Nike+
Press
Social Workout Makes Esquire's Top Social Fitness List
A. J. Jacobs, the World's Healthiest Man, has nicely included Social Workout in his recent Esquire magazine round up of top "social fitness" sites. Cool! It's a funny, short read and includes info on the big devices (FitBit, Nike+, Withings), as well as Social Workout, Fitocracy and Stickk.
"There are many good and noble reasons to exercise. It cuts down on stress. Keeps your gut from becoming walrusesque. Helps ensure you'll stick around long enough to see your kids go to the prom. But my main motivation for exercise these days? To humiliate my friend Kevin....
Quantified Self
The Future of Bracelets
David Pogue on the Times reviews the Nike FuelBand and the new-and-improved UP band by Jawbone. His verdict: FuelBand is a "one trick pony," but a pretty slick one. Up aims higher, but falls a bit short of its goals due to a few pesky design flaws. Still, he says, it's "not bad for a rubber band." Our take: The bracelet form factor has arrived, and it's a big deal. People WANT to wear things on their wrists, and the Pogue review marks an inflection point in the slow, inexorable advance of wearable computing and self-quantification. Not to be too melodramatic, or anything....
Online & Video
Semi Automatic
Doh! Time to Throw Away Your Fitbit?
There is a growing crowd of geeky, self-righteous researchers and businesses — like Social Workout — exploring the bleeding edge of personal wellness "tracking," i.e. tracking your every heartbeat, footstep, and sun salutation. One of the basic articles of faith in this field has been that more automation is always better. That is, if a person can carry a fitbit or Nike+ device which eliminates the need for them to manually enter their activities via keyboard, they are more likely to collect the data, and thus benefit from it. Now, however, researcher Anind Dey of Carnegie Mellon has made a surprising finding: Too much automation is counter-productive:
Manual collection of information means the collector is focusing on the data (whenever collection occurs) and has the opportunity for short reflections, and can keep abreast of the data more easily. We have found that completely automating collection removes these opportunities and can actually hinder individuals in keeping track of and making sense of their data.
In short, a bit of manual data entry is actually a good thing. Long live mlogging! (Via Project HealthDesign via Quantified Self.)
Wired Workout
Nike and Apple Now to Monitor Your Heart
Attention quant jocks: Deep in the Nike+ support forums last week, a Nike operative named "Clover" broke big news (big, at least for Nike+ loyalists): A Nike+ compatible heart rate monitor will hit the market on June 1st. Not clear yet how much the device will cost, or why it's taken so long to get to market, or even what it'll look like; but it is clear that this puts the Nike-Apple alliance into even more direct competition with multi-function sports watch makers like Garmin and Polar. It also means that we all have yet another option to consider in the ever expanding universe of digital-gadgets-that-track-us. Heart rate monitor junkies, please send your thoughts.... [Via Apple Insider via MacRumors via Gizmodo!]
Workout Tech
The Adidas miCoach vs. Nike+ Showdown
Gizmodo thinks the Adidas miCoach is better than the Nike+. Highlights of their review:
- "Setting up a miCoach account, charging the pacer unit, and getting everything synced barely takes any time."
- "Unlike Nike+ which integrates into specific music players, miCoach can work with any device-including my ol' Sony MD Walkman."
- "Cheesy as it sounds, Adidas got it right with their miCoach website."
Want more? Read the full review.
Wired Intern
The Quantified College All-Nighter
The Wired Intern returns! Social Workout has outfitted our intern, Juliet B., with four of the top body tracking gizmos. Thus equipped, she plumbs the depths of personal surveillance as she proceeds through her life as a Junior at Fordham University.
It's the night before a midterm paper is due, and I'm feverishly typing away at the computer...and getting up to wash dishes...and pacing back and forth...and getting totally distracted. Just in case you were wondering, here's what all that actually looks like....
Workout Tech
Do You Still Want Tiger Woods In Your Ear?
When you achieve certain personal bests, Nike+ has pre-recorded tracks that come on and congratulate you. For instance, Lance Armstrong says, "This is Lance Armstrong," and then says "good job" or other things along those lines. Other celebrities who deliver their pre-recorded praise via your Nike+ enabled iPod include Joan Benoit Samuelson, Paula Radcliffe, and...Tiger Woods. So far, Nike is standing by Tiger, but they're quietly reducing his presence. Which makes you wonder, as Katie did when she heard Lance instead of Tiger for the first time the other day, are they going to keep Tiger on Nike+? Cause, just saying, maybe it's now more creepy and less encouraging to have Tiger whispering things like "Looking good" in your ear...
Workout
Lance Armstrong Congratulated Me On My Run. Did Tiger Woods Get the Ax From Nike+?
The first time I ran over 5 miles with my Nike+, Tiger's (seductive?) voice came on to congratulate me on my workout. On Saturday, I clocked in with - a very liberal run/walk combo- of 9.3 miles. Upon clicking "End My Workout," Lance Armstrong told me what I great run I had. Well, thank you Lance. Though really, it begged a few alarming questions.
Workout
3 mile run and getting faster...
I am going to shave time off my 5k if it takes me the next year to do. This pace is getting easier for me every time I do it -- 3 miles in 26:45. Not too shabby. Following a 10k intermediate training plan from Nike.
Late Breaking
One Million Runners Running
It's tomorrow: One million people running together, either physically or virtually, in Nike's Human Race. In New York, things kick off at 8:00 A.M. in Prospect Park. Or just strap on your Nike+. Crazily enough, it's not too late to join them. Just in case you hadn't made your Saturday plans yet....
