“Baby Steps” in 2009

Posted by Scott - 12/29/08 at 11:12:21 am

So, you are about to make it through the holidays and you are figuring out your New Year’s resolution. Some of you may be giving up a vice or perhaps joining a gym on January 2nd. There are thousands of documented resolutions, but if yours includes losing weight and getting in shape I have a nickel’s-worth of free advice for you: make your goals reasonable, you don’t have to take over the world in one year; make your goals attainable and in stages. If you’d like to drop 30-40 pounds, don’t simply set that as your total goal and start running; cut that goal up into smaller reachable units. It is much less daunting to say that you’d like to drop 10 pounds in three months, then the whole 30 or 40. This will help keep you motivated and on track, you will have a tighter deadline and see your goal weight getting closer sooner rather than later.

How many times have you been given a task with a distant deadline and then ended up waiting until the last possible moment to do it? I did that all of the time until I finally sat down and wrote out my goals. I decided to go for it in 10 pound increments, and I found it was much easier to do. The next thing I knew, I was halfway to my goals in less time than I thought. I doubled my weight loss goals in the time I originally set. My results were due to hard work and strict discipline, but anything is possible if you keep it realistic. I have seen many friends and family members go full-boar towards a goal as lofty as losing 50 pounds during the year. The first 3 or 4 weeks they really try hard, but when they see that they still have so many pounds to go and they really haven’t made a dent they lose confidence and motivation. This is why if you set those goals in smaller increments you’ll feel great when you reach one and you will be excited to give the next one a go. Baby steps are the best approach. My favorite quote about this subject:

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Best of luck and stay strong.

Scott Fitz

Staying Fit During the Holidays

Posted by Guest - 12/04/08 at 09:12:06 am

Matt Johnson, a professional trainer, is the fitness expert at DietsInReview.com, where he shares insight and guidance for staying fit and living a healthy, active life. DietsInReview.com also provides healthy recipes, weight loss tools, health news and reviews of more than 575 diet plans.

Wow, the holidays are here again and so are the parties and the surplus of food. Staying fit and healthy during this time is a tough task, but this year it is time for a change. Many people often find themselves eating way too much and lounging around for way too long. First off, if you don’t buy it, you won’t eat it. When grocery shopping only buy the foods that you need and leave the unhealthy snacks on the shelf. This will cut your costs and your waist size. Second, try not to eat large meals; eating smaller meals more often allows your body to metabolize and digest the food rather than store it as fat.

Another tough subject is exercising over the holidays. Being lazy and relaxing sounds so good during the break, but do your best to fight the urge. Take the family to the gym, on a walk each day, or to the park. Any physical activity is better than none. Being active for even a few minutes will increase the metabolism and burn some of those extra calories ingested, and will allow the body to burn more calories throughout the day as well. Remember that it is alright to take a break from working out; the body honestly needs it from time to time, but not during a time of buffet breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

Top 10 Ways To Stay Fit During The Holidays

1. Eat smaller portion sizes
2. Be active for at least 30 minutes a day
3. Lay off the junk food
4. Spend more time outside away from the kitchen
5. Don’t leave food out on the counter (out of sight, out of mind)
6. Buy only the foods you absolutely need from the store
7. Take the stairs instead of the elevator while shopping
8. Drink more water (helps fight hunger)
9. Chew gym (helps fight hunger)
10. Refrain from being bored, do what ever it takes to stay active and away from the kitchen.

Gyminee is a Finalist

Posted by Stephen - 11/20/08 at 11:11:12 am

We’re excited to announce that Gyminee is a finalist in Mashable’s Open Web Awards. The Open Web Awards are:

the only multilingual international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Through an online nominating and voting process, the Open Web Awards recognizes and honors the top achievements in 26 categories.

If you think Gyminee is the best fitness site on the web, then please cast your vote right away. Simply enter your email address in the widget below to vote. Thanks!

Put Gyminee on your Windows Vista Sidebar

Posted by JuryDuty - 10/29/08 at 12:10:34 pm

Word on the street is that Gyminee has some cool gadget ideas in the works. But while we’re waiting for those ideas to manifest, here’s a cool do-it-yourself gadget that will put a quick access version of Gyminee on your Windows Vista Desktop.

What this gadget does is simple: it puts the mobile (or iPhone) version of Gyminee on your Windows Vista desktop using a Windows Sidebar gadget. This opens up instant access to entry pages for workouts, food and your BodyTracker. It also lets you track Gymbuddy News and access the Gyminee library of exercises.

So here’s how to set it up:

1. Download the Minibrowser gadget. Install it as you would any other Windows Sidebar gadget. Drag it off the sidebar and let it sit on your desktop.

2. Open Internet Explorer and log into Gyminee. This is especially important if you use another browser because Minibrowser needs your login to be set in Internet Explorer.

3. In the Minibrowser gadget, type http://www.gyminee.com/iphone in the address bar.

4. Now click on the little wrench to customize the gadget. On the General tab, uncheck all the boxes and leave the reload box at “0.” On the Sizes tab, make both sizes 340×320 (for ease of use). Leave the transform width at “0.”

Click “OK” and you should see a new window on your desktop similar to the screenshot here. Cool, huh? Have another great way to access some aspect of Gyminee? Post it below and we may feature it soon!

–JuryDuty

(Christopher Maselli at WritingMomentum.com)

The Gyminee Store is now open!

Posted by derek - 10/22/08 at 08:10:25 am

This is good news for all of you who have been asking us about those Gyminee T-shirts you either read about on the Forums or, in some strange coincidence, saw another Gyminee member wearing at a coffee shop!

Today, we opened our Gyminee Store and loaded it with some  branded t-shirts for both men and women. We wanted to start off simple and based on user feedback, decided on some heavyweight cotton T’s  for the gym by Gildan and some fitted cotton shirts from American Apparel to show your colors outside the club.

We’ll be adding more merchandise to the store over time and if any of you have any suggestions for cool products you’d love to see, send us an email or make a suggestion on the Forums.

Correlation vs. Causation

Posted by Brian - 10/09/08 at 12:10:44 pm

I’ve been slacking on my posting for about a month now due to some personal issues, but am hoping to work my way back into a regular routine and am going to start it with a simple, but nonetheless important note regarding the numerous research studies that people (myself included) throw around to support why we should or should not eat Food A or do Exercise B.  And that note is that correlation is not…repeat…is not the same as causation.

To start this discussion, we need to recognize that we’re all biased.  I’m biased.  You’re biased.  Yes, some people have a more open mind than others, but for someone to say that they are completely unbiased is ludicrous.  And it’s because of this bias that we have a tendency to blindly accept studies that reinforce what we already believe, and immediately dismiss or pick apart the ones that don’t.  So, when we hear of a study(1) that, for instance, finds a correlation between exercise (in this case running) and longevity, we immediately accept that as Gospel.  Why?  Because that’s what we already believe to be true in our minds.  Of course people who exercise live longer, better lives, right?!?

The conclusion that the authors of this particular study draw is that “Vigorous exercise (running) at middle and older ages is associated with reduced disability in later life and a notable survival advantage.”  There’s nothing wrong with that statement - in fact, it’s 100% accurate - but it’s important to note that the authors said they found an “association” (correlation), not proof (causation).  Reread their conclusion.  Nowhere are they claiming they proved a link between exercise and longevity, but today’s mainstream media doesn’t make mention of that distinction when studies like this are blasted across the television, radio, and the internet.  Saying something could, maybe, possibly, perhaps, we think help or hurt you doesn’t have the same impact as, “Want to avoid death?  We’ll tell you how…tonight at 11:00″.

Now, let’s look at another example of correlation.  Below is a famous, far-fetched example used in a letter to the Kansas School Board in January 2005 (2).

There is obviously a correlation between the two sets of data in that, as the number of pirates has decreased over the centuries, the global average temperature has increased.  But I don’t think that anyone would believe that the decreasing number of pirates in the world has actually caused the increase in the global average temperature or that the increase in the temperature has caused a reduction in the number of pirates.  Yet because a scientist or statistician somewhere in the world found a similar correlation between exercise and longevity we immediately think, “Ah-ha!  Finally! Proof!”

The interesting thing about science is that we tend to define it as creating a hypothesis and then proving or disproving that hypothesis.  In reality, hypotheses aren’t really proven.  Experiments either support the data, or disprove the data.  After enough support, we accept the hypothesis as fact, even though we have never proven it to be true.  We just can’t find anything that disproves it (if you’re interested enough - and geeky enough - check out the graph of the results of the COBE Mission as this is probably the most amazing example of an experiment agreeing with a theory (3)).

So, as we look at the two sets of correlating data presented in this post, the first (that exercise is linked to longevity) is one that we’ll still walk away believing because we “know” that to be true, while the second (involving temperatures and pirates) we will continue to “know” is false even though neither study…proved…anything.

Citations:

(1) - Archives of Internal Medicine: Reduced Disability and Mortality Among Aging Runners

(2) - Wikipedia: Flying Spaghetti Monster

(3) - Wikipedia: COBE Mission

The BODiBEAT Has Arrived

Posted by JuryDuty - 09/30/08 at 11:09:02 am

Love to listen to music during your workout, but find yourself jolted when you’re running at a good pace and suddenly Celine Dion breaks in with a slow ballad?

Yamaha has a revolutionary new device you might find intriguing: the Yamaha BODiBEAT. This little MP3 player wraps around your arm and plays music like an iPod. But here’s the rub: It is designed to “intelligently select and play songs that match your footsteps.” In other words, it will automatically create a playlist of songs that matches your running tempo. Or, if you desire, you can pre-program the device with interval workouts to keep you on pace. It even comes with thousands of preloaded electronic mixes.

Other features include distance tracking, time tracking, pace tracking and a heart-rate monitor. There are also several modes including a fitness mode (so you can work out at 70% of your max heart rate, for instance), a training mode (with predetermined targets for you to reach), and a free workout mode (where BODiBEAT just matches your pace).

While we haven’t yet tried the BodiBeat, it looks promising. We do wish it were an iPod add-on instead of a stand-alone player, and it should have been created with much more storage. Retail is $299.95 for the 512mb flash device. It plays MP3, WOV, ACC and other DRM-free formats.

–JuryDuty

(Christopher Maselli at WritingMomentum.com)

Nutrition and Workout Tracking Improvements

Posted by Stephen - 09/18/08 at 09:09:31 am

A handful of improvements have been made to both the nutrition and the workout tracking features of Gyminee. Improvements can be seen on both the PRO and the non-PRO side of things. Here’s a quick breakdown of new stuff.

• Better Time-Tracking: Back in the old days when you did some cardio and wanted to track it on Gyminee, you couldn’t enter hours, minutes, AND seconds. You could only enter a value and then select between hours, minutes, or seconds. Now, when you are tracking your cardio exercises you are able to enter your performance time more accurately using a compound HH:MM:SS field.
• Editable Food Log: Many of you have requested this feature, and now those requests have been answered. Your Food Log shows you what foods, and how much of each, you have eaten for a given day. The only problem was to change how many servings you had eaten you had to remove the food, search for it, and then add it again (quite a hassle). Now, clicking on the number of servings will allow you to quickly modify the amount you have eaten.
• Meal Planner & Grocery List Improvements: You have to be a Gyminee PRO member to enjoy these changes. The Meal Planner is a great tool that allows you to plan what you eat ahead of time to make sure you’re going to hit your goals each day. Before, the Meal Planner showed the amount of calories, fat, protein and carbs that were planned. Now fiber, cholesterol, sodium and potassium are shown as well! After planning out their meals, PRO users have a Grocery List that they can take to the store with them. Before, this grocery list allowed configuration of the ending date for the planned foods they wanted to see. Now, PRO users can configure both the starting date and the ending date.

Development Update

Posted by Stephen - 09/10/08 at 11:09:56 pm

There have been a handful of behind-the-scenes improvements to Gyminee that I would like to share. Many small improvements have been made (the type of stuff that many users wouldn’t notice), but also a handful that are worth pointing out.

• New Exercise Search: Until now, there hasn’t been an easy way to track individual exercises or to easily find the exercises you are looking for. A new search field has been added right at the top of your Workout Log that will allow you to search for, and then track individual exercises. This makes it much easier to track that random day where you played tennis or went for a swim, instead of your normal workout routine.
• Prettier URLs for Users: I’m sure only fellow geeks will appreciate this one, but I know there are some of you out there  The old profile links looked like “gyminee.com/locker_room/43592″ (not very pretty). The new profile links look like “gyminee.com/locker_room/stephenb” - a link you can be proud to show your friends.
• Total Weight Change Shows %: This is one that only Gyminee PRO users will see (maybe it’s time to upgrade?). On your Locker Room, you will see your grades and your Total Weight Change, which is nothing new, but now your Total Weight Change is given as a percentage, along with the normal lbs/kg. I must admit, it’s interesting to know that there is 2.13% less of me here than there was when I started using Gyminee. 
• View All Posts by a Forum User: If you’re a Gyminee Forum user, you may have noticed that the text that shows how many posts have been made by a particular user is now a link. Clicking this link will show all the posts that user has made, and can be a great way to learn some interesting health and fitness tips from your favorite users.
• Of course, a significant amount of effort continually goes towards fixing small bugs and making Gyminee run faster and more smoothly. It’s not a feature that you’ll see, but it’s still one to appreciate.

Fitness Deals—Part 1: Local Deals

Posted by JuryDuty - 08/27/08 at 01:08:12 pm

Gyminee members love a good deal. It’s easy to “go Pro” when it only costs $5/month.

You can find great deals on exercise equipment you use, too. You should rarely have to pay full price if you do your homework. Here are the best places to find new and used gym items locally at bargain basement prices:

• Garage Sales—Never overlook the bargains you’ll find from your neighbors. Anyone who hits the pavement on Saturday morning will tell you that there are countless elliptical machines, steppers and other popular equipment still in perfect shape, regardless of the owner’s New Years’ Resolutions. And the price is often the best you’ll find. Earlier this year, I happened upon a $350 recumbent bike in like-new condition for $25. Believe me when I say I’ve gotten my $25 out of it!
• Local Resell Shops—Don’t forget to visit local resale shops like Play It Again Sports for good deals on used equipment. From free weights to gear for specific sports, this is an easy way to pick up a good item for a good price when you need it quickly.
• Coupons—Don’t underestimate the power of coupons or other discounts when shopping locally. GNC offers a 20% discount to Gold Card members on the first week of each month. Energy bars are regularly on sale at drugstores like CVS or Walgreens and those sales can be stacked with coupons.
• “Secret Sales”—Finally, if you want to sign up for a national gym, keep an eye out for “secret sales.” Many larger local businesses have established relationships with gyms to offer their employees discounts—you may be eligible for one and not even know it. Other times you can find deals offered to current members who refer friends. And a couple times a year, Costco offers a 2-year pass to 24 Hour Fitness (All Sports clubs) for $289. That’s $12/month, which is hard to beat.

In Part 2, we’ll look at places to find great deals online.

What are some of the best local fitness deals you’ve come across?

–JuryDuty

(Christopher Maselli at WritingMomentum.com)

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