Archive for April, 2010
Written by Peter Suciu on 30 April 2010
Seeing isn’t merely believing, seeing is what allows you go from competitor to winner – at least when it comes to swimming.
Tyr Sports Next Pro Nano
And whether you’re hitting the pool, or getting wet and wild in a triathlon, the TYR Sports Nest Pro Nano will let you see clearly.
These performance goggles are inspired by the unique bird nest architectural design of Beijing’s main stadium that was used in the 2008 Olympics, and this nest design provides intertwined support to give a more open field of vision. That can be good in a pool or in open water. The Nano also features a nice and compact frame, along with smaller gaskets so it is ideal for smaller faces and children. And at $24 these goggles are affordable enough as well, allowing you to see your way to victory.
Tags: Nest Pro Nano, Olympics, Swimming, TYR Sports
Posted in Swimming, Triathlon | No Comments »
Written by Enid Burns on 29 April 2010
Osprey Raptor 6
Dehydration on the trail is not an option. One, maybe two bottles tucked into cages on your bike only supply so much fluid. A backpack hydration system such as the Osprey Packs Hydraulics line Raptor Series gives you 2- and 3-liters of H20. The Raptor Series is focused on mountain biking and trail running, giving you a few pockets to stash gear in a streamlined design. Osprey puts a great deal of design into its pack.
Start with the water reservoir. Three of the four Raptor styles come with 3-liter reservoirs; the streamlined Raptor 6 has a 2-liter capacity. The reservoir is built with a plate that aligns with the contours of your back so the water doesn’t barrel. You won’t feel the shape of water as it all buckles at the bottom of the tank while you ride. The framework of the straps are constructed by perforated molded foam to create a lightweight and flexible support. The same foam is ridge molded to create a ventilated back panel. Lightweight webbing adds reinforcement surrounds both the straps and back panel. The A LidLock helmet clip straps through the vent holes on your helmet — when you’re off the bike — so the two stay together and ready to pick up and go. The bite valve rotates to an open and closed (no leak) position, and has a magnet so the sip portion stays in a handy location on your sternum strap instead of flying around with every bump on the trail.
Features are too many to go into. Research, trials, and serious evaluation went into the development of the Raptor Series hydration packs. Every pocket, strap, and tab is built for a specific need while the unnecessary bits of a backpack were left out to keep the pack lightweight and streamlined for a more enjoyable ride.
Osprey Raptor Series ($79 to $119)
Tags: bite valve, CamelBak, hydration, hydration backpack, Osprey Packs
Posted in Cycling, Equipment, Exercise, Gadget, Outdoors, Running | No Comments »
Written by Enid Burns on 28 April 2010
Commitment to working out is time consuming in itself. Just suiting up can take 10 or more minutes. That’s where 10 Minute Solution, a workout game for the Wii, really shines. A pair of five-minute, routines lets you squeeze in cardio time, and even a little ab workout to boot. The Wii version takes the popular 10 Minute Solution DVDs with fitness personality Jessica Smith to an interactive level. The start menu lets you select activities such as cardio boxing, step routines, and mixed games to get you into condition. Each program lasts five minutes, and the benefit of the Wii over the DVD version is the routines are anything but. The instructor selects moves dynamically rather than a practiced routine so it doesn’t get old.
Step things up with the Wii Balance Board to get you more active. The peripheral is not required, but gives you a platform to step on. Without the board the 10 Minute Solution doesn’t score on certain woukouts, but you’re in it for the cardio benefits, not a bunch of numbers. The Wii version also contains an ab workout, which is video taken from the DVD series and is talked about as a bonus. 10 Minute Solution for Wii has enough activity to get you in shape. The 10-minute workouts let you squeeze time in around your busy schedule, or between your kid’s game of Mario. Available at the end of May for a budget price of $19.99, a special bundle with one-pound weighted gloves will be available only at Costco in June.
10 Minute Solution for Wii
Tags: 10 Minute Solution, cardio, cardio boxing, Wii, workouts
Posted in Exercise, Video Games | No Comments »
Written by Enid Burns on 27 April 2010
When you sign up for a contact sport such as football, boxing, ice hockey, and wrestling you know you need a mouth guard, but do you realize how important it is? Not just to protect your pearly whites. “Ninety percent of concussions resulting in unconsciousness are caused by impact to the lower jaw,” says Joe Manzo, president of Brain-Pad, a company that offers a new mouth guard with more absorption power.
Bite on this mouth guard, the Brain-Pad 3XS
Brain-Pad’s new piece, the 3XS professional model (available at Wal-Mart and other retailers for $34.95) uses a patented technology and dual-protection system that offers 40 percent more absorption power than comparable models. The 3XS is a dual arch, bi-molar mouth guard that stabilizes the jaw in a neutral position, creating a safety space at the base of the skull that reduces the risk of jaw impact concussions and TMJ injuries. Traditionally mouth guards just protected the upper or lower teeth, but not both. The 3XS also opens the airway in the throat 100 percent, which allows you to breathe better, which is crucial to any sport.
Brain-Pad
Tags: Brain-Pad 3XS, contact sports, football, ice hockey, mouth guard, wrestling
Posted in Equipment, Pro Sports | No Comments »
Written by Enid Burns on 26 April 2010
This is not your father’s Swiss Army Knife. The Switch is a customizable tool created by crowd source product design company Quirky. The Switch is the framework of a multi-blade pocket knife and 18 tools you can insert into the frame. The tool comes with three interior axles. The small blade holds two-to-six attachments; medium holds four-to-10; and the large axle holds seven-to-13 tools. You can configure those you need from the attachments including a standard knife, pliers, scissors, nail file, tweezers, thin flathead screwdriver, Phillips-head screwdriver, eyeglass Phillips-head screwdriver, eyeglass flathead screwdriver, wood saw, serrated blade, corkscrew, combination bottle opener and flathead screwdriver, combination can opener and wire stripper, pen, magnifying glass, LED flashlight, and 1GB USB memory stick. Phew, that’s a tool for MacGyver. Set up the Switch for IT duty, or take a few tools such as the knife, wood saw, serrated blade, LED flashlight and a few other tools for your outdoor activities like your next camping trip or Kayak excursion.
Tags: pocket knife, Quirky, Swiss Army Knife, Switch, tool
Posted in Gadget | 2 Comments »
Written by Peter Suciu on 23 April 2010
Spring means that triathlon season is just around the corner, and if you’re looking to shave a few seconds on your time the Trinity Advanced SL from Giant could actually make a colossal difference. 
Of course this bike doesn’t come cheap, and dare we say that the starting price of $5,100 is large and with the addition of Shimano’s Electronic Shifting Di2 could go to a titanic $12,000.
The new shifters are just part of the cutting edge technology that makes the Trinity Advanced SL the triathlon bike of choice for serious competitors. While this system won’t actually do the shifting automatically, the electronic controls are extremely precise, which can make a huge difference when you’re racing against the clock. In fact, considering the sleek profile, and comfortable ride this bike has to offer you might not want to dismount and do the running part of that triathlon!
The Giant Trinity Advanced SL
Tags: Cycling, Giant, Triathlon, Trinity Advanced SL
Posted in Cycling, Triathlon | No Comments »
Written by Peter Suciu on 22 April 2010
Time to take down the stripper pole – 
if you actually jumped on that strange bandwagon – because the fad is over. The next big thing in faddy fitness could be “Cage Fitness,” as in the type of training down for Mixed Martial Arts. And even if you’re not about to climb into the ring and/or cage to pummel your opponent, this type of workout probably has more benefits than the pole dancing craze that swept the nation.
For one thing, would you rather be toned and fit like an “ultimate fighter” or able to swing on a pole? But in all seriousness the Cage Fitness workout, such as the one being endorsed and tested by nine-time welterweight champion Matt Hughes, replicates the actual routines that the MMA competitors regularly go through. This includes a full body, muscle toning and cardio workout, and according to those promoting this workout, can be done in about 30 minutes.
While we’ve heard that hype before, this one does work endurance, strength, power and core, and is done through five rounds that are broken into warm-up, upper body, lower body, combo round and core/cool down. The catch is that you can’t really do this at home, so look for Cage Fitness facilities to pop up, and for MMA classes to be taught at the gym soon.
But if you want to give it a test on your own, Men’s Fitness offers a routine that you can test out.
Tags: Cage Fitness, Matt Huges, Mixed Martial Art
Posted in Gym, Pro Sports | 3 Comments »
Written by Peter Suciu on 21 April 2010
While Wi-Fi and WiMAX get all the big hype, there is another popular wireless protocol that is still going strong. That of course is Bluetooth, the PLAN (or personal local area network) protocol. And now the technology is getting a Dick Tracy worthy makeover ala watches. These have been around for a while, but soon could be replacing other wireless technologies for broadcasting short distances.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has announced that the forthcoming Bluetooth Core Specification Version 4.0 will feature powerful low energy mode that could have new applications for health, sports and fitness as well as for security and home entertainment. This could mean that Bluetooth technology could be used for heart rate monitors, cycle computers, running computers and other devices that currently work on RF protocols. The benefit of Bluetooth is that it could send the information up to 200 feet, rather than just a few dozen inches. It could also work to transfer information from a monitor to a computer after a workout.
It could also be more reliable than RF, and for anyone that’s tried to get a heart rate monitor or cycle computer to sync right without interference knows how that can help make a work out all the more enjoyable.
Tags: Bluetooth, Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Dick Tracy, RF, SIG, Version 4.0, Wireless
Posted in Cycling, Exercise, Gadget, Outdoors, Software | No Comments »
Written by Peter Suciu on 20 April 2010
While we have long felt that video games really can’t be a substitute for “real” fitness, we do agree that the Wii Fit isn’t a bad place to start. Note the key word is “start.” And it seems that the fitness game is now the center of some interesting lawsuits. IA Labs of Potomac, Maryland is suing Nintendo over the Wii-Fit, claiming it has been “irreparably harmed” by Nintendo’s infringement of IA patents.
Harmed? Note that the company isn’t saying it got fat from a game masked as a fitness tool, but then we suppose it is claiming that it didn’t get fat in the wallet either. Even more curious is the fact that IA claims it actually had talks with Nintendo about licensing the technology to the Japanese console maker. Now the company is “fit” to be tied.
Via IGN
Tags: Fitness, Nintendo, Nintendo Wii, Technology, Wii Fit
Posted in General | No Comments »
Written by Enid Burns on 19 April 2010
Women's rugby player Christy Ringgenberg passes the ball.
Women are flocking to join rugby teams now that it is an Olympic sport. The United States will play this August in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England. A recent New York Times article talks about college and youth teams, and how women are migrating from sports such as basketball, volleyball, and softball to the contact sport of Rugby.
Coaches have to get their teams in competitive form to play in these competitions. One men’s team in the U.K., Mike Ford, uses his laptop to view video clips and select the highlights to go over with the team rather than have players sit through playback of full games or even full plays from numerous videos. This maximizes training time giving players a chance to see the moves that work, and the ones that don’t. It also gives them more time on the field to get into condition.
Tags: Olympics, sports video replay, women's rugby
Posted in Pro Sports | No Comments »
