Total Running Performance and Fitness

I’ve always been a fan of powerbar, so it was just a matter of time before I wrote about them.  They have come out with a plethora of flavors and types in the past few years, but I’m an old faithful to the flavors of old.  My favorite one, they did away with a few years back-the malt nut flavor. Why? I’m not sure, but they replaced it with honey roasted nut which is also hard to find. The bars are a convenient way to carry a packaged snack in the purse, to down during a busy day before a run later in the day.  The flavors they come in now are: wild berry, peanut butter, apple cinnamon, oatmeal raisin, chocolate brownie, honey roasted nut, cookies -n cream, chocolate peanut butter, vanilla crisp, chocolate, peanut butter, banana, chocolate and caramel cookie.  The last one sounds pretty tasty but have yet to find it in the stores.  Henry’s has the best selection of these in my area. I”m also loving the powerbar gels especially vanilla, for my long runs but that’s another post. So what’s your favorite kind?

Popularity: 22% [?]

BAREFOOT RUNNING: 10 things about barefoot running:

Positive:

1.  Barefoot running will strengthen intrinsic muscles of the foot.

2. Barefoot running may be slightly more efficient in some runners.

3.  Barefoot running decreases forces through the hips and knees (although this does not necessarily mean it leads to less injury).

4. The foot and muscles adapt in the air to barefoot running, before actual touchdown of the foot.

5. Barefoot runners tend to use a faster turnover and shorter steps.

Negative:

1.Foot protection is a lot more difficult with barefoot running.

2.  Humans were not made to run on asphalt and concrete.

2.  Not everyone can do barefoot running; not everyone has the biomechanical efficiency to tolerate the stresses of barefoot running.

3.  You can learn to run barefoot style (midfoot landing first) with shoes on as well.

4.  Barefoot running will stress the plantar fascia and achilles tendon more.

5.  No studies have been completed to state that barefoot running specifically decreases injuries.

Popularity: 28% [?]

This is the Plasma car- one of the best inventions to keep kids exercising and moving.  This is a ride-on toy that even many ADULTS can drive too with its large size!  This car was a purchase by Grandma and Grandpa for my kids for their 2nd birthdays.  It is a sleek car that drives by moving the handles back and forth-yes that’s right, it moves with the hands.  No batteries needed.  Although, you can also push with the legs as well and get it moving plenty fast.  It works by special wheels on the bottom of the car.  It also corners like a Ferrari.  My kids love this car and will drive it around our kitchen island for their daily fun and they are so fast, I can no longer catch them. It should last them for many years due to the large size and the fact I can ride it too.  So if you are looking for a great idea for a gift to enhance a child’s fitness level, arm and leg strength, balance, coordination and fun, consider purchasing one of these.

Popularity: 53% [?]

Looking for a good quality gym bag?  My old one that I won at a track competition (don’t ask how long ago that was…) began to break apart and so I purchased this one knowing that it would be of high quality having already ordered other items from this company.  The company is Title Nine and the bag lived up to my high expectations.   It comes in a plush purple color, my favorite, (and blue as well), is very roomy yet small enough in size to not feel like you’re lugging an elephant around, includes a separate compartment for shoes or swim/gym clothes, has a key fob, water bottle holder and two outer zip pockets.  The shoulder strap is by far the most comfortably padded one I’ve ever used and…there is also an extra *bonus* to the bag!  A secret recipe for brownies is etched in one of the pockets and well worth the purchase.  Excuse me while I go try out the tasty recipe.

Popularity: 88% [?]

If you are like me, any gadgets that support running peak your interest.  Especially the new GPS iphone apps: They allow you to listen to music and track running stats at the same time.  Nice!  But which one to use?  Here are some that I previewed after purchasing them, in order of usability:

1. Run Keeper: This is my favorite overall. Once the run is started, The front interface displays overall time, average min. per mile, calories, current pace in minutes per mile and total miles. In addition, it has a feature to change the direction of the screen, the music automatically starts (playlist is chosen beforehand) and it has a button to bring up the camera should you want to take pictures of the scenery.

One of my favorite features is the touch screen that will feed stats through the voice feature. The only drawback of the front screen is that the touch feature is contained on a small blue portion of the screen.  Another favorite feature is that your own customized interval workouts can be added and used with the voice feature.

2.  I Map My Run/NB Total Fit: This runs a close second with many of the same features that Run Keeper has plus a whole lot more.  The reason it runs a close second is it is a bit too busy for my taste.   It has a nice interface to map workouts that displays either 1- the map, 2- running data (time, pace, speed average and  current speed) or 3-IPOD interface.  A smaller interface of running data is present on the map and IPOD interface for easy access to data.

The voice feedback feature does not have a touch feature but one can set it to give audio feedback at a certain time and distance (ie every 5 minutes or 1 mile).  One unique feature that it has is that it maps elevation for each run (I would love to see the Pikes Peak Marathon on it but not willing to run that). It also allows the user to add workouts to the app. Previous routes are saved and mapped.  Overall, they’ve thought of everything except the “where to find water” feature.

3.  321Run: This runs a close third due to its simplicity but has an annoying bug in the program.  Overall performance is totaled on the front.  The easy recording interface shows time, distance, average speed and current mile time.   However, the average speed and mile do not display accurately.  The touch feature to activate stats via voice is almost enough to make up for this as the whole screen is touch respondent.  The program also has some nice preset workouts in time, distance, calories and special programs (ie. marathon).  There is a history feature that stores maps of runs and data.

Popularity: 67% [?]

Yoga what you ask? Well that was my first thought when I saw the name of the company who made these towels. If you don’t remember the name, you will remember the unusual towel if you try it out. I purchased this towel out of curiosity at a large sports store in the area to see what it was all about. The towel is a gorgeous purple color (comes in a variety of colors and larger sizes) and has little rubber dots spaced sequentially on one side. The beauty of these dots is that the towel will not move or slide when placed on a rubber surface. I found that this came in handy when lifting weights and placed my towel down to sit on a machine. Gravity did not move it an ounce. Nice. It also comes in handy when running on a treadmill. You won’t have to do the “chase my towel” as it zooms down the treadmill belt and behind you because the special yogitoes stick wonderfully to the display. It can also be used for placement on a yoga mat and won’t slide as well. Overall a good purchase for yogi’s and fitness buffs.

Popularity: 100% [?]

While perusing the sports store the other day, I noticed these socks that stated “Runners World Gear” on them and decided to try them out.  I wore them earlier in the day I tested them and noticed that my feet were toasty warm the whole time.  They are supposed to have an “aero-dynamic fit and protection without the weight.”  The socks do feel light and during my run, they offered protection in all the right places-heels, balls of feet.  However, my feet were almost too warm for me during my run.  My guess is that these would keep the toes toasty in cooler environments than S. California and do great in mountain hikes etc. with cooler weather. Or perhaps with someone who suffers from cold feet around the house.

Popularity: 70% [?]

There are a number of nutrition bars on the market and this one was given to me at my last race.    It was a chocolate bar that had rice crispy mix with a layer of Dark chocolate on the bottom.  It was chewy and moist, crunchy from the rice but did not quite meet my expectation of an actual snickers (darn…). On the plus side, it is only 150 calories, a good source of fiber and calcium and 11 grams of protein. If you are  looking for a quick snack, check out the snickers Marathon nutrition bar.

Popularity: 93% [?]

When Lucy states that they design clothes with you in mind, your active life and performance, they are serious.  I was introduced to Lucy’s line of clothes about a year ago and excited to try out the wear for my fitness business.  Let’s just say I love, love, love the Hillside Capri and Hillside pants.  They are perfect for a quick business meeting as well as participation in a yoga class, personal training session or a quick jaunt across the country.  The lucyflextm material allows you to be as flexible as you wish while maintaining a certain level of professional dress at the same time.  So get out, move and enjoy life in these very comfortable pants.

Popularity: 88% [?]

Welcome to Total Running Performance and Fitness.

Popularity: 68% [?]