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

I didn’t take XaviX seriously when I heard of them over a year ago. I just nodded to myself and thought, “Bowling… um, I don’t think that’s very high intensity.” I noticed that Jackie Chan was sponsoring something for them and I worried about Jackie’s career. While I was ignoring them, they have been working up a sweat.

XaviX works similar to PlayStation or Xbox. You buy the console and then you have to buy the games to work with the console. The disadvantage of that is there is another console to hook up to your television. This machine will have to compete for jack space with your VCR, DVD player, and any other game console you have. It might have been better for the consumer if they had created games for the existing consoles.

The cool thing about XaviX, though, is that it’s small. It doesn’t need a lot of space next to your television. It’s about the footprint of a Nintendo Gamecube, but as thin as a notebook computer. Another great thing about it is the price. The console is $79.99, which is substantially less expensive than the other gaming consoles around. It can be purchased at the XaviX Webstore.

Of course, after looking at Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 trailers all day, the graphics on the XaviX look very primitive. If I was into ultra-realism, however, I wouldn’t play Powerboxing. I’d probably sign up for real boxing. XaviX isn’t about realism. It’s about moving your body and having some fun while you do it.

The games available for Xavix are provided by XaviX only and are limited in number. They are working on new games for the console all the time, but right now, it is very limited. The games that they DO have, however, are very unique. This is not a typical gaming environment. All the games are very active. Not all of them would be considered cardio-vascular, but every single one of them will have you using your body. These games cannot be found anywhere else.

Disadvantages:

• Separate console
• Must compete with jack space
• Only limited number of games available
• Primitive graphics

Advantages:

• Small unit
• Inexpensive price
• Unique games that work your body

I really enjoyed playing with the XaviX games and I have reviews of them coming tomorrow.

• XaviX Website

I am attending CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada. I will be reporting on the health and fitness gadgets I come across during the show.

I’ve talked about GameRunner before on Starling Fitness:

• Starling Fitness » Exercise Gaming

Back then, the picture looked like a drawing and I couldn’t find any information that it actually existed. My evaluation of it back then was that it looked like a cheap treadmill hooked up to a controller. It gave me fantasies of hacking a thrift store reject and a Xbox controller.

My evaluation of the strength of the treadmill is about the same as it was before, but more importantly, this controller didn’t seem like it would get my heart rate up unless I played a racing game. They were demonstrating it with a first person shooter game. They only needed to walk on the treadmill when the character needed to walk. First person shooter games consist of a lot of hiding and shooting. I watched the employees of GameRunner play for quite a while and not once did they even break into a run. This might be better than sitting on the couch and playing, but just barely.

GameRunner gets my positive approval, though. It’s over a year since my Exercise Gaming entry and so many of the companies are out of business. GameRunner is still around and they had a strong showing at this show. I hope they are successful and are able to create a product with a treadmill that looks a little more sturdy.

My biggest concern with this product is that it’s for PC only. I do all my gaming on console games, so I have no use for this product. It would be nice if there was an adapter that would let it work on Xbox and PlayStation. That might be their next iteration of this product, which might make this controller useful. Can you imagine playing Project Gotham 3 with that thing?

Click Here for the GameRunner Website:

• GameRunner Website

I am attending CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada. I will be reporting on the health and fitness gadgets I come across during the show.

ArcadeMX wins my award for favorite product that I can’t buy yet.

The product is called BodyForce and it is another controller for game consoles. They are planning on releasing units that work with PlayStation 2, Xbox and the PC (using USB). This controller made me want to bribe the guy at the booth to sell me one.

The controller is a five-piece set: the game pad, two hand controls and two feet controls. They were very easy to put on my wrists and ankles with the velcro attachments.

I have never liked fighting games, but playing with this controller suddenly turned me into a kickboxing fool. The table holding the Xbox and PlayStation 2 was so close that I almost kicked it. I accidentally kicked the game box off the top of the table, sending it flying, much to my embarrassment. Fortunately, no gaming consoles were harmed in the testing of this controller.

While I was kicking and punching, I suddenly realized that there are probably about twenty games that I could purchase that would work with this controller. We were playing Tekken, but there is Street Fighter, DOA and those Namco collections. I imagined all the different games I could play with this controller and even tried to visualize how I could play Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire with this thing.

When I was playing, I had to throw the punches really hard to make them register. The same was true with the kicks. I was so excited that I forgot to check my heart rate monitor while I was playing, but I didn’t really play long enough to see if it would give me a good workout. Considering how hard I had to kick, though, I’m sure it would have gotten me up in the high intensity range very quickly.

ArcadeMX had a small booth in the International section of CES. The presenter was adorable. He was trying to explain the exercise benefits of this controller,

“It’s for health.”

Yeah, he’s right. This game controller could easily be a great workout. The only problem is that it’s not available yet. They had several boxes of the product at the booth, but he was unwilling to sell me one. I asked if they were available online and he said that they do have a website, but it’s not available yet. He wasn’t even able to give me a date when it would be available. I gave him my business card and told him I was VERY interested as soon as they were available for purchase.

Click Here for the ArcadeMX Website:

• Welcome to ArcadeMX

I am attending CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada. I will be reporting on the health and fitness gadgets I come across during the show.

I talked about Kilowatt almost a year ago when I covered the Exergaming Phenomenon:

• Starling Fitness » Exercise Gaming

Back then, I wasn’t interested in the huge machine because I imagined it to be colossal. I wasn’t wrong. In my 900 square-foot house, this controller would take up some valuable square footage. The footprint of the machine is at least 4′ X 3′ (or 12 square feet). It’s not like a DDR pad that can be quickly tucked under the couch when the neighbors ring the doorbell. It’s a big thing that would need to be moved out of the way if we wanted to watch a movie on the Xbox. Mike and I enjoyed it, but at that size and cost (prices range from $799 to $1599), it is out of our range.

This controller, however, is much more friendly for the home environment. It is called the Exer-Station and it works with Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It is a controller that you sit on. It is shown here resting on a stool. You could just as easily sit on the couch or the floor. Just like the KiloWatt, it has a variable isometric resistance that works your upper body. They had these controllers connected to Xbox and PlayStation consoles, showing a wide variety of games that you could play with the Exer-Station.

Here is a picture of me playing with it.

I actually worked up a sweat playing with this controller. It wasn’t as intense as the KiloWatt, but it did get me sweating in the chilly show hall. I was playing a racing game and it was difficult to keep the car moving. I kept trying to turn the unit to get it to go left and right, but you have to push on it sideways to get it to work. It wasn’t a cardio-vascular workout. I checked my heart rate monitor while I was playing and it was still in the “light” exercise range. It didn’t even get up to the “moderate” range like I usually do when I’m doing weight training. It DID get me sweating, though.

Here is a closeup of the actual controller.

Because it works with so many different console systems, I found the controls hard to understand when I was sitting in front of people playing. Now that I can look at the picture, however, it’s almost exactly like an Xbox controller. The buttons are labeled for both PlayStation 2 and Xbox controls. The buttons on the top, control the resistance. If it’s too hard, you can lower the resistance. When you get stronger, you can make the workout harder. Maybe if the resistance had been set higher, I might have gotten my heart rate into the moderate range like a normal weight training workout.

At only $199, the price for the Exer-Station seems much more reasonable. This is the first product from PowerGrid Fitness that I would be willing to shell out the bucks for. Their website says that Exer-Station will be shipping in February 2006 and can be purchased at Best Buy.

Click Here to see the PowerGrid Fitness Website:

• POWERGRID FITNESS

I am attending CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada. I will be reporting on the health and fitness gadgets I come across during the show.

Konami’s booth at CES was so NOT what I was expecting. I expected a big booth with multiple machines playing the large range of Konami’s DDR games on Xboxes, PlayStations and the PC. I expected a lot of noise and people playing. Instead, it was a small booth with two employees of Konami playing. They were doing a spectacular job of it, though.

I have heard lots of people say things like, “I’m too heavy to play that game,” or “I’d be too embarrassed to play that game.” After watching these two guys play DDR on Heavy and both of them get great grades, you have to admit that all of those excuses just evaporate. Of course, the idea that playing DDR alone will get you thin also evaporates. Weight loss requires rigorous exercise (like DDR) AND a healthy eating regime. Unless you have both pieces of the puzzle, you won’t lose weight. You can do this, you just have to give it a two-fisted punch.

They were demonstrating DDR Extreme 2 for the Sony PlayStation 2. After playing with DDR UltraMix 3 for the Xbox, Extreme 2 seemed really simplistic. The graphic interface is so much cleaner with DDR-UM3. They let me play and the pads and game reacted exactly the same as they would on my Xbox. Play was the same, it was only the graphics that were different. They gave music CDs of the songs on DDR-X2 to the passerbys and tried to urge the middle-aged men to play along, but I was the only one I saw playing. That was kind of disappointing because I expected a loud and exciting crowd.

Of course, after I played my song, I turned around and saw a crowd of people gathered to watch. It seems that all of these executive types secretly wish to jump in and play, but are only willing to enjoy it vicariously. If you find you are doing that with anything, please, let yourself jump in and play. Don’t worry about embarrassing yourself. Just jump in and do it, whether it’s playing DDR, learning to ski, or trying anything else that your heart is calling to you. Don’t be one of those people on the sidelines saying, “I wish I could do that.” Just jump in and try it!

Click Here for Konami’s DDR Website:

• Music In Every Direction :: Konami

This product is interesting. It’s a universal remote that is controlled by a heart rate monitor. You set the heart rate training zone that you want to achieve. For me, that would be at least 128 bpm. If my heart rate falls below that level, this little black thing will start turning down the volume on my television. If I work too hard, it will start increasing the volume. If I get far too low, it will turn the TV off. Considering the reliabiltiy of heart rate monitoring devices, I can only imagine the TV flickering on and off as it gets a poor signal.

• The Entertrainer – Using entertainment to motivate yourself to fitness

This silly little gadget is like any other fitness item. If you don’t use it, it doesn’t work. You can’t leave this thing on all the time because you don’t exercise all the time, so you would have to turn it on when you start exercising. That just adds a step to getting on the treadmill. I find that all I need to do is start exercising and that’s enough to get me going.

Instead of a motivational piece of plastic, tell yourself this, “I’ll just do five minutes.” If I get on the bike or treadmill and tell myself that I’ll just do five minutes, that’s enough to get me working out. Once I’m working out, I usually feel good enough to do my full workout. It’s getting on the thing in the first place that is the hardest for me.

Instead of spending a hundred bucks on a universal remote control, print up the words,

I’ll Just Do Five Minutes

and post them all over your house. That will probably get you motivated to exercise far more than any pricey piece of plastic.

Via: DDR4Health: Winning Invention Powers TVs with exercise!

A couple of weeks ago, I got an indoor bike trainer so that I could exercise on my bike all winter indoors. I got the CycleOps Bicycle Trainer, but there are lots to choose from out there. It’s a gadget that turns your trusty bike into an exercise bike in your house without all the extra cost and no need to store a huge exercise machine. If you already have a bike, then a bike trainer only takes about five more inches of space. I did a first glance review of the trainer for the Gadgets Page and I also wrote up an article on how to make my speedometer work with my bike when it’s on the trainer. These articles are a little technical, but they give you a good idea of what setting up will be like.

• The Gadgets Page » First Glance: CycleOps Mag Indoor Bike Trainer

• The Gadgets Page » Making Your Bike Speedometer Work With a Bike Trainer

On the whole, I’ve found it harder to ride on the bike trainer than riding outdoors. The trainer can put far more resistance on the bike than even riding up the huge hill over I-15 and the train tracks. I’ve been really happy with it so far.

The truth is, I could take my bike outside and get the same workout as I’m getting in the house if I rode around the hills in the Avenues. At this time of year, however, I don’t want to go outside. I just want to hide in the house. If you find that you want to hibernate this winter, don’t let the weather get in the way of your workouts. Find a way to get sweating every day, whether it’s indoors or out. There are ways to get your workout in all year long. This is only one of them.

Laura,

Are you recommending the Timex Triathlon Digital HRM? If so, how do you like it? I might be in the market for a new one.

Thanks!
Eh… not so much

Eh… not so much,

I’ve had my Timex Ironman Heart Rate Monitor for over six years. It is really accurate and the velcro strap makes it really easy to attach, even though it sticks to my clothes sometimes. I’ve replaced the batteries, but I haven’t had a bit of trouble with it giving me weird readings, now that I learned the KY Jelly trick (see Starling Fitness » How To Get The Most Out of Your Heart Rate Monitor). I bought it because it was cheaper than the Polar heart rate monitors that were around back then. Now, I think Polar makes a bottom of the line monitor that’s close to the Timex in price. I can’t compare because I’ve never used Polar.

I think some exercise machines at my gym will work with Polar Heart Rate Monitors and let me use their cardio programs, but I’ve never tried anything like that. If you go to a gym, that might be a consideration. Talk to the people at your gym and see if they have any recommendations.

I think if I had to buy another heart rate monitor, I would go with the women’s Timex Ironman just because the one I had was so easy to use and it lasted so long. Plus, I have all that 1970’s marketing in my head.

“We buried this watch in the ground for two years. Do you think it will still work? It does! Timex, takes a licking and keeps on ticking!”

How can I escape that?

Seriously, though, heart rate monitors are just tools and they won’t make us any fitter if we don’t use them.

Good Luck, Laura

There is a new service out there that is willing to help you journal your food and give you feedback from a registered dietician. It’s called My Food Phone.

• My Food Phone

Here’s how it works:

• Every day, you take pictures of every meal and snack and upload them to your account.
• Once a week, you will receive a video message from their nutritionist with recommendations on how to eat healthier.
• You can keep track of your meals in visual form online along with your weight, BMI, waist to hip ratio and lots of other items that you may want to track.

According to them:

“This is much more fun – and motivating – than pen and paper food journaling!”

It may be, but it typically costs between $99 and $149 a month. At that cost, it’s worth the money to just write down what you eat for the day. At that cost, you could probably hire a personal nutritionist to look over your food journal and give you recommendations once a month.

Don’t lose the good idea with the horrible execution, however.

If you find yourself too busy to write down your meal in your journal and you’re scared that you might forget all that you ate, take a quick photo of it with your camera phone. It will jog your memory when it comes time to write it all down.

Tim, at GetFitSource.com, mentioned a strange occurence he had with his heart rate monitor. He was working out at a moderate level, but his heart rate monitor was reading really high. He couldn’t understand it.

• Health and Fitness Blog :: Mixed Signals–More on Heart Monitors

He then noticed that the woman next to him was also wearing a heart rate monitor.

“I was obviously picking up the signal from her transponder on my receiver. I switched my wrist receiver to the other side and immediately started reading a more normal 138 beats per minute for that level of exertion. I’d experienced a similar phenomenon in spinning class sometime ago but had forgotten about it.”

I’ve never had this happen to me, but I tend to go to the gym when it isn’t crowded. Our gadgets are cool and useful tools, but remember to always listen to your body. Heart rate monitors are incredibly accurate, but even they have their limitations.