FitSugar

Gear Review: Motorola's MotoACTV Fitness Tracker

Leta Shy — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:55:36 PST

Is getting fit one of your New Year's resolutions for the coming year? Whether you're just diving into a new regimen or need a better way to track your workouts, you'll love the new MotoACTV fitness tracker from Motorola.

Released in November, the MotoACTV promises to be your constant fitness companion, and with good reason. It can track calories burned, pace, speed, steps taken, and GPS route out of the box, and holds up to 16 GB of music and workout data. All features that will make anyone's workouts better, so I was happy to test out the 8 GB version that Motorola recently sent over ($250; the 16 GB version goes for $300).

The MotoACTV is slightly bigger than the iPod Nano, and like the Apple product, it has a simple interface making it completely intuitive as soon as you power it on. You can use it as a pedometer, and the home screen shows the time, steps taken, and calories burned for the day. By swiping left and right you can navigate to four more screens with different options. Five tactile buttons and one designated back button on the touch screen work all the main functions, which I appreciated since having easy-to-feel buttons made pausing music or finding my way back to my workout screen much faster than if I were fumbling my way through touch screens. And after entering your height and weight stats, the MotoACTV tracks the amount of calories you burn throughout the day, including your basal metabolic rate. When on the workout screen, you can choose between five styles - running, cycling, walking, elliptical, and step machine - and what type of workout you want (like racing against a previous personal best or setting a time and distance goal). During a workout a pleasant voice keeps you updated on certain milestones and how long you have left in your workout.

Keep reading for more on how the MotoACTV performs.

Zobha Yoga Panties Have You Covered

Susi May — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:54:01 PST

When it comes to working out, I sometimes suffer from the panty conundrum: basically to wear or not to wear undies under my leggings or shorts. I have learned that this answer varies from workout to workout. The authors of Run Like a Mother ask: why wear nonwicking cotton drawers under your running shorts with a wicking liner? But for yoga, Pilates, and strength training it's another story where you sometimes find yourself in compromising positions, like Plow pose, for instance.

Zobha, maker of quality yoga and Pilates wear, has come up with the perfect panty solution for these types of workout. The brand's laser-cut thongs ($16) and boy shorts ($18) provide the coverage you want without VPL (visible panty lines). Both seamless styles are made from wicking fabric but feature a cotton gusset for comfort. These undies stay in place during all sorts of movement too. I have found it best to hand wash these garments. Since these panties are on the pricier side, it's helpful that they do dry quickly making one pair enough if you work out regularly.

I prefer the boy shorts for strength training and the even more discreet thong for yoga. Stretch and lift with no apprehension - these panties have you covered. The boy short and the thong are also available in the more adventurous colors - hot pink and aqua. Find them online at Zobha.

Game On: Dance Central 2 and Kinect Sports Season 2

Susi May — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:57:12 PDT

I don't think exergaming will ever replace running in the great outdoors, but it certainly gets people off the couch and moving - something we could all do a bit more of. My family of four has been perfecting our dance moves and working on our sports skills since last Christmas, when my hubby received a Kinect as a gift, turning his Xbox into family fun time. Updated versions of our fave games, Dance Central 2 ($50) and Kinect Sports Season 2 ($50), were just released. We've been tearing it up in the living room with these two games, and here's what we think.

Dance Central 2
The new soundtrack includes a mix of old-school tunes ("Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot and Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff") and recent hits (Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and the Usher/Pitbull tune "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love") and is highly inspirational. The graphics are improved from last year's game; even though the game is now busier visually, the graphics are not distracting but certainly add to the entertainment value. The final photo of the game is now you, the player, in the ending position, which is always good to nail for extra points. The developers have managed to create a background so you don't see the walls of your living room in the low res photos of your moves, but disco-inspired horizontal neon lines. When you do a move correctly, a tracer appears around your hands giving you positive visual feedback. It's cool!

Keep reading to learn more about both games.

Wearing Shoes to Yoga? Blake Brody Footwear Says Yes

Michele Foley — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:46:43 PDT

Germaphobes and fashionistas take note - Blake Brody In-Studio Footwear may be your new favorite fitness accessory. The Blake Brody eco-friendly footwear line looks like a collection of fashion ballet flats, but are so flexible - you can roll them up if you need to! - they won't inhibit the foot's natural range of motion. While it may seem counterintuitive to wear shoes for a studio workout, I like to think of them as minimalist footwear for Pilates, yoga, or barre-inspired fitness classes. Fully copping to my germaphobic tendencies, I love that they put a barrier between my feet and the studio floor. This is especially nice when things are hotter than usual or the studio doesn't have an antimicrobial floor.

Pilates- and yoga-practitioner Blake Brody developed the in-studio workout shoes after an embarrassing moment in her Pilates class: Blake's feet were so sweaty that she slipped off of the reformer and fell. Since minimalist running shoes are too thick and inhibiting for studio work, Blake set out to design her own. When I received a pair to try out, I was apprehensive (I love working out barefoot), but, a few weeks later, I don't go to the studio without them. I wear them during all of my yoga and Pilates classes, and to much success, I even wore them to a few jazz- and ballet-inspired dance classes.

See what I thought of the shoes after the break.

Gear Review: DoD Fitness Tools

FitSugar — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:36:06 PDT

Tightness in the wrists, a kink in the neck, and discomfort in the knees - these pains can disrupt a great workout, interfering with the benefits of toning exercises or yoga poses. DoD Fitness (the acronym stands for Do or Die) created a line of foamy products to help reduce discomfort in the wrists, neck, and knees during poses that typically strain these areas. We tried the Set of All Three ($45), which included Wrist Wedges, Knee Donuts, and a Neck Circle. DoD Fitness Tools are made out of a super light foamy material, so they can be transported easily. No need to deal with towels, because the products are sweat-proof and waterproof too. The line was tested by experts in biomechanics, kinesiology, and chiropractics to ensure that they aid in correct alignment while achieving better comfort.

Find out what we thought of DoD Fitness Tools.

Gear Review: Be Present Easy Cami

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:55:46 PDT

Before baby, I always wore tops with built-in shelf bras to a yoga class, and my girls stayed perfectly covered and under control. But now that motherhood has blessed me with some larger ladies, the thin, lightweight, elastic shelf-bra doesn't even come close to cutting it on the support front. I've had to put my shelf-bra tanks on the shelf for a while (until I'm done nursing) and am embracing simpler tanks with no built in support. This way I can pair my top with my own bra, to create the support I need.

A big fan of Be Present clothes, I loved the company's braless Seamless Carefree Cami. But if you're looking for a shirt that isn't fitted on top, check out the Easy Cami ($39).

Learn why I loved this top.

Gear Review: Ibex Synergy Tank

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:25:02 PDT

After posting the 10 Affordable Fitness Tops Under $40 slideshow, a few of my friends said they actually prefer tops without attached shelf bras. They want to be able to wear their sports bra to get the support they need without the oh-so unattractive uniboob. If you're well-endowed, I'm sure you can relate.

I've always been a fan of Ibex, and I recently got their bra-less Synergy Tank ($55), and I'm in love. To find out why keep reading.

Gear Review: Nike+ SportWatch GPS

Susi May — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:05:35 PDT

It was only a matter of time before Nike created a GPS sports watch. The company introduced the Nike+ system five years ago, so adding a new component to the system seemed the right way to celebrate the half decade mark. And following its tradition of innovative design, this watch is good looking. Much more stylin' than other GPS watches out there with a relatively slim profile and easy-to-read face.

The company sent me a Nike+ SportWatch GPS ($200), and I've been testing it out. New gear always helps me step up my workouts. Yep, I've been running a bit more these days. The watch comes with a Nike+ foot pod and charging cable, which you will likely never use since the watch has a USB plug integrated into the band. Meaning you can plug the watch directly into your laptop to upload your workout data to the Nike web page while charging the battery of the watch, too. This is super convenient and the coolest feature of the watch, in my opinion.

The Nike+ SportWatch has the most simple user interface of any GPS watch or heart-rate monitor I have ever used. It only has three buttons. One to scroll up. One to scroll down. And one to press enter. You use the Nike website, which opens up automatically after you plug in the watch to your computer, to program your personal data: age, weight, etc., as well as preferences (sound off/on, splits, create interval workouts).

Keep on reading for more details about this watch.

Gear Review: Mizuno Meridian Running Shorts

Leta Shy — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:47:59 PDT

I love a good pair of cute track shorts to liven up my runner's wardrobe, so when we received a few pieces from Mizuno's new Inspired running collection I was especially happy to test out the stylish pink-trimmed Meridian Running Shorts ($40).

After a few treadmill runs and a cool-weather 12K race, I am not just a fan of how they look, but also how they feel. Weighing about 9 oz., the shorts were so lightweight and soft that they were a pleasure to run in, and the moisture-wicking material kept me comfortable (and quickly dried after running through a sprinkle of rain).

Read the rest of my review of the Meridian Running Shorts after the break!

Gear Review: Nike+Armband For iPhone

Kristen Hawley — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:45:50 PST

Full disclosure: I am not a huge armband fan; I much prefer clipping a smaller iPod Nano or Shuffle to my shoulder during a run or other workout. But, after becoming addicted to music-streaming service Rdio, which requires a 3G or Internet connection to work, I decided to hit the treadmill with my new Nike+Armband for the iPhone ($34).

The arm band itself is extremely lightweight and made from nylon and spandex. It fits your phone very snugly; the only openings are for inserting the phone and attaching headphones. Volume and power buttons are covered by material but labeled appropriately. The front is made of a thin layer of plastic for access to the phone's screen and home button. The armband is thin and lined with velcro. Find out what I thought about it after the break.