Let me get back to that in a bit … In terms of making healthy changes there are some easy things – a while back we looked at our…

Health and Fitness

iHealth Brings Out Monitoring Tools for Your iBaby

My friends with kids all marvel at how instinctively their children grasp iOS. They seem to easily master the touch interface and love playing games. The folks at iBaby have a few ideas to get your child started early on integrating smartphones into their lives … even in utero! The HeartSense won’t be out for a few months, but the video monitors are available now. The price and features are in line with other video monitors, but being able to control and watch them on your iPhone brings the experience to a whole new level! It makes me wonder what’s…

Editorials, Health and Fitness

New Weight Loss Method, the Built-In Stomach Pump

When I think of a stomach pump, it is usually in the context of someone ingesting poison or excessive alcohol, and an EMT or ER pumping the stomach as an extreme health measure. Apparently now a company called Aspire Bariatrics has developed a ‘minimally invasive’ system that seeks to replace ‘gastric bypass’ surgery and offer an alternative way for people to lose weight. According to the company: With Aspiration Therapy, patients “aspirate” (drain) a portion of their stomach contents into the toilet after each meal through an endoscopically-implanted tube, reducing the number of calories absorbed by the body. [snip] The AspireAssist…

Editorials

Even as Obesity Soars, Anorexia Remains a Huge Issue for Teen Girls

I didn’t think myself naive when I started my first real engineering job nearly a quarter century ago, yet I was quickly introduced to several new terms by a fellow engineer a couple years older than me. I learned the term ‘MILF’ and the expression ‘mind the gap’ which referred to the space between a woman’s upper thighs indicating she was thin and had proportionally wide hips. Neither or these were particularly respectful terms nor anything I would ever find myself using, but sadly they were two of the kindest expressions that I recall hearing from this engineer (misogynist and sexist…