FitSugar

Get in Gear: Strider Hydration Waistpack

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:30:00 -0700

This hot weather makes exercising outdoors tough. I used to go for a run and then come back and drink water, but because I'm sweating so much, I need to rehydrate while I workout.

One of my new favorite finds is this water waistpack known as Strider made by Ultimate Direction.

It is a waistpack so obviously you wear it around your waist, and the straps are adjustable so you can get it to fit as snug as you like it. The water bottle fits right into the curve of your lower back and the little zippered pouch rests on your left hip. The small amount of weight from the water bottle pressing on my lower back feels really comfortable.

It comes with a water bottle and the pack is so lightweight, I hardly feel it when I'm running or bike riding. The tiny pouch is 8 inches long, so it's big enough to fit some money, keys, cellphone, and a pack of tissues (or whatever other small items you like to have when exercising outside).

You can order it online from Rei.com for $30. It comes in black, as shown, or sage gray.

Get in Gear: Nathan Speed 4 Water Holder

FitSugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:00:00 -0800

If you're into long-distance running or training for a marathon it's imperative to stay hydrated. Carrying around a huge water bottle can be annoying though, and most hydration waistpacks only hold 20 ounces of water or less.

Check out this Nathan Speed 4 Nutrition Speedbelt ($34.95). It's a long name for a holder that you wear around your waist that houses four, 10-ounce bottles. That means you get 40 ounces of water total, and because the bottles are spread out, you won't feel uneven pressure or strain on your back or hips. The bottles can also be filled up with special electrolyte drinks or carb gels, since long-distance runners need extra calories in order to keep running. I love that you can easily pull the bottles out with no problem, and they're curved so they fit in one hand comfortably. There's also a little pocket in the front for small essentials. The waistbelt is adjustable so you can get a snug fit without it bopping up and down as you run. Order it from teamestrogen.com.

Get in Gear: Nathan QuickDraw Hydration Carrier

FitSugar — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:30:00 -0700

When you're running, it's important to stay hydrated, since you can end up sweating a lot. Waistpacks that hold water bottles are great for biking and hiking when I need to have my hands free, but when I'm running, I love the easy access of a hand held water bottle.

Check out this one made by Nathan. This is the 2008 QuickDraw Plus Hydration Bottle. It's got padded and adjustable straps so you can secure it snugly and comfortably to your hand. The water bottle can hold up to 22 oz. of water and there's a zippered pouch to keep small essentials like keys, tissues or a cell phone.

Another thing that's great about holding a water bottle in your hand is that since it's filled with water, it acts as a weight. I switch back and forth between my left and right hand every minute or so to work both arms equally.

The pink version shown here has a tiny pink ribbon on it so you can show your support for breast cancer awareness. Order this hydration bottle ($16.19) from BikeSomWhere.com.

Want to see what other colors it comes in? Then read more

You can choose Yellow, Black, Green or Lime.

View 4 Photos ›

Get in Gear: Timex Ironman iControl

FitSugar — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:30:00 -0700

For me, exercising while listening to my iPod is an absolute necessity, but I hate dealing with the flying earphone cord and the hard-to-read display while I'm moving fast.

Well, now your iPod woes are over with the unveiling of Timex's Ironman iControl.

The Ironman wrist watch can now wirelessly control your iPod (and also the iPhone, but not the iPod Shuffle). So when running, walking, or hiking you won't have to futz with the controls on your iPod. You can tuck your iPod safely away in your pocket or waistpack and use the watch controls for play/pause, volume up/down, and track forward/back. It's like your own personal remote control.

What else can this watch do? To find out read more

The standard features of the Ironman watch are still available, like: a 50-lap memory recall chronograph, a training log, various timers and alarms and, of course, Indiglo backlighting. It comes in your choice of gray/black, pink, blue, orange or green color schemes, selling for a whopping $125.