Author: Enid Burns

Football Mouth Guard Detects Injury

Mouth guards just got smarter. Those bite guards that protect teeth and impact for football players on the field may soon have some electronics built in. A team at Stanford University is testing a prototype mouth guard with sensors built inside to offer protection, but also to determine any brain injury during practice and games.

Sensors inside the mouth guard will detect movement and impact to provide insight into how different types of blows affect the brain. Even now, science is still learning about how the brain reacts to such trauma. Researchers hope to use this data to not only detect and diagnose injury, but to further research on brain trauma, and the threshold where impact becomes harmful.

Football players have used sensors imbedded in equipment such as helmets for several seasons. The Stanford University researchers and the Seattle-based X2 Impact, which made the bite guards, aim for this to be a less expensive (and possibly more effective) replacement to helmets wired with sensors. Helmets are said to be faulty because they can shift during a game.

The football team at Stanford University is currently testing the mouth guards. The researchers plan to deploy the new protective gear to the Stanford women’s field hockey and lacrosse teams.

X2Impact Official Website
[Via Stanford University School of Medicine: For study of concussions, Stanford athletes use high-tech mouthpiece to record head impact]

Nike Presses Old Model Shoes Back Into Service

A handful of Nike’s most popular shoes are about to come out of retirement. The classic Air Force 1, Dunk and Air Max 90 models will be in stores for the holidays. But they won’t entirely be like the original sneakers.

Nike will use a thermo-molding technique called Vac Tech to press the materials of the shoes into form rather than the traditional stitching. The thermo-molding technique is a vacuum compression method that forms all the layers of the shoe together without seams or stitching on the upper portions.

Advantages to the Vac Tech method are weight and durability. The pressed layers make the shoe stand up against wear. The lack of stitched layers means threads won’t fray and layers of material won’t start to pull apart. The compressed fabric also lends itself to a lighter shoe.

A single piece of material, or several layers molded seamlessly together, can also make a more comfortable shoe. No seams means no bumps in the construction to rub against spots on your foot to cause irritation and possibly blisters.

Nike Official Website
[Via: Fast Company Nike’s New Thermo-Molded Sneakers Are Like Sculptures for Your Feet]

Nike Mixes Tech with LeBron 9 Cannon Shoes

Nike’s LeBron line has a new shoe. The Lebron 9 Cannon design “focus on functionality without sacrificing style,” according to the company. Nike claims this basketball shoe is the first to combine its Flywire and Hyperfuse technology. While this may be a closer integration, previous shoes including a prototype shoe developed for Tiger Woods this past spring. This may, however, be the first commercially released pair of shoes from Nike using both technologies.

Continue reading Nike Mixes Tech with LeBron 9 Cannon Shoes

Wave Your Hands in the Air for Bally

httpv://youtu.be/qE1uQdZ5l3M

The popularity of fitness games is influencing gym activities. Bally Total Fitness plans to install video walls with a multi-screen display with a motion-sensing camera. Similar to gesture-based console games on the Nintendo Wii or Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect, the video will incorporate user movements such as arm sweeps and jumps to control the activity on the screen. Continue reading Wave Your Hands in the Air for Bally

New Garmin Forerunner Goes for a Swim; Ready for Kona

Sports and GPS go hand-in-hand. That is unless you’re swimming or going off to remote areas where tracking often poses a challenge. Innovations in GPS technology now make it possible to track your workouts, and races, when swimming. Garmin is among the sport watch manufacturers to leverage this new technology.

The company’s new Forerunner 910XT is a multisport watch, an all-in-one GPS-enabled device that provides detailed swim metrics and tracks distance, speed/pace, elevation and heart rate for running and cycling. The 910XT has an on-board barometric altimeter for improved elevation data.

A smooth, low profile allows for athletes to slide tight-fitting wetsuits over the watch. This makes it possible for use with water sports. It also facilitates quick outfit changes necessary for triathletes competing in races where a wetsuit or other protective and warmth gear is necessary.

(Video after the jump)

Continue reading New Garmin Forerunner Goes for a Swim; Ready for Kona

Hands On: Flash Shopping Site The Clymb

While some of you don’t need an introduction to flash shopping sites, I think it’s required here. Over the past few years flash shopping sites have emerged to bring the “sample sale” experience to online shoppers. They generally focus on an area of luxury goods such as fashion, home goods and home décor. Shoppers generally have to subscribe to be granted entry to the site, and get email notifications listing the sales each day. These sales, like sample sales, are for a limited time of about two or three days, and the site might host three or 12 sales from different designers or manufacturers on any given day. Continue reading Hands On: Flash Shopping Site The Clymb

Hands On: Honey Stinger Organic Stinger Waffle

This morning I got up and realized I had nothing for breakfast. Then I remembered the Honey Stinger Waffles I picked up at Interbike a few weeks ago. Problem Solved! Normally I don’t grab an energy bar unless I plan on a really hard workout. It’s got the protein, carbohydrates, fat and calories to feed you and get you going. But this waffle bar is a bit smaller and I figured , whether or not it’s true, it seems like an appropriate breakfast.

Even when I’m on a hard workout, I think about whether I need an energy bar, again because of all that comes with it. It’s a commitment. It’s saying “I am going to burn 1,000+ calories before I’m through.” It’s more than I need. Enter the Honey Stinger: Stinger waffle. I tried the strawberry flavor. It was yummy.

The bar is roughly three-inches in diameter. It’s very thin. It’s a wafer sandwich. Densely packed inside is a strawberry jelly. Though don’t expect to do the Oreo thing and separate them, it’s pretty solid. Stinger Waffles are light, sweet and you hardly believe you’re eating an energy bar. Continue reading Hands On: Honey Stinger Organic Stinger Waffle

G-Form Goes Stealth with Padding

Some sports require protective gear. Said protective gear is often awkward due to its bulkiness, stiffness and other restraints from the movement of the sport at hand. Rhode Island-based G-Form has impact absorbing protection gear that goes on soft but turns stiff like armor when the pressure of an impact is experienced. Continue reading G-Form Goes Stealth with Padding

Quirky New Bike: Modus

In just 24-hours a new bike was created with the input of people on the internet. The “Quirky Moneyball Project” was a collaboration between crowd source invention company Quirky and Columbia Pictures in promotion of the new film Moneyball.

You might think that the promotion would be to build a better bat or baseball cleats. The challenge for Quirky however, was to develop and build a new bicycle in just 24 hours. The collaboration included input from the Quirky design team with the healp of Oakland A’s fans, film enthusiasts and the Quirky global community.

Video after the jump

Continue reading Quirky New Bike: Modus

EasyTone and Reebok’s Shapely Settlement With FTC

Reebok has reached a settlement with the FTC told to be worth $25 million in customer refunds concerning its EasyTone and RunTone Shoes. The FTC charges Reebok “deceptively advertised ‘toning shoes,’ which it claimed would provide extra tone and strength to the leg and buttock muscles.” As part of the settlement agreement Reebok will pay $25 million. The funds will go toward consumer refunds either directly from the FTC or through a court-approved class action lawsuit. Continue reading EasyTone and Reebok’s Shapely Settlement With FTC

Interbike 2011: Kinetic Exhibitors

At Interbike this year, we at KineticShift.com couldn’t help but notice all the exhibitors with “Kinetic” in the name.

Kinetic by Kurt makes indoor trainers for your bike so you can keep pedaling through the winter. Kinetic’s Rock and Roll model takes some of the tedium out of the stationary bike conundrum by allowing for the bike to move or rock from side to side. It’s set up like any other trainer that connects to your rear wheel. Where the Rock and Roll differs, however, is that most trainers keep your bike stationary and unmovable. The Rock and Roll rocks your bike from side to side as you pedal. A Turntable Riser Ring holds your front wheel and lets you turn the bike as if you’re steering around a curve.

Since both wheels remain on the bike, expect your tires to get a certain amount of wear from a season on the trainer. More accurately, expect your tires to get a wear spot or bald spot from where the front tire sits, and the rear tire will get wear from friction where the tire rubs on the trainer. Because of this Kinetic by Kurt recommends using Trainer Tires. These indoor trainer tires are from Kinetic by Kenda.

Video after the jump: Continue reading Interbike 2011: Kinetic Exhibitors

Fitness Journal: Footbalance Custom Fitting Inserts

Over the years, my feet have sent me to the store, doctor and chiropractor to seek relief. I’ve bought insole inserts off the shelf from running and sporting goods stores. I’ve also had custom inserts and orthotics made for my feet to address specific problems. While they help, I’ve resolved that what I really need is a new pair of feet.

Short of getting a new pair of feet – science and technology just haven’t caught up to me yet — I go for shoes that offer support and add extra support by way of custom orthotics or other inserts.

At Interbike 2011 last week I had the opportunity to get a personalized pair of insoles from Footbalance. The Finnish-based company makes it possible to get custom inserts from a store rather than the costly orthotics you get at the doctor. A quick evaluation is all you need.

Video after the jump

Continue reading Fitness Journal: Footbalance Custom Fitting Inserts

Interbike 2011: Wahoo Fitness On the Run

The company that brought you a cycle computer on your iPhone via ANT+ now has a run and gym solution. The Wahoo Run Pack from Wahoo Fitness is ideal for cyclists looking to cross-train in the colder winter months. Of course it also works quite well for those who simply run or go to the gym, even if they don’t ride a bike as part of training. Continue reading Interbike 2011: Wahoo Fitness On the Run