Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

There were so many gadgets at CES that I really felt overwhelmed with all of it. I was grateful to try out so many things that were previously just good ideas and pictures on the computer screen. There were lots of things that looked interesting to me and I really wanted to buy them. The truth of the matter is that when it comes down to exercise, motivation is the most important thing.

If a new toy like the gadgets that I played with at CES are something that will motivate you to exercise, then the investment is worth it. It’s difficult to tell how long these gadgets will continue to motivate you if you don’t have the motivation to keep fit on your own, though. Just like other exercise equipment that sits in the house and gathers dust, it won’t do you any good unless you use it.

In the end, if you are truly dedicated to your fitness, all you really need are a pair of tennis shoes. There are as many ways to get fit as there are people on this planet. Find your favorite and stick to it. No matter how much money you spend, you can’t get fit unless you’re willing to sweat. So, get out there and start sweating!

The final fitness gadget we found at CES was the NetAthlon software from FitCentric. They were demonstrating their product with a Nautilus treadmill as part of Intel’s booth. FitCentric also worked in conjunction with TacX on the software for their bicycle trainer. The software that FitCentric was demonstrating was much more basic than the TacX software. As you can see from the screen shot, the graphics are much more blocky and simplistic.

Despite the simple computer animation, the software did make running on the treadmill a little more compelling. The software places you on a track with several other runners. You can try to catch up to the ones ahead of you or slow down and run at whatever pace you decide.

The software was controlled by the settings on the treadmill. When I approached the treadmill, the Intel employee had it on a slow setting. The woman on the computer screen was walking on the track. You could see houses slowly go by.

When I got on the treadmill, I brought it up to running speed and the woman on the screen started running. The scenery moved past quickly. I really liked the idea of catching up to other people on the track and overtaking them. Something about that element of the game really appealed to me.

One strange thing that happened was the Nautilus treadmill was able to read the sensor from my Nike heart rate monitor. It displayed the correct heart rate on its dashboard. As you can see this is my heart rate when I first started running. Within seconds, I was up to 159 bpm testing the game. I already knew that running on a treadmill gives me a great workout, but the software was really inspiring. It didn’t convince me I was running a real race, but it was an interesting change of pace.

You can download the FitCentric software for a 10-Day Trial on their website. They have a selection of machines that their software works with. They also say that they have a “Wireless Retrofit” for bicycle trainers (such as my CycleOps trainer), but when I tried to purchase it, there was no way to buy it on their website. I sent them an email regarding this oversight and I received an email back saying that it’s not available yet. Since the website said, “Coming in 2005” and it’s still not available, I don’t think I’ll hold my breath. If you’re lucky enough to own one of the treadmills or stationary bikes that work with this software (see the list of Compatible Fitness Machines here), then FitCentric is a great deal at $99.95.

Click here to see the Fitcentric Website:

• FitCentric Website

Update 01-23-06: Their website says that their software, NetAthlon, might work with iFit machines, but after fighting with my free download and my NordicTrack treadmill, it looks like it will not work. I’m going back to using i2Workout. It has been great!

I talked about the Journey to the Wild Divine software almost a year ago:

• Starling Fitness » Exercise Gaming

Back then, it was just some software at an expensive price, but I was able to try it out at CES. The Intel booth had a couple of computers running this software, so I was able to spend a few minutes with it.

This software includes sensors that attach to your fingers. You control the environment in the “game” with the biometric sensors. You also interact with the software using your mouse. There is an introduction with the “gardener” of the area that introduces the concepts to you and tells you what you’re supposed to do at each level. She spoke very calmly and I found her voice to be as soothing as the new age music playing in the background.

The first level consisted of a pinwheel that was supposed to rotate when I took a deep breath. It would move, I would get excited about it moving and it would stop. The only way I could consistently make it move was if I talked to Mike about it. I guess I’m calmest when talking. How very apt.

The noisy Las Vegas Convention Center is the worst place on the planet to test meditation software. The few people who were willing to try the Journey to the Wild Divine were as equally unable to make the pinwheel move as I was.

Ironically, I really liked the “game.” The music in the background had a New Age feel and was relaxing. The “gardener” had a calm voice and was very clear about the objectives of the level. I don’t know if it’s worth the hefty price tag ($159.95). It depends on how much you are unable to relax on your own. For me, struggling with normal meditation felt about the same as struggling with the biofeedback. Since meditation is free, I’d have to choose that one.

Additionally, if you would like to listen to the music that is featured on the game, they sell the Wild Divine Soundtrack. You could purchase that and meditate with it for only fifteen bucks.

Click here for the Journey to the Wild Divine website:

• Wild Divine Home Page

GPS systems were featured heavily at CES, but only a few of the booths focused on the sports aspects of the tool. Most of the GPS systems focused on the automotive features, but NavMan had a whole section about fitness.

This unit is called the NavMan R300. It measures your speed distance and pace. It would work while running or on your bicycle. Unfortunately, there was no one at the booth to answer our questions about the product, so I have no idea about its performance in “urban canyons” and in heavy tree foliage.

It appears to be a little bulky on your arm, but no more so than an iPod Mini. Of course, it doesn’t play music, it just measures your progress. They didn’t have any units out that I could try on to see how they feel. All their products were behind glass, so I couldn’t even play with them to see if they were easy to use.

Without being able to get a close up view of them, I’m reluctant to recommend them. As always, you can track your course using the Google Pedometer, so that might be the best case scenario until something more portable comes along.

Click here to see the NavMan website:

• Sport.Tool R300 (Run) from Navman USA

Tacx, the maker of the virtual reality bike trainers, has released three DVDs that you can watch while you ride your bike on a normal bike trainer.

• Alpine Classic Marmotte – France
• Mallorca Tour – Spain
• Lombardy Tour – Italy

Each of these videos are $29.90, which is much cheaper than the $800 price tag for the virtual reality trainer for your computer. These DVDs might be a great compromise between true virtual reality and simulated reality.

Click Here for the Tacx Video Website:

• www.Tacx-Video.com

Mike and I were talking about people training for the Tour de France a few months ago. He actually suggested that it would be so cool if someone filmed video of roads and turned them into a game where you could ride your bike on famous bike courses. Tacx beat us to it and they have executed it well.

We talked about the Tacx VR bike trainers back in June, but seeing it in person really sells this product.

• Starling Fitness » TACX Virtual Reality Bicycle Trainers

You can choose your ride from a large selection of bike race courses. The screen shows you the elevation that you will achieve (it will increase the resistance on your bike when the elevation gets steeper). I chose a course in the Alps that is on the Tour de France.

Once you start riding on your course, you see a real video of the road that you would be riding on. You see cars pass you and the scenery is perfect. I was riding on a steep incline, so it was very difficult for me and got my heart rate far higher than it needed to be to get into the high intensity range.

I only lasted 3/4 of a mile at that intensity. There are easier courses, of course, but this gave me an idea of what it must be like for those cyclists to take on the mountains in Europe. The equipment seems well made. The bike trainer looks like it’s relatively easy to attach to your bicycle, even though it doesn’t have a quick release like my CyclOps trainer has.

I was really impressed with the Tacx employee demonstrating the product and I enjoyed playing with the software. They also make a trainer that includes the steering in the game, which is intriguing. I didn’t try that one out, but I watched another conventioneer try it. She dropped her player on his head. He just got back up on the bike and kept cycling. That’s the reason virtual reality is better than actual reality. A real wipe out on the trail involves picking gravel out of my bloody skin and hoping I don’t have a concussion.

Click Here to see the Tacx Website:

• Tacx – Discover a new way of cycling

This postcard from PostSecret rang a bell for me. My friend had a trampoline. The two of us would jump on it all summer long. At night, we would roll our sleeping bags on it and sleep outside. We lived on that trampoline.

Unless there were guys over at her house…

My friend was perfectly willing to jump and flip on the trampoline when guys were there, but I would just stay on the sidelines and hang out. She preferred the spotlight and I willingly gave it up. She was much more acrobatic than I was, so her jumping was more impressive than mine could have been.

I always felt that too much of me would jiggle if I jumped on the trampoline in front of the guys. I guess I wasn’t comfortable enough with my jiggly parts. I don’t even know if I am now. I wore a jogging bra all day at CES because I knew I was going to be trying out games where I might jiggle too much. It was uncomfortable and chaffed, but somehow that was better than jiggling too much when I tried out all the equipment.

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.

I turned my eyes away from this postcard from PostSecret. I didn’t even want to think about this one. No matter how far I’ve come lately, I haven’t been able to like how I look naked. Sometimes, I can catch a glimpse of enjoying my appearance when I’m wearing clothing that I feel are flattering, but I have never looked at myself naked and felt proud.

When will that come for me?

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.

I saw these dumbells at Target the other day. I’ve seen similar things at the NordicTrack store that had more weight and cost more, but these ones seemed interesting. Each dumbell can weigh between 2.5 and 12.5 pounds, depending on the weights that are added. Instead of adding plates and attaching a holder, they are all in one. At $59.99, however, they aren’t that great of a price.

I found the knob that you move to change the weight of the dumbell to be difficult to budge and one of the units at the store was damaged, so this isn’t something that I would recommend purchasing. Even more disturbing, I can find no evidence of their existence at Amazon.com or at the Reebok Store. It looks like Target got the last of them just in time for the New Year’s Resolutioners, hoping to get rid of them quickly.

The next book that the library sent me was The Raw Food Detox Diet : The Five-Step Plan for Vibrant Health and Maximum Weight Loss by Natalia Rose. Unlike The Raw Truth, this book had far more to print than just recipes. The groups of recipes are only about one-third of the book, with the rest of the book talking about why the Raw Food Detox Diet will make you lose weight.

The premise of this book is that cooked food (along with animal products and artificial chemicals) create waste in your body. This waste (or garbage or toxins) collects in your body, causing you to be overweight. The author tosses out the very existence of fat cells and wants you to believe that you’re fat because you’re constipated.

“It’s much more common to find a body riddled with cells carrying matter that’s not easily eliminated. This is the fundamental cause of our physical and, some would argue, mental ills. Clean, healthy cells maintain homeostasis (the healthy state of balance in the body), which keeps us feeling well.”

“Waste matter in the body is the fundamental source of the excess weight in your body. Get the waste out and you get the weight off.”

Not only are you constipated, you won’t be able to get unblocked without “waste elimination specialists” such as colonics, enemas, massage therapy and yoga positions. Eating healthy isn’t enough to get the waste out of your body. You need to flush it out with an enema.

It took me a while to find a quote in this book that I actually agreed with, but I finally did. When talking about vitamins, Natalia had this to say,

“If you’re eating of nature’s bounty every day, you don’t need to supplement your diet with pills.”

That is true. When you eat a healthy diet, you don’t need to take vitamin or calcium pills. Raw fruit and vegetables along with a myriad of other foods constitute a healthy diet. When you eat a healthy diet, you also don’t need enemas or colonics. Fiber and healthy oils in the right quantities will eliminate any “waste” you many have in your body.

Just like The Raw Truth, this book has absolutely no medical proof backing up their claims about food combinations, enzymes or colonics. We are just supposed to take the author’s word for it. Without the scientific studies to back up these ideas, I have to classify this book in the “quack” category.