girl next door on exercise ball

The Queen of Stock Photos

Just looking at her, you feel happy, uplifted, somehow better about yourself in that moment.
You don’t immediately register her age (very youthful), her beauty (symmetric), her build (slight), her race (Asian, perhaps mixed). No, she is just the embodiment of happiness, satisfaction, promise. In that instant, her smile makes you feel warm, worthy, safe. Who is she? She’s the girl I call The Queen of Stock Photos. Read More

Woman relaxing after workout at gym

How Much Should I Exercise?

How much should I exercise? What should I eat? What’s my ideal weight? How much should I sleep? We didn’t come with user guides and as more and more people are trying to make healthier lifestyle choices, in the Age of the Internet, we demand answers. The answers we’re looking for aren’t always easy to come by in the thicket of information out there.

At Gigabody, we’re focused on health, and fitness is our passion. So we decided to tackle the first question, “How much should I exercise?” by distilling the best information from around the Web. We hope you’ll use this post as guidance for understanding what the right amount of exercise is for you. Read More

runner holding coffee

How Caffeine Helps with Exercise

Not gonna lie. I love caffeine, and when I learned years ago that caffeine could actually improve exercise, I jumped at the chance to add it to my morning routine. I’m an avid self-tracker and I log all of my exercise, including every single run I take.  Because I am so clearly not a natural runner, I rely on tracking to help me gauge what helps or hinders my performance. Read More

The Joy of Rebounding

I teach trampoline. Let me stop you right away from imagining teenage phenoms flipping and twisting in the rafters, a bounce away from their Olympic aspirations. That’s rarely the situation where I work. Instead, think adults of every age, size and ability, many of whom haven’t had a bounce on a trampoline since they were children, if ever. Read More

My First Trail Race

Today I ran my first ever trail race, and though the path to get me there was bumpy at times — no pun intended, it was totally worth it.

Trail Takeaways

  1. Train on the actual race course or the closest thing to it, especially if it’s different terrain than you’re used to.
  2. Start slow, no matter how great you feel. When you’re in that last stretch and you have the extra energy you conserved, floor it for a strong finish!
  3. If you don’t feel like a “good” runner, Read More

Armour39 Heart Rate Monitor Review

UPDATE: April 2015. DO NOT BUY. Device still does not work, even with a new iPhone. App has never been updated in the App Store.

UPDATE: Nov 24, 2014. DO NOT BUY. Have had continuous problems with this device not pairing and it has been less than 3 months.
Customer service was helpful for the first 3 calls, then basically told me on the 4th call that I was out of luck and should wait for a future (unscheduled) app store update that, if I’m lucky, will fix the issues. I have never had so many problems, and cannot believe they did not offer to replace it, but upon my asking directly, they did not think a replacement would fix the issues. DO NOT BUY.

The Under Armour Armour39 Heart Rate Monitor is an excellent new addition to the heart rate monitor market. It consists of a chest strap and transmitter which pairs with an app on your iPhone or iPod Touch (or can pair with a watch purchased separately). Read More