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

I haven’t been this excited about an exercise iPhone app for a LONG time. It’s called ZOMBIES, RUN!. While you are running, whether it’s outside or even on a treadmill, it feeds you audio cues telling you when you need to run away from the zombies. The better you perform, the more supplies your base will get and the more likely your crew will survive. It works with your music playlist, so the audio cues will cut into your very own workout mix.

Here’s a video from the creators describing it:

I wish I could download it RIGHT NOW for today’s workout, but I’ll have to wait until the end of the month when it will be released for the iPhone. If you are an Android user, you’ll have to wait a little longer. It is available for preorder and I’ve paid my amount so I can start training for the zombie apocalypse now.

Via Zombies Running App For iPhone and Android

Update 02-25-12: The Zombies, Run! game went live for people who pre-ordered yesterday, but it was too late for me to take on my run, so I ran with it this morning. I haven’t gone running outside in the cold for MONTHS, so I was worried that this workout would be too intense for me. Fortunately, this app works with every fitness level. If you can barely walk, all you have to do is walk a little faster when the zombies are coming for you. Believe me, the story is captivating enough to make you WANT to walk a little faster.

My usual walks have been at about 3mph, but after I finished my workout today, I walked/ran an average of 4mph. Sure, it was hard, but it felt good to get away from the zombies, especially the previous Runner 5.

While this app works on the treadmill, you cannot enable Zombie Chase Mode unless you’re running with GPS. I ran outside in the cold wind today, but the unpleasant weather was hardly noticeable. I was planning on just doing a treadmill workout, but I really wanted to experience the zombie chases, so I dug into my workout drawer and found the winter sweatshirt and ear warmers to brave the chill.

I planned on doing a 20 minute walk, but when the game told me to make a detour to the hospital to pick up some first aid kits, I LITERALLY extended my planned workout and walked to the nearest InstaCare. I don’t believe the game could see that I was close to the local hospital, but it was an added bit of realism that extended my workout to 33 minutes without feeling like drudgery. In fact, I felt proud that I was able to pick up all those bandages and first aid kits on the way.

There is a robotic voice that breaks in during my music that tells me when I’ve picked up supplies. Most of the time, I can’t understand what it said, but I can see my complete inventory when I get back from my run. I guess just knowing that I picked up SOMETHING is enough for me.

I didn’t get caught by the zombies, but the game says that if I can’t run fast enough, I will have to drop supplies in order to distract them. Mostly, the sound of a zombie behind me was enough to keep me going faster. The idea of needing to run in order to survive is a great motivator. I’ve talked about this before:

• Starling Fitness – Fitness, diet, and health weblog » Primal Workout: Trick Your Body Into Getting Thin

Instead of a pack of rabid dogs, this time, I’m running away from the zombie apocalypse. This app is EXACTLY what I wanted from a primal workout. Strangely, I can’t wait to go running again tomorrow.

Photo via: work sweat achieve

I spend most of my time writing while sitting on a chair. The idea of exercising while I work is appealing because I imagine that I’d be able to get in a workout when I’m usually just sitting. Kickstand Furniture has created an option for me with their Kickstand Desk.

It’s a great idea, but they are asking $2500 for the desk, which seems rather steep, especially when I could buy the Vika Amon tabletop at Ikea and their adjustable legs, the Vika Byske, all for less than 200 bucks. Of course, I would recommend also buying a Stig barstool for an extra $20 so that you’ll be able to rest from biking when your poor bottom can’t take anymore from your bicycle seat.

The bike is mounted on a trainer to give it resistance while you pedal. For the last several years, I have used the CycleOps Mag and it has held up really well and is easy to use no matter what bike you are training with.

The next time you blame your lack of exercise on your long work hours, remember these options. You could adjust your desk a bit and have a way to work AND exercise all day long.

Via: Kickstand Desk Lets You Ride Your Bike at Work

When Mike and I visited Galveston, Texas a while back, we rented a surrey for an hour and rode it up and down the coastline. It was hot and sweaty fun and ever since, I have wanted to BUY a surrey to ride around my own neighborhood.

Just the other day, I saw this video on YouTube and it reminded me of the fun ride I had with Mike.

Of course, Mike and I weren’t drunk, so our ride was a little less rambunctious, but it was still great fun.

The next time you’re trying to figure out what to do with your weekend, check out the touristy areas of your town. Perhaps, there is a surrey rental company there for you. I highly recommend it for a fun and healthy activity.

For a long time, I’ve know that running along those pine needle lined paths in the park are just as injury prone as running on asphalt. In fact, I talked about it SEVEN years ago in this blog entry:

• Starling Fitness » June 29, 2004 – The Perfect Run

They say that the ideal running environment is a trail run on pine needles, but “they” obviously don’t run as often or in as many places as I have. Where there are pine needles, there are pine trees. Where there are pine trees, I am going to trip on a fucking pinecone. It’s just how nature works. You can’t have the pine needles without the pinecones. No, the ideal running environment is not a trail run on pine needles; it’s the sixth floor at the Luxor Hotel.

It seems that now a exercise physiologist has come to same conclusion:

• For Runners, Soft Surface Can Be Just as Hard on the Body – NYTimes.com

Dr. Tanaka, a runner, once tried it himself. He was recovering from a knee injury, and an orthopedist told him to stay away from hard surfaces, like asphalt roads, and run instead on softer surfaces, like grass or dirt. So he ran on a dirt path runners had beaten into the grass along an asphalt bike path.

The result? “I twisted my ankle and aggravated my injury while running on the softer and irregular surface,” he said.

I stand by my assertion that the perfect run is the sixth floor of the Luxor Hotel. Soft carpeting, even flooring, and no pine cones to trip over. If only we could get the staff to pick up the room service trays earlier, it would be absolutely danger-free. Until then, I’ll have to dodge the leftover food and dishes.

I love this photo of a billboard.

It reads:

You are not stuck in traffic.

You are traffic.

Get a bike. Break free!

I’ve talked about riding my bike to work before. You can read some of the articles here:

• Starling Fitness » Is Riding Your Bike To Work Bad For The Environment?

• Starling Fitness » Riding My Bike To Work

• Starling Fitness » Save Gas By Walking or Riding Your Bike

• Starling Fitness » How To Ride Your Bike To Work

• Starling Fitness » PostSecret: Bike To Work

My commute was longer when I rode my bike to work, but when I realized that I didn’t have to take extra time in my day for my workout, it made up for it. Plus, the added worry about getting to work on time helped keep my ride energizing and in the aerobic zone.

If it is at all possible to ride your bike to work, you should do it. Not only will you slip past the gridlock of traffic, you’ll live longer and look better.

Photo via: image-33.jpg on imgfave

I absolutely love this video:

I love it at the 0:27 mark when he claps his hands and the birds go flying! Just seeing him walking through all of those exciting places makes me want to get out and take a walk of my own.

It looks like he also did a video called Eat:

It may not feature the healthiest of food, but it showcases the variety of food available. Next time you’re feeling sick of what you’re eating, watch this video to get ideas for something new that you can fit into your diet routine.

Via: Twitter / @scottharrison: This video is brilliant. M …

Update 08-14-2011: Please read the comment from Benjamin Young, the CEO of Nexercise, below. The reason the app doesn’t multitask (and allow you to lock your screen) is because Apple doesn’t allow it with the current OS.

The new update of the app DOES allow unverified time, but it has crashed so many times on me that I’ve stopped using it. Perhaps the next update will fix those crashes.

I did win a $5 Amazon gift card while testing the app. That was a nice surprise and made me want to use Nexercise more, despite the bother it is to use it.

Update 08-31-2011: I’ve continued to try Nexercise with my workouts and I stand by my review. They do allow unverified time and it only beeps at me if I click away to take a picture or see my Runkeeper stats. The crashes, however, make it not worth the while. Just today, I had a 53 minute walk that failed to be submitted. It just sat there spinning, failed and then disappeared from my calendar.

NOT WORTH THE BOTHER.

I’ve been trying a free app on my iPhone called Nexercise. The premise is brilliant. It logs your physical activity and for every fifteen minutes you exercise, you get a chance to win prizes and badges.

Unfortunately, the execution isn’t as brilliant.

It’s easy enough to run the program and it doesn’t suck down my battery while it’s running, but it does NOT multitask. It’s kind enough to go into “sleep” mode so exercising with it doesn’t turn it off, but pushing the normal sleep button will pause the program.

Additionally, if I answer a call, it pauses the program. If I take a picture of something beautiful on my walk, it pauses the program. If I don’t run Runkeeper BEFORE I start Nexercise, it pauses the program. What is this? 2009? iPhones have been able to multitask for a while. Why doesn’t Nexercise?!

The lack of multitasking is irritating enough, but Nexercise also has the additional problem of pausing itself because it thinks you’re not moving enough.

I wouldn’t be bothered by this problem if it didn’t happen about once or twice each walk. Sometimes it’s because I have stopped to scoop doggie poo, but rather than waiting for me to let my dog do her business, it beeps me with an annoying sound with a reprimand.

Other times, it thinks I’m not moving enough for no reason whatsoever. Maybe I don’t jiggle enough when I walk or they’ve set the sensitivity wrong, but there have been times when it has paused for inactivity in the middle of a walk when I haven’t stopped moving. It’s the same irritating problem that Nike+ had without the benefits of tracking that Nike gave me.

Worst of all, when it has paused and I didn’t notice, sometimes it won’t give me any credit for my walk at all because it didn’t log fifteen minutes of activity while I was walking. Sure, my walk was an hour long, but the stupid thing paused itself and I didn’t happen to hear the irritating beeps.

To be fair, I’ve had a couple of walks with no pausing, but the added problem of loading up an additional app and dealing with the lack of multitasking just makes Nexercise not worth it.

As far as those rewards go, I haven’t won one. I HAVE earned a couple of badges and I have to tell you that it felt good to earn them.

Are the badges and the promise of gift cards worth the extra hassle? No, they’re not. If they get multitasking to work or if they change the sensitivity of the app so that it won’t pause itself, maybe Nexercise will be worth it. Until then, I’m not going to bother with it.

This photo from Two-Heel Drive is so beautiful, it made me want to get out there and take a walk.

I have been taking morning walks with Nina and not a day goes by when I don’t feel better for it. It’s like getting out into the sunlight and moving my body makes a great start to the day.

Via: Go toward the light | Two-Heel Drive, a Hiking Blog

This video of twin three-year-old boys playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii is so adorable! Watch the boy on the left at the 1:58 minute mark. He’s just the CUTEST!! If you play on Xbox 360, there is Just Dance 3 for Kinect, but it won’t be out until this October. I haven’t played any of my dancing games for a long time, but watching these kids play makes me want to play again.

Via: Littlest, Yellowest, Differentest

Every time I see a magazine or blog recommend to people to “get a dog” for motivation to exercise, I cringe. I did just that in 2001 when we adopted Sid. Now, Sid was a saint of a dog for many reasons, but he was NOT a good dog to keep me motivated to exercise. He was a high energy dog and needed a lot of exercise, but he was completely unleashable. Despite all the training Mike and I gave him, he never in his life learned how to take a walk with us. Every time I walked him, it was only an exercise in frustration, fear and embarrassment.

If you need motivation to exercise, adopting a dog is NOT the way to go. Dogs are each unique and every time you adopt one, it’s a crap shoot. I adopted Sid so I could have a walking and running partner. He was a good friend and I still miss him, but he was NEVER a motivator to exercise for me.

That being said, I find myself in a strange situation. Sid died six months ago, so Mike and I adopted a new dog about three weeks ago. Her name is Nina and everything I wanted from Sid, Nina has given me. I finally have my walking partner.

Nina has her own problems completely different from Sid. The REASON I’ve been walking her two miles a day is because she refuses to go potty in our backyard. We take her out there and she will NOT do it, even if she is bursting with pee and we offer her a treat to do it. She literally needs to walk about a half mile from the house before she will release.

Just like I said, every time you adopt a dog, it’s a crap shoot.

These last three weeks have been bliss for me. Every morning, I wake up and immediately put on my gym clothes to take the dog on a walk. I don’t ever think that it’s not an option. The poor puppy needs to go potty and she won’t be able to go unless I walk her. Exercising has never been so automatic and easy for me, and the backyard has never been so clean and fresh smelling.

So, after these three weeks of happy exercise, would I recommend to people to get a dog for motivation? No. Having a dog is a big responsibility and if the only reason you want one is for company on your daily walks or runs, then do not adopt. You might luck out and get a dog like Nina, but then again, you might end up with a dog like Sid, who you love, but will never be a motivation to exercise. Adopt a dog for the company and joy they bring to your life. If they happen to be a good workout buddy as well, then consider yourself lucky.