Nike + iPod = :)

When the iPod started becoming all the rage, I tried using it a few times for group fitness classes. I eventually stopped because one important feature was missing: the ability to pitch the music faster or slower.

The latest news with Apple is that they’re partnering with Nike. The idea is that Nike will sell an accelerometer that is placed inside a specially designed shoe, and a signal is sent to an attachment on the runner’s iPod. Presumably the iPod will record running data which can then be synced on your computer in order to chart progress. (This is so friggin’ cool that it almost makes me want to take up running. Too bad I hate to run.)

What excites me, however, is that the music on the iPod will supposedly be able to adjust its tempo to match the runner’s pace. If Apple goes a step further and allows the tempo to be adjusted manually, the iPod will become HUGE in group fitness classes.

My fingers are crossed.

Ouch, Part 4

The assistant DA called me yesterday. Although a judge decided that my assailant should be admitted to a program where he’ll be given mental health care while in custody, the guy turned it down. It’s official now. We’re definitely going to court.

Right now the date is June 7. assuming the defense attorney doesn’t find a way to delay it. I’m actually looking forward to seeing the assailant again. Apparently it’s normal (according to the assistant DA) to feel this way since the courtroom is a situation where the balance of power is in the victim’s favor.

I’ll keep you guys posted….

Lactic acid – muscles’ friend?

As a group fitness instructor, one of the things I was taught is that lactic acid is bad. More specifically, it builds up in your muscles when you exercise so hard that your muscles are not getting enough oxygen, causing the muscles to burn and fatigue.

If a recent study is correct, poor old lactic acid has been getting a bum rap all this time. Instead of being a muscle waste product, it may in fact be muscle food. The claim is that lactic acid is what glucose gets turned into before getting absorbed by the muscle cells and converted into energy. Furthermore, it may not even be responsible for muscle soreness, as it was originally thought to be.

If this study holds water, it represents a dramatic shift in our understanding of how muscles work… and in how fitness training manuals will be written.

Say what?

All that loud aerobics music certainly isn’t good for my hearing, and all that red wine isn’t good for my liver. Apparently red wine is good for my hearing, though. (I wonder if aerobics music is good for my liver.)

Live longer and better

In what is a bit of advice overkill, an article called “15 Ways to Live Longer” gives you a lengthy but relatively simple checklist on what to focus on in order to ward off the Grim Reaper for as long as possible.

The items I would not have guessed to be on the list:
1) Don’t oversleep
4) Get a pet
5) Get a VAP cholesterol test

The items that involve simple attitude adjustment:
2) Be optimistic
Chill out
12) Laugh a little
14) Meditate

The items that many who try to be healthy seem to know about:
7) Stop smoking
9) Eat your antioxidants
11) Exercise
13) Lose weight
14) Manage stress

And finally, the items we’d all like to achieve for reasons other than longevity:
3) Have more sex
6) Be rich
10) Marry well

Ouch, Part 3

I was warned by the Assistant D.A. that the case probably would not go to trial today, since the defense would do their best to postpone it. (I’m still not clear on the rationale for this.)

Well, sure enough, there was no trial today. On May 16 the defendant will seek admission into some kind of institution which keeps mentally disturbed people in custody and cares for them. If the judge deems him suitable for such a facility, then that’s where he’ll end up. If the judge feels that he’s just a somewhat sane but randomly violent A-hole, then the defense will have bought more time, and the wheels of justice will continue to slowly turn away.