Running with Nike Plus
Everyone that knows me knows that I need to be constantly motivated to accomplish anything. I’m becoming more and more self motivated these days but, when it comes to working out for the sake of working out well I’m just lazy.
Recently I took the plunge and bought a new pair of Nike Moto 6′s. I absolutely love running with them on, they are very comfortable.
When I first bought them I noticed that they were nike plus “ready”, which basically means that the right shoe has a specially designed hole under the insole that you put a Nike plus sensor into.
The Nike Plus Ipod Running Kit
For those that don’t already know, Nike and Apple have teamed up and produced the Nike plus ipod running kit. The kit consists of the sensor that fits in your shoe and the receiver that you attach to your Ipod touch, Ipod Nano or Iphone.
Once you attach the receiver to your Ipod a new section appears on the main screen called “nike+ipod” were you enter your weight, age etc.. under the settings section. This allows you to track the number of calories you burn during your workout, among other things.
This kit costs $39 (Canadian) so after spending $90 on the shoes I was a little hesitant to buy it. After a few conversations with some friends that bought it already I decided to pick it up and try it out.
Is it Worth it?
I have to say that I am very impressed with it so far, more so than I thought I would be. It’s not the kit that is impressive but the tracking and charting information on the Nike Plus website that gets me motivated.
Below is a sample of one of my runs (Note that I have a weird running style and I need to calibrate my settings for running on a treadmill)
As you can see the Nike plus sensor and receiver record the total number of calories that you’ve burnt, the average pace per kilometer, total distance and a bunch of other data.
All this data is transmitted to your Nike plus profile once you connect your ipod to your computer.
Setting Goals
One the best features of the Nike plus website is the goal setting feature. Weather you are new to running or a expert runner the goals section will keep you motivated. There are 4 main types of goals that you can set.
1. Run More Often
2. Run Further
3. Burn More Calories
4. Run Faster
You can select how many times a week, or month that you run. There is a chart that lets you know how far ahead or behind the goal you are.
On top of the goals menu, you can select a pre designed workout program that will help you learn to run, train for your first 5K, 10k, Half Marathon race or all the way up to running a full marathon.
Challenges
Bored running against yourself? Maybe you are ready to see how fast you are compared to the rest of the runners in the world? This is were the Nike Plus challenges come in. There are literally hundreds of different challenges you can enter for all different running levels.
You can create a challenge and invite just your friends, or join a challenge already created and opened to the public. I personally enjoy the beginners challenges as I actually have a fair chance at winning (or at least place in the top 10).
There are also team challenges that you can join. Like the Canada vs U.S.A one that is currently going on. If you happen to win a challenge you are awarded a trophy….yeah.
The challenges are a great way to keep you motivated and encouraged. Once you join a challenge you can post comments on the challenge wall. You can either encourage your fellow runners or trash talk them, most are encouraging….most.
The Forum
The only thing I can find wrong with the Nike Plus website is the forum. It seems like a great idea but in my opinion it’s useless. There is no real sense of community or helpfulness or encouragement there. Sorry forum members but it’s true.
If you’re interested in joining a really great running form, I highly recommend joining Running Mania. Awesome group of runners from all levels there.
Nike Friends and Foes
Nike Plus has a feature that lets you add friends (or rival runners known as foes) and view the runs that they’ve tagged. You can also invite friends to join private challenges. If you are interested in adding me as a friend or a foe, my user name is mclintst or check out my twitter updates at @Steve_wlw
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New Years Resolutions 2010
It’s that time of year again! Time to reflect back on what you have accomplished over the past year and set your goals for the New year.
First off, yes I know it has been a looooong time since I put up a post here, and guess what? One of my resolutions for 2010 is to post at least once per week (even if they are short but direct to the point posts)
Why You Need to Make Resolutions
In the past week I have received 8 emails from various sites (Prevention etc…) all saying not to make a resolution for 2010. I think that is total BS.
I make resolutions every year and while most don’t stick I do benefit from everyone of them. Sometimes failing at something is the best thing for you.
Not resolving to change or improve on something in your life to me is the same thing as not having a dream or goals (resolutions are really just broad goals for the year). What is the point of living if aren’t working towards a better life for you and your family/friends?
Resolutions For 2010
Weight Loss
Weight loss, improving my overall health and fitness is always at the top of my list. This year I am mixing things up a bit though. I have followed a lot of commercialized diets and weight loss programs in the past. While I did see results with most of them, nothing really stuck. The weight came back.
I have enough knowledge and experience in losing weight that I have come up with my own eating plan. I have it all ready to go and starting on Jan 1st I will be following it strictly which should be fairly simple since it is tailored around my 9 to 5 lifestyle. I am still following the big workout plans, starting with Tony Horton’s 10 minute trainer as a fitness kick start which will be followed by the restart of P90X. (stopped early due to injury earlier this year)
I plan on turning the eating plan into a downloadable ebook, but only after I see the results for myself.
My goal for 2010 is to get under 180lbs and 17% bodyfat. Very achievable I think.
Run a Half Marathon
It has always been a dream of mine to run a full marathon. I have no idea why I hold that as my fitness holy grail, as I don’t always enjoy running. I’ve ran a bunch of 5k races and a few 10k’s over the past few years. But for some reason I have never committed to taking the next step and training for or running a half marathon. September 2010 I will complete my first ever half marathon. (either the Toronto half marathon or the Scotia waterfront half marathon)
Those are my 2 weight loss and fitness resolutions.
Just a couple of quick non health/fitness/weightloss related resolutions for 2010:
1. Increase my online income to $2000 a month (shouldn’t be too difficult)
2. Become consumer debt free (again). 2008 and 2009 were bad year’s employment wise for my wife and we had to stay a float with credit. The end of 2009 has been great and things are back on track 2010 will be even better financially.
I actually have a great system for dealing with debt and without it things could have been much worse than they were.
3. Increasing my online presence. Over the past few months I have fallen right off the map. Few posts if any, no commenting on my favourite blogs and I haven’t responded to comments on this blog for a while. I haven’t created any new sites/projects in a looooooong time either. 2010 that all changes.
What About You?
What are your resolutions for 2010? Are you even going to make a resolution?
Let me know what you think, I will be responding to all comments.
Steve
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Winter Weight Loss vs. Summer Weight Loss
Living in Canada I get the full effects of the 4 seasons. From the bitter chill of winter to the hot and humid summers. Since I’m not a huge fan of spending all my time in the gym, I need to get outdoors and that means I have to deal with the elements.
Reviewing the past few years of my weight loss journey I wanted to see which season has been the most effective for losing weight and why? Here are my thoughts on Winter weight loss vs Summer weight loss.
Summer Weight Loss
These are some of the positive activities that I can do during the summer time (May – August, Yes I know summer starts in June)
Running
I’m an avid runner, 5k’s and local runs around the neighborhood are what I enjoy and in the summer time it’s fairly easy to get 5 runs a week in. The nights are comfortable and with the sun setting after 9pm I’m able to finish my runs before the sun sets. This is a huge psychological boost for me plus I’m able to burn a ton of calories and I’m not sitting in front of the TV.
Team Sports
Softball and Basketball are 2 team sports that I love to participate in (despite injuring my knee playing basketball that sidelined me for 3 months). Basketball in particular really gets your heart pumping and utilizes muscles you forgot you even had. Outdoors courts are everywhere and you can even get a great workout playing alone.
Softball is not considered a big calorie burner as half the game you’re sitting on your butt. But I like to play in Tournaments that go all day. I end up playing 4-5 games in a day and that eats up a lot of calories.
Yard Work
I don’t have a huge yard but it is big enough to keep me busy all summer long. Cutting the grass, gardening, trimming, pruning and pulling the damn weeds (Canada has a ban on pesticides for use on lawns and it’s killing me).
Golf and Mountain Biking
Golf is expensive but a great workout, as long as you are walking the course and carrying your clubs you’re burning a ton of calories. (I skip the carts, including the beer cart….most times 
)
I’ve recently gotten back into mountain biking and wow did I miss it. Trail riding is a huge calorie burner, especially if you have a crappie Walmart brand bike like mine (seriously it only has half the gears it used to have and the remaining ones slip, Hint hint @TrekBikes please send a new one my way ) Trek Bikes are the Nike of mountain bikes.
Outdoor Time With The Kids
My kids are at the age where they want to spend all their time outside riding bikes, playing at the park, going for walks, playing soccer, frisbee etc.. my point is we are always out side during the summer. Weight loss and burning calories aside spending time with my kids is the most important part of my day.
Winter Weight Loss
These are the positive things about trying to lose weight during the winter months (November to March)
Clearing The Snow
We get a lot of snow (the last 2 years almost broke the all-time records) and clearing it is no easy task. Shoveling 6-10 inches every few days is great for burning calories if you’re doing it properly. Plus on my street once you’re done your driveway you help your neighbors finish theirs.
Playing in the Snow
Once you’ve piled the snow it’s time to play in it, with the kids of course. Building snowmen, snowball fights and tobogganing are what make winter and all that snow worth having. Packed snow is heavy and toboggan hills are steep and all that lifting and incline walking help to burn off the excess calories.
Skating
While I’m not a great skater, in fact I can’t even stop, I do like to get out on the outdoor rinks and ponds for a few hours of skating and shinny with friends and family. Plus holding the kids up while teaching them to skate really works the back.
So Which Season is the Best for Weight Loss?
Now while I have to admit I am way more active in the summer time outdoors than the winter time, looking over my weight charts it looks as though Winter is when my weight. BMI and body fat% drop to their lowest points of the year.
There could only be 1 reason for this: FOOD.
Our summers are filled with barbeques, steaks, burgers and hotdogs and drinking with the neighbors. We tend to eat out more often (patio season) and with all the activities I do I tend to eat a lot more than I normally would.
One of my vices has always been nighttime eating, in fact I still struggle with this today and in the summer time it is so easy to hop in the car and hit the drive through or the convenience store for a bag of chips.
I hate the cold I mean sometimes it gets so bad that I feel like moving to Florida or California. The cold is a huge deterrent for my nighttime eating habits and the snow gets in the way of that as well. Unless I’m going outside with a strong purpose and I’m properly dressed for the cold, I stay inside. This gives me time to prepare better meals and plan ahead for the next few days, plus I have an excuse to use the treadmill in the basement.
What season do you lose most of your weight in? Let me know what you think.
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Great Songs for Running
I just finished a great 45 minute run on the treadmill about 15 minutes ago and I wanted to write this down before I got distracted with some other project.
Many people get bored while running and have a hard time keeping their minds “occupied”, myself included. A great way to fight this is listening to music and singing along with it. (if you are at the gym keep it in your head, lol )
Just google “running music” and you’ll get thousands of sites offering different mixes and playlists, most are listed by BPM (beats per minute) which is convenient if you are looking for pace based workouts. I look at it differently though.
My Ipod is filled with different playlists organized by genre and not BPM. Each genre is best suited for my different moods and how energetic I feel before I workout. For example If I’m in an angry mood or just feeling pissed at myself for missing a previous workout, eating too much etc.. I put on the Hip-Hop or more specifically the Gangster rap. I generally don’t like the content but the beats and over all tone of the music just gets me pumped. (P.S I’m the whitest guy you’ll ever meet).
Tonight I was in a good mood, had a good amount of energy and just wanted to enjoy the run. For that kind of mood I go with either the Dance/techno songs or the Classic rock. It was classic rock night.
Great Songs for Running
Here are just a few of the songs that got me going and yes I know most of these are from the Rock Band games.
Mississippi Queen – Great for singing along with, 3 minutes gone and didn’t even notice it.
Hair of the Dog (Nazerth) – I like to visualize myself gaining on people while running a 5k and saying “now your messing with a son of a bitch” that and I like making the guitar noises half way through the song
Spirit in the Sky – I’m not religious, I just like singing “gotta have a friend in Jesus” or Allah as my Muslim says. I dare you to singing it without smiling.
Stranglehold – Ted Nugent – The drums and guitar just put me in a better mood, that and I like to imagine me getting my fat self in a stranglehold and giving him crap for not doing more to get the weight off sooner.
Won’t Back Down – Tom Petty – Great song for the last 5-10 minutes when you’re tired and feel like hitting the stop button. The line, “hey baby there ain’t no easy way out” is perfect and fits with my whole weight loss philosophy.
Spoonman – Soundgarden – Not exactly “Classic rock” but it has a great beat, plus I kick ass at rock band on this song and have the rhythm down perfectly. I literally finished my cool down listening to this while playing the air guitar and air drums.
Those are a few of my favorites I have a ton more of 90′s rock, Dance, Techno, etc… sorry no R&B or Country music on the ipod I rather listen to a 45 minute track of screaming babies over that stuff
The whole point of this is that I had fun while exercising by singing along and getting into the music the 45 minutes flew by. It was actually more like 50 minutes because I wanted to hear free falling one last time.
So I want to know what is in your Ipod and what are your favorite running/workout songs. Maybe I can add some new stuff.
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Simple Trick for Exercise Motivation
I have been doing this for the past week or so and it has done wonders for me. 5 straight days of running or weight training.
You know when it comes to losing weight, eating healthy or doing exercise sometimes it feels like I am 2 different people. There is morning Steve, always tired but very motivated and hopeful for having a good healthy day, no junk foods, lots of walking breaks at work, drinking lots of water and looking forward to working out at night/evening etc.. I like this Steve.
Then there is night Steve or more specifically after the kids are in bed Steve. He craves the junk food and does whatever he can to get it. Night Steve is also tired but only when it comes to exercise or meal planning or making lunches/snacks for the next day. For all other activities like working on the computer until 1am, watching movies or driving to the store to get junk food he has boundless energy.
Obviously these 2 personalities clash and for some reason at night after the kids are in bed and it’s Mommy and Daddy time I forget about all the good intentions I had started the day with.
So Simple it Seems Stupid
What I do is this, in the morning before I leave for work is I write myself a note, nothing too elaborate usually just a sentence or a word.
For example yesterday’s note said this “Before turning on the computer run for 30 minutes on the treadmill, you’ll feel great” . I left this on my computer monitor, sure enough last night I came down stairs ready to hop on the computer as usual. I saw the note and immediately it brought me back to when I wrote it that morning.
45 minutes later I had run for 35 minutes and burnt 365 calories. Best of all I did feel great afterwards and I was able to work on the computer guilt free.
The key for me was not to think too much about what else I had to do that night or what else I could have done. Basically not talking myself out of it. I was listening to my motivated self and did what I knew I really wanted to do.
I Don’t Have Short Term Memory Loss
Maybe “forgetting” is the wrong word for my not following through with my good intentions, as I do not have short term memory loss. It’s more like wilful ignorance and I know I’m not alone on this.
My wife thinks it’s funny that I do this and has posted notes around the house with things like “unload the dishwasher” and “change the laundry” mocking me it seems. (Doesn’t work like that honey )
Before you just blow this off as silly or stupid, give it a try first. When you’re motivated in the morning (or anytime you’re feeling motivated) write to yourself and leave the notes somewhere you’ll be most likely to read it or need to read it. (on your fridge,TV, bathroom mirror, in your car etc…). Hopefully this will help you stay motivated or at least remind you of what you really want to do, when your motivated that is.
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Bob Harper Dropping F Bombs
Bob Harper for those of you that don’t know is a personal trainer and one of the 2 trainers on the hit NBC show The Biggest Loser. I finished watching this episode last night and was left thinking about how great Bob’s freak out was on one of the contestants, Joelle.
Quick recap: During the last chance workout near the end Bob’s team was finishing up with a 30 second sprint on the treadmills. Joelle kept stopping at the 20 second mark, this sent Bob into an all out rage. He was yelling at her, dropping f bombs and making everyone do the sprint again. Joelle stopped short again and Bob got even madder until Joelle eventually completed the 30 second sprint.
I can’t believe the buzz this little incident had caused. I have gotten 4 emails about it, I’ve seen stories on Yahoo and there are a lot of bloggers talking about it. Quiet frankly Bob is getting hated on. Some of the comments I see are calling him a “disgrace” and “unprofessional“. Here is my take on it.
Just Shut The F*** Up and Do It
This incident servers as a great example of why people fail at losing weight on their own. Joelle kept making the point that she was giving it all she had and that she couldn’t do the 30 second sprint. Bob knew better.
Earlier in the show Bob sat down with Joelle and had a nice motivational talk with her. He was calm and got his point across to her. Obviously that message didn’t sink in with Joelle and she was slacking again during the workouts while everyone else was giving 110%.
Joelle gave up on herself, believing that she couldn’t complete the task, hiding behind the fact that she is overweight and out of shape. Being the great trainer that he is, Bob recognized this and called her on it and summed up it all up in one sentence. The quote, “Just shut the F*** up and do it”.
All Trainers Should Be This Passionate
That rage comes from being passionate about what he is doing and knowing what it takes to get people to lose over 100 lbs. Those kind of results don’t come from stopping short and whining about how hard it is. They come from just putting in the work and doing what is required of you, even more so on a weight loss show!
I hope she sticks around, besides making for good TV people can identify with the excuses she makes because those are the same ones that are keeping a lot of other people fat as well.
Bob you’re doing a great job and changing lives, no matter how hard they fight it.
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