Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Dr. James Levine and his colleagues at the Mayo Clinic are testing workstations that allow you to stand at a computer and walk on the attached treadmill while you work. If the speed is set to something like 1.0 MPH, he’s found that you can burn an extra 100 calories per hour without losing your balance or being too distracted from work.

• USA Today – Researcher sees future where people walk at work

Other fit-at-work innovations they’re experimenting with include a carpeted track around the workspace to encourage walking and “a hockey net on the wall” so colleagues can play with something while talking to Levine. I get the impression that the Mayo Clinic is a fun place to work.

Of course, there’s no commercial product like these treadmill workstations available yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see one in a few years. It’s also not too hard to rig something like this yourself if your employer doesn’t object—I’d suggest leaving the hockey net out of your proposal, though.

[via Engadget]

If you are looking to mix up your workout a little bit, check this out:

• About.com – Workout Center – by Paige Waehner

They have a huge selection of different workouts you can do complete with pictures and descriptions. I could have really used this when I bought that big Bosu ball and had no clue what to do with it. I got sick of the video really quickly and could have used the workouts that she has on there.

When I work out with Maya, some yoga poses she gives me are difficult for me to perform. It doesn’t help matters that Maya is a perfect computer generated woman who never trips or loses her balance. Here’s a story about a yoga instructor that I could actually warm up to:

• MSNBC – Plus-sized yoga offers new twist on old practice – Associated Press

Every day, I ride past a yoga studio. In the evenings, the parking lot is packed. I wonder if the classes have something more than exercise videos. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel comfortable enough to go into that studio.

I feel like I get a good workout when I can play on the medium level of DDR. This kid amazes me!

• DDR Juggler

I have no idea who this kid is or where he lives. Penn & Teller should hunt him down and feature him in their act in Vegas.

Via: Engadget – You’re not really any good at Dance Dance Revolution until you can play while juggling

• Boing Boing – High-speed Dance Dance Revolution kid juggling three pins

I’ve still been thinking about getting a personal trainer. The more I learn about exercise, the less I’m willing to get a personal trainer. The more I go to the gym and see the weird exercises that the personal trainers make their clients do, the less I’m willing to spend my money on one. I’m looking for someone who will tell me what I have to do to finish a 5K near the front of the pack. How do I find one?

• About.com – Choosing a Personal Trainer – By Paige Waehner

This article gives me a good idea of what to look for, but the most important piece of advice she gives is, “Get a referral from a friend who’s had success in reaching their goals with a personal trainer.” That’s the position I’m in now. I don’t know anyone who has hired a personal trainer and really liked them. I’m back to square one…

The only way to learn how to run faster is to run faster. There is no other way around it. You can talk about lactate thresholds and VO2 Max all you want, but you won’t get any faster unless you practice running faster.

When I first started running, I thought that I would learn how to run faster by slowly increasing my speed on the treadmill. I was regularly running at 4.0 mph. I thought next week, I would run at 4.1 mph every day. The week after that I would increase it to 4.2.

That plan lasted one week and a day. (more…)

After obsessing over those 2 minutes 24 seconds for the last couple of weeks, I had forgotten about the reasons that I love to run. It took this article to snap me back to the reason I jump on the treadmill every day.

• UU World – Exercise as Spiritual Play – by Lisa Watts

Although I received this via my Unitarian Universalist magazine, this isn’t really a religious article and I believe it would apply to everyone.

I hadn’t heard anything about this game for a while, so it’s nice to know they are still working on it.

• Gamespot – EyeToy: Kinetic Hands-On Review

Based on the review, I am a little disconcerted by the idea that the trainer might be too vocal. I hope they have an option to turn the voice off if I want to. That really helped Yourself! Fitness last longer for me. Turning off Maya’s voice and listening to the ocean waves was a lot more bearable after exercising with her for a few months.

I have been waiting for this game for so long that I probably will have a Playstation by the time it comes out. The Xbox is really cool, but there are just more things available for Playstation. I guess I’ll start saving my pennies.

Via: DDR4Health

Today is the last day of April. Maybe you got the treadmill for Christmas. Maybe it was part of your New Year’s Resolution. Whatever made you purchase it four months ago, you look at the thing now and it’s covered in dust and you haven’t folded down the tread for weeks. Here’s an article to spice things up:

• LA Times – Treadmill going nowhere? Mix it up – by John Briley, Washington Post

My favorite thing to do while on the treadmill is to watch movies or television shows on DVD. Stopping a movie halfway through is a guaranteed way to get me on the treadmill the next morning. Having a new movie that I’m excited to see is another.

I like to mix up my workout routines with changes in speed or incline. Interval and hill workouts are the best to build speed. Download my Treadmill Workout Spreadsheet for ideas on how to change your workout intensity.

Via: SportsGeezer

Interested in a high tech game of tag? Here’s something fun for you.

• Pac Manhattan

Their description of the game is as follows:

Pac-Manhattan is a large-scale urban game that utilizes the New York City grid to recreate the 1980’s video game sensation Pac-Man. This analog version of Pac-man is being developed in NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications graduate program, in order to explore what happens when games are removed from their “little world” of tabletops, televisions and computers and placed in the larger “real world” of street corners, and cities.

A player dressed as Pac-man will run around the Washington square park area of Manhattan while attempting to collect all of the virtual “dots” that run the length of the streets. Four players dressed as the ghosts Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde will attempt to catch Pac-man before all of the dots are collected.

Using cell-phone contact, Wi-Fi internet connections, and custom software designed by the Pac-Manhattan team, Pac-man and the ghosts will be tracked from a central location and their progress will be broadcast over the internet for viewers from around the world.

Via: Fitness News and CNet