Longer explanation of the Nike+ Fuelband

Much longer explanation of the Nike+ Fuelband:



and here's a commercial for it that somehow incorporates Indiana Jones and Twin Peaks (apparently I am the target audience for this device):



You can preorder to receive it on 2/22.

NIKE+ FuelBand

NIKE+ FuelBand:

The ergonomic NIKE+ FuelBand captures and displays four different metrics: time, calories, steps and NikeFuel – a new metric that will be the ultimate measure of your athletic activity. NikeFuel is a proprietary technology that measures your activity through the movement of your wrist. NikeFuel motivates athletes to do more with a NikeFuel score that makes movement fun, meaningful and comparable, letting you compete with athletes of all levels in most activities. The more you move, the more NikeFuel you earn, whether you’re playing basketball, throwing a Frisbee or going for a run.

Nike worked with some of the world’s top experts in science and sports to engineer NikeFuel algorithms based on oxygen kinetics. Unlike calorie counts — which vary based on someone’s gender and body type — NikeFuel is a normalized score that awards all participants equal scoring for the same activity regardless of their physical makeup. A user can also choose to also receive a calorie count to understand how many calories are burned versus how much NikeFuel is earned.

As you wear the FuelBand throughout the day, the built-in three-axis accelerometer measures your motion and translates it into NikeFuel. Each day you can set your goal for activity and the level of NikeFuel you want to achieve. As you move closer to your goal, the band’s series of 20 LED lights go from red to green. The user-friendly interface provides encouragement and motivation as you hit and exceed your goals.

The NIKE+ FuelBand experience doesn’t end on your wrist. All of the data you capture on your wristband connects to a rich web and mobile experience. It syncs with the Nike+ website, through a built-in USB, or wirelessly through Bluetooth to a free iPhone app to record activity each day and track progress.

$150, but currently sold out.

Can Adidas make those foot-hugging shoes look cool?

Here's Adidas's "barefoot training shoe" the adipure Trainer (not yet on sale as far as I could tell). Via.

Strength training for parkour

How to get in shape for parkour.

Photo of the day

"CrossFit: Where Navy SEALs and Pregnant Soccer Moms Help Each Other Get Ripped."

Link roundup

1. Webcomic: Zero Suit Samus Googles herself for the first ... and last time. Via.

2. Three fairly lackluster reviews of SVK by Warren Ellis and BERG.

3. "There are two lessons here. The first is that Gatorade is a waste of money. If you really want to improve performance, gargle with something that actually tastes good, since it was the activation of reward areas that allowed the cyclists to exert maximum performance."

*Buy Metroid toys at eBay.

MtEverClimb — Continuous Rope Climbing System

MtEverClimb — Continuous Rope Climbing System: "MtEverClimb is a revolutionary, continuous rope-climbing machine that simulates actual rope climbing, one of the oldest forms of successful physical training." $8,000. Via.

Illustration roundup

Some of the post-it-sized paintings May Ann Licudine created for the "Post it show Barcelona."




A glimpse at Laika's next movie, ParaNorman.




Bear by Kei Acedera for a charity auction.




Kate Beaton's been working out.




Thor poster by Ken Taylor for Mondo.

*Buy Alamo Drafthouse posters at eBay.

Better take the stairs if you work at W+K

Better take the stairs if you work at W+K.

Workout equipment for little kids

Not an April Fool's Day prank - - treadmills, weights, and more for little kids:

It's not about vanity or unrealistic beauty standards. It's about your child's present and future health and well being. The fact is, childhood obesity levels have tripled in the past two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children who are significantly overweight are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes and are more likely to become obese adults. Establishing a fitness routine early in life will help prevent current and future weight problems.

Available at Amazon.

Puma Love Run

Ads by Ogilvy for Puma's Love Run in Australia. (The video's NSFW.) Via.

*Buy Pumas at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Hugh Jackman is supposed to bulk up even more for The Wolverine:

GB: Are you going to have to go back to that intense diet, eating whole chickens so you can get that muscle mass back up?

HJ: I’m on it right now, mate, already doing it. It’s 6,000 calories a day, it’s rough.

GB: How much you weighing?

HJ: Right now, I’m at 210.

GB: Wow, so you’re going to be bigger this time? Last time, you looked about, what, 190?

HJ: Yeah, right, I was 190, something like that. I don’t know how much I want to give away about it, but Darren said with the last one, ‘Hey you looked great, but you’re so tall that in those long shots you looked kind of like Clint Eastwood, and that’s not Wolverine.”

Via.

2. "Kids Sail Free on Seven-Night Alaska Cruises Aboard the Disney Wonder."

3. Tyler Weeks:

Weight loss advice is only good if someone listens to it. If you tell people they can't have pizza, they'll ignore you and keep living "fat and happy."

I'm telling you, I'm going to start a movement in this country: eat the foods you want, just less, and move around. You'll be healthy and happy as a clam.

Via.

Nike+ SportWatch GPS

Now that my boys are getting older, I hope to start running again. The Nike+ SportWatch GPS looks intriguing:

Starting April 1st, get the extra push you need with the Nike+ SportWatch GPS powered by TomTom. Not only does it track what you do, it tracks how you do it, then makes you want to do it again and again. Here's how:

It's accurate.
The Nike+ SportWatch GPS combines the accuracy of GPS with the shoe-based Nike+ sensor to track time, pace, distance, calories burned, and heart rate. So you have your whole running history in the palm of your hand.

It'award-winning.
The watch just won two CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Innovation Awards in the Health and Wellness and Personal Electronics categories. Which is kind of a big deal considering that CES is the world’s largest consumer tech tradeshow.

It's motivating.
Onscreen run reminders help get you out the door. You also get props for personal records.

It's inspiring.
The watch connects to NikePlus.com so you can view completed runs, set new goals, and interact with a community of almost 4 million runners around the world.

Can't wait to see how expensive it is. Via.

*Buy Swatches at eBay.

Nike+ SportWatch GPS

Now that my boys are getting older, I hope to start running again. The Nike+ SportWatch GPS looks intriguing:

Starting April 1st, get the extra push you need with the Nike+ SportWatch GPS powered by TomTom. Not only does it track what you do, it tracks how you do it, then makes you want to do it again and again. Here's how:

It's accurate.
The Nike+ SportWatch GPS combines the accuracy of GPS with the shoe-based Nike+ sensor to track time, pace, distance, calories burned, and heart rate. So you have your whole running history in the palm of your hand.

It'award-winning.
The watch just won two CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Innovation Awards in the Health and Wellness and Personal Electronics categories. Which is kind of a big deal considering that CES is the world’s largest consumer tech tradeshow.

It's motivating.
Onscreen run reminders help get you out the door. You also get props for personal records.

It's inspiring.
The watch connects to NikePlus.com so you can view completed runs, set new goals, and interact with a community of almost 4 million runners around the world.

Can't wait to see how expensive it is. Via.

*Buy Swatches at eBay.

Link roundup

1. WizardRSS supposedly turns a partial feed into a full feed. Via.

2. From an article about Herschel Walker, who is 50 years old:

He eats once a day, skipping breakfast and lunch. After a long, intense day of training, he eats salad and bread for dinner. He doesn't care for meat or fuss about getting enough protein. Walker's a vegetarian.

"It's a mindset -- something I've been doing for a long time," he said. "I don't worry about protein. I don't worry about all that. I'm from old school. I grew up in south Georgia. They didn't worry about cholesterol or protein. They went out and worked and lived a long time, so I don't put a lot of worries in my mind. I just get it done."

Sometimes, Walker doesn't have an appetite and will go through seven hours of wrestling, kickboxing, sparring and practicing jujitsu without having eaten for three or four days.

"It's just unbelievable," said Mendez, who trains Walker at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California. "He shouldn't be able to do what he's doing. I don't think it's possible to eat as little as possible and work out the way he does. There's no way. He's an unbelievable athlete."

CNN should have to report that they followed him around for several days before reporting those claims as truthful.

3. A look at the new Green Lantern and Young Justice cartoons.

*Buy Green Lantern toys at Amazon.

CrossFit's repulsive mascots

Meet Pukie the Clown and Dr. Rhabdo, mascots for exercise program CrossFit. Pukie is pretty obvious - - exercise programs for men commonly boast of pushing participants past tolerance. But Rhabdo was a new one for me. Wikipedia explains:

Rhabdomyolysis is the rapid breakdown (lysis) of skeletal muscle (rhabdomyo) due to injury to muscle tissue. The muscle damage may be caused by physical (e.g., crush injury), chemical, or biological factors. The destruction of the muscle leads to the release of the breakdown products of damaged muscle cells into the bloodstream; some of these, such as myoglobin (a protein), are harmful to the kidney and may lead to acute kidney failure.

CrossFit is used by the military, and at least one sailor has sued, claiming that participation in the program destroyed his kidneys.

T-shirts are available.

Here's my favorite parody of body-building supplement ads:



*Buy body building supplements, including Extreme XXL - Weight Gainer, at Amazon.

Hair salon apron gives you muscles

Hair salon apron with muscles by DraftFCB.

*Buy sexy aprons at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. A candidate for New York Governor sent out a garbage-scented mailing with pictures of several democrats. Via.

2. Wired says the Shake Weight is not an effective exercise tool. Via.

3. Deeply disturbing sexting by a Wisconsin district attorney.

*The Droid 2 is $50 at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Rick Bayless says the Top Chef Masters producers really, really tried to get the competitors drunk.

2. Tyler Cowen explains why being interesting and responsible are more important values than happiness.

3. You're wasting your time stretching before running.

Robots, deep sea divers, vicious Care Bears, and more

Robots, deep sea divers, vicious Care Bears, and more by Brian Walline, who has t-shirts for runners on sale here.

*Buy deep sea diver toys at eBay.