Friday, March 20, 2009
Great New Blog! Social Workout
They say it best:Heartfelt Statement of Purpose....
A lot of us spend quite a lot of time working out. We run and swim, dance and kickbox. We lift weights and meditate and stand on our heads. We soak and steam ourselves, and drink coconut water. And it's good, and we wish we could do more. Sometimes we cry in yoga class, or punch the air at the end of a run, or smile quietly in dance class and vow to come back.Social Workout is dedicated to celebrating those moments, and to helping more people have more of them. We worry that the deskbound, sleep deprived, over-served American body has it kind of rough, and -- outside of certain parts of California and New Mexico -- remains under-appreciated and under-expressed.
Hello "social" workout. We can't actually wake you up at 6:30am (yet), but we can guide you to an emergency spinning class on Saturday afternoon, and pass along intel about life saving personal trainers and/or surf-yoga retreats in Costa Rica. We might even be able to find you a workout buddy, or bring you together with the cutie on the elliptical. We can definitely help you download a workout podcast to your iPhone (for use on while traveling), and we plan to experiment recreationally on your behalf at the Vitamin Shoppe.
Whatever we do, we aim to do it online and with feeling, and to be nothing like the deathly, formulaic national "fitness" media. How many ways are there really to six pack abs?
Labels: blog, cool new site, exercise, fitness, Social Workout
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Don't Count Calories!!
Exercise physiologists say there is little in the world of exercise as wildly exaggerated as people’s estimates of the number of calories they burn.
Despite the displays on machines at gyms, with their precise-looking calorie counts, and despite the official-looking published charts of exercise and calories, it can be all but impossible to accurately estimate of the number of calories you burn.
You can use your heart rate to gauge your effort, and from that you can plan routines that are as challenging as you want. But, researchers say, heart rate does not translate easily into calories. And you may be in for a rude surprise if you try to count the calories you think you used during exercise and then reward yourself with extra food.
One reason for the calorie-count skepticism is that two individuals of the same age, gender, height, weight and even the same level of fitness can burn a different amount of calories at the same level of exertion.
Even if you wanted to get a rough estimate of the calories an average person your size might burn at the gym, you might not want to trust the displays on cardio machines, with the possible exception of treadmills, said William Haskell, an exercise physiologist at Stanford. And with treadmills, the calories are not accurate if you hang on the bars.
Dr. Haskell once studied people using treadmills. Hanging onto the rails reduced the number of calories burned by 40 to 50 percent. The same thing happened with stair-climbing machines.
As for the calorie counts on machines like stationary bicycles and elliptical cross trainers and stair climbers, all bets are off, researchers said.
A major problem is that the machines get out of calibration. “They drift in speed and grade,” Dr. Haskell said. “If you go from one machine to another, it is obvious that at the same setting you are working much harder on one and much less on the next.”
SOURCE
Despite the displays on machines at gyms, with their precise-looking calorie counts, and despite the official-looking published charts of exercise and calories, it can be all but impossible to accurately estimate of the number of calories you burn.
You can use your heart rate to gauge your effort, and from that you can plan routines that are as challenging as you want. But, researchers say, heart rate does not translate easily into calories. And you may be in for a rude surprise if you try to count the calories you think you used during exercise and then reward yourself with extra food.
One reason for the calorie-count skepticism is that two individuals of the same age, gender, height, weight and even the same level of fitness can burn a different amount of calories at the same level of exertion.
Even if you wanted to get a rough estimate of the calories an average person your size might burn at the gym, you might not want to trust the displays on cardio machines, with the possible exception of treadmills, said William Haskell, an exercise physiologist at Stanford. And with treadmills, the calories are not accurate if you hang on the bars.
Dr. Haskell once studied people using treadmills. Hanging onto the rails reduced the number of calories burned by 40 to 50 percent. The same thing happened with stair-climbing machines.
As for the calorie counts on machines like stationary bicycles and elliptical cross trainers and stair climbers, all bets are off, researchers said.
A major problem is that the machines get out of calibration. “They drift in speed and grade,” Dr. Haskell said. “If you go from one machine to another, it is obvious that at the same setting you are working much harder on one and much less on the next.”
SOURCE
Labels: Calories, exercise, fitness, myths
Monday, November 26, 2007
Your Machine: The Elliptical
1. TEST YOURSELF To gauge your progress, take this test every 4 weeks: See how many strides you can complete in 10 minutes within your target heart-rate zone. Or, if the machine has a built-in fitness test -- as many brand-new models do -- try that instead.
2. LET YOUR RATE RULE Elliptical machines feel so smooth and comfy, it's easy to doubt that you're actually getting a workout. Ignore the calories (which are okay as a benchmark but aren't entirely accurate, as they don't take room conditions into account) and focus on stride rate (number of times per minute your legs go around). If you're not averaging at least 160, you're not racking up cardio benefits.
3. CROSSTRAIN SMARTER Adjust the angle of incline based on the sport you're training for, suggests Emily Cooper, M.D., founder of Seattle Performance Medicine in Seattle. For hiking Set it to 7 to 10 percent to mimic trail conditions and make your glutes do the brunt of the work. For cycling Set it to 4 to 6 percent to work your hamstrings and quads, the pedaling muscles. For running Set it at 1 to 4 percent to target your quads and calves.
4. TAKE IT IN STRIDE The elliptical's sweetest feature is that you can adjust your stride -- usually in half-inch increments from 18 to 26 inches. Generally, someone under 5'5" should stay below 22 inches; taller people can go up to 26 inches.
THANKS!
2. LET YOUR RATE RULE Elliptical machines feel so smooth and comfy, it's easy to doubt that you're actually getting a workout. Ignore the calories (which are okay as a benchmark but aren't entirely accurate, as they don't take room conditions into account) and focus on stride rate (number of times per minute your legs go around). If you're not averaging at least 160, you're not racking up cardio benefits.
3. CROSSTRAIN SMARTER Adjust the angle of incline based on the sport you're training for, suggests Emily Cooper, M.D., founder of Seattle Performance Medicine in Seattle. For hiking Set it to 7 to 10 percent to mimic trail conditions and make your glutes do the brunt of the work. For cycling Set it to 4 to 6 percent to work your hamstrings and quads, the pedaling muscles. For running Set it at 1 to 4 percent to target your quads and calves.
4. TAKE IT IN STRIDE The elliptical's sweetest feature is that you can adjust your stride -- usually in half-inch increments from 18 to 26 inches. Generally, someone under 5'5" should stay below 22 inches; taller people can go up to 26 inches.
THANKS!
Labels: exercise, fitness, gym, The Elliptical
Friday, July 20, 2007
FitFlop? The new flip-flop?
Every step you take in the FitFlop helps tone and trim your legs. The FitFlop's uniquely built multi-density midsole activates muscles midstep to help tone your thighs, your calves and your glutes. In fact, FitFlops are biomechanically engineered to absorb shock, lessen joint strain, and recreate the gait of barefoot walking - but with a powerful new built-in micro-wobbleboard workout-enhancing effect. Available in UK women's sizes 4-8 in Red and Black (Sorry, blue is not available until July). RRP £36. Patent pending.
Labels: FitFlop, fitness, innovative
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
I actually saw a guy in them today -- the new Uggs, Crocs, etc..
For many people, knee and back pain keeps them from getting the exercise they need. In many cases, these nagging aches and pains can have a simple and not so obvious cause. Fitness expert Susie Nesselman of BodyTrends.com, an online resource for people looking for information about fitness and fitness products, says most people need look no further than what they're wearing on their feet."Most shoes don't offer adequate support for people as they walk, much less exercise," says Nesslemen, "but it's an easy problem to solve."
Nessleman recommends that people who come to her with these aches and pains invest in a pair of shoes made by Masai Barefoot Technology, or MBT for short.
The shoes were invented by Swiss engineer Karl Müller. During a visit to Korea he made the discovery that walking barefoot over paddy fields alleviated his back and knee pain. When he returned home to Switzerland, Müller began to develop a footwear technology that would make the natural instability of soft ground such as Korean paddy fields accessible to everyone, no matter where they lived. In 1996, after years of research and development, Masai Barefoot Technology was born. MBTs are now available in more than 20 countries around the world, and approximately one million pairs of this revolutionary footwear technology are sold every year.
See more here...
Nessleman recommends that people who come to her with these aches and pains invest in a pair of shoes made by Masai Barefoot Technology, or MBT for short.
The shoes were invented by Swiss engineer Karl Müller. During a visit to Korea he made the discovery that walking barefoot over paddy fields alleviated his back and knee pain. When he returned home to Switzerland, Müller began to develop a footwear technology that would make the natural instability of soft ground such as Korean paddy fields accessible to everyone, no matter where they lived. In 1996, after years of research and development, Masai Barefoot Technology was born. MBTs are now available in more than 20 countries around the world, and approximately one million pairs of this revolutionary footwear technology are sold every year.
See more here...
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Partners in Fitness
I MUST HAVE THIS!!!
Steve Jobs, Lance Armstrong and marathoner Paula Radcliffe provided the star wattage Tuesday when Nike and Apple trumpeted a new partnership and unveiled the first product they have developed — the Nike + iPod Sport Kit.
During a highly scripted press conference announcing the news to hundreds at Chelsea Piers, Nike chief executive officer Mark Parker explained how the kit has a wireless system that allows a sensor placed in Nike's Air Zoom Moire to talk to Apple's iPod nano to keep runners up to speed about their workouts. By merely touching a button on the iPod, wearers will hear an update of the distance covered, the pace and miles to go, and when energy levels droop, they can touch a button to automatically play their power song, whichever one they have selected as their most motivational.
The $29 kit will be available within the next 60 days in the U.S. through Apple's and Nike's freestanding and online stores, as well as at select stores. But all those workout updates won't come cheaply. The kit is useless without what the brand is calling Nike+ footwear, a new subcategory of footwear that includes the Air Zoom Moire, which currently retails for $100, and an iPod nano, which starts at $149. Nike apparel with pockets for iPod nanos also will be sold.
http://www.nike.com/nikeplus/#overview
Steve Jobs, Lance Armstrong and marathoner Paula Radcliffe provided the star wattage Tuesday when Nike and Apple trumpeted a new partnership and unveiled the first product they have developed — the Nike + iPod Sport Kit.
During a highly scripted press conference announcing the news to hundreds at Chelsea Piers, Nike chief executive officer Mark Parker explained how the kit has a wireless system that allows a sensor placed in Nike's Air Zoom Moire to talk to Apple's iPod nano to keep runners up to speed about their workouts. By merely touching a button on the iPod, wearers will hear an update of the distance covered, the pace and miles to go, and when energy levels droop, they can touch a button to automatically play their power song, whichever one they have selected as their most motivational.
The $29 kit will be available within the next 60 days in the U.S. through Apple's and Nike's freestanding and online stores, as well as at select stores. But all those workout updates won't come cheaply. The kit is useless without what the brand is calling Nike+ footwear, a new subcategory of footwear that includes the Air Zoom Moire, which currently retails for $100, and an iPod nano, which starts at $149. Nike apparel with pockets for iPod nanos also will be sold.
http://www.nike.com/nikeplus/#overview
Labels: Apple, fitness, new product, Nike
