Keefer Madness

Introducing the Fitbit Ultra. Now Track Stairs, and More!

// October 4th, 2011 // No Comments » // Health & Fitness, Tech

I’m a big fan of the Fitbit, and have had one clipped to my belt almost daily since I first got mine a little less than two years ago. It’s a great little steps/activity tracker, and I’ve been impressed with their support and willingness to stand behind their product — even with early adopter types like myself.

Yesterday, they announced the new Fitbit Ultra, which I’d call the Fitbit 2.0 or maybe 1.5. It looks like the original model, and is priced at $99 like the original, yet it has some improved (and oft requested features) such as customization of the info showed, a clock and a altimeter. Oh yeah, and it comes in multiple colors.

While it’s not enough of a leap forward to necessitate upgrading from the original, it’s definitely worth it for those of you who don’t have one and/or have been on the fence on getting one.

Introducing the Fitbit Ultra. Now Track Stairs, and More!

Increase Your Water Intake to Accelerate Weight Loss

// August 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Health & Fitness

I can attest to this one working. For the past four weeks, I’ve literally had nothing but water to drink, and an occasional few sips of Gatorade while in the saddle. Since starting drinking 98% nothing but water — not even diet sodas (miss you Coke Zero), I’ve lost 10 pounds in a gradual down slope during the month of August. I haven’t changed diet, and have continued to ride as often as I can.

I plan to keep this up, *at least* through the end of September — the two month mark. Not only does this help with health in terms of weight loss, but also your body’s pH balance.

Increase Your Water Intake to Accelerate Weight Loss

Drink till you drop: A magic elixir is shown to promote weight loss

15 Scientifically Proven — Yet Utterly Simple — Ways to Ride Faster

// June 9th, 2009 // No Comments » // Cycling, Health & Fitness

Here’s a quick simple slideshow/list of ways to help yourself on the bike immensely, just by doing some easy (and mostly common sense) tasks on and off the bicycle:

15 Scientifically Proven — Yet Utterly Simple — Ways to Ride Faster

I Donated Whole Blood Today – How About You?

// August 21st, 2008 // No Comments » // Health & Fitness

I’ve donated whole blood many a times since high school and in college I even did the plasma thing for some extra cash. Recently, I hadn’t really donated. I’d gotten out of the habit as life got busy and in the way. But now I’m trying to get back into the swing of the things. A couple months back, I donated at a local downtown Raleigh and then went in today and did it again today and it’s a good feeling.

Basically every two months, it’s safe to donate whole blood. Granted, everyone can’t do it. But those that can, should. Did you know that a single blood donation can save three lives? The more I thought about that, the more I realized how important it is.

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Hydration – A Delicate Balance

// August 20th, 2008 // No Comments » // Health & Fitness, Personal Crap

I drink a ton of water. I have for awhile. But now with me deep into the road cycling scene, it’s become even more important. It’s amazing how much you sweat in the saddle – no matter the temperature.

But as I found out yesterday after my crit, sometimes too much water can be a detriment. My fainting spell wasn’t from dehydration, as I was still sweating. While it could have been from lack of calories, we suspect too much water yesterday flushed essential salts from my body.

Fast forward to today – bike commuted to and from work and then mowed the lawn and some miscellaneous yard work. So another sweaty day. Well here it is 11:15pm and I’m still not fully hydrated.

It’s tough to keep the right balance. In terms of cycling, I’m still going to err on the side of too much water, but make sure I’m mixing in extra calories and some other liquids on race and hardcore training days.

Cold Weather Training

// January 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // Health & Fitness

These tips are generic enough that they work for cyclists, runners, etc. I’m such a wuss working out outside in the winter, but these are good tips. For me, the balance is finding the right amount of clothing and layers. My feet are always cold, and I don’t think it’s cause of too many layers, etc.

Cold Weather Training

Correlation Between Eating at Home and Losing Weight

// January 14th, 2008 // No Comments » // Health & Fitness, Personal Crap

So, we’ve decided in the New Year we’ll start back to our regimen of eating healthier, which in turn means cooking our own meals at home. This also means lowering our monthly expenses by a significant margin and thus, saving a little money for things we really want to do like travel, upgrading our hobbies (i.e. Ryan wants a new road bike) and work on projects around the house. This weekend we prepared all our meals at home, tried to keep spending to a minimum and had a very low-key weekend. It was very relaxing and a nice change of pace. I think we will really reap the benefits of eliminating the restaurants and fast food dining sooner rather than later!

Setting Cycling Goals

// January 10th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Cycling, Personal Crap

So it’s an all Cycling post morning it seems. I’ve been thinking about this one a lot, as I’m on the trainer and on the spinning bikes on the gym. I’ve been super consistent in the off season, getting a fair amount of miles indoors. Now, with 2008 here, it’s time to up the group riding (especially with my team, the Tricyclists), and set goals for the 2008 season. Last year, I did a mere two crits. The goal this year is to participate in 10 events – whether they are crits, road races or time trials. I’m sure I’ll do a couple of the charity-type events, like the MS Training rides, and other various metric centuries, etc, but I’m not counting them. Those are still just training for the real events.

Set Cycling Goals