In the Flintstones the cars and buses and such were often powered by the riders essentially moving their feet. Even as a child that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me; I mean why wouldn’t Fred just walk instead of having to use his feet to “drive” the car. Apparently some of the cars were powered by crude engines made somehow out of stone, or powered by animals – but the point is that even the theme song suggested it was “Fred’s two feet” that provided the motion. So much for Stone Age technology, but now that same source could be used for a very high-tech monorail. And we’re not talking about a cartoon character’s two feet, but rather your two legs, at least if you plan on riding in the Shweeb monorail. Continue reading Mass Transit Powered by the Masses
Pedometer Builds in Security Alarm
Pedometers are now much more accurate than yesterday, and now they pack in extra features. The egg-shaped ila Sport is a pedometer, milometer, and a personal safety alarm. The form factor fits in most hands comfortably, even at a decent run. It also has a belt clip for hands-free tracking of your walk or run. The ila Sport tracks steps, mileage and calories burned. The alarm is triggered with the push of a button.
A personal alarm is useful for running in semi-populated areas and in the dark. It’s only useful if someone is within earshot that is likely to call for help or venture toward the alarm to check on you. Of course many people often don’t react to an alarm if they don’t know what the alarm is. It is also surprising that the alarm trigger is a button, which may be easily pressed. Ila Security says the button is not one that will be depressed casually, even in the heat of a vigorous workout.
You can use the backlit display to check your progress in the dark. The handheld also stores information from past workouts so you can compare with last week’s run. It sells for about $35.
Power Armor For Soldiers – Coming Soon
Science-fiction novels such as Starship Troopers offered a vision of the future where soldiers would be equipped with power armor suits. These would enhance the ability to lift great amounts of weights, let soldiers run long and basically become bad-ass warriors. Now it seems that this isn’t just limited to the pages on the book, or movies such as Iron Man.
Raytheon has introduced what it calls its second-generation exoskeleton (XOS 2), which is essentially a wearable robotic suit. It was unveiled recent at the company’s Salt Lake City research facility. While it won’t allow the wearer to fight super villains, ala Tony Stark, or jump out of a starship from near orbit, it is capable of some nifty functions. The XOS 2 can aid in lifting, reducing the strain and exertion, and as such it can help do work faster – because it can also do the work of two or even three soldiers.
Now if only it could let soldiers fly, and drop from near orbit. Hopefully we won’t have a “bug” problem until those features are incorporated.
Get a Resistance Workout Under the Belt, Pants
Shape. Tone. Burn. That’s the concept behind ShaTuBu, a women’s foundation garment that not only provides shaping, but resistance bands sewn into the knee-length tights gives you a workout with each step.
Developed by chiropractor Dr. Denise Perron, ShaToBu makes claims to burn up to 12 percent more calories during daily activities. The garment shapes and adds support to create a slimmer silhouette. The resistance in the tights work on the thighs and rear when you start moving. The resistance bands are stitched into strategic points that are built into panels on the tights. The bands criss-cross the upper thighs and waist area. As you walk, the resistance bands provide a little drag, forcing you to work harder with each step. These are the second version of ShaToBu, and are available for about $34 at barenecessities.com, blissworld.com, dullards.com, macys.com or shatobu.com.
Cycling Fusion Gets Heart (Zones)
As the old Peanut Butter Cups commercial suggested some things go very well together, and we expect that to be true in the world of indoor and offseason training on exercise bikes. This week Cycling Fusion, the developer of indoor cycling programs, announced that it has purchased Heart Zones, USA, the company that created the first heart-rate training systems.
Cycling Fusion founder Gene Nacey had already established a relationship with Sally Edwards and her company Heart Zones. “After being certified by Mad Dogg and opening a dedicated Spinning studio, I quickly began to understand why the outdoor cyclists were not coming to class,” says Gene Nacey. “I raced MTB for 10 years and had a few years of road riding under me as well. The cycling community needed a lot more science and sport specific training than what they would normally find in Spin class. That lead to my work with Sally Edwards and Heart Zones. The heart rate training began to bring them in, but I have to say, it wasn’t until the Keiser power bikes arrived that they began to take us seriously. This combination became quite compelling.”
The new partnership will hopefully see even greater innovation in the world of indoor cycle training. KineticShift.com will follow the developments from Cycling Fusion and Heart Zones in the months to come.
PlayStation Moves One Million Units
The world is moving at a faster and faster pace every day, and some are doing the Move directly in the living rooms. In fact, more than one million might be doing so it seems. This week Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that it has shipped more than one million units of the PlayStation Move in North and Latin America in the first 30 days since its release.
The system is one of the latest innovations in video game development, getting gamers off the couch and being a bit more active. “PlayStation Move is the most recent example of how product innovation continues to provide our customers with new and exciting ways to enjoy our technology,” said Jack Tretton, Chief Executive Officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC.
Currently 24 titles are available for the PlayStation Move, with 15 additional titles slated for release in the upcoming months. The PlayStation Move is now available at retail, as a bundle with PlayStation Eye camera, and PlayStation Move motion controller as well as Sports Champions on Blu-ray and a demo disc add-on for $99.99.
No Such Thing as Bad PR(Bar)
There is an old saying that there is no such thing as “bad PR,” so we’re curious about the new PR Bars, which have nothing actually do with the other kind of PR. These are actually Personal Record bars, which use something called Fast Burn Nutrition I echnology. This reportedly can keep insulin levels steady so that the body will use fat stores as an energy source. In other words, you shouldn’t get that sudden burst of energy followed by the accompanying crash that often occurs when eating other energy bars during a workout.
The PR Bars sound good too – good PR maybe – as they offer 15 grams of protein and yet only 200 calories. According to the company these can control hunger for three to six hours, and actually these come in tasty sounding flavors such as Double Chocolate. That’s enough to make you want to work out longer, just so you can indulge with one of these bars.
17 Controller-Free Games to Launch With Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360
Will gamers get off the couch and get fit? That’s certainly the hope with the upcoming release of Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360. The motion-control system – which sort of makes the hype about “controller-free” seem not quite accurate – is already sold-out in pre-orders.
Despite that fact, Microsoft has now announced the launch of a multiyear advertising campaign, and more importantly revealed the lineup of 17 controller-free games. Of those, the ones that are most notable for the fitness crowd include:
- Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Ubisoft)
- Dance Central (MTV Games/Harmonix)
- The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout (THQ)
- DanceMasters (Konami)
- EA Sports Active 2 (EA Sports), which comes with Total Body Tracking that includes heart rate data
- Zumba Fitness (Majesco)
Kinect for Xbox 360 will be available worldwide starting on November 4. It will be released as part of a new Xbox 360 4GB console bundle for $299.99, as well as a standalone unit for $149.99.
For more information:
BodyMedia to Add App
There has been no shortage of devices, gizmos and gadgets to help you lose weight. A lot of these devices, gizmos and gadgets require you to wear something, where the data can be synced to a computer. That’s good, because it lets you see detailed results of your activity and of course helps you set goals, but it’s bad because it requires people to be very proactive. Stop syncing the device one day, and you might not bother wearing it the next. There has to be an easier way to see the results. Continue reading BodyMedia to Add App
Bicycle Briefcase
There have been a lot of folding bicycles, including several that are small enough to fit in a suitcase, so when we heard that there was a briefcase bicycle we quite expectedly got a little excited. But in fact the bike doesn’t fold up to a size small enough to actually fit inside a briefcase, and instead the carbon fiber bike comes with a carbon fiber briefcase that helps maintain the rigidness of the frame while riding. The bike was designed by Marcos Madia, a finalist in the Seoul Cycle Design competition.
It is an interesting concept, and it is just in the concept stage at this point. The biggest downsides we see to the bike is that it is still likely to be too big to bring into most offices (those building managers have something against bicycles), and the briefcase is too small to transport much. Likewise, there is the fact that this could be a tricky bike to lock up too – and it has “steal me” practically written on the side, even if it isn’t quite stable enough to ride without the briefcase. Now if only there was a way to get a folding bike that could actually fit inside a briefcase. George Jetson had his aircar that folded up, so a bike should be a no brainer.
Radar for the Golf Course
We’ve previously heard about a radar system that could find lost golf balls – but alas that product isn’t currently being sold. So instead we did some digging, and we realized that even better than finding a lost golf ball was not losing it in the first place. And that also involves using a bit of radar. It seems this technology will help you improve your game. TrackMan is a radar unit that can measure both club delivery and the full trajectory of any golf shot, up to 400-yards. That could mean no more lost balls.
It can be used to track date on club speed, attack angle, club path, vertical and horizontal swing plane, spin loft, ball speed, and even flight time – plus a whole lot more. No calibration is needed and the TrackMan Pro can be used with a computer via a USB 2.0 port, and provide a printable report of your efforts. An indoor version can help you train in the offseason as well. Either way, with TrackMan’s unique proprietary radar tracking system and software for your computer you can get the same type of analysis that is often used by the PGA, the R&A and USGA. Of course you’ll still have to work at it to make better swings, but here is where technology can show you what you are doing wrong, and how you can improve.
And some people think golf is just about hitting a ball into a hole on nicely manicured lawns.
FDA Removes Implant After Admitting It Hastily Approved It
For anyone who has received treatment for their injuries from exercising or sports, you know the importance of getting proper medical care and you expect that whatever the doctors need to put inside you is safe. But what if a procedure done to you or device put inside you wasn’t properly approved by the medical community?
It looks like that is the case with an implant device called the Menaflex Collagen Scaffold from ReGen Biologics Inc. According to the Los Angeles Times, the device—used to repair and reinforce tissue that cushions and helps lubricate bones in the joint of the knee—had received fast-track approval in 2008 despite the objections of Food and Drug Administration scientists, who wanted more testing done on it. Continue reading FDA Removes Implant After Admitting It Hastily Approved It
Marine Corp Marathon Gets App Coverage
Whether you’re running in a marathon this year or just watching from the sidelines, there will be an app for that! The New York City Marathon on November 7 will feature support for an iPhone app for the first time this year, and it will include news alerts as well as live video of the professional race, but for a different way to “phone in the race” there will be the RaceMate app for the upcoming Marine Corp Marathon.
The race, which is set to take place on October 31, will be the first to provide GPS coverage with real-time connection between runners and followers. RaceMate is an app for the iPhone and Android smartphones as well as the Apple iPad, which can allow a follower to track the route and location of a runner in the race. Continue reading Marine Corp Marathon Gets App Coverage