Hi friends! Sharing a new podcast episode this morning with Amanda Nighbert, RD. I watched her TEDx talk and was nodding my head enthusiastically the entire time. THIS is the message that we all need to hear! I love how she promotes a balanced and realistic lifestyle, and focuses on teaching others on how to ditch the “all or nothing” mentality and make long-lasting changes. I LOVED chatting with her for this episode and hope you’ll take the time to listen!
081: What’s sabotaging your health efforts with Amanda Nighbert, RD
Here’s a bit about Amanda if you’re not familiar with her work:
As a registered dietitian and fitness enthusiast, Amanda Nighbert’s passion and purpose is to empower others who want to get back on track and take control of their health.Over the past 18 years, Amanda has gained knowledge and experience that has helped her guide more than 34,000 people in their weight loss and wellness journeys. With her custom LEAN Program, range of coaching services, and multiple shop offerings, she has cultivated a brand that focuses on giving you the leading tools and resources to help you reach the best version of you. Her goal is to provide the most current, cutting edge nutritional techniques that not only provide results but are also sustainable for life.
– Her history with high cholesterol and how she reversed it
– What sabotages most health and fitness efforts
– How to ditch the “all or nothing” mentality
– So much more
Resources from this episode:
Get 15% off Organifi with the code FITNESSISTA. I drink the green juice and red juice pretty much every single day. I also recently tried and loved their protein powder and enjoy the gold powder with warm almond milk at night to wind down.
I love love love the meals from Sakara Life. Use this link and the code XOGINAH for 20% off their meal delivery and clean boutique items. I recommend the beauty chocolates and the dark chocolate granola. My favorite breakfast meal is the goji rose donut!
CBD has changed my life. It helps so much with my anxiety and sense of calmness. You can read more about my experience with CBD here and use the code FITNESSISTA here to get an extra 15% off your first order. (I love the flavored drops!)
Thank you so much for listening and for all of your support with the podcast! Please leave a rating or review if you enjoyed this episode. If you leave a rating, head to this page and you’ll get a little “thank you” gift from me to you.
In an era of increasing dam removals across the country to restore rivers to their natural habitat—the tally stands at more than 1,000 so far—it’s often hard to gain a true before-and-after picture of how these cement blockades have changed their river’s environment. A trio of standup paddleboarders recently went out of their way—a long way—in a multi-year effort to find out.
In early May, adventurers Spencer Lacy, Lance Ostrom and Driy Wybaczynsky headed out as the first team to SUP—self-supporting the trip with a 10-foot raft—from source to sea down 234 miles of Oregon and California’s Klamath River, which is impeded by four dams, all of which are slated for removal in the next few years. Their goal: chronicle the river in its current dammed-up state, and then return in a few years’ time to do it again once they are all removed to see the difference first-hand.
“We wanted to make an environmental statement on this trip,” says Lacy, who is sponsored by Badfish SUP and has several first SUP descents to his credit, but none as calorie-depleting as this one. “Starting in 2023, the section’s four dams are slated for removal in the largest dam removal project in history. One day not too far off we’ll be able to do the same stretch again when the dams are gone and see the river corridor as it begins to return to its natural state.”
Paddlers saw something similar recently when two dams came down on Washington’s Elwha River, in what The New York Times called, “One of the most promising and pure acts of environmental restoration the region and nation have ever seen.” With the removal of the lower, 108-foot-tall Elwha Dam and the upper 210-foot-tall Glines Canyon Dam, the river is now free-flowing for the first time in a century. Built in the early 1900s, before the establishment of Olympic National Park, the two hydroelectric dams had long been barriers to salmon and other fish populations as well as whitewater recreation. Now it runs free from the wilderness backcountry of the Grand Canyon of the Elwha all the way to the Juan De Fuca Strait near Port Angeles, Washington.
Built in 1903 and owned by PacifiCorp, the 125-foot-high Condit Dam on Washington’s White Salmon River also came down in 2012, opening up the lower White Salmon to the more than 40,000 paddlers who use the waterway every year. It was the second tallest dam to be removed in the country, and a milestone for paddlers. “At the time, the removal of Condit was the first major dam removal on a river as popular as the White Salmon,” says American Whitewater’s Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director Thomas O’Keefe.
The Klamath is perhaps even more popular, and, with the removal of four of its dams, will get even more so. In November 2020, the Karuk and Yurok tribes, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, the Klamath River Renewal Corporation and PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, announced an agreement advancing the removal of its four dams. The effort has taken decades of effort by the tribes, conservation organization American Rivers and other partners.
courtesy Spencer Lacy
A revised schedule calls for dam removal to begin in 2023, contingent on a FERC ruling approving transfer of the license and decommissioning. Once removed, the dams will open up new paddling (and fish migration) possibilities in 44 miles of the 234-mile-long waterway that stretches from the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean. It will create classic new sections of paddle-able water for river runners, right alongside its such existing whitewater stalwarts as Class III-IV Ward’s Canyon. “When the dams come out,” says Northwest paddler Bill Cross, “boaters will be able to explore a host of new day-trips and string together outstanding multi-day journeys. The restored Upper Klamath will be one of the West’s great whitewater rivers.”
Spencer Lacy
And what’s good for floaters is good for fish. In a story for outfitter OARS, Tyler Williams, who paddled the Klamath from source to sea in 2009, wrote: “When Iron Gate and the other dams are gone, wild salmon will swim past, perhaps pausing momentarily, before gliding over once-dry boulders to find nearly forgotten spawning sites.”
Over Lacy, Ostrom and Wybaczynsky’s eight-day trip, a sufferfest as much as a scenic one, the trio encountered “some rowdy whitewater, easy-going ripples, four dams and about 15 miles of reservoirs.” Starting just below the Keno Dam, which is not scheduled for removal, they paddled these reservoirs as far as they could, the feat entailing a whopping 13 miles of portaging. To do so, they hauled their small Hyside MiniMe support raft by hand in a portable, makeshift trailer featuring a homemade axle and snap-on Burley wheels.
Spencer Lacy
“Those portages were definitely the hardest part, especially the first five-mile one,” says Ostrom. “I’ve never had my forearms so pumped out in my life from hauling that trailer. There’s nothing more demoralizing than knowing you have five miles to make and only being able to go for for a couple hundred yards before needing a break.”
Still, they persevered, putting up with the gear-hauling hardships to reap the area’s beauty as a reward. “It was lots of paddling and long, long days,” says Lacy. “But there was fantastic scenery, wildlife and camping. Luckily, we kind of like huge days on the river, pain and getting completely sandbagged.”
courtesy Spencer Lacy
Eight days later, they emerged exhausted at the mouth of the river near Klamath, CA, in what Ostrom called the best part of the trip. “It was one of the rawest scenes I’ve ever seen,” he says. “Over 100 sea lions were swimming around hunting salmon and shaking them around in their teeth in seven-foot swell. There was also a massive rip current and a whale just off shore. It was one of those ‘Don’t fuck with Mother Nature but this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen’ moments.”
Spencer Lacy
And as soon as they finished, they couldn’t help but look back upstream, cherishing the moment when they’ll return to document the corridor’s changes.
“We can’t wait to come back and re-do the trip in a few years after the dams are gone and its environment is starting to recover,” says Lacy. “It will be great to enjoy the same stretch in its newfound, free-flowing glory.”
Want to know the best cities in America to slam a cerveza? A recent study by Clever, a real estate data research firm, tallied towns for the top locations to settle down and tap some suds. After some data-driven research and probably a couple of pints, they came up with their list of the top beer cities in the U.S.
The study looked at the 50 most populous metro areas in the U.S. and then compared their number of breweries, density per 100 square miles, and beers and beer styles per brewery.
“We research and report on a variety of topics—including attributes about major cities that might entice people to move there,” says Clever’s lead researcher Francesca Ortegren. “This time we decided to focus on breweries because our team is filled with folks who love beer and visiting breweries when we explore new cities. So, we figured others could benefit from the information as we start to move out of pandemic-related lockdowns.”
In 2020, the pandemic hit America’s $94 billion beer market undoubtedly hard. Approximately 10 million gallons were dumped when kegs in locked-down stadiums and restaurants passed their expiration dates. The industry also faced shortages of both cans and (32-ounce, aluminum) crowlers.
“The can shortage is definitely for real!” says Rich Tucciarone, former head of brewing for Kona Brewing Co., and owner of Mountain Tap Brewery in Steamboat Springs, CO. Tucciarone explains how the pandemic forced the closure or reduced operations of most on-premise restaurants and bars, resulting in off-premise stores seeing huge increases in demand for canned beer, and thus an overall increase in can demand. “Now that things are opening back up, we’re seeing another large spike in demand,” he says. “Add to that labor shortages and shipping delays and it’s tough. I’m ordering way in advance and paying for extra storage space.”
Beer and breweries are coming back
But breweries are rebounding, bracing for what they, and restaurants and bars, hope is another Roaring ’20s of partying. Some are even keeping programs they initiated during the pandemic such as curbside pickup, online ordering and canning. Companies like Dogfish Head in Milton, DE, are even capitalizing on the non-alcoholic boom, with creations like its new Lemon Quest non-alcoholic wheat brew, while others chase the $2 billion hard seltzer boom.
In its report, Clever analyzed publicly available data to rank 50 of America’s most populous metropolitan areas from best to worst when it comes to beer. The weighted rankings evaluated the number of breweries within each metro area; the density of breweries per 100 square miles; the number of beers per brewery; and the number of beer styles per brewery.
In all the study examined 70,067 unique beers, finding the average brewery offers 19 different brews. The six California metro areas in the study collectively boast 423 breweries, or 13 percent of the list’s total. Portland, OR, tallied the most breweries in a single city at 183, or more than seven breweries per 100,000 residents. Nine cities on the list have more than 100 breweries, including Portland; Chicago; Los Angeles; Denver; San Francisco; Philadelphia; New York; Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Indianapolis. Occupying the bottom rung on the suds ladder are Salt Lake City and Riverside, CA, with zero each.
And the drum—or keg—roll, please:
Chones / Shutterstock
5. Los Angeles
Among metro areas in California, Los Angeles leads with 158 breweries. While the City of Angels is often associated with vegan food, New Age wellness culture, and the entertainment industry, its beer culture also shines.
Eagle Rock Brewery RevolutionCourtesy Image
LA Beer Hop cites local brewers such as Eagle Rock, Lincoln Beer Company, and Arts District Brewing among the city’s top offerings. In nearby Long Beach, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing has also earned dozens of awards from the San Diego International Beer Competition, Great American Beer Festival, and World Beer Cup Competition.
Breweries: 158 Average beers per brewery: 20 Average beer styles per brewery: 12
Gang Liu / Shutterstock
4. Philadelphia
Philadelphia has nearly triple the number of breweries compared to the number of delegates at the Constitutional Convention—139 to 55.
Dock Street Brewing Co. Wild KingCourtesy Image
Priding itself on its role in America’s history, it also played a role in the founding of the nation’s beer culture with Dock Street Brewing Co. opening in 1985, one of the country’s first microbreweries. Today, favorites such as Victory, Sly Fox, and Yards have gained a national following.
Breweries: 139 Average beers per brewery: 26 Average beer styles per brewery: 15
Rudy Balasko / Shutterstock
3. Chicago
Chicago has 180 breweries, the second-highest on the list for the Second City. The city prides itself on its tavern culture, honed through 160 years of brewing tradition. In a three-year period five years ago, the region saw 60 new breweries debut.
Half Acre Beer Company Daisy CutterCourtesy Image
Time Out named local breweries Half Acre, Dovetail Brewery, and Goose Island among the city’s best. Movie buffs may certainly recognize Revolution Brewing from its appearance in Drinking Buddies, starring Olivia Wilde and Anna Kendrick.
Breweries: 180 Average beers per brewery: 32 Average beer styles per brewery: 15
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
2. Indianapolis
Indianapolis breweries excel at variety, with an average of 39 brews per brewery—more than any other metro area. Indianapolis’s tourism website promises a “pint for every palate,” with the beer industry fueling more than $1 billion of the state’s overall economy, according to the Brewers of Indiana Guild.
Sun King Brewery Freedom RockCourtesy Image
Along with traditional pubs and tasting rooms, Indianapolis also offers such tasting experiences as Books & Brews. Here you can order a literary-themed beer and browse the in-house used bookstore.
Breweries: 102 Average beers per brewery: 39 Average beer styles per brewery: 20
Can Balcioglu / Shutterstock
1. San Francisco
With an average of six breweries per 100 square miles, the San Francisco metro area has double the density of breweries of the No. 2 metro area on the list.
Anchor Brewing Anchor SteamCourtesy Image
San Francisco is home to Anchor Steam, the brewery that arguably kicked off the nation’s craft beer movement. Now it’s got another 143 other breweries to carry on the tradition.
Breweries: 144 Average beers per brewery: 19 Average beer styles per brewery: 11
This barre and yoga combo class will make you break an awesome sweat in 30 minutes. You can do this workout anywhere; all you need is your own body weight and a mat.
Hi friends! How’s the week going? I hope you’re having a lovely morning. Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments and for sharing in the excitement about our new puppy. It’s been so much fun having her here, and she’s verryyyyy generous with puppy kisses.
For today’s post, I have an all-new workout video for ya. This workout fuses two of my very favorite formats together: vinyasa yoga and barre. I love that yoga gives me the opportunity to stretch and create a mind-body connection, and barre makes me shake and burn in the best possible way. This class is the perfect combination of Zen and sweat, and I hope you love it!
Pin this for a rainy day or the next time you’re looking for a low-impact yet challenging at-home workout. As always, check with a doctor before making any fitness changes. Honor your body and modify as needed.
Hi friends! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Ours was a special one because we got to welcome the newest member of our family.
Meet Maisey.
She’s a mini sheepadoodle and the sweetest, snuggliest, sassiest little goose. Maisey has already made Caro her best friend (Caro is still trying to figure out what the heck is going on) and loves chasing toys, eating, and taking cat naps on the tile at our feet.
Some things about Maisey:
– She enjoys chasing her stuffed bear, squirrel, and dragging her blanket around the house
– She’s already sleeping in our bed
– She also already learned how to ring a bell on the back door when she needs to go out
and she has us all completely in love with her. She’s the perfect addition to our family and we’re all convinced that Bella sent her just for us.
The NBA playoffs are one of the best shows in sports. In more normal times, they’re a two-month marathon featuring a handful of the most athletic people in the world performing at the top of their games, with a lot of money—and a lot of legacy—on the line.
The 2021 playoffs have been a great show, but they’ve also become a brutal war of attrition. Many of the league’s best players have sustained all kinds of injuries after an unprecedented condensed season—which itself followed an unprecedented season interrupted by COVID-19.
This year, the postseason isn’t just about which team will win the NBA Finals. It’s also raising questions about how to run a sports league in a pandemic, why so many players are dropping, and how long it might take them to heal.
The NBA playoffs feel especially marred by the injury bug.
Injuries are a part of every sport, and they’ve affected the NBA playoffs just as much as any other competition. In 2019, the Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors in the finals, and we’ll never know if the outcome would have been different had Golden State’s stars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson not been injured in the latter games of the series.
But injuries in 2021 feel more pervasive. Anthony Davis injured his groin in the fourth game of the first round against the Phoenix Suns, robbing the Los Angeles Lakers of effective play from their superstar center. The Lakers might have been able to overcome that if LeBron James hadn’t been dealing with a bad ankle that made him look like a shell of himself in that same series. For their part, the Suns were able to overcome Chris Paul’s bad shoulder to win that series; Paul has toughed it out and delivered what might be the defining postseason run of his career.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ MVP-caliber center, Joel Embiid, tore his meniscus in the Sixers’ first-round win over the Washington Wizards. The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic had a serious nerve issue in his neck and played through it as the Mavs fell to the Los Angeles Clippers in a seven-game first-round series. Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, another one of the game’s great rising stars, has had to work through an ankle sprain.
By the end of the first round, many of the league’s most important players had sustained injuries. Then the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA’s superteam of the moment, lost two of their Big Three future Hall of Famers, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, to health issues. Now only Kevin Durant remains healthy as the Nets try to find a way around the Milwaukee Bucks in their second-round series. (Harden appeared in Game 5 but does not appear to be at full strength.)
The data shows this postseason has been especially brutal. An ESPN analysis found that even excluding COVID-related absences, more players missed time to injury this year than in any season since at least 2009–10. All-Star players missed 19 percent of possible games this season, the highest rate ever. NBA players, especially the best of them, really are getting hurt more.
Could the NBA’s pandemic-altered schedule be the cause?
The NBA usually finishes its playoffs in mid- or late June. In 2020, the playoffs lasted way beyond that—until Oct. 11—because the league paused from March until the end of July while COVID-19 raged.
The league had no choice but to push back the start of the following season. But it didn’t delay much, and teams were back playing preseason games by mid-December. Teams played a 72-game regular season in less than five months, as opposed to the typical 82-game season in about seven months.
That condensed schedule put an enormous physical burden on the league’s players. They had a shorter offseason, and they had much less recovery time between games than they would get in a normal season. Given the intense schedule, it’s hard to see the increased injuries as just a coincidence.
Money made it happen.
It’s tempting to blame the NBA team owners and commissioner Adam Silver for subjecting players to a meat grinder of a season in order to chase as much profit as possible. But the league’s players wanted to play as much of the 2020-21 season as possible. They viewed it as their best path to protect their own financial well-being.
The players’ union agreed to the 72-game season on the timeline the NBA laid out after the league claimed it would lose between $500 million and $1 billion if it waited until January to start play—losses the players would share along with the owners.
This weird, painful NBA season happened for pretty much the same reason everything in professional sports happens: money. The league wanted to play a compressed schedule to make money. The players agreed to play a compressed schedule, also to make money.
As a result, the 2021 NBA playoffs have turned into a war of attrition. Like every year, the last team standing will win it all. But now it’s not just a sports cliché—it’s a statement of every remaining playoff team’s actual path to victory.
E-bikes fill a ton of different needs, from hauling kids and groceries to helping you tackle steep grades on rough trails. But if throwback aesthetics are your main priority, the new Super73-ZX is definitely worth a look. A revamp of the California brand’s original Z1 model, the ZX features a redesigned frame, vintage styling, and enough oomph to carry you and a passenger up to 28 miles per hour.
The Super73-ZX is an entry-level e-bike, but it’s a significant step up from the Z1. It’s made with a new aluminum alloy frame that’s lighter than steel, allowing for improved range, and it’s larger, which means the bike offers a better fit for taller riders. It can carry up to 325 pounds and it also comes with a new removable battery, so you can charge it up without lugging the whole bike indoors. There’s no suspension on this bike, but the large tires on the 20-inch wheels should soak up some bumps and keep your ride from getting too jarring.
The ZX is built to be as versatile as possible. With its 750-watt motor and thumb throttle, it’s set up as a Class 2 e-bike, which means you can ride it on most public streets and e-bike friendly trails, and you won’t need a motorcycle license (you can also put into Class 1 or Class 3 mode to comply with regulations in your area). Range will vary depending on factors like rider weight and terrain, but Super73 estimates the bike should get anywhere from 25 to 50 miles on a single charge. That should be more than enough juice for a day’s worth of commuting or a fun weekend ride before you need to plug it in again.
The ZX’s vintage aesthetics aren’t just for show; they also make the bike fun and easy to ride. Super73 redesigned the banana-style seat to be even more comfortable, and it’s long enough to cart around a (small) passenger, too. The tall adjustable handlebars create an upright riding position, so cruising on the ZX is almost like riding a moped—minus the whine and pollution of a gas engine.
The ZX also comes with an app that allows you to adjust your ride and download over-the-air software upgrades. You can choose from four riding modes—Eco, Tour, Sport, and Super—to fine-tune the level of boost you get from the motor. An LCD monitor on the handlebars displays your ride mode, and when you enter a destination in the app, it’ll even show turn-by-turn directions as you ride.
If there’s one thing we know about Mark Wahlberg, it’s that he’s an absolute beast in the gym. Whether he’s bulking up for a movie or just passing the time in quarantine, he’s always finding new ways to challenge himself—even training alongside Marines. On June 11, Wahlberg helped open the brand-new F45 Training gym at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. It’s the first-ever franchise gym on military base, and aside from helping cut the ribbon to open the new location (Wahlberg is an investor in the company), he also stuck around to work out with the Marines.
“I’m honored to be able to open up a gym on a military base,” Wahlberg said in a video from the event. “Hopefully we’ll continue to grow this relationship. The goal is to have an F45 studio in every single military installation all over the world.”
After cutting the ribbon with the base’s commander, Colonel Charles B. Dockery, Wahlberg got right to work, jumping into workouts with Marines and their families. F45 workouts are 45-minute group sessions that incorporate elements of circuit training and HIIT with the goal of building functional fitness for the whole body. Within that general framework, though, there’s a ton of variety: Intense cardio, weight training, bodyweight movements, and more are all on the menu.
According to Wahlberg, Friday’s session was a tough one, even for Marines. He called it “the best workout they’re gonna get all week.”
Although most people know him as an actor, Wahlberg has a thriving career as a fitness-focused entrepreneur—and F45 is just one of his ventures. He also launched Performance Inspired, a fitness supplement company devoted to creating clean, natural products for athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all levels. The company offers a full lineup of protein bars, powders, and supplements (as well as accessories and recovery gear), and it recently partnered with pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau to develop a new line of products specifically for golfers.
At Miramar, Wahlberg made it clear he’s interested in doing more than just helping members of the military stay in shape—he wants to help them build careers as well. In his role as an investor, he’s been encouraging F45 to hire veterans at all levels of the company and create opportunities for those who are interested in fitness as a career. In his view, their military experience makes them a great fit.
“Their work ethic, their ability, their understanding of fitness and training and doing it the right way, it’s invaluable,” he said.
Whether you’re training for your first 5K or have lost track of the number of bibs you have, great summer running gear and accessories can make the difference between a strong run and a miserable experience, or even a dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish). So you’ve got your running sneakers, now what?
From clothes to smartwatches, recovery day gear to water bottles, we’ve cut through the clutter to present you with the best summer running gear on the market. Intervals and splits, loops and hills, here we come.
Summer Running Gear That’ll Help You Go the Distance
Fourlaps Bolt Short 5”Courtesy Image
1. Fourlaps Bolt Short 5”
New for Spring/Summer ’21, these shorts are designed to move with you and keep you cool thanks to moisture-wicking technology and laser-cut ventilation holes. Made with four-way stretch fabric, you’ll also appreciate the zippered pocket in the back to stow your essentials when you head out. With 88 percent RE-UP recyclable materials, you can feel good about your purchase for the health of our planet, too.
You came, you saw, you conquered those hills. And now you need a freaking water break. This first hydration system of its kind is a mix of honey with sodium to supercharge your H2O. It speeds up the absorption of key nutrients your body craves. Flavors include Strawberry Lemonade, Pomegranate Passion Fruit, Mango Melon, Black Cherry, Tangerine, and Berry.
If you’re serious about running (or any kind of training, for that matter), you’re serious about sleep. This award-winning 360 Smart Bed with proprietary SleepIQ technology digitally senses your movements throughout the night and adjusts automatically to keep you comfortable. Tech-wise, the algorithm measures sleep time, quality, heart rate and breathing rate, providing your horizontal lair with maximum comfort for your personal needs. Hot sleepers, in particular, will dig the temperature-balancing sleep surface and the smart 3D fabric that’s said to be up to 50 percent more breathable.
Moshi Mythro Air SS21 Bluetooth EarbudsCourtesy Image
4. Moshi Mythro Air SS21 Bluetooth Earbuds
The newest version of these earbuds have standout specs like improved noise isolation, charge time, and Bluetooth range. As someone who’s lost one too many earbuds mid-sprint or on woodsy trails, you’ll appreciate the magnetic clip to help keep the accessory secure. Another noteworthy feature: eight-hour playback. We can hear the marathoners’ hallelujah chorus from here.
Beyond the two superb limited-edition colors, slate and charcoal, there are many more reasons to love these armless sunglasses. For one thing, they stay securely in place and are practically impossible to break. The lack of arms on the glasses also helps relieve discomfort on the side of your head. Other perks you’ll appreciate include nose pads to reduce fogging and side visors to get rid of peripheral glare. They’re so comfortable and attractive they may very well become your go-to pair off the track. The frames are also sustainable, with each pair of Ombraz sunglasses being over 1,384 times carbon-negative. What’s more, 20 mangrove trees are planted through the Ombraz Shade Project for every pair sold.
Columbia M FKT II Windbreaker JacketCourtesy Image
6. Columbia M FKT II Windbreaker Jacket
Beat your best with this high-quality, lightweight jacket that fits snugly for total range of motion. Ideal for trail runners, this windbreaker provides advanced water-and-stain repellency, a zippered security pocket, and reflective details for added visibility.
Durable, collapsible, and visually pleasing, this bottle features a tether attachment so you can sling this 20-ounce bottle onto your backpack or duffel. The twist cap makes it easy to use on a challenging run, and we’ll never argue with dishwasher-safe water bottles. The cap is BPA-free and doesn’t contain phthalates, leads, or glues.
No shame in sporting a headband while you run, especially if this past year convinced you to give up that whole haircut thing. Launched in the spring, this ultra-light headband is crafted from high-performance knitted fabric boasting stellar moisture-wicking properties to keep sweat off your face.
This spring ‘21 innovation has been a long time coming. Offering a tight fit courtesy of a smart design and an intuitive adjustment system, this hydration vest won’t interfere with your run, and the soft mesh absorbs and keeps moisture at bay while you crank out those steps. There’s also the option for plenty of storage with front and back compartments; two soft flasks are included.
These compression shorts will make runs more enjoyable. There’s a T-shirt/towel loop in the back, zipper pocket for valuables, and it’s made of a sweat-wicking blend of polyester and lycra. Protect the family jewels with excellent groin support and soft crotch cup, while you benefit from increased blood flow thanks to the compression fabric.
Breezy and fast-drying, this tank is your go-to for hot, humid runs. It’s part of the brand’s Chennai Collection. The print is designed by Chennai-based textile artist Kashmira Baheti and depicts the vibrancy of the surrounding jungle.
If you’re a recovery fiend, you’ll love giving your days off a boost with this cold therapy training tool that holds up to 105 gallons of water and is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. In addition to helping with muscle recovery and reducing inflammation, you may just find you get a mental boost from a dip in this vertical tub, too. If you’re looking for something at a lower price point, check out these cold therapy wraps.
Looking to improve your ancient treadmill situation or splurge on your first? This tread offers live and on-demand iFIT interactive workouts on a 22″ HD touchscreen. It also has high-tech bells and whistles like automatically adjusting your speed and incline during workouts to match your trainer’s. Bonus: There are Bluetooth capabilities for connecting to headphones as well as heart-rate wearables so you can track your workout’s intensity.
DOGPOUND X Lasso Performance Compression Socks 2.0Courtesy Image
14. DOGPOUND X Lasso Performance Compression Socks 2.0
This recent collaboration has resulted in compression socks like no other with medically backed ankle support and gradient compression to keep your runs at their prime. There’s good reason trainers, orthopedists, and physical therapists love these socks—and once you try a pair from the only socks that provide patented joint support, you’ll understand why. Go ahead, treat yourself to the four-pack for $90.
Lightweight, uber-comfy, and complete with two zippered security pockets, these shorts are part of Stitch Fix’s recently launched 01.Algo expansion capsule, which includes seven new Stitch Fix-exclusive activewear silhouettes. Existing clients can go here to place their order, and new clients can sign up here. Request the 01.Algo in your next Fix (that’s their lingo for customized box of apparel), and get ready to crush your next interval training run.
Fitbit’s latest smartwatch doesn’t disappoint health data junkies—and runners looking to optimize their craft will certainly be no exception. The Sense tracks heart rate, sleep, and activity levels, using the three to give you a daily Stress Management Score for a bigger picture of your health. Runners in particular will prize the built-in GPS to see pace and distance on the watch, and a map of your workout post-run. Another handy integration is Bluetooth pairing so you can listen, store, and play music offline with Deezer and Pandora, and control Spotify.
If you want to go all-out on a sports watch, good luck beating this veritable beast of a device that’s 37 percent thinner and 36 percent lighter than the Suunto 9 Baro. The Peak provides blood oxygen level measurements to help you gauge acclimation levels at higher altitudes, has automatic backlight intensity adjustment that shifts with the conditions, and the watch display reveals your weekly training metrics so you can keep working on those improvements. The GPS watch with weather insights, on-watch navigation capabilities, wrist heart rate, barometer, and more is available in both standard ($569) and titanium models ($699).
We want you to turn your living room into a hotbox. (No, we don’t mean the smoke-filled Camaro from your high school days.) We mean we want you to transform any spare space into your sweat gauntlet in lieu of a gym. As such, we’re putting the spotlight on five pieces of smart home gym equipment that provide personalized attention from virtual trainers, progressive challenges via artificial intelligence and detailed insight thanks to sensors. Best of all, no one will know if (read: when) you drag your dog-tired body into the bathroom and sit in the shower for 45 minutes post-workout. It’s your world.
1. Use AI for Gains: Tonal
Sometimes lifting is all about quality, not quantity. Tonal has two extendable arms that generate up to 200 pounds of resistance, plus a motion-sensor camera hidden in its 42-inch screen to analyze form and offer cues to boost performance. An initial fitness assessment determines your baseline, then AI algorithms take over. “Spotter” mode drops weight if you struggle in the bottom of a chest press, while “Burnout” mode reduces weight one pound at a time at the end of a set of curls, so you can work your biceps to failure.
The full-length reflective surface of Mirror hides an LCD screen controlled by an iOS app. Try a class in more
than 50 disciplines, or connect with a personal trainer on-demand. Using the built-in two-way audio and video, your trainer provides expert feedback, form corrections, and encouragement in real time for $40 a pop—a fraction of what you’d pay for a trainer at the gym. You can even sweat to your own workout playlists via Apple Music.
A true total-body strength workout usually requires multiple sets of weights or a pricey squat rack. Not
so with the space-saving JaxJox connected kettlebell. It adjusts from 12 to 42 pounds in seconds. While you’re swinging, motion sensors track reps, sets, weight, and power, so you can review your “Fitness IQ”—which measures strength progression—in the app. Users can also subscribe to on-demand workouts.
[$229 plus optional $13/month membership, jaxjox.com]
Arena houses a multidirectional cable system and specialty attachments capable of more than 300 exercises, from hamstring curls to woodchops. The portable device uses opposing electro-magnetic fields to generate hundreds of pounds of resistance (same tech that powers electric cars). Motorized resistance technology safely recruits more muscle fibers than traditional strength training, so you get better results in less time.
[$1,995 plus optional $20/month membership, goarena.co]
Solo neighborhood jogs. Treadmill intervals. All-out track sprints. With 32 sensors, Nurvv smart insoles capture all your running idiosyncrasies including cadence, step length, footstrike, pronation and balance. That might not mean much to you, but they indicate efficiency. The app provides tailored training tips and exercises to help fine-tune your technique and avoid injury. Looking to hit sub 7-minute miles? The Pace Coach feature provides target zones for your cadence and step length, with in-run alerts synced to your headphones like “shorten your stride” or “increase your cadence.”
