Read more Gear columns -- latimes.com

April 6, 2009

GEAR

Kettlebells give workouts weight

Five years ago, a serious man named Pavel Tsatsouline, a lean, muscular Russian who listed his former occupation as a physical trainer for Soviet special forces (which I assumed meant KGB), took me through a workout with an odd, low-tech device I'd never seen before called a kettlebell, a dense cast-iron weight, with a handle, that looks like a solid tea pot.

March 30, 2009

GEAR

Yoga gear helps loosen up stiff bodies

"I can't do that," said the 36-year-old woman to my right as I leaned down and touched my toes in a yoga class. "I'm a runner." Such limitations may seem ironic, but they're all too common among seemingly fit athletes: marathoners so tight that they can barely reach their shins, cyclists so fixed in their hunched-over riding position that they can't lie flat -- "like crabs," as one masseuse told me. Flexibility is a key element in performance, and a fun and effective way to get it back is through yoga, which is increasingly popular among the high-VO2-max crowd. Helping the cause are new yoga accessories that can help loosen up any body, athletic or not.

March 9, 2009

GEAR

Folding bicycles travel well

Once the quirky love object of obsessed cyclists who couldn't travel anywhere without getting their ride in, the funky-looking folding bike has morphed into an everyman's transportation solution -- a fast, easy way to get to work and around town. These bikes don't just help you skirt painful airline bike-luggage fees; they collapse in seconds to carry-on size after you've pedaled to the subway, bus or carpool van. And when you get where you have to go, forget about locking the bike to a tree or a railing; just fold it, head up the elevator or stairs and set it quietly in the closet. It's as utilitarian as a jacket or an umbrella -- that you use for a 20-mile workout during the weekend.

February 23, 2009

GEAR

Give exercise hoops a twirl

Truth is, when I planned this review of fitness hoops and attended a 90-minute hooping class in Santa Monica last Sunday, I did not know that hooping had become a giant fitness trend and that Marisa Tomei used it to get in shape for her role as a stripper in the Oscar-nominated film "The Wrestler." But I can tell you that it is a smile-inducing, easy-yet-challenging, sweat-drenching, skill-building core workout for an uncoordinated male, and that when I woke up Monday morning I swear my gut had shrunk by an inch or two. And having seen "The Wrestler," I can also tell you that I recommend the products below to every woman in the universe.

February 9, 2009

GEAR

New spinning bikes get supercharged

The attraction of the bare-bones stationary bikes used in spinning classes has always been that they feel like real bikes, with the same saddles, pedal spacing and body positioning found on race bikes. The newest spinners have the same feel -- but with one big change: They're far from bare bones. Some have program-laden touch-screen monitors; some rock and bob and require balance; others provide sophisticated, downloadable electronic feedback. With enough bells and whistles to please hard-core cyclists and average exercisers alike, these super spin bikes might just make you forget about class.

High-tech elliptical workout machines stand out from the rest

October 27, 2008

GEAR

High-tech elliptical workout machines stand out from the rest

Buying an expensive, all-body elliptical machine -- even cutting-edge models that push the technology envelope like the novel sit-down and multi-mode models tested here -- might seem a bit counterintuitive in the midst of tough economic times. But bull and bear markets don't matter if you think of health as a long-term investment. The four excellent, club-quality machines below, each of which deliver smooth, heart-rate-monitored, arm-and-leg aerobic workouts that burn calories without joint stress, will pay dividends for decades.

September 22, 2008

GEAR

Skateboards catch an innovation wave

With innovative board sports growing -- think snowboarding, wakeboarding, kiteboarding -- it makes sense that the granddaddy of them all wouldn't stand still. Skateboarding, developed in the 1950s among surfers who wanted to "surf the streets" in their spare time, is being influenced by its modern offspring. Novel new boards let you carve asphalt like it's powder, stand up and paddle like you're in Waikiki and twist like, well, nothing I've ever seen.

September 8, 2008

GEAR

Flying discs turn exercise into play

In the 51 years since a company called Wham-O made a plastic saucer and named it Frisbee, we've gotten disc golf, a team disc sport called Ultimate and even an annual World Canine Disc Championship, featuring disc-catching dogs performing jaw-dropping aerial gymnastics. Those dogs are on to something. As you twist your body, whip your arm, then run after and catch a flying disc, you stretch your muscles, strengthen your back, build coordination and burn as much as 200 calories an hour, according to www.fitday.com. It's stealth fitness, masquerading as pure fun, that you can do anywhere at any age. Here are four spins on the concept

August 25, 2008

GEAR

Road bikes relax a little

The mantra was "Comfort = Performance," and the product was radical in 2005: A high- performance endurance road bike for aging baby boomers who rode a lot but didn't want to lean over so much anymore -- such as Specialized President Mike Sinyard, originator of the idea. In less than four years, this simple concept -- that normal folk could ride longer and stronger with a stiff but shock-absorbing frame and handlebars raised a couple of inches -- has swept the industry. The 2009 road-bike lineups of the big brands are dominated by these so-called relaxed-geometry models with upright riding positions. And they're no longer targeted only at big-mile boomers -- because, it turns out, riders of every age like to be comfortable.

June 30, 2008

GEAR

Review: Paddle craft that let you sit down, stand up or pedal your way to fitness

Last Monday morning, I was splashed by a mullet when it leapt at least five feet out of the water in a crazy attempt to fly. I cruised alongside a guy who casually reached down and picked up a Frisbee-sized jellyfish. I stood within four inches of the long, thin beak of a pelican resting on a buoy; it looked at me and yawned. You get a wondrous workout of wind, water and wildlife when you push off into Newport Bay. On a recent day, after lessons from Jim Smiley of Paddle Power, I headed around Balboa Island in sit-down kayaks that let you paddle and pedal, then cruised along on trendy stand-up paddle boards, balancing on two feet like a Venice gondolier. From your shoulders down to the soles of your gripping feet, these innovative paddle craft deliver an all-body, all-sensory workout you won't soon forget.

March 24, 2008

GEAR

Flying on a 5-incher

Five inches. In the mountain-biking world, where the probability of enjoying a breathtaking descent is often measured by the distance your bike's wheels can compress, or "travel," when they hit a big rock, 5 inches of travel is way better than 3 or 4. Although 5 inches typically came on heavy, slow-climbing, 33-pound bikes, advances in suspension design and tubing fabrication have brought big travel to nimble, sub-30-pounders.

March 10, 2008

GEAR

The cool kids? They're playing outside

"How to get the kids off the computer?" is the question for today's parents, who often are alarmed to find themselves more fit than their children. One answer: Give them outdoor sports gear so cool, so innovative, so captivating that it tricks them into running around in the grass or playing on the streets -- if not all day, at least for an hour or two. That'll still leave them plenty of time to rush back in and instant message their friends about it.

October 22, 2007

GEAR

Have jump-rope, will travel

Go on vacation and come back in better shape than when you left? It happened to me last year when I went to northern Spain -- with a jump-rope. Packing more luggage-friendly fitness-per-ounce than any other exercise, skipping rope obliterates calories, rocks your heart rate and does wonders for your agility, posture, balance, reflexes and upper-to-lower body coordination. Always a boxing mainstay, it's increasingly being used as a warmup and tune-up for weightlifters, wrestlers, volleyball players, skaters and swimmers. Remarkably efficient and economical, these unique jump-ropes let you target your home workout to speed, strength and general fitness -- wherever in the world you happen to be.

December 17, 2007

GEAR

Stocking stuffers for athletic set

What to buy the biker/runner/swimmer/backpacker/kayaker/skier who already has all the sport-specific toys he/she will ever need? Preferably something that's functional, has a cool design, is so new that no one's heard of it and, of course, is small enough to slip into a stocking.

December 31, 2007

GEAR

Boring muscle builders? Not here

Every Dec. 31, thousands of people make resolutions to start weight training, only to wake up New Year's Day and remember they can't stand the sight of dumbbells. That's why we made sure that none of the simple, innovative, compact strength products reviewed here looks like one. But don't be fooled: They'll build and tone muscle quite well -- and do it in a fun, functional and flexible way that'll keep your inner Arnold pumped all year long.

February 11, 2008

GEAR

Monitors can go strapless

Love monitoring your heart rate, but hate wearing the tight, uncomfortable transmitter chest strap? You're not alone, as the sudden rise of the strapless heart rate monitor indicates. Popular with walkers and gym rats but viewed skeptically by hard-core athletes for a perceived lack of accuracy and potential danger during cycling (you have to take one hand off the handlebar to get a reading), strapless monitors come in convenient wristwatch and finger-ring form. There's even a breakthrough design that incorporates a chest transmitter into a bra and shirt.

January 14, 2008

GEAR

Go ahead, spin your wheels

Mild weather might make Southern California one of the best places in the country for winter cycling, but the short days and the occasional monsoon blowing in from Alaska mean you still need an indoor trainer. Whether you own a mountain bike or road bike or no bike, the devices below can get you a great cycling workout any time -- night or day, rain or shine.

November 19, 2007

GEAR

Running-shoe designers put function before foam

Runners run through a lot of shoes -- the reason is the foam midsole, which steadily loses its cushioning. Brands are experimenting with models that replace foam with shock-absorbing structures they claim don't degrade as much.

June 4, 2007

GEAR

Roy M. Wallack: With these bikes, easy does it

Although bike riding is an ideal fitness activity for all ages and abilities — doable from home, easy on the joints, free (after buying the bike) — most people don't ride.