Author: Peter Suciu

Run Into the Ground in a Good Way

Running shoes can go the distance but the truth is that most shoes are deemed “dead” before they’re exactly falling apart. This is because it is a good idea to replace shoes long before they reach that state. The problem is that the synthetic materials used to make many shoes can last a long time. Now that’s good when you’re using them, but bad once they’re past the “use by” date.

Currently, there aren’t exactly recycle bins for old running shoes. So instead when the shoes are done, they end up in landfills. The way many of these are built they could be dug by some future garbage-archeologist. One solution is from Brooks Sports with its $100 “Green Silence” shoes, which are designed to break down in a landfill. The process is still more of a distance race than a sprint, and takes 20 years, but that’s a far cry from the marathon pace of many traditional running shoes. Continue reading Run Into the Ground in a Good Way

Luxembourg Pro Cycling Get Crafty With Apparel

Andy and Frank Schleck, along with Fabian Cancellara, Jakob Fuglsang, Jens Voigt and Stuart O’Grady will be looking crafty this summer as they take to the roads of France and beyond. As part of the new Luxembourg Pro Cycling project they’ll be deck out in Craft Performance Apparel reports Velonation.

The apparel company will work with the team in 2011 and beyond, and offer riders the sleek clothing that it has developed for skiing and speed-skating. For the Schlecks as well as Cancellara it won’t be much of a change as they wore Craft attire with Saxo Bank as well.

Craft is the latest sponsor to join the new Luxembourg squad, as equipment suppliers Trek and Mercedes were previously on board. Now all that’s left is to see the actual uniform take shape.

[Via Velonation: Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project to use Craft Performance Apparel clothing]

Strolling With Your Palz

There is no denying that in this digital age that kids probably aren’t getting quite as much physical activity as they should. But GeoPalz might have a solution to help keep kids trim. The company has introduced a line of kid-friendly pedometers featuring unique designs including hearts, peace signs, fairies and even “Skulls and Guitars.” These simple devices are hip, while meant to be worn on the hip, and more importantly help encourage kids to wear them daily.

Each one has a unique 8-digit code that is can be used to login into the GeoPalz website, which tracks the steps kids make during the day. As the users progress further in the GeoPalz virtual world they collect a “point” for every real mile they walk. These points can be redeemed for free items including hacky sacks, plush soccer balls and Frisbees. “Milestone” Awards can further be printed out and hung on the fridge or on a bedroom wall. Continue reading Strolling With Your Palz

Bodybugg Out The Calories

With the holiday season upon us, you could find yourself indulging a bit too much. The Bodybugg Calorie Management System will let you help monitor your intake so you won’t bulge from the holiday indulge. The system provides an accurate daily record of calories consumed and lets you trak how many you’ve burned. Continue reading Bodybugg Out The Calories

The New Nike Club

Earlier this week we noted that some golf clubs have been banned for their laser grooves, and while still for sale might not be the best investment in the long run. However, Nike Golf has introduced a new set of irons to the VR line that will be totally legal and could just help your game. The new VR Pro Combo irons are a premium Tour-level iron set that offer higher trajectory on long shots. These use a new linear Center of Gravity (CG) Mapping that makes the clubs ideal for optimal launch and consistent distance control.

The irons are precision forged out of 1025 Forged Carbon Steel , and each face is milled to a perfectly flat surface and then die-stamped, pressing grooves to exact specifications, which conform to new USGA and R&A rules. These new X3X high-frequency grooves provide extremely low variance for shot-making consistency, along with better performance and distance control.

[Via Sandbox8.com: Nike Golf Introduces VR Pro Combo Irons]

Nike Golf Official Website

Banned on the Course: What’s the Deal With Grooved Clubs?

Would you think about buying a banned item to improve your game? That’s been a question raging all year over certain golf clubs. It didn’t attract as much mainstream media attention when it came up last winter, but there was the little scandal involving a certain high profile golfer.

But the USGA last year banned certain clubs that got their groove on, or rather had too much of a groove. The issue is more complex because certain clubs such as the Cleveland CG14 Wedge was banned, while initially the CG15 Wedges were in the clear. To the untrained eye both wedges have the same laser-milled groves.

In its holiday gift guide round-up Wired magazine noted that the CG15s won’t be sold after this year – so get them while you can, or not. The clubs are, according to the outlet, verboten for amateurs after 2024. So if you plan to keep the same clubs for the next dozen years you might want to reconsider. But in the meantime check the USGA Equipment Overview site to see if your clubs conform to the “rule of golf.”

Of course it is possible the ruling will be overturned too. By 2025 the USGA might be banning anti-gravity balls.

Cleveland CG15 Wedges Official Website

Sleeptracking the Night Away

Ever have those times where you know you need to get up around a certain time, and sometimes you drift out of a deep sleep, wake up and avoid that sudden jarring of the alarm clock from a total dead sleep? According to some sleep experts, that is actually the best way to wake up and feel actually refreshed. The problem however is that your body actually isn’t the most reliable alarm clock, and for that reason you typically need an alarm to wake you. The next problem is that if the alarm sounds when you’re in a deep state of sleep it can be completely jarring, causing you to feel anything but refreshed.

Instead of using a traditional alarm clock, you could use the SLEEPTRACKER Elite (MSRP: $179, Sleeptracker.com), which is a watch that works much like a monitoring device. But instead of monitoring your calorie burn and activity, it – as the name suggests – monitors your sleep. You don’t set an exact time to wake up, but rather a range. The SLEEPTRACKER then detects the movements associated with light sleep stage and wakes up at this time.

The wearable device can even connect to a PC via USB each morning so you can further track your activities, allowing you to see what might have had a negative effect on your sleep cycles, whether it was a late night, too much alcohol or just a bad bed. With this helping you get a good night’s sleep you can wake up refreshed, hit the gym and not feel worn down by the afternoon.

Sleeptracker Official Website

Get Arm(band)ed to Monitor Your Calorie Intake

There is an old saying about wearing your heart on your sleeve, which is to say to openly show your emotions. Today people can wear many things, and while it won’t display emotion, it can help users monitor their fitness levels.

This is exactly the concept behind the BodyMedia FIT Armband BW from BodyMedia, which is avialble through the company’s website as well as Amazon.com. It allows users to monitor calorie intake and output in real-time. The BodyMedia FIT Armband BW transmits information to a smartphone via Bluetooth, where users can track caloric burn data and physical activity levels.

“The BodyMedia FIT Armband BW is a great example of how consumers can monitor and track their fitness levels with the help of Bluetooth wireless technology – and once you start to track your health, you have the power to change your health,” said Michael Foley, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). “By allowing near real-time monitoring on a mobile phone via Bluetooth technology, the BodyMedia FIT Armband BW lets users take the wheel on the road to a more active lifestyle. This innovative device brings to life what we have been projecting for Bluetooth wireless technology in the health and fitness market.”

The BodyMedia FIT Armband BW is designed to integrate body monitoring data with smartphones including the Apple iPhone and Android mobile devices.

BodyMedia FIT Official Website

Playworld Systems Offers High ENERGI

We hope all our readers had a good holiday weekend, but we assume everyone likely indulged a bit too much. This isn’t a new trend in America, but it is something that needs to be addressed, especially as childhood obesity is becoming an issue.

We were pleased to hear that Playworld Systems, a manufacturer of imaginative playground equipment, unveiled ENERGI Total Body Fitness System with Microsoft Tag technology at NMSA2010 in Baltimore earlier this month. The ENERGI uses just one moving part, but yet delivers a guided, fat-burning workout with 120 progressively challenging exercises that use body weight resistance to target nearly all 600 of the body’s muscles. The system, which is designed for ages 13 and up, is further supported with a complete curriculum and easy-to-follow lesson plans to help teachers integrate ENGERI into the school day.

“One of the consequences of obesity is that for the first time in U.S. history, the lifespan of children in elementary school today is expected to be shorter than that of their parents,” said Ian Proud, research manager of Playworld Systems. “Sedentary lifestyles contribute to obesity, and the problem has grown to epidemic proportions among the nation’s children. Having ENERGI installed on school grounds gives teachers a strong ally in their quest to make a real difference in students’ fitness levels.”

ENERGI was designed in accordance with the FITT principle — frequency, intensity, time and type — which is endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise.

Playworld Systems Official Website

Game Time, Party Time

If you’ve done too much eating this week and can’t get to the gym, you could still burn some of the calories while gaming with the family. So instead of just sitting on the couch watching football and parades give Game Party: In Motion for the Xbox 360 Kinect  a go around.

The game includes 16 classic and new favorite activities including darts, table hockey, root beer tapper and basketball shooting.

Game Party: In Motion

Holiday Shopping Season Begins With Primal

The holiday shopping season is here, and for many parts of the country that also means winter is around the corner. The primal instinct might be to stay close to a warm fire, not head out on a long ride. But fortunately Primal Wear has you covered, or rather has a jacket that keeps you covered and warm. And it would make a great holiday gift for that cyclist in your life.

This is the Team Eleven Paradigm Thermal Jacket (MSRP: $199.95), which features HXT-Hexathermal fabric, extended tail, rear zip pocket and luminite reflective piping. It features the Primal T3D cut that ensures the sleeves and tail of the jacket won’t creep up which riding. The HXT-Hexathermal fabric is further embedded with a special filament membrane that allows airflow out and prevents moisture or cold air from coming in. For those long winter rides that means you can stay warm even if the weather outside is frightful.

Primal Wear

SPOT On With CES Innovations Award

The Consumer Electronics Show is still more than a month away, but at the recent CES Unveiled press event in New York City the DeLorme Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator was named winner of the CES Innovations Award. The Innovations Design and Engineering Awards program recognizes the most innovative consumer electronics (CE) across 35 of industry categories.

The Earthmate PN-60w was recognized as it the world’s first handheld GPS capable of sending custom text messages using SPOT satellite technology, and is thus ideal for outdoor enthusiasts (as well as international relief workers).

“DeLorme is deeply honored to receive this prestigious award, and especially excited to showcase the PN-60w with SPOT to the worldwide market at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in January,” said DeLorme Vice President Caleb Mason.

The Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator previously received a Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award and a National Geographic Adventure Gear of the Year honors.

DeLorme

SPOT