20 Minute Fitness

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Why Bruce Smith Built The Peloton For Rowing Hydrow - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #072 Apr 04, 2019

Show notes

This week on the 'Why I Built This' mini series, Bruce Smith, a Canadian rower & entrepreneur from Boston.

Bruce has devoted pretty much his whole life to rowing. He has won reputable competitions, coached a US team to a Bronze medal at the 2015 World Rowing Championships, and was the former Executive Director of Community Rowing in Boston. Today Bruce is on a mission to provide everyday people with a magical experience of being on real water within the comfort of their homes via a beautiful machine, Hydrow.

Listen to this week's episode to learn everything from A to Z about rowing and get a sneak peak into how Bruce is turning Hydrow into the Peloton for rowing.

Three Things You Will Learn

1) Why Rowing Is The Best Workout Of All

Going for a spin class is of course a good enough exercise. But why would you go for good enough instead of the best? Rowing is the absolute full-body training that uses 86% of your muscles, everything from your legs to your arms and even your core.

On top of this it is also an amazing team sport that requires you to be in complete sync with 7 other people in your boat. Humans are naturally wired to like being in sync. For us this is a genuine way of connecting with others. Hence, rowing is not simply good for your physical health, but it also delivers great psychological benefits.Press play to find out more about the science behind rowing and why you'll enjoy it even more with Hydrow!

2) Behind The Scenes of Hydrow's Live Outdoor Reality

If you haven't heard of Live Outdoor Reality yet, it's about time as it might just be the next big fitness trend coming our way. The first fitness equipment that uses LOR is Hydrow.Hydrow basically teleports you to an outdoor water and with an opportunity to join in real-time workouts coached by professional rowers. Sounds like magic, but all it really takes is a talented camera crew, a very dedicated team, and some charismatic rower instructors. And of course, Hydrow.

Tune in to hear all about the sneak peaks of capturing & bringing the magical experience of outdoors rowing to your living room!

3) The Future of Fitness & Hydrow

Hydrow is a very new concept that brings a real first-of-its-kind experience to its users. This was also recognized by the health & fitness community, as they sold out all their pre-orders in just a matter of minutes. So Hydrow's success has definitely been great so far, but Bruce and his team are not planning to slow down on innovation anytime soon.

The next big step for Hydrow is the introduction of Augmented Reality. Listen on to hear about Bruce's 5-year AR vision of looking over your shoulder and seeing the person you're rowing with!

How Technology Can Make Your Workouts Fun - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #071 Mar 28, 2019

Show notes

This week on the 20 Minute Fitness podcast we're making sure that everyone out there knows that exercising doesn't always have to be boring. Charlie will discuss gamification and walk us through the most exciting innovations that can make your workouts fun. As always, you'll hear about more accessible options. And we'll also touch the sky with more complex equipment that use VR to transfer you into an alternative reality. Listen to this week's episode and get ready to have some fun with us!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) The Exciting Running Apps

Of course there're some people out there, who generally enjoy running and just like to take in the nature around them. But most of us really wouldn't mind some sort of distraction. If you belong to this latter group, there're a couple of apps, which you should download right now.

The first one is Zombies, Run!. This fun little app will put the faith of humanity into your hands via assigning you missions that can lead to saving one of humanity's last output. Trust me, running faster will be a no brainer when zombies are chasing after your.

Another great one is CARROT Fit, which assigns you a challenge to turn "CARROT" into a healthy and fit individual. With it's unique and funny exercise names and sarcastic humor, you won't dare to stop during your 7-min workouts.

Lastly, Run An Empire is built along similar lines as Zombies, Run!. Start in the Stone Age and run until the Space Age to build a stronger empire than any of your rivals! Press play and learn more about the apps now!

2) Join A Group Workout At Home

Who says that you can't have a fun group workout in the comfort of your own home? Well, the guys behind Conbody surely don't. Conbody is an online military style workout platform that offers you a variety of exercises for only $5/month. Conbody was founded by Coss Marte, and ex-con who is not only reforming his own life for the better, but also gives other ex-cons the opportunity to do so by employing them. Besides the good cause, Conbody's other advantage lies within its killer, but also fun 26-min long workouts.

Listen on to learn more about what you get for your subscription fee!

3) Everything VR

Talking about gamification and not mentioning VR would be quite outrageous, right? Well, here it is in the form of two very new and very exciting innovations. For starters, we have Black Box VR, the first fully immersive VR gym experience.

A truly unique innovation built by the guys behind bodybuilding.com. In the Black Box VR experience, you become a hero and your body becomes the controller. Using hands-free VR controllers and resistance straps, each of your moves, or attacks in the game, will be initiated by various resistance exercises. And you have one and only overarching goal, which is to destroy the enemy crystals and become the winner.

To enjoy Black Box VR, you'll have to leave your home and go to one of their physical locations. But if you'd prefer a VR training at home, ICAROS will be your favorite choice. ICAROS, a technology that mixes health-science & gaming, will let you fly through space and race against other users. While using the equipment, you'll engage in 3D movements and not only have fun, but also work on your core & upper body. Press play and learn more about the crazy fun workouts Black Box VR & ICAROS have on the menu for you!

Why Matteo Franceschetti Built Eight The Game Changers In Smart Sleep - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #070 Mar 22, 2019

Show notes

This week on the 20 Minute Fitness podcast we have the founder of another Y-Combinator startup, who was not afraid to dream big and bring some real innovation to the sleep industry. Matteo Franceschetti is an Italian entrepreneur, who moved to New York a while ago and co-founded Eight Sleep in 2015. While Matteo is currently at the forefront of innovation in smart personalized sleep with Eight Sleep, he had not always been one of those with an excellent sleep routine.

Listen to today's episode and find out how Matteo shifted from being the typical worked-up entrepreneur to building a company that is determined to improve your sleep performance with cutting-edge technology!

But First A Little Surprise To Our Listeners...

The Eight guys were so kind that they didn't only share the story of their latest innovation, The Pod, but also decided to give us a promo code. So if you're looking to improve your sleep performance and liked what you heard about The Pod, today is your lucky day.Simply head over to https://eightsleep.com/ and use the promo code 20FITNESS for $150 OFF your Pod order and enjoy a free mattress removal and Pod setup!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) Everything About The Pod From A-Z

Eight Sleep has only been around for a couple of years, but they already made a name for themselves with their amazing products. The latest of which is The Pod. The Pod is an all-in-one innovative sleep solution, a bed that adjusts its temperature throughout the night. This way enhancing the natural temperature changes in your body and improving your sleep performance.

Press play to learn more about The Pod, how it came to be and why it's the ultimate device you should turn to for maximizing your sleep fitness!

2) Eight Sleep & Its Comprehensive Sleep Solutions

As mentioned earlier, Matteo had also struggled with sleep before, but he simple couldn't find a solution to his issues. Which is exactly why he decided to make a move, dive into the science behind sleep and build a solution himself. This is how Eight Sleep was born, the very first company that provides both comfort and data and also helps in improving the user's sleep.Today Eight has the most comprehensive sleep solutions fueled by scientific research and innovative technology. Tune in to find out more!

3) The Three Pillars Of Health & Sleep Hygiene

Health has three main pillars: nutrition, exercise and sleep. While the first two tend to be common sense. the third one, sleep, unfortunately still lacks the necessary attention. However, Matteo and the team behind Eight are determined to change this. In this week's episode, besides the story of Eight, Matteo also shares some of his great advice for improving your sleep starting from the very basics. Listen on and learn the tricks & tips of a good night sleep from consistency to what you should and shouldn't drink before bed!

How Technology Can Help To Measure Your Body Fat Percentage - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #069 Mar 14, 2019

Show notes

On today's 20 Minute Fitness episode we'll dive right into a very useful and key indicator of your health & fitness, which is body fat percentage. After laying down the basis of what your body fat percentage is and why it is superior to, for instance, BMI, Charlie gets into how you can actually measure it. You'll learn about all sorts of methods, from more basics with greater margin of error to very futuristic and much more accurate ones. So press play now!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) The Simple Ways Of Measuring Your Body Fat Percentage

If you think that body fat percentage can only be calculated with super high-tech gadgets, you're wrong. There is a method that is accessible to virtually anyone with a measuring tape and an online calculator. Simply head to a website with a calculator, such as active.com, plug in your body data and let the magic happen. Now of course the downside of this method is the element of human error.

Getting a bit more techy and stepping up on the ladder of accuracy, you can download Body Barista from the App Store. This app tracks your body composition and muscle groups through the phone's camera using a patented technology. Listen to this week's episode to learn how Body Barista works and achieves its ± 5% accuracy!

2) The Handheld Devices

There are several devices out in the market, which use more scientific techniques to calculate your body fat percentage. One of the most well-known ones is the Omron Handheld Body Fat Analyzer. This very compact and easy-to-use device uses Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis to give feedback on your body composition. While it has many advantages, like its portability and low cost, this device has also been criticized for its low accuracy.

Another gadget that is built on a similar concept is the Skulpt Scanner. The Skulpt Scanner was founded by a neurologist at Harvard Medical School, who originally aimed at building a solution to track the progress of his patients with muscle disorders. So he built a device that uses Electrical Impedance Myography, which later on proved to be an effective method for everyday people to track their health & fitness.

Press play and find out more about both Omron & Skulpt and which one has been found to be more effective according to users!

3) The Future Of Tracking Your Body Fat Percentage

Lastly we arrived to a device that's more technical, quite futuristic and definitely has greater accuracy. ShapeScale is a first-of-its-kind 3D scanning body scale that tracks and visualizes the user's body composition. ShapeScale uses volume and weight measurements to calculate not only your overall, but also your localized body fat percentages.

Besides the detailed and accurate feedback, you also get access to your interactive and photorealistic 3D avatar and various cool features. These include the Heat Map, which uses color coding to show where you’ve been losing fat and/or gaining muscles, and a lot more...Tune in to hear all about the technology behind ShapeScale and what other features this magical device has to offer!

Why Jenn Pattee Founded The Future Of Group Workouts Public Recreation - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #068 Mar 07, 2019

Show notes

This week on the 'Why I Built This' mini series we're bringing you a local guest from San Francisco who stands really close to our hearts. Jenn Pattee, who had not always been a health & fitness professional, is the founder of Public Recreation. If someone wanted to describe Public Recreation in a few words, they would probably say 'it's a fun, entirely outdoors workout group at an affordable rate'. But the truth is that it is so much more than that...

Listen to this week's episode to hear all about Jenn's story from being a designer at Apple, to starting a real revolution in the health & fitness industry. Learn about Public Recreation, a workout group that really feels like a community!

But First Little Surprise To Our SF Listeners...

Public Recreation’s new Ferry Building location, just across the street from it, opens in 2 weeks on March 19th. They are offering an insider deal to our listeners, 3 months of unlimited classes for $90. Normally it would cost $180... So there you go! Just go to publicrecreation.com/shape to sign up. It’s only valid until March 10 though, so hop to it!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) The Benefits Of Outdoors Workouts

Exercising out in the wild can sound a bit intimidating at first. But if you are brave enough to take the first step and leave the "safe environment" that is a gym, you'll shortly see great rewards. When you're doing an outdoors workout, you gain skills and use muscles that you wouldn't necessarily be able to gain and use in the gym. Tune in to learn about the benefits outdoors workouts have and how you can hack the city to become your "free gym".

2) The Story Of Public Recreation

Jenn has one of the most exciting career stories to share. She has gone from politics to design and finally when she realized that the most important thing from her life, taking care of her health & fitness, was missing she decided to change.

Her first business in the fitness space, which was also built around outdoors training, inspired Public Recreation. However before getting to what it is today, Jenn and the team went through a number of ideas, such as 'outdoors fitness furniture design' and 'subscription for a box of outdoors workout equipment'.

Press play to hear Jenn's story from getting chased off public spaces in San Francisco by security guards to Public Recreation!

3) Why You Won't Miss A Single Class At Public Recreation

There are so many workout groups out there and all give you kind of the same: burning some calories with a group of strangers. But there's one exception, Public Recreation. And the main difference between Public Recreation and the others is not the fact that it's outdoors, but that it's more than just a workout group. Public Recreation is a real community that won't just get you fit, but also introduce you to your local neighborhood and the people living there.

Listen on to hear how Public Recreation is using its power of community to ensure that you never press that snooze button on your alarm to skip a workout again!

How Technology Can Help You Swim Faster Than Ever Before - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #067 Feb 28, 2019

Show notes

This week on the 20 Minute Fitness podcast we'll push you into the pool and take you for a swim. During the swim Charlie will introduce you to all sorts of gadgets that can coach you under water. So by the end of the episode, you'll be able to swim faster than before.Listen to this week's episode to learn about the tech that can turn you into a pro athlete in the pool!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) How To Become A Better Swimmer At A Low Cost

Hiring a swim instructor is just like a personal trainer. Expensive and time-consuming. But luckily, there are other cheaper solutions out there. The Finis Tempo Trainer is a waterproof device that secures beneath your swim cap and transmits an audible tempo beep. It has various modes that will help you to become a more efficient swimmer. But if you're looking for something more comprehensive that will focus on your efforts not only in, but also out of the water, MySwimPro is going to be your guy. This app, which can connect to your smart watch, will provide you with fully customized training plans and guided workouts that will ultimately improve your endurance and speed in the water.

Tune in to hear how both the Finis Tempo Trainer and MySwimPro can become trainers for swimmers of all levels!

2) Wearables That Are Made For Underwater

Normally you might be like 'Uhm, is this smartwatch waterproof?'. Well the Swimovate PoolMateHR and the Moove Now definitely are! The PoolMateHR that comes with a pod and a chest belt is designed to accurately measure your HR while in the water. The watch displays your HR in real-time, but you can get a much more detailed analysis of your swimming style and technique after you're out of the water. While PoolMateHR is purely focused on swimming, Moov's Now is a multifunctional wearable that you can also use for running, cycling and boxing. When it comes to the water, it uses 3D motion sensor technology to track and analyze your movements. Thanks to the 3D sensor technology Moov Now is able to distinguish between all 4 types of strokes and provide detailed stats on each lap you've taken.

Press play to learn how Moov Now can help you improve your turning time and optimize your breathing!

3) The First Real-Time Swim Analyzer

Seeing your HR real-time is not that outstanding, but getting feedback on your performance during the swim is. Even though we're already used to this in most other sports, like running or cycling, for some reasons there hasn't been a device developed that lets swimmers enjoy the same feature too. But this is soon to be changed by SwimAR "a holographic heads up display for swimmers that attaches to a regular pair of goggles". With SwimAR's cutting edge technology, swimmers will be able to see their performance metrics without having to get out of the water.

Listen to this week's episode to hear all about SwimAR and how it's planning to revolutionize the world of swimming.

Why Julian Jagtenberg Founded Somnox A Sleep Robot - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #066 Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

This week we have the pleasure to introduce you to a very ambitious and knowledgable young engineer from the Netherlands. Julian who knows the ins and outs of sleep has started to work on Somnox, the world's first sleep robot about 5 years ago. Today he shares all he's learnt about sleeping patterns and the reasons that cause sleeping issues during these 5 years of trying to build the best possible solution to insomnia.

Listen on to hear how a simple university project has grown into Somnox, a product that has the potential to improve the sleep of millions worldwide!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) The Development of Somnox

Julian has always been fascinated by robotics. However, the projects that he had worked on before didn't give him the full satisfaction, as he sort of felt that they had no real purpose. Therefore, he decided to build something that could tackle the issue of many people around the world, including her mom, which was insomnia. He started to work on the project with his university mates first and went through a number of iterations.

Press play and listen to the exciting evolution of Somnox from the size of a big dog to its much smaller current form of a pillow!

2) Somnox Is Not Something But Someone

The sleep industry has been booming in the past couple of years. We have seen everything from gravity blankets to sleep trackers and smart mattresses. But Somnox is definitely something new. It's the first-of-its-kind sleep robot that combines breath simulation with specific relaxing sounds to help you sleep faster, longer and better.

In today's episode you can learn about how Julian and his team are trying to increase Somnox's effectiveness by creating a feeling of affection between the user and the robot.

3) How To Tackle The World's "Sleep Crisis"

Julian believes that the increasing popularity and development of the sleep market will not slow down anytime soon. He definitely sees a stable role for Somnox in the everyday lives of people. However, he also thinks that the current state of sleeping issues is so big that it'll require a whole ecosystem of innovative companies to solve them for the long run.
Tune in to hear about how Julian sees the future of Somnox and the sleep industry as a whole!

How Technology Can Introduce You To Mindfulness - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #065 Feb 14, 2019

Show notes

Today's 20 Minute Fitness episode is all about mindfulness. After Charlie discusses the basics of mindfulness and its benefits, he'll dive into the innovations that were built to help you practice mindfulness. We'll touch upon everything from apps to wearables and even a very unique and exclusive device.

Listen to this weeks episode to discover ways of how technology can introduce you to mindfulness that you have never heard before!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) The Not-So-Mainstream Mindfulness Apps

We all know Calm and Headspace, which might be the most dominant apps on the App Store, but not necessarily the best ones. If you're bored with the mainstream apps, try Aura. Aura is an app that focuses on reducing anxiety and improving focus and sleep. It uses Machine Learning to provide you with highly personalized daily meditation sessions and a lot more.

If you're looking for something more exciting, Provata VR is the one for you. As the name suggests, this app uses VR to virtually transport you to magical and relaxed locations, such as beautiful beaches. Additionally, with their Apple Health integration, Provata VR also allows you to visualize the effects of meditation. It shows how your heart rate is affected and lets you optimize your sessions based on the feedback.

Press play to learn more about these less known, but very interesting mindfulness apps!

2) Wearables That Will Help You Calm Down

Even though mindfulness is a relatively new industry, there're already a couple of impressive wearables out there. These wearables focus on reaching your inner peace. Muse, for instance, is an EEG headset that senses your brain waves and renders your brain activity into natural sounds. This way you get real-time feedback on your state of mind.

The Spire wearable stress tracker takes a different approach of breath analysis. Spire however, is a multi-functional wearable. It also tracks things like activity and sleep and correlates these for improving your overall wellbeing.

Listen on to learn how Muse can help you to reach a peaceful state and how Spire's comprehensiveness can aid your health journey!

3) An Exclusive Way Of Meditation

Finally, a unique meditation experience that most of us have probably not heard of before, the Somadome. The Somadome is an illuminated dome, which creates a private escape pod only available in 15 locations worldwide. It lets you drift away using a combination of color therapy and binaural beats.
Tune in to learn more about the experience and the various guided meditation programs the Somadome offers!

Why Pablo Abad Built Muvr The Wearable Your Joints Need - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #064 Feb 07, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode, we have Pablo Abad, who, just like most real engineers & scientists, has always been fascinated by inventing and building things. From hacking robots for fun in his Silicon Valley apartment, Pablo ended up drifting towards digital health with a more serious mission of helping thousands of orthopedic patients.

Today Pablo and his team stand behind an amazing concept, called Muvr, a wearable medical device and software platform that guarantees a better and smoother recovery process.

Press play to find out more about Pablo's journey from Stanford & CalTec to his personal health struggles that led to the foundation of Muvr!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) How Muvr Was Born

Living in Silicon Valley as an engineer, Pablo has recognized some great potentials in digital health. However the idea of Muvr only came about when he got involved with an organization at Stanford, called Stanford Biodesign. Listen to today's episode to learn more about how Pablo and a group of "fellows" came up with the idea of Muvr from a list of 250 needs in the health care industry!

2) How Muvr Can Make Your Post-Surgery Recovery Smoother

Going through a surgery is not easy, especially because your journey doesn't end with leaving the hospital. For an orthopedic surgery to be successful, the patient has to follow a rigorous post-surgery physical therapy program. But unfortunately, as the experience is usually not as pleasant as expected, patients often fail to stick to their programs and end up with the feeling of dissatisfaction.

Tune in to hear how Muvr is planning to improve patients' after surgery experience and aid their better recovery process!

3) The Long-Term Vision For Muvr & Telemedicine

Muvr was only born a couple of years ago, meaning that there's still a long path ahead of the project. While the main focus of the team have been knee surgeries so far, Pablo plans to expand to other promising areas of orthopedics too, like hips and shoulders. And of course, moving into sports medicine and even VR are among the plans of the ambitious Muvr Team.

Besides the future of Muvr, Pablo also shares his thoughts on where telemedicine will head in the future. Listen on to hear Pablo's vision for improving the health care system with tracking devices and Muvr's role in his scenario!

How Technology Can Bring Your Group Workouts Home - 20 Minute Fitness Episode #063 Jan 31, 2019

Show notes

Charlie is back with an exciting and relevant topic on the 'How Technology Can Help' mini series of the 20 Minute Fitness podcast, which is streaming group workouts. The most common excuse for skipping a workout is 'I don't have time for it'. Well, good news is that after listening to this episode, you won't be able to pull this one again because we introduce you to the most convenient ways of doing a fitness class: at home.

Press play to hear how technology can bring your group workouts home, start moving and stop making up excuses!

Three Things You Will Learn

1) HIIT Live Or On-Demand From Your Own Living Room

You guys have probably all heard of ClassPass before. But have you also heard of ClassPass Live? It's a relatively new service of ClassPass that offers interactive live and on-demand workout classes making it easy to tune in wherever you are. The on-demand really excels on the convenience dimension, whereas the live classes will truly make you feel like working out with a group.

Very similar to Class Pass Live, but leaning more towards the on-demand side is Booya Fitness. Their workout library is absolutely extensive, covering everything from bootcamp to HIIT and dance classes. Listen to today's episode to find out if ClassPass Live or Booya Fitness is the one for you!

2) Do You Have a Virtual Trainer?

Gixo is a fitness app that provides very similar services to ClassPass Live & Booya Fitness, but they really level up on the live virtual classes aspect. Besides you being able to see the trainer on the other end of the app, you can enable the camera feature so the trainer will be able to see you as well. This way you'll get real-time feedback on your form from a real professional at an affordable price.

Listen on to learn more about Gixo's virtual trainings and a lot more!

3) Race Against Thousands Around The World

Last but not least the ultimate revolutionizer of at-home spinning, Peloton. Besides providing you with the most high-tech equipment for indoor cycling, Peloton also makes sure that you get the all-around experience of a real spinning class. Live classes, performance tracking and racing against spinners worldwide. Tune in to hear what else Peloton has to offer!

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