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Tag Archives: Fitness

Tai Chi Chair

By Andrew Liszewski on 12/31/10 • Leave a comment!

Tai Chi Chair (Images courtesy Yuan Yuan)
By Andrew Liszewski

Ironically, while this Tai Chi Chair, designed by Ecole Superieure d’Art de Design De Reims student Yuan Yuan, is supposed to provide relief at the end of a long day by providing handholds and footholds for performing various Tai Chi poses, its flat bottomed seat and minimal support would probably do a real number on your spine if you had to sit on it all day long. So in the long run you can save yourself the pain, and the exercise, by just avoiding it all together.

[ Reflexdeco - OFFICE GYM : chaise Taï Chi Chuan par Yuan Yuan ] VIA [ MoCo Loco ]

Takara Tomy’s Sprint Gear Is Another Attempt At Making Fitness Fun For Kids (You’ll Never Fool Them)

By Andrew Liszewski on 12/08/10 • Leave a comment!

Takara Tomy Sprint Gear (Images courtesy Takara Tomy VIA Akihabara News)
By Andrew Liszewski

People don’t give kids enough credit. I mean while I applaud companies that try to come up with clever ways to get kids off the couch, you’re never going to trick them into getting some exercise. But a little positive reinforcement never hurts, and that’s what Takara Tomy’s new Sprint Gear provides.

It’s a combination of a special set of sensor-equipped sneaks, the SJJ-4490 and SJJ-4570 from Japanese shoemaker Shunsoku, and an interactive wristband. In a way you can draw comparisons to the Nike + iPod setup, except that this is clearly targeted towards a younger market. The wristband is primarily designed to provide a way for kids to track their performance, how far they can run in a given time etc. but there also appears to be some manner of mini-games that can be unlocked based on how long you’ve been active or how far you’ve gone. Syncing the pedometer data from the shoe just requires the wearer to touch the Shunsoku logo on the shoe, which I assume starts up some intermittent wireless transfer of the data.

The Takara Tomy website seems to list a price tag of about $35 (¥2,940) amongst all the untranslatable images. And I’m going to assume that’s for just the wrist band component. From the looks of it the shoes are sold separately.

[ Takara Tomy - Sprint Gear ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

$10,700 Ciclotte Stationary Bike Will Improve How You AND Your Exercise Room Looks

By Andrew Liszewski on 08/25/10 • 1 Comment

Ciclotte Stationary Bike (Images courtesy Ciclotte)
By Andrew Liszewski

You can strike ‘poor aesthetics’ off the list of reasons why you won’t ride an exercise bike because the Ciclotte is quite literally a work of art. It turns out you can be a lot more creative with bike design when it doesn’t have to go anywhere, or when not limited by affordability.

The Ciclotte was designed by Luca Schieppati (based on an earlier concept bike he created) and is made from carbon fiber among other high-end ingredients. A “dual satellite epicycloid system” of four gears rotate an outer fly wheel four times for every rotation of the pedals, and additional resistance using magnets can be dialed in with a built-in touchscreen display. There’s no doubt it looks amazing, and they’ve got me pretty convinced you’ll get a good workout too. And to be quite honest the $10,700 price tag doesn’t have me that sticker shocked.

[ Ciclotte ] VIA [ Wired ] VIA [ bookofjoe ]

Oregon Scientific Tap On Elite Heart Rate Monitor With Hydration Alert

By Andrew Liszewski on 08/13/10 • Leave a comment!

Oregon Scientific Tap On Elite Heart Rate Monitor With Hydration Alert (Image courtesy Oregon Scientific)
By Andrew Liszewski

From Oregon Scientific comes this pretty standard heart rate monitoring watch with a few extra tricks up its sleeve. Besides monitoring and displaying your current, average and maximum heart rate, the Tap On Elite also keeps track of your calories burned, fitness level and your body mass index. And it’s called the ‘Tap On’ because while it does have buttons on the side, in order to change modes you just simply tap on the watch’s face.

It’s also got a dehydration warning, though it doesn’t seem to have any means to actually measure your body’s hyrdation level but instead tries to intelligently predict your fluid loss and prompt you to rehydrate at certain intervals. Presumably correctly selecting one of its 3 exercise profiles; jogging, running or cycling, will provide more timely and accurate prompts. The stopwatch and timer is also pretty standard fare for a fitness-oriented watch, as is the 50 meter water resistance, and it’s available directly from Oregon Scientific for $99.99.

[ Oregon Scientific Tap On Elite Heart Rate Monitor With Hydration Alert ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

Projection Scale Also Has A 550lb Capacity

By Andrew Liszewski on 07/23/10 • 2 Comments

Taylor 550 Pound Projection Scale (Image courtesy 7Gadgets)

When I first saw a photo of this scale with a built-in projector I was going to joke that it was the perfect bathroom accessory for the morbidly obese who weren’t able to see the readout on a conventional scale. But with the ability to weigh someone up to 550lbs, it turns out that’s exactly what it’s designed for! In addition to the adjustable projected display the scale also has a large easy-to-read LCD display on the base for those not battling with extreme health issues, and it’s powered by just 3xAAA batteries. Most surprising though is that it’s available from Amazon for just $79.99, since a scale like this would normally cost considerably more when purchased through a medical supply store.

[ Taylor 550 Pound Projection Scale ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

BodyTrace Connected eScale Opts For GSM Instead Of Wi-fi

By Andrew Liszewski on 06/23/10 • Leave a comment!

BodyTrace eScale (Images courtesy BodyTrace)
By Andrew Liszewski

If the BodyTrace eScale seems oddly familiar, it’s because it’s not the first connected scale we’ve brought you. That honor would go to the Withings Connected Scale which uses wi-fi to transmit your weight and BMI to a website, allowing you to track your fitness level over time. And that’s basically the same idea behind the BodyTrace eScale, except that it uses GSM instead of wi-fi. The advantage I guess is that you can use it wherever you have cell coverage, but the downside is that after the first year you’ll have to pay $5.99/month to access the online services, though something tells me a bit of that money is actually paying for the wireless data.

And while the Withings scale has a price tag of $180+, the BodyTrace scale is just $59.99, and there’s even an option to buy it for just $9.99 as long as you’re willing to pay a monthly fee of $9.99 afterwards, under a one year contract. Yep, that’s right, now even scale makers are adopting a ‘subsidized with contract’ pricing plan. Great.

[ BodyTrace eScale ] VIA [ Apartment Therapy Unplggd ]

Pool Sprint Concept Looking For Investors

By Andrew Liszewski on 06/17/10 • 3 Comments

Pool Sprint (Images courtesy PoolSprint.com)
By Andrew Liszewski

While running in the water provides a grueling workout wherever you are, it’s particularly difficult in a swimming pool, but not in a good way, given the minimal traction between your feet and the pool’s smooth bottom. So in order to allow people to run in their pools until there heart’s content, Finnish designer Pyry Tamminen came up with the Pool Sprint which is essentially a combination of a submersible running track and a pair of specially-gripped underwater shoes. The video I’ve included below pretty much explains and demonstrates the whole concept, and the ridged grip used on the track and the bottom of the shoe is probably a bit more effective than my own design (patent rejected) which consisted of laying down a long row of rubber bathmats.

While functional test models have been built, the Pool Sprint is not yet ready to go into production as Pyry Tamminen is still looking for investors and/or partners so he can design a real prototype. So if you’re interested, you can probably contact him here.

[ Pool Sprint ] VIA [ designboom ]

Interactiv’ Boxing Punching Bag Doesn’t Look Like A Hanging Slab Of Meat

By Andrew Liszewski on 05/25/10 • 1 Comment

Interactiv' Boxing (Image courtesy Domyos)
By Andrew Liszewski

Unlike your standard punching bag, which seems like it was designed to look like a hanging slab of beef, this Interactiv’ Boxing setup stylishly hangs on your wall via an adjustable rack so it’s always at the right height. Built-in sensors and LEDs can track where you’ve punched, or direct you where to unleash your fury if you’re using one of the 10 fitness programs which provide a stimulating cardio workout or self-defense training, while a small LCD display provides numerical feedback on your workout. The ‘bag’ itself sells for ~$182, though you’ll have to buy the wall mounting rack separately which is an additional $97. And while I like the space-saving nature of its design, I have to wonder how long this thing will stay safely attached to the wall if you’re wailing on it every day…

[ Domyos Interactiv' Boxing ] VIA [ Chablog ]

Dog Leash Weight Set

By Andrew Liszewski on 05/11/10 • Leave a comment!

Dog Leash Weight Set (Image courtesy Hammacher Schlemmer)
By Andrew Liszewski

Walking my parent’s 95 pound retriever provides more than enough of an upper body workout for my needs, but if all that’s at the end of your leash is a 4 pound Chihuahua, you might want to seriously consider stepping things up with this retractable dog leash set that features adjustable dumbbells built into the handles. One handle features the leash itself which can extend up to 16 feet, while the other has a zippered nylon pouch for carrying plastic bags or treats, and each comes with 4 removable 1/2 pound weights for customizing your workout. $59.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer.

[ The Dog Walker's Dumbbells ] VIA [ The Green Head ]

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