Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts

Friday, September 11, 2020

Done app helps build or break habits

 I remember when the first fitness wrist bands hit the market. Their instant popularity showed that people wanted to know how many steps they took in a day or how much distance they covered in their daily runs.

But even more attractive was their ability to collect and chart the wearer’s progress. Now they could clearly see that they were running farther than they did on an average day two months ago, or that they tended to ease up on Mondays. The charts and graphs helped them keep their focus on their goal.

That same idea is put to work in an Apple app called Done hat can help people reach goals that go beyond physical fitness.

With Done you can track any habit that you repeat on a regular basis. Let’s say you want to drink more water every day. You create a new habit that you might call Hydrate and maybe set a goal of drinking 12 cups a day.  

As you log your daily drinks, Done builds a record of you progress and generates on-demand reports that show how well - or how poorly - you are doing.

And it’s those report cards that really provides an incentive. There’s something about seeing your streak portrayed on a calendar or a chart that reinforces your determination. You get pumped up seeing proof that you really did go to the gym six days in a row. The app can also be used to help break bad habits, like smoking or drinking.

Users can group habits into custom categories, set multiple reminders for each habit, assign color codes and enter notes about each habit. And the app works with the Apple Watch, Siri and Apple’s HealthKit.

The basic version can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store. A Premium version with additional features is also available. For more details, visit the Done App website or follow @treebetty on Twitter.

Monday, June 1, 2020

Jabbie app seeks to make fitness more inclusive


Physical exercise is typically a solitary activity. Unless you're playing team sports, it's just you swimming laps, jogging down the street or straining on the weight machine.

But adding a social component can often pay dividends. If your friends are biking on Tuesday evenings or mall walking on Saturday mornings, you're more likely to show up.

Exercising together can also get your competitive juices flowing, resulting in a longer workout that pushes you closer to your goals.

The inventors of Jabbie recognized the power of group efforts in the pursuit of personal fitness and they built that component into a mobile app that they plan to release. The app will let users get personalized encouragements from a community of users who share similar personal fitness goals.

Jabbie users can set their own fitness activity schedules and set their personal goals and milestones. But they can also join or create a "troupe of support" and schedule workouts with other troupe members.

With group participation, members send and receive encouragements from other members. While that communication happens primarily online, Jabbie members can also use the app to make connections with users nearby in the offline world.

Jabbie's creators are Bunmi Alo, an entrepreneur and software developer who immigrated to the US from Nigeria, and Dr. Joy Cox,  a body and social justice advocate. They share the belief that "the accessibility around fitness is a social justice issue" and that their app will provide "a safe space for users to be active regardless of their fitness level or location."

Jabbie is slated to be launched by the end of the year. You can learn more about the plans for Jabbie in the video below and on the Jabbie website. You can hear the creators discuss their philosophy and their plans on the Wellness Lately podcast.

Alo and Cox hope to raise $27,000 to finance the production of the app. Supporters can donate using this PayPal link.

Friday, July 12, 2019

These earbuds can go for a swim

What’s my favorite way to get through a scorching summer afternoon? Floating on a raft while listening to an audiobook or podcast. And now I’ve found a way to do that without disturbing the neighbors.

I pop in my Sixpipes waterproof earbuds and listen in privacy. The buds have an IPX-5 waterproof rating, which makes them perfect for pool use. And they will run for 6-8 hours on a full charge.

The Sixpipes buds can be set up to play in full stereo when you use both buds or mono if you only want one. They come in a small charging case along with a variety of rubber tips to help users get the best fit.

The Sixpipes in-rear headphones cost about $40 on Amazon.

Check my video below to see them in action.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

App guides you to a perfect day

I believe that most people have the knowledge to create the type of life they want, they just don't have the perseverance to pursue their goals.

There are too many distractions in our daily lives. Dealing with work, family, children, money and other daily issues issues sap or energy and attention, leaving little time to devote to the thoughts and practices that bring us peace and happiness. Me time just boils down to sleep time.

A new app called My Perfect Day is designed to help us fallible human focus on things that are important to us while finding a measure of daily happiness.

The app is divided into four primary elements: Journaling, Breathing, Habits and Affirmations.

Journaling gets users' attention every morning and evening and guides them through a set of questions that focus on the things in their lives that bring them the highest level of happiness and overall fulfillment.

Breathing and Habits sections prompt users to pursue activities that contribute to their physical and emotional well being. Proper breathing routines can keep our bodies infused with fresh oxygen while Habits remind users to exercise, talk with partners or maintain an active social life.

And Affirmations deliver words of encouragement that keep users moving along their chosen path. Here's an example:

I am the architect of my life; I build its foundation and choose its contents.

The My Perfect Day app is scheduled to be released on May 1. The initial version will be for iPhones and other iOS devices. To get a closer look at the app, check the video below and visit the App Store preview.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Soul Athlete offers fitness tracker leaderboards

When my friend Martin was training to run a marathon, he used his wrist tracker and apps for runners to chart his progress. What he needed but didn’t have was a partner who would run with him and push him to improve.  

Since I was out out of the question, I told him to check out Soul Athlete. It’s a website that works with tracking devices and apps that lets you compete with other athletes. Soul Athlete ranks fitness tracker data to create a leaderboard for different sports and training programs.

A runner like Martin could compete with runners all over the country. He could compete with his friends or set up a a group for a team competition.

USA or if you want you can create a team and compete with your friends and team members. Once a team is created, the team captains can adjust the competition timer to train for one day or up to one month. The person at the top of the leaderboard when the timer hits zero is the winner of the challenge and the #1 athlete.

The application works with the Fitbit and Jawbone Up trackers or it can work just with a runner’s cell phone. In addition to running, Soul Athlete can be customized to set up fitness tracker competition or a Fitbit leaderboard for other sports, such as soccer or volleyball.

For a closer look, visit the Soul Athlete website.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Vida Health Coach offers personalized health advice and training

There’s no secret to how movie stars stay slim and healthy: they hire experts to coach them on fitness and health.

People like you and me are not likely to afford a personal coach, but we can get expert help using the Vida Health Coach app.

The app delivers advice and motivation from experts on topics such as fitness, nutrition and health. Users start with a free video consultation with a coach who will perform a health assessment and create a personalized health plan.

Coaches help users set personal goals such as losing weight, breaking the sugar and junk food habits or managing stress. Clients share their daily steps, calorie intake and nutrition through data transmitted from a Fitbit. And the app provides day reminders, tips and inspiration from the coach.

The app is available for free in the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store. After the free assessment, users can purchase a membership for $49 per month, $99 for 3 months, or $249 for a year.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Humana's Cue app strengthens healthy habits

When I was a kid and my mother thought I was slouching, she had a special way of telling me to stand up – a knuckle burrowed deep into the small of my back. Simple, but effective. And long lasting. I still think about mom and her knuckle when I catch myself hunched over my computer keyboard.
I think my mother and most moms would appreciate Cue, a new iPhone app that also knows the value of healthy habits and well-timed encouragement. I spent two weeks checking out a pre-release version of the app, which was developed by Humana, the health insurance company that sponsors My Well-Being.
Cue delivers a series of timed reminders, or cues, that prompt you throughout the day to do simple things that are good for your body and your state of mind. Like a text message, the cues pop up on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
At various times during the day, the notifications prompt you to do one of these things: stretch, straighten up, drink water, move around, go outside or focus on your breathing. The app also explains why those are all good ideas. Stretching, for instance, increases blood flow to your muscles. Good posture makes you less tired. Walking gets your heart pumping and burns calories while adequate hydration fights headaches, dizziness and dry skin.
When Cue tells you to go outside, it’s because fresh air and sunshine can improve your mood and increase creativity.  Sunlight also helps your body produce Vitamin D, which helps strengthen your bones. The version of the app that I installed said the same thing about breathing. I’m guessing that’s an oversight that will be changed before the app goes public.

Users can choose to receive five or nine cues each day. And they can let the app use the phone’s motion sensor to deliver “smart cues.” If you’ve been sitting at your desk or in your favorite TV chair for a couple of hours, that would be a good time to be prompted to walk around or get some fresh air.

If you act on a cue, you can log your actions in the app. The home screen acts as a scoreboard listing your current streak – how many times in a row you stretched or drank some water – and your personal best for each topic. Unlike some smart pedometers, Cue doesn’t have a link to social media or a group scoreboard but those features might turn up in a later version. Picture a room full of office workers simultaneously taking a seventh inning stretch.

Like my mom’s knuckle technique, Cue is a simple and potentially effective, if you take it seriously. You probably knew all the reasons why you should stretch, walk and get out of the house. Maybe your mother told you that those things, like broccoli, are good for you. All you need now is a frequent reminder and a gentle nudge.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Get workouts from the Cardio Boss app

Mike Davies is a busy guy. He's the owner and founder of The Fitness Factory and he's been the personal trainer and coach to hundreds of athletes including Adela Garcia, the current Ms. Olympia.

So, he's not likely to show up at your local gym to provide a workout just for you. But you can get Mike's advice through Cardio Boss, a free iOS app that delivers 10 fat-burning cardio workouts along with videos that show the proper form for each component.

The workouts are a mix of timed, high intensity, and low-impact moves that keep each program focused and interesting and get a user's heart rate to a target level.

"I see it all the time, people go to the gym and only do steady state cardio and wonder why they're not seeing results," Davies said in a press release. "Fat burning takes place at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, so if you don't get up to your anabolic threshold, your body will not burn fat."

Cardio Boss delivers the first 10 workouts free in the app. Users can get two additional workouts per month for $1.99 per month subscription. The iOS versions is available now in the iTunes App Store. An Android version is scheduled to be released on May 7.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Body monitors will replace fitness bands

The GoBe "body manager." 
The computer in my car tracks and monitors the vehicle's health. It tells me when to change the oil and check the brakes. It knows if the engine is overheating, it can detect an electrical problem and alert me if the battery isn't changing properly.
So, how about a computer that does the same thing for my body? We don’t have one yet, but at the rate technology is advancing, full-body health monitors aren’t far off.
Like millions of other people, I already wear a wristband that counts my steps and knows how much I exercise every day. It connects to a mobile app that cheers when I reach my daily goal and prods me when I fall short.
But that's just the beginning. Newer versions of activity bands like the Fitbit Charge, Garmin VivoFit and Withings Pulse O2 now monitor the user's heart rate while they count their daily steps.
Other new wearable devices can track and monitor a range of health and fitness metrics and warn us of potential problems. 
These are some of the devices that could become part of our daily wardrobe:
The Qardiocore, scheduled to be available this spring, is a chest band that continuously monitors the heart's electrical activity (EKG) and transmits the data wirelessly to an iPhone. It also tracks body temperature and heart rate.
For people who need to monitor their glucose levels, Dexcom has developed a patch that inserts a sensor under the skin. The patch transmits readings to a handheld device every five minutes and can be worn for seven days at a time.
Most of the new smart watches include health monitors in their list of features and functions. Both Motorola’s Moto 360 and Samsung’s Gear watch include heart rate monitors. Apple Watch will do the same when it arrives this spring.  
At this year's CES technology show, the Taiwanese company Ming Young Biomedical showed shirts and sport bras that could measure and transmit a person's breathing rate, heart rate and EKG rate.
The most ambitious new body monitor is the Healbe GoBe, a wristband that aims to be a complete "body manager." In addition to monitoring physical activity, the device calculates calorie intake and calories burned, heart rate, blood pressure and hydration. It will also report a user’s high stress levels, presumably the result of worrying about all those other health measurements.


Thursday, March 26, 2015

Max My Body to offer nutrition planning app for athletes

My usual breakfast is a bowl of raisin bran and a cup of coffee. Not the sort of diet that would turn me into an athletic powerhouse. But then again, I'm not in training for the NCAA basketball finals or even a high school soccer match.

The young people who are aiming for high level competitive sports may have already heard about Max My Body. It's a specialized sports nutrition program designed specifically for young athletes in the pre-high school to post-college age range.

The concept behind Max My Body was developed at a global tech business incubator in Los Angeles in 2013 by co-founders and CEO Khari Stallworth and Ingrid Skoog. Stallworth is a former athlete, a volunteer and operator of a catering service. Skoog is a certified sports dietitian working with Oregon State University.

The goal of Max My Body is to use nutrition to help clients enhance their athletic performance and speed their recovery following training and competition or surgery, illness, or injury.

Max My Body will develop nutrition strategies for weight management, hydration schedules and "off-season" diet regimens. When it's launched, the program will work with parents, coaches or with individual athletes. A fundraising campaign for Max My Body started today at Indiegogo.

The company is currently lining up beta testers for the Max My Body app that will be launched in July. For more information, watch the video below and visit the Max My Body website. You can also fine information @maxmybody1 on Twitter.



Saturday, February 21, 2015

DietQuotes app delivers daily inspiration

One of my daughter's jobs is to serve as my personal diet counselor. When I reach for a second helping of pasta, she tells me that won't be good for my tennis game. A mid-day snack? She says let's wait until after we walk the dogs.

Her encouragement helps me stay focused on my effort to shed the extra pounds I picked up over the winter. It's the same concept behind DietQuotes, a new iOS app that can give you encouragement and inspiration as you pursue your diet goals.

DietQuotes delivers daily quotes that will brighten your day and help you stay motivated and stay positive. You can save quotes and build a personal library of quotes that work best for you.

The app also lets you schedule quotes when a little does of motivation can be most effective. For example, DietQuotes can be your morning wake-up alarm to get you off on the right foot, or remind you of the price you'll pay for a late-night snack.

You can customize the app's display with personalized images and share quotes on Facebook or Twitter.

DietQuotes is free and available now in the Apple iTunes App Store.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

How to make any table a stand-up desk

 Those of us who spend large chunks of our days with our fingers on a keyboard quickly learn the importance of ergonomic factors. Is your desk the right height? How close are you to the monitor? Does your chair give you good posture.

Some people prefer to work standing up, a position that can counter back pain and stiffness, not to mention a widening butt. At one point, I used a stack of phone books to raise my laptop, but that turned out to be an unstable and unsatisfactory solution.

Then I met Luke Leafgren at CES, the big technology trade show. That's where I got a look at his StandStand. It's three pieces of nicely finished wood that easily assembles to form a sturdy laptop stand. For stand-up typists, this is the real deal.

When collapsed, the stand is the size of a laptop and weighs about two pounds, making it easy to carry in the same bag as a computer. The three pieces lock together like a puzzle to create a standing desk out of any table or desk.

The stands are available in three different heights and two woods. The Baltic Birch sells for $69 and the Bamboo version for $99.

See the StandStand at work in the video below and get more details at the StandStand website or on Twitter.



Friday, November 14, 2014

Fit Mate creates random routes for runners

If you're a runner or biker who does it for pleasure as well as fitness, you probably enjoy an occasional change of scenery. A run through the park one day, through campus on another day, or down museum row.

Fit Mate is a new iOS app that that generates a random route for you based on the distance you want to cover. And, after you do a route that you like, you can save it to your collection of favorites.

Fit Mate has other features as well. It performs real-time location monitoring, it stores your time and other statistics and it has a calendar so you can look up the route you ran last Saturday. There's also a place to add notes and a monitor that lets you know when it might be time for a new pair of shoes.

Fit Mate is free and available for downloading in the Apple iTunes Store.

Monday, July 7, 2014

New app paves the way to a flat belly

Gosh, I would love to have a flat belly like the dude on the cover of last week's People magazine. But where to start? Now there's an app for that.

Flat Belly Abs is an app that lets you keep your exercises close at hand. The app contains a collection of classic and effective exercises that will help you tone and flatten your midsection.

The list includes Ankle Touches, Flutter Kicks, Toe Touch Sit Ups and many more. Each one links to a short demonstration video, so you'll always remember how to do Froggers, Plank Jacks or Russian Twists. The app also lets you create custom playlists or your favorite (or most dreaded) exercises.

Flat Belly Abs costs a mere 99 cents at Google Play or in the Amazon app library.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Mio Link puts your heart into your workouts

As the two-lane road in the French countryside headed uphill, Corey Posgay started pedaling as if he were wearing the yellow jersey in the Tour de France. In reality, he was piloting a stationary bike while he watched a video that followed the route of the famous race.

Posgay was in the Las Vegas Convention Center at International CES to demonstrate the Mio Link, a new strapless heart rate monitor that lets users record and analyze their heart rate data. Using the collected information, they can fine-tune their workouts, whether they're training for an international competition or a run through a neighborhood park.

The Mio Link records heartbeats with a watch-sized wristband rather than the more traditional chest strap. "People don't like chest straps," said Mio founder and CEO Liz Dickinson. "They learned the importance of heart rate monitoring but gave it up because it's uncomfortable."

Using a Bluetooth connection, the Mio records and transmits heart rate data to an app on the user's smartphone. A colored LED light on the wristband gives the wearer an immediate indication of the zone their heart rate is in and the stored data can be compared to the workout route or routine. What's your heart doing when you're slogging up a steep hill or cruising on the flats? The Mio knows.

The app also lets you download trip videos from around the world so you can jog along a beach road in Mexico or try that Tour de France route from the comfort of your treadmill or stationary bike. The Mio Link and app will be available in February for about $99 at www.mioglobal.com.

Get a look at more new fitness monitors and devices from CES in my column at MyWell-Being.com.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

CES 2014: Digital practice swings

In a technology demo in the Sony booth, a plastic tennis racquet with sensors that measure swing speed, impact position, ball speed and spin rate.

My score was, um, no threat to Nadal. 

Sunday, December 29, 2013

CES 2014: A power move for skateboarding

Shanghai-based Yuneec is best known for producing the world’s first commercial electric aircraft, the GreenWing430. But at CES, the company will be showing off an electric-powered skateboard.

Yuneec says the E-GO Cruiser is the world’s lightest electric longboard weighing 13.9 pounds. It hasn’t yet said how far the E-Go will travel on a charge or how much the board will cost when it’s available in the U.S.

The company also will display the FlyingEyes HX3, a civil drone made of carbon materials that can stay aloft for 90 minutes.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Audio-Technica earbuds stay put while you sweat

The maxim "One size fits all" never did apply to headphones. I have a Bluetooth set for dog-walking, an over-the-ear model for quiet music listening, and a noise-cancellation version that I always take along when I fly.  

Now, thanks to Audio-Technica, I have a new sporty set of in-ear phones that are perfect for more active pursuits, like running, biking or workouts at the gym.

The SonicSport ATH-CKP500 are especially designed to stay put in your ears, even when you're working up a sweat. Instead of an earlobe hook, these phones use a shorter C-tip that nestles in the outer ear to hold the earphones in place.

The phone's cable also sits in an angled tube that directs them behind the neck. That helps keep them out of your way when you're using your hands. The phones are also IPX5 certified waterproof. That means you can wash them after a workout, but don't wear them underwater. The SonicSport phones have a list price of $75 but you can find at amazon.com and other online sources for about $10 less.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Jawbone's revamped UP is ready for a walk

Tracking your activities tends to make be more active. I found that out last year when I got the Fitbit pedometer. Once I set a goal of 10,000 steps a day, the Fitbit's reports pushed me to keep walking more.

The problem with the tiny Fitbit is it's too easy to lose. My first one disappeared somewhere near my house. When the replacement failed to make it home from a trip to Las Vegas, I gave up on the Fitbit.

My prospects to holding on to the UP from Jawbone look much better. Instead of a paperclip design, the UP is a thin wristband made to be worn 24/7. It tracks your your steps and your sleep. If you take the trouble to enter your food, it will also help you manage your diet and calorie intake.

Jawbone says the UP's battery will last for 10 days and that it has alarmks that will wake you after a 25-minute power nap and nudge you if you've been awake but inactive for too long.

The first version of the UP released in 2011 was plagued by technical problems and units were eventually recalled by Jawbone. The new version release late last year is getting mucyh better user reviews.

The new version works with a free iPhone or Android app that makes colorful graphs of your activity and sleep patterns. But unlike the Fitbit, it doesn't use Bluetooth. You have remove a cap from the bracelet and plug it into your mobile phone's headphone jack. That's a pretty simple step, but you don't get the immediate gratification that comes with a wireless link.

The UP's price isn't very gratifying, either. It costs about $130 just about anywhere you find it, including Verizon stores and verizonwireless.com.




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