Weekend Reading List (05.18.2013): Home Fitness, Training Surfaces, Board Ban
Home Fitness
From Giz Mag: JF-Kit House makes you pedal for your breakfast
The JF-Kit House, by Spanish-based Elii Architecture, is an off-grid home concept which envisions occupants using exercise to offset their energy needs. To its credit, Elii Architecture makes it clear right off the bat that the JF-Kit House isn’t intended to be considered as suitable for human habitation yet. Rather, the architects did some brainstorming and imagined how our homes may evolve in a future of rapidly decreasing fossil-fuel resources. This was then used this as a jumping-off point to let imaginations run wild. Read the rest of this entry »
We have seen quite a few desk-based fitness solutions that incorporate a treadmill or cycle trainer in the mix. We know it is good to keep fit and that too much sitting isn’t good for you, which is why Professor Jim Martin, a specialist in exercise science at the University of Utah, has created the Active Desk. He is currently trying to launch his project through the crowd sourcing site Rocket Hub.
Walking can be good exercise, but the Pro-X Walker – which gets your arms in the swing of thing with added resistance – helps increase the workout. This waist-based gizmo was developed in Germany as an alternative to Nordic walking, but it shares the fuller workout by getting the arms, shoulders and back involved. It isn’t just about walking either, as 12 exercises have been developed to help you tone up and slim down. 
Have enough space for either a full sized dining table or a table tennis table but not both? Consider the Table & Tennis, which is designed to serve as dinner/meeting table while also being just the right size to be a regulation ping pong table. It features mirrored stainless steel base and a walnut veneer that evokes serious stile. There are even drawers to store paddles, balls and a quick-release net.
What the world calls football – and we Americans called soccer – is a game that is truly hands off. This requires a bit of a learning curve for many as it is just so intuitive to use the upper appendages. For those who want to practice but don’t have any to do so with the Zero G Soccer Trainer might just the thing to let younger players kick things off.
Wattbike have announced the release of its new and enhanced indoor cycle trainer. This bike, which will help riders stay in shape and in gear through the winter months, offers a new user interface with increased responsiveness, while also offering improvements to the display of key performance parameters including heart rate, power and cadence. This training cycle even offers redesigned handlebars to replicate the feel of a road bike. The bike is ready to get rolling – even if it just stays in the living room.
Winter isn’t letting up this year, but one way to be ready for spring is to continue to train. We’ve seen a number of trainers but to work these need the right resistance. The new CycleTEK Momentum1 indoor trainer makes you work for it, as this one features a silicone-filled resistance chamber and what could be the heaviest flywheel and larges roller in the industry. Yet this two-stage folding trainer can still fold up for easy storage and transport. With the CycleTEK resistance isn’t futile, it is just there to keep you in shape.
There have been no shortage of fitness apps to help users stay fit while on the go, but the Obstacles XRT app goes to the extreme – and XRT even stands for Extreme Reality Training. It provides instructional videos based on high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, which can be done from the home. While that might not sound particularly extreme the works promise otherwise. The only thing not extreme is that this only is available for iOS.
We were saddened at last year’s Interbike Trade Show to learn that LeMond Fitness had closed shop. But now comes word that the company’s revolutionary stationary bike trainer is back in gear so to speak. Greg LeMond announced a new company called Lemond Inc, which will retain rights to the Revolution Trainer. Moreover, Lemond (the company) will introduce a number of Revolution compatible accessores designed by LeMond (the person) and his team. 
With a name like Travel Trac you’d think this bike accessory would be good on the go, but actually it is ideal for going nowhere when on a bike. The Travel Trac Book Caddy, which is available from Performance Bikes, is actually a handlebar system that can hold a tablet PC or a magazine. But what about those of us who read an actual hardcover book? We’re not sure if the Travel Trac has us covered, but it sure beats balancing a book on a the handlebars!
Having a barbell – also known as a dumbbell – around isn’t a dumb idea. Doing a little lifting during the day can keep arms toned up, help utilize muscles to reduce repetitive stress and reduce mental stress as well. But you don’t need to have an ugly weight lying around when you can have the Alias Barbell to lift. Designed by Philipp Starck this could make a nice paper weight for those times when it isn’t being lifted!
The holidays are around the corner and it’s very easy to give into temptation and make unhealthy food choices. Dr. Wayne Andersen, co-founder of Take Shape for Life, has provided the following five tips to outline the simple actions we can take to encourage great weight loss before the holidays. 
Rollers are an excellent way for cyclists to stay in gear through the long winter. But many roller systems tend to be fairly passive and only offer a little actual resistance. But SportCrafters looks to make riders work a little harder with the new patent-pending power bicycle roller system, which utilizes magnets in the roller drum. All produced is quickly dissipated as well, so there is no worry about the drums getting hot. Additionally, as this is magnetic based there is no friction, no fluid and no fans.
