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

I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t do shoe reviews. I don’t even mention the shoes that I wear by name. I have had such bad luck with shoes that I found one version of a shoe from one company that works for me. One, out of all that are out there. I can’t even find these shoes in Salt Lake City anymore. I actually order them online from the company that makes them. Every time my shoes start to wear out, I think that I should try a different brand or shoe so that I can just walk into a store and buy them.

Every time I try to go shoe shopping, I regret it.

I have tried on hundreds of shoes and I have only found one pair to ever work for me. Most shoe shops don’t have treadmills in the store, so you can’t really try the shoes out. Every time I have bought shoes other than the ones I use now, I have found weird things wrong with them. I try lacing my shoes in all the ways that they talk about in the running magazine to make it better, but in the end, I order my running shoes online.

Each of us is unique. Running puts a lot of stress on our feet and can cause a lot of rubbing in sensitive areas if the shoe isn’t perfect. If you find a shoe that works for you, buy a few extra just in case the company stops making that shoe. Or go with a reliable company that makes the same shoes over and over for years like New Balance or Ryka. Reading shoe reviews won’t tell you how the shoe fits your foot. All you can do is hit every store in the city and when you finally find that perfect shoe, stick to it like glue and hope that the manufacturer is still making it next year.

When I first got my Nike+, it was pretty accurate (within 0.05 miles) compared to what the Google Pedometer said. Lately though, I had been having REAL troubles with inaccuracy. Runs that I knew the mileage for were reading less than half the distance they should have. The only thing that changed was how I attached the Nike+ pod. When I started, I used the Shoe Wallet, but later, I got the Marware Sensor+. Yesterday on my walk, I pulled out the Shoe Wallet to see if the mileage would go back to almost accurate. Guess what, it did.

I have NO idea why the Marware sensor holder doesn’t work as well as the Shoe Wallet, but sadly, that’s the case. I like the look of the Marware product so much better, but I want to actually USE my Nike+ and get fairly accurate readings. I don’t mind a little off, but a 50% difference is unacceptable. I’m back to wearing the big bulky Shoe Wallet on my running shoes, but that’s okay. There’s room for my house key and credit card…

Hi Laura,

Have you noticed this problem when running with the Nano Nike+ Sensor on your treadmill?

Support Forums : Treadmills …

Hope all is well.
Shiny Penny

Shiny Penny,

Yeah, I mentioned that it doesn’t match perfectly to my treadmill or even the Google Pedometer readings. The thing is, I’m not worried about being THAT exact. I just want an estimate of my workout. Sometimes I think I obsess over the measuring of things instead of just doing the workout.

Thanks for the link to the forum, though. If other people have questions, they can see more info there.

Thanks again,
Laura

There’s nothing worse than coming to a slow ballad when you’re in the middle of running fast during your interval training. It can throw you off. If you want to make a workout mix to put on your iPod to make your workouts easier, there is a new product out there that can help you do just that.

• Potion Factory Blog » Blog Archive » Introducing Tangerine

It looks like it only works with Macintosh computers, so if you have a PC, you’re out of luck. The way it works is that it analyzes your music on iTunes and calculates the BPM of the music, which lets you choose songs based on BPM. Here are some tips on BPM levels for workouts:

• Less than 115 BPM for Yoga and warmup stretches

• 115-120 BPM for walking

• 120-180 BPM for running

If you don’t have a Macintosh, you can use this online beat counter.

DJ BPM Counter

Play your song, and click the key to the beat. It will calculate the BPM for you. It’s a lot more labor intensive than Tangerine, but it gets the job done for free.

No matter what you do, you can make your workout a little easier with music. I love upbeat songs with a high BPM because they get my feet moving. Try this and see if you can make your workout a little easier.

Via: Tangerine beta – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

If you were hoping for a sequel to Yourself!Fitness, you probably are going to be disappointed. Because of a lawsuit that has been dragging in the courts for years, Yourself!Fitness isn’t looking at working on a sequel. You can find out the details here:

• The Gadgets Page » Yourself!Fitness Lawsuit

If Yourself!Fitness is dying a slow and painful death, be sure that exergaming isn’t. Konami just released a new version of DDR for Playstation 2 called DDR Supernova and you’ve already heard about the new game, Dance Factory. Exergaming is alive and well. It’s just Yourself!Fitness that is experiencing an implosion.

For more information about Yourself!Fitness:

• Starling Fitness » Yourself! Fitness for the Xbox

Wendy walked her seventh marathon and even after seven events, she is still learning. Read about her thoughts here:

• About.com – Lessons Learned on my 7th Marathon Walk – by Wendy Bumgardener

Most importantly, she had trouble with her Nike+iPod:

“Electronic Failure: I walked with my iPod nano and planned to track it with my Nike+iPod sensor. But I should have turned it on at home and tested it out. Instead, I tried to do it in the portajohn line and, by golly, lots of other people were wearing Nike+iPod sensors and it wouldn’t link to mine. Oh well. I still had my Sportbrain pedometer to track my performance.”

I should have known that there could be interference with other Nike+iPods. I’ve never run into that problem with mine because I always run alone. If I went to a race, however, I’m sure I would. That’s another reason why a Polar system would be better. They have coded transmitters to prevent interference with other devices. Still, for 20 bucks, the Nike+ is a good little device.

I got a Nike Imara Heart Rate Monitor for Christmas last year, but I haven’t done a review for it. Want to know why?

I don’t like to give bad reviews.

I only write one entry a day on Starling Fitness. I’d rather not waste the entry talking about things that don’t live up to my expectations.

Yet, it’s almost a year later and I’m finally writing a review. What changed?

Nothing. The reason why I hate my Nike Imara is the same. It doesn’t work with my treadmill. I can exercise on my bike and have no problems. I can play DDR and have no problems. I can weight train and no problems. I can even run on a treadmill at the gym with no problems, but it constantly runs into interference on my treadmill at home. The treadmill is my favorite exercise device, so when I realized that my brand new spiffy heart rate monitor didn’t work with it, I hated it.

That didn’t stop me from wearing it, though. It’s a watch that looks good enough that I can wear it every day. I wore it to CES and used it to measure my heart rate when I tested the exercise toys there. I used it every time I played DDR or rode my bike. I stubbornly even wear it every time I run on my treadmill with the pathetic hope that, “Maybe this time it will work…”

I love how it tracks my calories and how much time I exercise in the low, medium and high ranges. I love that it’s water resistant up to 50M, so if I’m lazy, I don’t even have to take it off when I shower. In fact, I’ve been wearing my Nike Imara almost constantly ever since I got it. That is unheard of for me, since I used to change watches like jewelry.

That’s when I realized that I love my Nike Imara.

It still doesn’t work whenever I run on my treadmill, but it has been a watch that’s a good friend for almost a year now. It’s so rare for me to find a watch that I enjoy that when I finally found one, it took me 10 months to realize that I actually loved it.

Features:

• Time and Date on the same screen – The date shows the day of the week and the date (not the year or month).

• Dual Time – If I hold down a button, the watch switches to a second time zone.

• Watch Light – I feel silly for mentioning this, but you would not believe that number of women’s watches that DON’T have a light. Do they think I’m not allowed out after dark? I use my watch to tell time in the middle of the night because I’m so blind I can’t see the clock five inches away from my face. A watch light is essential to me and lack of it is a deal breaker.

• Chronograph (Stopwatch) – Displays workout time and will show calories, heart rate or heart rate percentage (toggle with the start button).

• Interval Timer – Also called a countdown timer. I love this feature on other watches, but I hate it on this one because the beep is so quiet that I usually miss it.

• Data – It will store the data from your last workout until you clear it on the chronograph.

• Alarm – Works like any other watch, except the beep is so soft that you’ll probably miss it.

I have talked extensively in the past about active video games like DDR where you can workout and have fun. Here is another video game to add to that category. I reviewed it for general playability on the Gadgets Page and you can see the review here:

• The Gadgets Page » First Glance: Dance Factory for the PS/2

The difference between Dance Factory and DDR is that you can dance to ANY CD that you want. This is especially important when you are working out every day. It is really easy to get sick of the DDR songs. Each DDR game might have 60-70 songs, but they are only two minutes a piece. One hour-long workout a day for a week and you’ve heard all those songs at least four times each. With Dance Factory, you can dance every day to a different CD. That’s an essential feature when you are using it for workouts and it’s the reason I bought a Playstation 2. This game isn’t available on Xbox or the PC.

One cautionary note: DO NOT BELIEVE THE CALORIE OR DISTANCE STATS. I said it in the other review, but it’s worth repeating. You might think that it would be very accurate because you can tell the game your weight, but it is not. When I compared the calorie count from the game with my heart rate monitor, they were vastly different. Additionally, during a workout, it stated that I had jogged the distance of over 7K. There’s no way that I worked that hard. I’ve run a 5K. The workout that I did with Dance Factory was nothing compared with that. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor that calculates your calorie expenditure, just gauge your workout based on time and perceived exertion, because the fitness meters are VERY generous.

This brings me to a final note. You should keep track of your calorie expenditure with a good heart rate monitor. They are the most accurate. I will be reviewing the one I use tomorrow to give you an idea of what to look for. I’ll also tell you why I haven’t reviewed this heart rate monitor until now, even though I got the watch for Christmas last year.

Laura,

I have the cardio and strength and love them. They are perfect for me to take when I am traveling. I would love to have the yoga and core but since they are no longer available at McDonalds, how can I get them?

Thanks,
Valerie

Valerie,

All of those workouts and more are available with Yourself! Fitness. It runs on PC, Playstation and Xbox. If you are using your DVDs on a laptop when you travel, it would be an easy transition to get the PC version. Here is a link to it on Amazon:

Yourself! Fitness on Amazon

Good Luck,
Laura Moncur
Starling Fitness

Hi Laura,

Thanks for the information but I need the DVD’s. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lap top but do have a compact DVD player that I use when I travel. Any idea where to get the DVDs?

Thanks,
Valerie

Valerie,

You’re in luck! It looks like people are selling them on eBay:

Yourself! Fitness on Ebay

Good Luck,
Laura Moncur

Thank you, Laura!!!! I just bought what I needed on eBay!

Valerie

John Mayer is a singer and songwriter (Your Body Is A Wonderland). He has a Nike + and decided to wear it during a performance onstage to see how much exercise he gets while performing.

• johnmayer.com – NIKE PLUS VS. A GUY ON STAGE

He’s on tour promoting his new album, Continuum, and we all hear about how grueling touring it. According to the Nike+, it’s not the performance that is so wearing on the performers, though. It only recorded 0.54 miles and 75 calories burned during his performance.

“Calories: 75 – I gotta think this is a bit low. I do a lot of squeezing up there that’s not accounted for.”

He’s right about the Nike+. It doesn’t record any work you do with your arms or upper body while exercising. A heart rate monitor would do a better job of calculating calories burned in that case.

“This thing should come with a sensor to tell you how many days it lays under a pile of sweatshirts for.”

It actually DOES tell you how often it’s used, leaving you to fill in the gaps when it’s not used. It sounds like John was unimpressed with his Nike+, but it’s just a tool. Tools are only useful when they are used. Don’t let your Nike+ (or Yoga Ball, cardio step or any other physical fitness device) sit under a pile of sweatshirts. Get out there and use them!