Author: KineticShift

SIA: Kick Out the Jams

While the show was about snow sports, there were plenty of products for use year round from the SIA (Snowsports Industries America) trade show, which was held last week in Denver. One product that caught our eye was the JammyPack, a small fanny pack bag that includes a small battery powered speaker system.

 The idea is to let wearer’s bring and share the music sans headphones – which can be a good idea in places where a headphone might not be recommended. From our own experience, we’re also sure this product will do a great job at annoying those around any wearer in the process. Congratulations to JammyPack, first for offering an alternative to headphones and second, for making it all the easier for inconsiderate people to “share” their music with the rest of us!

JammyPack Official Website

SIA: Snow Sports is Big Business

The snow sports market is big business, and according to numbers from last week’s Snowsports Industries America trade show, which took place in Denver, more than $1 billion (with a B) worth of equipment apparel alone, and reached $2.1 billion season-to-date.

So while the evening news may be complaining about the falling snow, and cities on the East Coast continue to dig out, this has been a boom time for those who partake in winter sports. This is also the first time that in history that snow sport sales have topped a billion dollars for sales in a single month. Sales this season are also 16 percent higher than last year, suggesting that despite a still sluggish economy winter sports are taking on the winter blues. Continue reading SIA: Snow Sports is Big Business

Red Bull Brings Out Mini Velodrome in London

 

Energy drink maker Red Bull packs a big punch in a small can, and maybe size does matter. To that end the drink maker has created the world’s smallest velodrome in London’s East End. This purpose-built track was created by Velotrack, the team behind the velodromes for the Atlanta Olympics and Delhi Commonwealth Games.

It is so small it could almost fit in the average America back yard… but we think we’ll keep to the road for now.

Red Bull Mini Drome Offiial Site

Walk This Way, Walk That Way, Every Body Walk!

There is nothing exactly high tech, or even innovative about walking. But that won’t stop KineticShift.com from helping spread the word that walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week is the first step toward better health. This is the take-charge message from health advocates at  Kaiser Permanente, who announced a new public awareness project aimed at starting a national conversation about the health benefits of walking.

Every Body Walk! is an online educational campaign aimed at getting Americans up and moving, and the site www.everybodywalk.org serves as a walking hub for news, resources on walking, health information, walking maps, how to find groups and even a personal pledge form to start walking. The site even provides a place to share stories about individual experiences with walking.

According to research more than 70 percent of all adult Americans lead sedentary lifestyles and this impacts the overall health of our country as a whole.

“The aim of the Every Body Walk! campaign is to inform Americans about the tremendous health benefits of walking,” said Bob Sallis, MD, family physician at Kaiser Permanente’s, Southern California Permanente Medical Group. “Walking is an excellent form of exercise for everyone and for those with conditions like diabetes, asthma, heart disease and depression, a regular walking regimen has the added benefit of helping to manage these diseases. I’m a strong believer in the power of walking and that’s why I literally prescribe it to my patients as front line medicine — often in place of medications.”

The Every Body Walk! campaign is powered by Kaiser Permanente. Campaign partners include the American College of Sports Medicine and their Exercise Is Medicine global initiative.

Every Body Walk! Official Website

National Bike Summit Brings Many Companies Together

We received a press release this week for the National Bike Summit 2011, and our first thought was, “wow, look at all the corporate and group logos.” There were quite a few and this included League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong Coalition, Planet Bike, National Bicycle Dealers Association, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Safe Routes: National Center for Safe Routes to School, Alliance for Biking & Walking, Saris Cycling Group, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Interbike, AAA, My Bike Law, Cycling Mobility, FTA, Bicycle Times, Toue de Cure, Dero Bike Racks, CycleSafe Secure Bicycle Parking, Adventure Cycling, Toole Design Group, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Rails to Trails Conservancy, QBP, Cat Eye, RBA, The National Center for Bicycling and Walking, Alta Planning & Design and Polar.

What does this really mean? To us, it actually means that the future should be looking very good for those who like to ride bikes. There is always power in numbers, and the coming together of so many cycling groups, companies that make cycling products and even a few groups like AAA in the mix that the power for pedaling should be in full gear.

We’ll be sure to report on the latest news from the National Bike Summit when it takes place in March.

Jack LaLanne Dies at Age 96

We’re sad to report that fitness guru Jack LaLanne died Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California. He was reported to be 96 years old.

We’d like to believe he lived to the ripe old age because of the decades he spent talking about the healthful benefits of exercise and fitness. LaLanne opened his first health spa in California in 1936, long before any fitness craze hit America. LaLanne was also one of the innovators of fitness technology, as he invented the first leg-extension machine.

Our condolences go out to his family and friends. The fitness world has lost a true icon.

Signal Snowboard Makes Boombox Snowboard

There are headphones you can use while riding the slopes, and there are even snowboarding helmets with built in speakers. But how about taking a snowboard and combining it with a 1980’s era boombox? That’s what the gang from Every Third Thursday did. Introducing the Boombox from Signal Snowboard:

 

While most of the electronics are much smaller than those from the 1980s, the result is a board that can be still be ridden. Now that’s a new way to bring music to your ride.

Research: Snowboarding Safer Thank Skiing

In case you didn’t get the memo – we obviously were late to the game – this week is National Safety Awareness Week (January 15 – 23) on the ski slopes around the country. This includes knowing and following the code:

Skiing and snowboarding can be enjoyed in many ways. At ski areas you may see people using alpine, snowboard, telemark, cross country and other specialized ski equipment, such as that used by disabled or other skiers. Regardless of how you decide to enjoy the slopes, always show courtesy to others and be aware that there are elements of risk in skiing that common sense and personal awareness can help reduce. Observe the code listed below and share with other skiers the responsibility for a great skiing experience.

  1. Always stay in control.
  2. People ahead of you have the right of way.
  3. Stop in a safe place for you and others.
  4. Whenever starting downhill or merging, look uphill and yield.
  5. Use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.
  6. Observe signs and warnings, and keep off closed trails.
  7. Know how to use the lifts safely.

Be safety conscious and
KNOW THE CODE. IT’S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Continue reading Research: Snowboarding Safer Thank Skiing

Kinetic(mis)Shift: Fitness Tech Bood Camp Promo Video

There are plenty of tech-enhanced video products promoted with videos on Youtube. Yet, there are so many that fall short. This promo video from Fitness Tech Boot Camp is just another one of those. Hello Fitness Tech Boot Camp, who are you? We just watched your 52-second video and am both baffled and a little turned off.

No amount of hard, angry music is going to make us want to choose you to get into shape. We still don’t know what “tech” you’re employing, other than the ability to create a 52-second video containing nothing more than a slide show. The video could have spent the time showing me what technology is employed, or actual video of sample workouts. Tell us who you are. Show us who you are. Right now, we got nothing.

And then we clicked on this video, which had slightly better music and possibly some photos of people doing the workout, but still in slideshow form.

Kinetic(Mis)Shift are products that we think deserve to be called out for their utter lack of fitness benefits.

SHOT Show: KineticShift Goes Back to Vegas

Another week another trade show. There is no rest for the weary in January, and after hitting the Consumer Electronics Show and the Detroit Auto Show, we’re back to “Sin City” to check out the latest offerings and most innovative products that will be available this year for hunters, sport shooters and firearms enthusiasts 

This is the largest and most comprehensive trade show for all professionals involved with the shooting sports and hunting industries. Last year’s show in Orlando saw nearly 60,000 in total attendance with more than 1,600 exhibitors and nearly 700,000 square feet of exhibit space – and this year the National Shooting Sports Foundation expects an even bigger show with nearly 2,000 members of the media in attendance.

SHOT Show Official Website

Is One-on-One Fitness the New Way to Work Out?

Ever wonder how serious athletes get so seriously in shape, or how celebrities can tone up for a movie role? Part of is that this is what their job is all about. They don’t spend the day working and then go hit the gym of course, but another part of it is that they get one-on-one training. This is what Jaime Brenkus has in mind with his “concierge” weight loss and training program.

Brenkus had previously pioneered the concept of the 8-Minutes Abs Program and is looking to take his Slim & FIT Centers to the next level with his new program. He looks to address the issue that many people just don’t like to work out.

“It wasn’t the usual litany of how they couldn’t afford it or didn’t have the time,” said Brenkus. “With most of them, it boiled down to the fact that they were so out of shape, they were embarrassed to go to a gym and work out in front of strangers.”

Now Brenkus has sold 21 franchises with locations in major cities in the country, and here visitors can go to a single destination to work out and get personalized counseling as well. The centers provide a private setting. Let’s hope it catches on.

Slim & Fit Centers Official Website