Why not use technology to help you get to your fitness goals??

Are you the type of person who wants to get into shape, but doesn't really know what to do?

Are you the type of person who loves gadgets and wants to workout as optimal as you can?

Are you someone who is tired of going around the gym with a clipboard and a pencil writing everything down?

Guess what? There is a solution for all that now!

I am a long term fitness guy.  I have spent a few years in school for personal training, a few years in school learning human biology, have been a massage therapist for 10 years, and now I am finishing up my Doctors of Chiropractic degree.  I know a thing or two about how the body works.

I am someone who is always looking for things to help give me an edge, so I can work out smarter and more efficiently.  Most of the things I try, I get sick of pretty quick, but I think I have finally found a solution that takes both technology and convenience and smashes them into one unit.  This is what I have done...

How many times have you heard "work out in your target zones to get the best results." and you have thought, well what is my target zone, and how do I know when I get there?  In case you don't know what I am talking about, the target zone is how fast your heart is beating, and what type of fuel your body is using.  So you will commonly see things like "fat burning zone" or "Cardio zone."  Basically what this is referring to is what your body is using for energy (carbs, fats, or proteins) and it also relates to if you are in an aerobic (oxygen) or anaerobic (non-oxygen) mode.  If you have questions about this, let me know and I can explain it in more detail later.

So short of being on a treadmill and trying to hold the heart rate monitors that are usually broken, or stopping your workout and checking your pulse manually, what can you do? 

Well, what you do is get a bluetooth heart rate monitor!  That's right, you can now buy heart rate monitors that will send your heart rate via bluetooth straight to your smartphone!  Why is this cool?  because with certain downloadable apps, it will show you what your current heart rate is (with all the stats of the workout) it can show you the route of your run, and it can be customized to your stats ( like your fitness level, height, weight, ect.)  Then when your workout is done, you upload your workout to the server and a website logs everything for future reference.  

The best products I have found so far are:

Scosche Rhythm heart rate monitor

I have written a blogpost about this in the past.  This is a great heart rate monitor that you wear on your forearm.  It is sweat resistant, has a good battery life, and is very accurate.  This particular model also controls the volume of your phone, so if you are listening to music you can have more control without having to get your hands on your phone.

Fitness tracking apps

The next thing recommend is an app available for Iphone and Android (free) with optional upgrades ($3) that record all of your information.  The App is called Icardio by the company Digifit. The app works wonderfully, showing you all your past workouts and stats showing calories burned, calories per minute average, average mile time, route of run, and much more.  I have been using this app for the last 3 months, and it has been a huge motivator for me.  It is awesome to be able to go look at my log and see how my heart has gotten stronger and how my runs have gotten easier.

You can use most of the features for Digifit for free, but I  recommend paying the $3 for the upgrades.  Another great thing about Digifit is that they work with other health apps, so your workout information from digifit can be shared seamlessly.  (Some companies they work with are Myfitnesspal, Fitbit, Withings, ect) and they add more apps all the time.

Here are a couple pictures of what the online dashboard looks like:

This is just my first blog in a series about the ways you can use technology to help get you in shape.  Part 2 will be the addition of calorie counting apps to help you lose or gain weight.  Together these apps have helped me drop from 200 pounds to 180 in about 90 days... 

Part two should be up soon!  if you want to take a look at Digifit and the Icardio App or the Scosche Rhythm HR monitor click the links below!

Digifit, Inc.


Scosche Rhythm Strapless Pulse Monitor - Yellow

Mistakes of a transitioning runner

So as my previous post about barefoot running stated, the trick of transitioning is to start very slow.
I read all that tips and tricks before I started, but my ego got larger than my head, and I didn't listen.

I did my first two runs in my minimalist shoes more or less like experts suggested.  The first run was on a treadmill, and I ran it at a slower speed than I would normally run, and I only ran about 1/5th as far as I typically would.  ( I ran about .75 miles.) I felt great after the run, but stopped like they suggested in the off chance that the next day I would be sore.  Next day came, and I felt great, no stiffness or soreness.

My next run I ran on the treadmill again, and I upped my run to about a mile and a half.  Again I stopped because I wanted to make sure I didn't overdue it, and the next day I felt great.

Then came my dumb run.  I set out on the streets, and figured I would run, and would turn around when I started to get tired or sore.  I was cruising along my normal route when I started to notice my calves getting tired.  As this point I had hit the halfway mark of my normal run and realized I had about 2 miles to get home.  I jogged at a normal comfortable pace, but the burning in my calves was growing stronger.

When I finally got home I could tell I would be pretty sore, boy was I right.  Next morning I hopped out of bed and nearly landed on my face, my calves were about a sore as I can remember them ever being.  After I walked around a bit and the day rolled along, things got better and by the end of the night I was feeling pretty good.

Today I woke up, thinking nothing of it, and these puppies are so sore that I literally cannot walk.  I live on the 2nd floor, and trying to go down the stairs to walk my dog was probably the most amusing thing my dog has seen in a long time.  the day has worn on, and I am still hobbled, I foresee the rest of my day sitting in my computer chair.

I typically don't mind when I am sore like this, but having some of the nicest weather of the year, and not being able to get out and exercise is twice as annoying.as normal.  So instead of working on my fitness goals for the next day or two, I will be here, sitting in my chair, falling behind schedule.

Minimalist running!

I know these initial posts are short and not very descriptive, but I am just starting to cast a wide net out of the things I intend on covering on this blog.

One of the big things I want to cover, and was the initial inspiration for writing in the first place, was my journey into Minimalist running.

For people who don't know what this is, it is a form of running that takes out of the aspect of new age shoes, and focuses on running either barefoot, or with a "barefoot like" shoe.

The concept behind this is that with the new age athletic shoes, they have put a ton of focus on making them soft and forgiving.  One of the ways they have done this is by making a giant heel, that is full of cushion (Like the giant air pockets in Nike air's.)  I have loved these types of shoes since I was able to afford to buy them.  But the problem lies with running.

When we run with these shoes with the giant heels, it forces us to run on our heels.  when you stride forward the first thing to make contact with the ground is the very back of your heel, then your foot comes down, you roll up to your toes and push off.  it seems pretty natural, but it isn't.

when you take a large step forward at a fast speed, and your heel strikes the ground, it creates a shock wave throughout your lower leg, thigh, hips and low back.  as soon as your  heel hits the ground your foot dorsiflexors (think muscles that bring your toes up off the ground) have to activate to keep your foot from slamming into the ground.  This constant stress causes what many know as shin splints.  This is what I suffer from, and the reason I looked into minimalist running.

When you start to wear minimalist shoes, it forces you to shorten your stride, it forces you to land softly onto your feet, and it forces you to land on your mid or forefoot.

Think about standing in place and jumping off the ground over and over.  When you land, what do you try and land on?  Your heels or your toes?  The same concept applies when it comes to running.  It turns out all those cushions in our shoes has made us lazy and has ruined our running stride.

I have just started my journey into minimalist running.  I have done two treadmill runs, and then did something stupid and set out on a long run in the neighborhood.  Without listening to the expert advice I had read, I went for a full 5 mile run, and I am paying for it today.

If you are thinking about making the move into minimalist running, I strongly suggest you do some research.  There are small steps you must take to retrain your muscles, and not going too far too fast is key.

The shoes I have chosen to use this transition are a pair of Vibram 5 fingers Bikram model for my runs, and I also bought a pair of Merrells from my everyday shoes.

The Vibram shoes, although weird to look at, are amazingly comfortable, and were amazing so far on my runs. (I did get blisters, but that is expected while my feet are still adjusting to the new stride.)

I will update with a new blog about this topic very soon!

This explains the basics of how barefoot running is different