Clif Bar for Kids ZBAR

OK, I know that this blog is about technology but I had to write this up.

The other day while in a food store I saw a overweight 8 year old girl and her very overweight mother standing in the deli line. The little girl was stuffing a muffin in her face, (I am saying this nicely as possible, so not to offend too many people) there was crumbs everywhere. The store was Whole Foods and it is one of the best places to shop for food. So this got me thinking that if we don't change the way that adults think about Obesity then kids are doomed before they can make their own choices.
So after a race awhile back I came across ZBAR for kids. Good ole Gary from CLIF, is starting to make healthy choices for kids. They even have the seal for USDA Organic along with SB19. Senate Bill 19 (SB19) is legislation that sets nutrition guidelines for California schools. I am not sure why this has not been mandated to all school systems, but it should!
Technology can always help and with many devices that are being developed to monitor heart rate, diabetes, etc., making sure kids and adults are exercising correctly can only help in the huge epidemic that healthcare and insurance companies are facing, OBESITY!!
Get your kids eating healthy. ZBAR from CLIF BAR, you have to start somewhere!

iPhone and Training is it in Apple?

So the iPhone has released the date June 29, and I can't wait, now how are they going to work the Nike Plus into this little puppy, if they even have too. If or when they can connect the two boy will things get interesting, or should I say more interesting. A GPS, Google maps, Nike Plus tracking your millage, Map My Run so you have a place to store your runs and share with friends and community, wow I am sure I could keep going. Also they are opening it up to outside developers, so my idea of Virtual Tri can really take off (if you are interested in learning more, contact me at usiskin(Youknow)healthcurrency.com).
So embrace this new standard set by Steve Jobs and the team at Apple, if anything love 'em, hate 'em, they have set the new standard many are trying to catch. From here on in how we store information and communicate and listen to music has changed.

Solar Safe: Simple way to keep safe in the sun

Technology mean many different things, this one helps protect us from the sun. Now training all the time mean that you have to spend a lot of time outside. From triathlons to sailing you have to protect yourself today! Solar Safe has found a way to warn you about over exposure. Using the device can't be more simple.
• Activate the wristband by exposing to direct sunlight - the band turns purple.
• Coat the band with the same sunscreen as applied to you and your family, appropriate for your skin types.
• Further color changes warn to re-apply sunscreen or seek shade.
• Wear for the day and throw away!
What could more simple than that.
Check it out! Solar Safe. This will be the next product bought for me and my family.

Black Diamond: AVALUNG, breathe under snow!

Find yourself in sticky situations while skiing or hiking, feel as though you could bring the whole mountain down. Using a beacon is helpful if you are trapped under an avalanche but only 50% of the time. Most of us today ski with a pack, we feel safer, we keep an extra polar fleece some Cliff bars, a first aid kit and whatever else you might find could save you in-case of an emergency. Well AVALUNG keeps the odds fair. It looks like a tube coming off of your Camelbak except you breathe through it! Once you exhale it expels the waste out the rear of the pack. Not sure how long it will keep you alive but anything is better than nothing.
I'm in! Black Diamond: AVALUNG

iWear • Your clothes will became iPod holder!

OK MACS are cool, and yes they come out with great products, iPhone, but enough already with the "i's", think of something else to set your product apart! Anyway enough about "i's", a company has released a pretty cool product that can hold the Nano in your cloths. Not revolutionary, copied off of a product called the POP Swatch, this product came out in 1986, and could be worn in your clothing. A friend of Mine Steve Martorana kind of thought of this idea about 3 years ago. We had sat down and thought up a cool way to make the iPod stick in your cloths. Well because of $$$ his idea died.
So here is what it can do:
Practically invisible! It is hidden behind your clothes and leaves the front row to the iPod design itself.
• You can use it with practically any clothes such as jeans, skirt, pants, T-Shirt, sweater or even a scarf.
• (up to 1 mm textile thickness).
• It can be attached and detached with one movement.
• iWear does not use any chemical glue or something which harm your clothes.
• It holds your iPod safely but does not prevent your movements.
• You can use for resting, walking, jogging, running or riding on a bike...in every season.
• Sleek iPod design.
• You can also use it as protective casing for the iPod screen (by placing the iPod the face down).
• It can use iPod nano first generation and second generation (aluminium) also.
This mean no more arm bands, lanyards, holding it in your sweaty hand, or putting it in your pocket.
Check them out! iWear

Child Trailers, get the kids involved

We all know that obesity is at a all time high, so get your kids involved as early as possible. Studies have shown that if a parents exercises with their children, then it is more likely that your children will be into sports as well. So what better way then as baby to bring them along. I have been using the Burley for about 5 years now and it is great, the kids are getting a little old to be in the trailer but going to the beach each year this thing is great. Strong, light and roomy you can't complain. The best thing is that the sand stays in the trailer not the car.
The other day I noticed a trailer or side car called Chariot Carriers. So instead of getting pulled behind the bike where you can't interact with your children, and if it is dusty, wet or muddy there is a good chance your kids will eat some dirt (I am not saying this is a bad thing). The Chariot SideCarrier is like a side car, putting the carrier right beside the bicycle allowing contact between the you and your child.
Both of these trailers have their advantages the Burley for being able to handle crowded roads and longer treks, the Chariot for it's interaction and cool side car look.
Check them out! Chariot carriers, Burley

Speedo: FSII Triathlon Suit

I have been swimming with the Fastskin® Hi-Neck Bodyskin (I got it at the Speedo sale section, reg. $240, sale $72) and all I can say is that this suit is fast. Then to top it off Michael Phelps goes and destroys all records at this years FINA World Championships, in a new FS-PRO Hi Neck Bodyskin. So picking up last years model was a steal. It makes you feel like a seal, you cut through the water and it holds your body tight. So if the FSII Triathlon suit is anything like its parent then Triathletes take notice.
Here is what Speedo say:
1. Fastskin® FSII, the most advanced and lowest drag racing swimwear in the world to date, is now available for multisport activities.
2. Fastskin® FSII is a hybrid of two highly specialized Speedo® – exclusive fabrics, Fastskin® and Flexskin, to accommodate different flow characteristics across the body and reduce drag through the water, up to 4% decrease compared to original.
3. Fastskin® fabric mimics the rough shark denticles to reduce drag in key areas and features a Turbulence Management System.
4. Greater stretch for better fit and movement. Thread feels softer against the skin..
You can get the XD Skin model for $126 @ the Swim Outlet the best price I have seen.
Check it out! Speedo USA

GPSPORTS: Leader in Sports GPS Solutions

GPSORTS, The world leader in sport GPS solutions, have some great products that monitor your body in motion, real time. When athlete should push themselves, hang back or is bonking, play a vital role in the success and longevity of an athlete. Being able to track that is the best thing going.
"Knowing how fast and far an athlete has travelled in training is vital to the correct development of the athlete's energy systems. Not knowing or poor analysis leads to poor athletic performance. The overriding goal for the sportsperson is to improve his/her performance and competitive edge.

GPSports provides the athlete the crucial tools for understanding his/her physiological responses under different training and competitive regimes, and over time."
Here are the key components to GPSorts products.

1. The SPI family are the performance monitoring products of choice by leading sports science institutions and elite athletes around the world (see GPSports client list)

2. The technology is multi-sport usable without reconfiguration (walking, running, cycling, rowing, etc).

3. There is no calibration of the technology required. Switch on and Go.

4. GPSports SPI products are the only systems available that are "TUNED FOR HUMAN MOVEMENT". They are the most accurate & reliable systems on the market.

5. The unit captures multiple performance variables including kinematic (speed, distance, etc) as well as physiological (heart rate).

6. External devices can be "plugged in" to the SPI products (eg cadence, stroke rate).

7. Comes complete with powerful analyser software.

8. Replaceable software capability to allow for exercise programs to be uploaded.

9. Access to online training diary for assistance in program generation and monitoring.

Their current products are:
SPI10
SPI Elite
Analysis Software
GPSports PerfectSession.com- Perfect Session is the first online Periodisation* diary that incorporates advanced training program theory to help the user plan, monitor and modify training programs to achieve their goals. * Periodisation: Cyclical structure of long and short term training programmes, to maximise performance and reduce the risk of injuries and illness.
Check them out! GPSORTS

Newton Running, One Word "GREAT"

Write-up after write-up in the Triathlon world the Newton Running Shoe is being called one of the best shoes around. You are forced to change your running style but for the better I am told. "To discover your best running form all you need to do is run barefoot. You'll immediately discover that when barefoot you're not landing on your heels, you're striking on your forefoot.

Striking on your forefoot is the most natural way to run, it is also the fastest and most efficient way to run. Newton Running shoes were developed to make your feet think they're barefoot and increase your performance"
Newton seems to be targeting the Triathlon market first, which I am very happy for, I plan to order mine in the next couple days, will let you know how things go!
Check them out! Newton Running Shoe

BlueTooth Communication ECG: Alive Technologies

Now we are getting places, it seems I say this a lot but when technology starts to be usused to get thing done, well then everyone should be excited not scared. So hook up to Alive Technologies, BlueTooth Heart Rate Monitor, used for screening, diagnosis and management of chronic diseases and health and fitness of course. One of the best thing that this does is hook into AliveECG which can monitor a patient's ECG, heartt rate, activity, and device status, for later review or to send directly to you doctor. So if you are ill, have a heart condition or are into general fitness this bluetooth device cuppled with a cell phone can have a great impact on your results right away real time!
Check it out! Alive Technologies

MapMyRun.com - New and Improved

New and Improved...
I guess the adsense on their site is finally paying off, MapMyRun is improved, with training logs, race and events, running news and two ways to upload your data, .gpx, and gmap-pedometers. I started using this site off and on for the past two years and felt it very cool web 2.0. The only part that they need to add is data from all watches. I don't use a GPS but a Polar watch then I manully plug my route in to see if it matches my Polar foot pod, and it's usually close. The interface is much more robust and it seems to run a little faster. MapMyRun uses Google Maps so you can show distance, markers and elevation on the map, plug in your time and it kicks out stats.
"MapMyRun.com provides people of all athletic ability easy-to-use, comprehensive web-based tools to get healthy and train more effectively as an individual or group.

These interactive tools include:

Easy to use graphical route mapping tool!
Workout calculators enabling users to calculate key statistics such as pace, calories burned, etc.
A new Training Log to track daily workouts and follow your training progress
Collaboration features that allows users to share their workouts with others.
I-framing, co-branding, and syndication tools are enabling organizations like Team in Training and VeloNews to share this site with it's user"

Hey Kevin Callahan, "Idea Guy" I have some cool ideas that could work with MapMyRun, give me a call, in the meantime, Check them out!MapMyRun

Slackline: Balance is the key

Image courtesy of Mammut
Improve your core, by improving your balance, Indoboard has a great product, but you are limited, to a point, staying indoors. Slacklining is just like tight-roping, you string webbing between two objects, crank it tight and start to walk. Now I say that like it is easy, this takes concentration and determination. Hey we all can try the yoga class, or some new form of pilates, but it all comes down to finding your core. You get slacklining down and can do it like chewing gum and walking and you will start to see your fitness improve.
Now get to it! Slackline Gear

SnowSports Interactive: Tracking on the Slopes

Well it looks like technology is starting to catch on, we have seen theme parks, Legoland in Billund, Denmark, where they use RFID to track kids around the park. "Parents can pay 3 euros for a day’s rental of a tag for their child. Legoland attaches the Bluesoft AeroScout T2 tag, about 1.5 inches by 2.5 inches, to the child’s wrist by means of a disposable wristband. That tag is then registered to the parents’ mobile phone number.

The park will be able to constantly track that tag anywhere in the park. The Bluesoft AeroScout system uses a minimum of three location receivers and Bluesoft’s own AeroScout software to triangulate a tag’s position by recording the time of arrival of a single tag transmission at several receivers and using time difference of arrival (TDOA) algorithms to determine location. Parents wanting to locate their child will send a text message from their mobile phone and receive an automated response telling them the location, within 10 feet, of their child. The process takes between 10 and 20 seconds, according to Bluesoft."

So when more companies like SnowSport Interactive get into the game with no more than an idea, you know things are looking up. Now when you go to their site, very one demential, and lacking any real explanation of the product, but hey you have to give them credit for getting it going. For the Flaik Ski School the explanation says "Enables the real time location of students, instructors and other key school personnel." This would be cool if opened up too all that would like to purchase the device, very much like LegoLand. Then when skiing with all your friends and family if one would like to take the Double Diamond and the others the blue route, well then it would be easy via a cell phone to track where they are at, better yet use google earth and a smart phone and then you have a really interactive experience.
Check it out! SnowSport Interactive

INDO Boards, Balance Yourself

This is one of the best products, low technology that is available to the fitness market. Trainers, Jiu-Jitsu, snowboarder's, skiers, sailors, triathletes and anyone who wants to increase there core balance and fitness need a Indo Balance Board. I tried one a couple years back in Ski Barn and thought it was great. Finally after a couple years I am getting one, I tried the easy way out using an old skateboard deck and a PVC pipe but I feel quality is worth the price.
"Using the Indo Board for fun or as a serious workout helps develop balance, coordination, and increased leg strength, while enhancing the all important core fitness. It also improves motor skills making the Indo Board a great cross training tool!" If you have the $148 after shipping get one this is a must have in your fitness routine.
Check it out! INDO BOARD

Implant to keep track of high blood pressure

Implanted into your wrist for 24/7 monitoring of your blood pressure to reduce the risk of a heart attack and stroke. It is the size of a grain of rice and sits next to the artery in the wrist, and monitors the change in pressure.
The trouble with test today is people get nervous when they see a doctor so when hooked up to the original cuff their pressure goes up a syndrome called "whitecoat hypertention". Also how often does one check their blood pressure even if they have had a stroke or heart attack. "Implanting a monitor that runs 24 hours a day could give a much more accurate reading. It will help doctors decide whether some patients need more drugs or whether they actually need less." This could be the start of people really being able to track statistics about their own health.
check it out! Chip-in-a-Wrist