fitness

Who doesn’t want firm buttocks and rock hard thighs? That’s the question men everywhere should be asking Reebok after they became the first major shoe manufacturer to bring out their own leg-toning walking shoe, marketed, just like similar shoes before it, only to the ladies. You know the footwear in question--the shoes with the lopsided soles, which force wearers to work a bit harder to walk, toning all the while.

While men should thank Reebok for helping to further tone the gams of the fairer sex, shouldn't we demand equal access in pursuit of a tighter tush?

Weight loss is a money making industry. And where money can be made, gambling will occur. So from pre-wedding bets to company-wide pools, people are putting the forks down to avoid forking over cash. As belly-betting becomes the latest fad in the health care industry, its critical to ensure winners emerge fairly and accurately. The results of March Madness pools aren’t calculated with a slide rule; nor should your weight be measured using the counterweight balance from 1974 in your company’s gym.

What makes a perfect push-up? Depends on how many people are watching. But at least one company thinks they have the answer, and named their company accordingly. The Perfect Pushup has been selling its namesake device for several years: two rotating hand grips that allow a more biomechanically natural exercise. The only problem was that founder Alden Mills (a former Navy SEAL) didn't count on people like us.

What do you buy for an avid cyclist that's already spent a fortune on the latest weightless bike, wireless cycling speaker, and a lifetime supply of yellow Livestrong bracelets? How about a shirt full of water? Camelbak's wearable hydration system is a sleeveless skintight shirt with a 2.1-liter (72-ounce) jug of water secured on your upper back (it should work for running as well).

Most avid runners have their 'song': "Chariots of Fire", "Don't Stop Believing", "Freefalling". But is it the terribly clichéd lyrics or the beat itself that provides inspiration? The Yamaha BodiBeat is part MP3 player, part heart-rate monitor, and part metronome for your workout. The gadget serves as a personal trainer and DJ by selecting songs with the beats per minute necessary to keep you going. Armed with a setlist of Journey and Sublime, and in search of a nine-minute mile, we tested the device on the hills of San Francisco.

The Entertrainer will either get you in shape, or really tick you off. The principle behind the gadget is quite simple: like your mother growing up, if you don't work out hard enough, the Entertrainer will turn off the television.

Will the Wii Fit one day add heart rate to the health metrics it monitors? It's possible; but Nintendo might have to purchase the intellectual property. A patent application filed in early 2007 discusses using a Wii-like controller to monitor body temperature, heart rate, or even blood pressure. The patent was filed by Kent Hsu of Taiwan. Check out the first claim below. How's that for a run-on sentence?

Used to be, a guy could sit comfortably on the couch and, by mashing a few buttons, make onscreen characters do all the hard work. Nintendo changed all that with the Wii. Suddenly, if you wanted to bowl or play tennis or help Mario save the galaxy, you had to stand up (gasp!) and move major muscle groups in a coordinated manner (heresy!). All those years of disciplined training to develop Thumbs of Steel (and Buns of Marshmallow), and Nintendo changes the game.