Tuesday, October 30, 2012

MY HRM

I use a HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) every time I work out.  It is a Polar FT7 that uses a chest strap.  When I was walking I used it 99% of the time to see how long I've walked and how many calories I've burned.  Since I use MFP and count calories, knowing exactly how many I've burned helps.  MFP is hit and miss on estimated calories burned, so a HRM is one of the few tools you can use.   During most of my walks I was pushing my 2 boys in a stroller so there could be a 250-400 calories difference from my HRM to MFP.  While they are not 100% correct, I feel it's better then nothing.  Now, once I started to jog I used the HRM to see where my HR was when I felt winded (plus the calorie burn).  I know there is the equation for Max HR 220- Age but I've read on a few running forums that is not 100% accurate.  Since I have no other option right now, I use the formula as a base.  For me its 186 and to be honest unless I'm at full sprint I never get near it.  At least with the HRM I know where I'm at.  Since I'm doing this for my health first then to get in shape for races, I figure error on the safe side seems like a good idea. :)  I did some research on HRM before I bought mine and it seems that Polar is one of the top brands.  There are plenty to choose from and most of the base ones seem to be in the same price range.  If your into counting calories like me, I feel it's 100% worth it.


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Weight Loss Myths: Bob Harper's Tips To Get In Shape

Retweet: Bob Harper from Biggest Looser (that other weight loss show I'm sure you might have heard of) article in Huffington Post about weight loss.  This is a simple and to the point article that I feel some folks take these tips to the extreme.  You know who you are! :)  I am not talking about a certain friend of mine that lives near Chicago either.  **cough**cough**

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/09/05/weight-loss-myths_n_1855150.html?utm_hp_ref=tw#slide=1469491

Monday, October 22, 2012

Velocity Bike and Bean, Florence, KY.

This is geared more towards my local crowd.  My bike had issues and I'm sure Montgomery Cyclery would have worked but I figured I would give this new place a shot.  Its called Velocity Bike and Bean which is located on 18 across from the skate park.  Im walking my bike in and the first thing I noticed was the bean part of the place.  Yes, the front half of the store is a coffee shop and the back half is the bike shop.  It's a mom and pop type place and from what I hear it has really good coffee.  I wouldn't know, I don't drink the stuff.  No one was in there so he put my bike on the rack and took a quick peek at it.  I ended up having a gear bent that was causing issues while shifting.  Replaced the gear, bent back another piece that was slightly off and adjusted my gears.  All of this for $43!  While I haven't ever took a bike in to get fixed this sounded very cheap.  Needless to say I highly recommend Velocity Bike and Bean for your bike and coffee needs.  I would much rather deal with a place like this then a large chain.  Now I just need to ride the bike more often. :)

You can visit their website at http://velocitybb.com

Monday, October 15, 2012

I'm never going to say, "I can't" anymore.

2012 Ironman Kona was last weekend.  This is the Super Bowl of Ironman races.  Little over 2000 (I think) people started and it looks about only 1886 finished.  Last person to finish was Harriet Anderson from San Carlos, CA.  Why do I even mention this?  She is 77 years old and just did something I can only dream about right now.  She was the last person to finish this years Ironman Kona in 16:59:19.  Yes that is 16 hours 59 mins and 19 seconds.  "I can't" is no longer an option when this little old lady just finished an Ironman race.  Here is the video of her finishing.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVxhiZorh-E&feature=g-all-u

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Apps I use

Since not so smart phones and tablets are all the cray cray right now, apps are a basic part of some of our lives.  Prime example for me, My Fitness Pal app that I have logged into for 430 days in a row.  Through the past 430 days I have tried numerous fitness based apps.  Some good, some bad, some ugly.  Here is a list of what I've used so far.

1) My Fitness Pal, no need to say anything else
2) My Tracks, Googles GPS app to track where your going.  I used this on my Droid Eris and it just wasn't that good.  It could have been my location or my phone but that app just didn't work well for me.  
3) Noom CardioTrainer, I used this app for 6-8 months on my Droid Eris.  When I used the free app there wasn't much to it other then it would keep track of your workouts and total miles.  That's all I used it for.  From Google Earth and driving our street, it was by far the most accurate GPS app for me.  Simple to the point and since I was only walking when I used it got the job done.
4) Sports Tracker, only used it for 1 or 2 walks.  Like the user interface but it was way off on distance.  This was also with my Eris which wasn't the greatest phone.  
5) Endomondo Sports Tracker, I really liked its user interface and all the extra little things it did.  I did use this for a little bit but when I upgraded to my Nexus it didn't work right off the bat.  Overall this is a solid app but I fell in love with another app.
6) Map My Run, Once my brother showed me (Map My Ride) I was hooked.  Map My Walk/Run/Ride are all the same basic apps (I think) and you can change what exercise your doing before you start a workout.  This has been by far the most accurate distance wise and the calorie burn for my runs are not far off what my HRM says.  Where this app excels at is its website.  I can go on and on but its one of those you just have to check out for yourself.  One key feature of the site is that you can create a course.  It pulls up Google Maps and allows you click away on the map to create a course.  It will tell you how far you have gone and has a few options on how to create it.  I have used this to help me figure out where to go on my long runs and bike rides.  You can save the routes and even search other users submitted routes.  This is all done on www.MapMyFitness.com  Since I started using this app, I haven't even looked into the other apps listed above or even sought out new ones.  This app seems to do everything I need and more.  
7) C25K, The Guy Hoffman Couch to 5K, This is a great app that helps you go from walking to running 30 mins straight.  While its called C25K, I have yet to run a 5K in 30 mins. lol  The idea for the app is to get your body used to running.  It slowly builds up the running over time till you are able to jog 30 mins straight.  If your new to jogging and need a little structure, hands down the best app to use.

I know there are GOBS more out there, but these are most of what I've used getting started.  The nice thing is these are all free.  Download them and try them out.  Don't like it, delete and try another.  As long as your moving, that's all that matters.