Video games and exercise don’t often go hand-in-hand, although attempts at calorie burning games by major consoles have been made in the past. However, with the new Kinect 2.0 technology included with the Xbox One, Microsoft is trying to lure us couch potatoes off of our favorite La-Z-Boy by combining videos by popular fitness instructors with Kinect’s new ultra-sensitive cameras.
I like Fitbit clip-on trackers because they measure sleep, steps, floors climbed, and they integrate well with Android and iOS fitness apps. But after losing two to the washing machine, I’d given up and moved to more convenient bracelet-style trackers. As an early adopter of Fitbit’s Flex bracelet-style tracker, I feel cheated by today’s release of the Force. Here’s why.
If everything in life were only so simple! A new release from the University of Florida says that in those with Alzheimer’s, the ability to smell from “the left nostril is significantly more impaired than the right.” So cover your nostrils and breathe deep from an open jar of peanut butter, a “pure odorant”. How did you do?
A recent New York Times called ‘The Slowest Generation’ slams the younger generation for abandoning competition and running races ‘for the bling’. The article – and the ‘Dumbing Down, Slowing Down’ article that inspired it – contend that competitiveness is dulled in the aftermath of a generation raised on ‘everyone gets a medal’, and finishing is now its own reward. The articles point to an increase in average finish times for races, the increased popularity of non-timed ‘gimmick’ races such as color and mud runs, and the move to stop funding elite runners at races by Competitor Group. They say that…
A week ago, satire site The Onion posted ‘Nation’s Female Joggers Know They Will One Day Be Assaulted, Buried In Woods’, where women acknowledge this as simply part of the circle of life. All fun aside, as fall arrives it’s a good time to step back and remind ourselves of the need for enhanced safety on shorter, cooler days. I wrote about early morning running tips in the first part of spring as I started to see more people emerging from their winter cocoons, and now as school is back in session and the mornings are darker it makes sense…
Are you having a hard time finding the right pillow? Technogel thinks they have the right answer with their high-tech pillows, designed to keep you cool and support your body for a more restful sleep. The catch? They’re $169…each. Ouch, but if they work, it’s worth it, right? What sets Technogel apart is their technology. The pillows stay cooler than memory foam, and their density means they spread support better than foam as well. The idea is that the ergonomics and design make for a better night’s sleep than on ordinary pillows and memory foam, and a better night’s sleep is…
We recently talked with Heapsylon’s CTO Mario Esposito about impressive gear that can interface among the physical world and video. Esposito also co-founded Heapsylon in 2009, which concentrates on wearable body sensing technology. Heapsylon, a Washington-based start-up, has launched Sensoria Fitness, which consists of mobile applications, the first e-textile pressure sensing smart sock, and Bluetooth anklet. The mobile application monitor and guide you through real-time audio cues. The smart sock, completely made of fabric, can be washed or dried like a regular sock. The anklet magnetically snaps on the cuff of the sock and sends commands. Sensoria Fitness recently completed two successful campaign on…
Many kids across the country are already in class, with other states opening within the next week. It’s back to school time, and that means getting organized for a new year. This sense of a fresh start can apply to everything, so as we get our kids equipped and organized, it is worth revisiting our health and fitness goals. At the end of last year, I talked about using the ‘SMART’ system to evaluate your resolutions. I emphasized the importance of setting goals that would make you accountable for tracking and milestones, and that were specific enough to be measurable. One…
Apteka Naturel is a website devoted to all-natural, organic nutritional supplements. They’re running a contest to find the next ‘Mr & Mrs Apteka Naturel’. To enter, make a ~2 minute video explaining why you should be chosen and what Apteka products reflect your needs. Winners get a product pack and chance to be in upcoming ads! So get busy making videos!
I have talked many times about how running has fueled my weight loss and maintenance through the years. Many people take up running but don’t lose weight – and this week I have had the same old report brought up twice about weight loss and exercise. Bottom line – losing weight is hard work requiring changes in eating and exercise. One of my favorite Bloom County comics involves Opus looking at an index of diet books and deciding how to reshape himself, with Milo offering the basic advice ‘how about eat less, and exercise?’. Here it is: Perhaps you have…
Minimalist running means different things to different people, from zero-drop to barefoot design to little cushioning. Regardless of definition, the Merrell Vapor Gloves qualify; they have zero drop, 2mm of cushion, and they can fold up into your pockets. They are amazingly comfortable while offering an uncompromisingly minimal design, so it’s worth checking them out to see if they’re for you. I did an initial impressions post on the Vapor Glove, and now after spending more time with the shoes, it is worth going back to see they have performed over a longer time period. So let’s get into some…
Each year since 1995, Running USA has documented the ‘state of running’ in terms of road races. They have looked at the total number of finishers of official races, as well as how those numbers are distributed by race, age, and gender. For every one of the last 20 years except 2003, there have been new records set in every aspect of road races as covered by Running USA. They released the numbers for 2012 last week, and as that was my first year of participating in road races I was intrigued to see the numbers. Here are a few…
Blue Goji has begun and aims to combine fitness and gaming into a brand new platform where working out is more fun by adding interactivity using various tech devices, especially mobile and tablet devices. The Blue Goji fitness game platform will function with tablets and smartphones (Android and iOS) on cardio equipment such as treadmills, stationary bicycles, and elliptical machines. The Android/iOS first platform will release near the 2013 holiday season. The formation of this new interactive fitness company was announced on July 29, 2013. This company looks to use their Goji Play game system and other interactive methods to “transform the cardio…
I have never had a problem perspiring – and given that I am also a distance runner who doesn’t shy away from the heat and humidity, and you have the recipe for some drenched workout clothes! All of my Dri-Fit stuff is still wet after several hours! Imagine if there was a way to harness all of that perspiration and convert it back to drinking water? Well, there is, and it is called simply the Sweat Machine and it is part of a UNICEF campaign to raise awareness for the 750 million people around the world without access to clean…
This is going to sound a bit cynical and perhaps it is: American culture has become obsessed with the possibility of actions without consequence followed by a ‘quick fix’ to undo whatever mess we’ve made. I have a picture of my mother at a bicentennial celebration in 1976 and she was rail-thin, thinner than I had ever seen her. She had problems for years losing weight after my younger sister was born, so her doctor gave her diet pills to help. In the mid-70s ‘diet pills’ were basically speed. She lost weight way too fast because the speed diet pills…
Take a look at the modern Barbie doll that Nickolay Lamm of MyDeals.com created; she’s the one on the right, in case you couldn’t tell. It’s been said before that if a human being had Barbie’s proportions, she would be about 5’9″ tall with a 39″ bust, and an 18″ waist. That living doll would have 33″ hips, she’d wear a size 3 shoe, and she would weigh 110 pounds. Those measurements are not at all realistic if you are a human being rather than a product made of molded plastic body parts.
The other day I reviewed the ETY•Plugs HD earplugs. (Read the review.) What stands out to me, when thinking about this excellent approach to protecting one’s hearing, is the fact that the earplugs are based on the design Etymotic employs for their headphones. In other words, someone who finds Etymotic headphones comfortable will find the same to hold true with the ETY•Plugs HD earplugs. Turns out Etymotic isn’t the only company to leverage their headphones by offering a pair of earplugs that look and feel like something you might use to enjoy your audio; V-MODA had the same idea and…
The other day Judie reviewed the VitaSound Personal Audio Enhancer PAE-300. This great little gadget is perfect for the person coping with some degree of hearing loss. Even Judie was surprised by how well it works and the fact that her daughter Sarah, the actual hands-on reviewer, is using it constantly. (Read the review.) It is fantastic that technology can help those with hearing loss. Better still however is taking steps to not have hearing issues in the first place. Sure, as Judie pointed out in the review, some hearing loss is genetic but there is a growing epidemic of…
I like to try to ride my bike whenever I can in an effort to burn off some of the extra pounds that I put on in my gig as a food writer. I have a Litespeed Titanium road bike that I ride for fitness, but it’s not very practical for in town use, especially since I use Speedplay pedal clips that make it almost impossible to walk in the specialized shoes when you’re not on the bike. So for just getting around town or riding to the YMCA and back (where I then go to a spin class ……
There are several people in my family who have hearing troubles, some more severe than others. For instance, my mom started having degenerative hearing loss when she was in her early 20s, and for as long as I can remember she has worn hearing aids. My daughter, Sarah, has always had problems with certain tones; she has trouble discerning what people are saying if they don’t speak clearly or if they mumble, and she has used the closed caption setting on her TV to watch movies since she was 15 or so. I’ve had Sarah’s hearing tested, and although it’s…
I enjoy working outdoors, camping, hiking, taking the family on picnics, not to mention toil in my garden. What I dislike however, is the hordes of mosquitoes, fleas, chiggers and ticks that lurk in the outdoors. They are there… waiting, just waiting to set their little vampiric jaws or proboscises upon me. Let’s face it…Nature itches! If biting and itching from these pests wasn’t bad enough, many of these itty bitty annoyances can carry a variety of serious diseases. All that can make a summer evening sitting around a campfire or an outdoor vacation much less enjoyable. The folks at…