Category Archives: reviews

Technology and fitness

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Technology and fitness. Two of my favorite topics to talk about.

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about Oscar, an insurance company in New York and New Jersey that is using technology to help make healthcare more simple. They are even offering a free MisFit tracker to help their customers stay active. I love talking about technology and fitness, so I thought it would be great to share how I use technology to stay on track with health and fitness.

I think of technology in many ways, not just gadgets but tools that help keep me accountable and aside from my running shoes, and this winter, my layers, I sadly cannot get out the door without the technology I mention below.

Like my folder titles?!?!

iPhone. I know this is a cop-out answer but it’s true. My phone is the key to many of the apps and programs I will mention below. Plus, my iPhone holds my critical running playlists that I need to listen to while on the treadmill, especially now that I finished Serial!

Studio apps. I love that my favorite exercise studios have iPhone apps. It’s so easy to book a class when it pops into my head and it even prompts me to directly add it to my Google calendar. Thank you Local Barre and Prime Cycle.

March 8th is looking like a really long run day!

March 8th is looking like a really long run day!

Google calendar. Josh and I share our personal calendars. It’s mainly for him since he can’t remember anything and I am an elephant. Regardless, I put everything on the calendar from my exercise classes to training runs and even just blocking off time each weekend for my long runs. In some ways instead of carrying around my marathon training plan around with me, I just add it to the calendar.

Thank goodness for podcasts to get me through this winter (oh wait, it’s not over yet…)

Overcast app. I listened to the entire season of Serial over the course of 7 runs, only because one of those runs was 15 miles long. This app has been a savior with all the indoor running I’ve had to do this winter. I look forward to downloading other podcasts especially since I don’t think this winter is getting better anytime soon.

Okay, fine, this is me trying to be inspirational...

Okay, fine, this is me trying to be inspirational…

Social media. I know that there is much more to Instagram and Twitter than for people like me to post running related things but it serves a dual purpose. The days I am feeling lazy, I go into one of my social media feeds when I see posts from friends or other people/companies I follow in the health and fitness sector and boom, I feel bad for being lazy. Hopefully others feel the same away about my posts… at least sometimes.

Over 21,000 steps for the day!

Over 21,000 steps for the day!

Nike+ Fuelband. While there are so many new wearable products out now and I don’t believe the Fuelband is the best available (you can read my full review here), I really like the ability to track my activity from my wrist. I fully realize that it is not 100% accurate but it holds me more accountable. In fact, after I received my Fuelband, we gifted them to Josh’s whole family. For a while, we were syncing with the Nike+ Fuel app and were able to engage in some friendly competition (though I have to say I mostly always won… that’s what marathon training does to you, huh?).

Awesome watch!

Awesome watch!

Garmin Forerunner 220 GPS watch. I love this watch (my full review is here). I purchased a GPS watch as soon as I started marathon training and I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks they are serious about running. Even if you’re just starting out, an entry-level GPS watch would be a good start. For me, there’s something about a shiny new toy helps motivate me (some new clothes too, but this post is about technology). The great thing about the Garmin Forerunner watches is that it syncs wirelessly with the Garmin Connect app and through adapter on the computer. The app not only tracks your runs, splits, shoes (new feature!), notes, etc, but it also lets you connect with others. You’d be surprised how beneficial that is. Some of my running friends (you might be thinking running nerds soon) “stalk” each other to see how many miles they’ve run that week or even to see what their splits are for a specific run. Okay, I know that this sounds a little creepy, but it helps with accountability and motivation to push a little harder.

Mileage tracker on my blog

Mileage tracker on my blog

RunningAHEAD. In addition to syncing my runs with Garmin, I also update with RunningAHEAD. At the time, I really liked it for the shoe mileage tracking feature since Garmin didn’t have it but overall, I like the user interface of RunningAHEAD more and it also works well as a feed into the mileage tracker on my blog.

cindyruns.com. Of course, my blog! Blogging makes me accountable and hopefully inspires some along the way. I also read a ton of other running blogs and these bloggers inspire me more and more each day. I originally started blogging to document training for my first marathon so that way I can share it with family and friends but over time, blogging morphed into much more than that. Blogging is another way for me to focus on the positives.

There are so many other tools that I used to use or periodically, like an online food diary and some of which I mentioned in an earlier post about marathon training while on vacation, but this is a list of tools that I rely on. There are so many options out there, and things that work for me, may not work for everyone, but I think the most important aspect is that technology really helps make staying active easier.

I’m interested in learning about other cool apps or gadgets that you use. What are your favorite technology tools for health and fitness?

Taylor Smart Scale Review

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A couple of weeks ago, I received a brand new Taylor Smart Scale from EatSmart Products. I love new gadgets and was so excited to get it set up.

IMG_2436 The Taylor Smart Scale:

—Uses bluetooth technology to transfer your data wirelessly to a tablet or smart phone through the free SMARTRACK app.

—Tracks weight, and estimates body fat, body water and muscle mass, and has a goal setting and tracking feature through the SMARTRACK app and can connect with other apps like myfitnesspal, mapmyfitness and RunKeeper as well.

—Calculates daily calorie intake needed to maintain current weight.

—Supports up to 8 users.

IMG_2446Josh and I set up the scale right before Christmas, perfect timing to start tracking our weight, huh?! The set up was a little more complicated than I had expected. Once we downloaded the SMARTRACK app, it took a little while to get our phones paired to the scale. It wasn’t the most intuitive, but after 30 minutes of fumbling around, we finally got it to work. Setting up your profile in the app was pretty easy – gender, body style (normal or athlete), birthday, height, activity level, and goal weight.

We each stepped on the scale with the app open on our phones. It took a few tries for the scale to transmit the data to the app, but eventually Josh and I had our base weight, body fat, body water, muscle mass, and the calculated calorie intake stored.

IMG_2449The scale is supposed to be able to recognize which user it is each time you step on the scale based on weight. If the app is active near the scale, then it will transmit the data via bluetooth. For the next couple of weeks, we both weighed ourselves daily (except for the days we were traveling for the holidays) to test out the scale. Each time we weighed ourselves, it took a couple of attempts to get the data transmitted to the app. If the scale doesn’t recognize your user profile, it will not calculate body fat, body water, muscle mass, or calories. On average, it took about 2-3 attempts before the scale would recognize us correctly and record the information. Sometimes it would get confused about which user if we both stepped on one after another even though Josh and I have a pretty large weight difference. Eventually we started clearing out the scale each time (by stepping on the edge and weighting for the scale to register 0.0) and it seemed to work better.

IMG_2489Prior to this new toy, we were using an older version of this Tanita scale that tracked weight, body fat percentage, and body water for up to two people. For the price of $59.95 on Amazon, there are definitely a number of pros despite some of the cons (even in comparison to what I was used to):

—Tracks more than one or two users. Though for us, there’s just the two of us using it.

—While the app has some room for improvement (see cons list), it is nice to be able to store your data points somewhere. I am not going to lose sleep if I am up/down a pound from day-to-day, but it is nice to be able to see historic changes where in the past, I relied on my memory and how pants fit!

—Since the app tracks everything, this will be a great feature when I am further in marathon training to capture weight and water loss before and after a long run.

—For body weight and water, the app shows your most recent data point and how it compares on a spectrum based on your profile – low (blue), normal (green), moderate (yellow), and high (red).

—The scale is pretty slick and modern looking. The platform is made from tempered glass and looks pretty stylish in our bathroom.

—Good value for the price.

The cons are not so much about the scale as it is about the SMARTRACK app.

—Bluetooth technology is not always perfect so it is expected that data transmission will not be seamless each time.

—The app is fairly basic, it shows a line graph for the data points – body weight, body water, muscle mass, and calculated calorie intake. I wish it would give more details about the different ranges, etc.

—The calculated calorie intake is based on my activity level and profile to maintain current weight. My goal weight is not factored into this calculation. It would be neat to be able to calculate calorie intake to achieve my goal weight. There are a number of programs that do this today, especially online food diaries, so it would be neat to incorporate that with the app.

We will continue to enjoy our new scale, but looking forward to future enhancements in the app.

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions and comments are my own. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all about the scale or app.