Designer sports bag and apparel company OGIO just released its OGIO Endurance Collection. The line has bags that address the needs runners, swimmers, triathletes, cyclists, downhill mountain bikers and other athletes in endurance sports and competitions.
The seven-bag line is built to provide organization, protection and comfort for athletes taking part in high-intensity workouts and competitions. The line is made with lightweight yet sturdy materials that protect gear, yet make it light enough to carry to a race or location to workout.
There is an old saying that water and oil don’t mix, and now De Soto is looking to become the first triathlon company to offer an alternative to petroleum-based wetsuits. The new T1 Wetsuits could also make it easy to be green!
“We have seamlessly replaced one rubber with another that is better,” says company founder, Emilio De Soto. “It is more buoyant, it helps you swim faster, and it lasts longer. If nothing else were to change, we are selling a better-performing product with less detriment to the environment, which is always our goal.”
The suits are made of GreenGoma rubber that reportedly offers better stretch, buoyancy, durability and insulation. It is made of a close-cell injected construction that also makes it 98.9 percent water impermeable, but it also is lighter and dries out faster than petroleum-based wetsuits. So maybe it will let wearers take to the water… like a frog!
Even if the pool is closed for the season you can still dive in for a swim, at least in the living room. Michael Phelps: Push the Limit, which was developed by developed by Blitz Games and published by 505 Games, has arrived this week for Kinect on the Xbox 360. The game makes a big splash as it offers players the chance to compete against each other as well as against one of the most decorated athletes of all time, Michael Phelps. Fans play in quick matches in single player or local/online multiplayer against friends or immerse themselves in the challenging and fun Career Mode where they swim their way to the podium through some of the most breathtaking locations across the world, finally facing Michael himself in the final. Read the rest of this entry »
Sports and GPS go hand-in-hand. That is unless you’re swimming or going off to remote areas where tracking often poses a challenge. Innovations in GPS technology now make it possible to track your workouts, and races, when swimming. Garmin is among the sport watch manufacturers to leverage this new technology.
The company’s new Forerunner 910XT is a multisport watch, an all-in-one GPS-enabled device that provides detailed swim metrics and tracks distance, speed/pace, elevation and heart rate for running and cycling. The 910XT has an on-board barometric altimeter for improved elevation data.
A smooth, low profile allows for athletes to slide tight-fitting wetsuits over the watch. This makes it possible for use with water sports. It also facilitates quick outfit changes necessary for triathletes competing in races where a wetsuit or other protective and warmth gear is necessary.
Cyclists rely on cycling computers to track speed, distance and even cadence, while heart rate monitors can track calories and workout intensity. Now Speedo and Pool-Mate swimming computer Swimovate are partnering to develop the AquaCoarch watch, which can provide swimmers automatically detect not only laps, but also the strokes used, along with distance, speed and number of strokes, as well as calories burned during a workout.
This watch is water-resistant (but of course) to 100 meters or 328 feet, and can work in any pool over 15 meters (49 feet) long. It can remember up to 50 swim sessions too, so users can compare their latest workouts. The key to this device is that it features an accelerometer along with custom algorithms that can count individual strokes while keeping track of laps by detecting the pauses that occur when swims do the flip thing to change direction.
Though you may not be familiar with the name, the BH Group has been around since 1909. The Spanish company has many different product lines that fall under the BH name; BH Fitness, BH Bike and BH HiPower to name a few are all dedicated to producing bicycles, fitness equipment and gear for all levels of athletes.
Recently BH has created a website to help people get into the sport of triathlons and guide those who all ready compete achieve their goal of performing better. BH’s website is full of information regarding the gear required for a triathlon; training techniques; BH sponsored events; training programs; race results; videos; and much more. The website is for both amateurs and professionals in mind, with one goal in mind – to help you achieve your tri-goals!
Along with the triathlon website, BH also has an online group named Club BH Tri where users can participate in discussions, enter contests and be notified of upcoming events. The only shortcoming of the BH Triathlon website is that you might have to brush up on your Spanish… though most of the information is in English; there are still quite a few sections and buttons in Spanish.
There are some games that just make instant sense, and then there are the games like Michael Phelps: Push the Limit. In this one players get to try to go for the gold and beyond in a swimming game – pool not required, not included and not compatible.
A swimming game for the living room? That’s right. The idea behind this motion control game is that players simulate swimming, moving their arms to simulate the motion of swimming in the water. The upcoming game utilizes Kinect for the Xbox 360 and from the scenes on the show floor it could get gamers’ hearts pumping. It features a variety of unique settings – but it isn’t exactly the career path that Phelps took. We figured he swam in school pools, city pools and Olympic pools, not in outdoor pools on icy mountain ranges. But that’s artistic license.
This is one that could be hit or miss, or dare we say sink or swim. Michael Phelps: Push the Limit is out now exclusively on Kinect for Xbox 360 from 505 Games.
Last week’s 2011 International Aquatic Fitness Conference saw the arrival of the Nekdoodle, a head and neck support for use in water fitness, recreation and relaxation. While some water floatation aids are about as effective as a wet noodle, the Aquatic Exercise Association and the Aquatic Therapy & Rehab Institute (ATRI) tested the Nekdoodle and gave it a solid “thumbs up.”
The Nekdoodle was demonstrated during the Open Pool time during Conference, which was hosted by the Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA), and which drew some of the best presenters in the world from Spain, USA, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Russia, Germany, Trinidad and Portugal and over 800 participants from 37 countries and 48 states. Read the rest of this entry »
There is no denying that training computers have typically had very specific uses. What is good in the water isn’t so good on the bike, but Polar USA looks to change the way the game is tracked with its new RCX5 training computer. It builds on the company’s decades of experience, and this new device combines Polar heart rate tracking accuracy with features that make it ideal in the water, on the bike and even on the pavement as you pound out each and every step.
The device, which is now available in “smart black” and will available in “striking red” later this year, is includes sport profiles that are essential for multisport and triathletes. It allows users to quickly switch between sports during training, so no time or training data is lost between swims, rides or runs.
“Triathlons are one of the fastest-growing sport segments in the United States, and we understand better than anyone in the market that multisport athletes demand data, whether they are training for their first regional event or chasing a lifelong professional pursuit,” said Jeff Padovan, President, Polar USA. “The Polar brand has been an established name among elite athletes for more than 30 years, and we are proud of the loyalty and knowledge we’ve built within the ‘tri’ market specifically. The RCX5 is the realization of everything we’ve been hearing that ‘tri’ users require to get to that next level, packaged in a new, sleek design.”
The RCX5 features a ZoneOptimizer that adjusts to personal heart rate zones based on the user’s current physiological condition to optimize just the right level of training intensity; plus Race Pace that lets the wearer set a target time for certain distances to see how far ahead or behind on a course the user is at a given time; and even a Training Load feature to let a wearer known when he or she has recovered enough for the next session.
The RCX5 is available in multiple product sets for running, cycling and multi-sport use. There is even a WearLink+ Hybrid transmitter that can ensure transmission in the water via a comfortable, fabric chest transmitter that transfers data both in 5 kHz and 2.4 GHz.
While much of the United States is being hammered with snow, down under is another story. Despite some floods and a terrible cyclone, summer is in full swing and thus time to get in some swimming before the coming of fall. This week keen swimmers were offered a way to improve their stroke techniques and help their level of performance with two products from Zoggs.
The 4 Flexpoint Predator Flex Goggles are designed for use in pools as well as open swimming, and these feature enhanced frame styling, along with Fogbuster impregnated anti-fog lenses. The goggles offer quick adjust straps that can make for easy adjustments while swimming, plus 180 degrees of undistorted peripheral vision from the Curve Lens Technology. There are even mirrored lens to suit a variety of light conditions.
The Four-Stoke Positive Drive Fins can help users with all strokes. These training fins feature an offset foot pocket, which promotes natural supination in the kick turning for positive drive, while the ellipsoidal shaped blade provides ideal thrust in all the main four kick cycles. There is also an ergonomic foot pocket that is designed to provide greater comfort for training. The fins come in sizes 2/3 to 13/14.
Both products should help you feel like a big fish in a small pond, and more importantly a much faster fish at that. Let’s hope these products catch the current to North America this year.
We’ve seen no shortage of devices for tracking your progress whilst running or cycling, but what about those in the pool? In fact, we’ve often heard from various heart rate makers that it is actually difficult to track an athlete while they’re in the water. But someone has had the sense to find a way around that, and now FINIS has introduced the Swinsense (powered by SportsSense).
This groundbreaking training tool can actually capture critical performance data. It is worn much like a wrist watch and it uses an accelerometer, magnetometers and proprietary algorithms to help users identify how they swim. Out of the pool users can analyze their performance on the dive with pace times, distance (calculated in meters/yards or even laps), stroke count, stroke rate, distance-per-stroke and of course calories burned across all four major strokes.
User cans further take the performance data and have it uploaded to the FINIS Swimsense training log for additional analysis, and keep a running log with historical review. The Swimsense Performance Monitor will be available this holiday (MSRP: $199.99). Think of it as your sixth sense for your swim training.
Not sure what stroke you're swimming? The Swimsense will confirm.
This little computer likes to get wet. Some swimmers already wear a heart rate monitor in the pool to track exertion and calories burned, but that’s only part of the picture. Swimsense from Finis records the number of laps swum, total distance, calories burned, lap time, pace, and stroke count. It can even differentiate between backstroke, breastroke, butterfly and freestyle as you’re putting in those laps. Go home and sync the Swimsense with your computer to log how many laps you swim in a week, and your training progress.
If there’s anything disappointing about this watersport watch, it’s that there’s not an optional heart rate monitor for those who don’t mind wearing a strap on their chest in the pool. It makes the calories burned measure more accurate, and helps swimmers better pace themselves.
The Swimsense Performance Monitor will be available for the holidays, and just in time for swimmers making New Year’s resolutions to up their number of laps and keep at it. The monitor is expected to retail for about $199.
It’s the gas in your TV. And now it’s the gas that created the surface of your clothes. Plasma is a gas created by applying electrical fields to pure gas or gas mixtures in a vacuum chamber. A Swiss company called Eschler is using plasma to cause systematic surface modifications to fabrics. Translation: A process that creates water-resistant, water-absorbing and dirt-repellent fabrics through the use of electricity and an ionic gas rather than the use of chemicals or excessive water. Plasma changes the surface of the fabric to grant these properties through particular textures whether they’re smooth or mottled. The process has traditionally been achieved through the use of wet processing with chemicals and lots and lots of water. The chemical process often makes the fabric too stiff, and wears away with repeated washing.
Designer sports bag and apparel company OGIO just released its OGIO Endurance Collection. The line has bags that address the needs runners, swimmers, triathletes, cyclists, downhill mountain bikers and other athletes in endurance sports and competitions.
There is an old saying that water and oil don’t mix, and now De Soto is looking to become the first triathlon company to offer an alternative to petroleum-based wetsuits. The new T1 Wetsuits could also make it easy to be green!
