Category: Health & Medicine
April 12, 2008
Reason #194 Why Dr. Phil is the Antithesis of Mental Health
Remember that pack of teenage girls behaving like lunatics and videotaping the beating they planned and dished out on another girl?
Well, the supposed "ringleader" of that group has been bailed out of jail (for $30,000) by...Dr. Phil! Supposedly so that the Dr. Phil Show will have exclusive rights to interview her.
It takes a lot of gall to glorify adolescent violence (purely in the name of ratings) and then decry it as a social evil.
I don't know if there's a TV Personality Scumbag award, but if there is, I'm sure Dr. Phil is a shoe-in.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
and Popular Media
and Society / Politics
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April 1, 2008
Kill your desk
I work from home a few days a week. Unfortunately, my office, which transitions to a guest room when the grandparents visit, is cramped. My desk was way too large for the space, and my chair kept bumping into the bed. I was on the lookout for a new desk.
In the back of my mind was another issue. I have terrible posture when working. I slouch. I can almost always be found working with my laptop in my lap and my feet kicked up, resting on my desk. It's just not good, in general, for my over 6-foot frame.
So I performed an experiment -- I killed my desk.
Well, I didn't take a saw to it, but I did disassemble it and shove it into a storage closet.
I did a little hunting around and found out a few interesting things about office ergonomics. A popular recent item is Dr. James Levine's NEAT concept. No, it's not about teaching me to keep a tidy workspace. (Now that would be a discovery!) Levine runs an office at the Mayo clinic where the people are not bound by the confines of chairs and desks. Check out his site here. Google him and you'll find a range of interviews on the subject. I guess you burn extra calories, too, when you're not on your rear end all day.
I already had a standing-height adjustable keyboard/mouse cart from Costco. I fixed my LCD monitor with a mounting arm (cheap, thanks to monoprice.com!) to a narrow-depth but huge (IKEA Expedit) wall storage unit that was lying around the house. The storage unit contains has all my stuff, too. Just shove the power cables and network components into wicker boxes on the shelves -- a lot easier than hiding a bunch of cables by mounting them under your desk -- and you've got a clean computer workspace.
When visiting guests need to use the room, I guess I'll just roll the cart out of the room. Maybe I'll unhook the LCD monitor, too.
Let the experiment begin!
Day one: Stood most of the day. Occasionally used mini-stepper. A little ankle and back pain towards the evening. Took an advil.
Day two: I didn't expect it, but I woke up without being sore. So I spent another day going vertical. Unexpected result => I want a bit more background music than usual, but I seem to do less web surfing!
Day three: sat down in a *gasp* desk chair for an hour, with the keyboard tray in desk mode, to do some extended typing sessions. Went back to standing up afterwards.
I feel like I'm slouching less. Dang! I should have investigated if it is possible to measure posture objectively.
More later...
Posted by Bob in Health & Medicine
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November 19, 2007
Love a Smoker? Show Them This!
The amount of carcinogenic crap (tar, etc.) extracted from just 400 cigarettes is stunning...and disgusting. Think of all that in your lungs!
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
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July 15, 2007
Wii's Interactive, Full-Body Gaming Opportunities
A few days ago, I posted about the recently demonstrated Wii Balance Board hardware accessory for the Wii Fit game forthcoming for Nintendo's Wii gaming console. In a nutshell, it's a small step-board (shown to the left) that detects foot pressure and wirelessly conveys that data back to the Wii.
Today, it occurred to me how Nintendo (or any third-party developer) could combine the Wii's standard handheld controllers -- the Wiimote and the Nunchuk (shown to the right) -- with the Wii Balance Board to offer a very interactive, full-body gaming experience.
Imagine a first-person shooter where, to walk or run forward, the user walks or runs in place on the Balance Board. Or, perhaps if that's too much effort, leaning forward or backward could control movement in those directions. Jumping, a common activity in FPS games, would be accomplished by doing the physical analog (bunny-hopping becomes much less of an issue, then). The two handheld controllers could then be used for more precision-oriented input, such as view direction, weapon selection, and firing.
Or, alternately, think about how many sports-oriented games require foot/leg-based movement that could be handled instead via the Wii Balance Board. Snowboarding and skiing would be natural treatments.
What about side-scrollers? Imagine Super Mario Brothers where you need to walk on the Balance Board to move Mario left and right. Would it be more fun? I dunno, but it would certainly be more work (and a better workout) than simply pressing a button with your thumb.
Anyway, I'm sure this is just the tip of the virtual iceberg. I look forward to Nintendo and its development partners coming out with even more innovative uses for all these nifty, wireless controllers. I hope gaming in 10 years looks little like the sedentary, sit-on-the-couch-and-stare-at-the-TV activity that it has for 20-some years now.
Posted by Craig in Gaming
and Health & Medicine
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July 3, 2007
Quantifying the Risk of Second-Hand Smoke
New Dangers of Secondhand Smoke (Time.com) is an interesting story about a new study that measured the immediate effects of second-hand smoke on nonsmokers:
...the researchers found that waitstaff and bartenders working a typical night shift gradually accumulated higher levels of NNK, a carcinogen in cigarette smoke, at the rate of 6% each hour they worked. NNK is known to be involved in inducing lung cancer in both lab rats and smokers.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
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July 20, 2006
Mitch's Review of the Nike+ iPod Nano
Contributed by Mitch:
The word is out in a major way about the Nike/Apple partnership and their Nike+ campaign. Reviews are starting to abound so I won't re-hash what you can read elsewhere. If you are just crawling from under some nice rock, I'll be brief. For $29 you can purchase a kit consisting of a transmitter for your running shoe and a receiver for your iPod Nano.
While you run and listen to your Nano, the system will measure your time, pace and calories burned and a nice person will "coach" you at five minute intervals. After you finish your workout data will be sent to the Nike+ website during the next Nano synch. It's very simple, very effective and how they did this for $29 a pop I will never know.
I am a Mac user and the whole system worked 100% perfectly for me from the automatic firmware update on my Nano to linking with the shoe sender to the final transfer of data to the Nike+ website. No reboots, no driver updates, no connection problems, no muss, no fuss...amazing.
As an excellent partner to this new system, I discovered a podcast called Podrunner (recently rose to #2 on the iTunes' Podcast Top 10) that offers free running mixes from LA's own dj steveboy. These hour long mixes are built at a set number of beats per minute and make keeping your pace a simple thing.
I already enjoyed running, but now even more so with this latest bit of gadgetry.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
and Mobile & PDAs
and Music & Audio
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June 27, 2006
Surgeon General: No Level of Second-Hand Smoke is Safe
Per CNN.com, the US Surgeon General today released a report making it clear that the dangers of second-hand smoke are beyond a resonable doubt and should be considered settled as fact:
Steer clear of smokers and any of their drifting fumes. That's the advice of the surgeon general, who on Tuesday declared the debate about the dangers of secondhand smoke over."The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance but a serious health hazard," said Richard Carmona.
There is no safe level of secondhand smoke -- even a few minutes inhaling someone else's smoke harms nonsmokers, he found. And separate smoking sections, even the best ventilated ones, don't protect enough.
I really wish city leaders would stop bowing to the pressure of local restaurant and bar owners to water down smoking controls in public places and entertainment/dining venues. History has shown that such bans do not have a significant deleterious effect on such establishments, and in fact, in some places there have been elevated levels of business within a year after bans took effect.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
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Study Links Homosexuality to Prenatal Influences
The Houston Chronicle has a story from the Associated Press that discusses how a new Canadian study offers broader, statistically significant evidence that homosexuality in men is likely the result of effects prior to birth.
Men with several older brothers have a greater chance of being gay -- whether they were raised together or not -- a finding researchers say adds weight to the idea that sexual orientation is based in biology.
One day pretty soon, I suspect, there will be amassed so complete an evidential trail that homosexuality is an innate quality, akin to gender, height, and eye and skin color. When that happens, I expect people like those in the Center for Marriage and Family Studies ("We don't believe that there's any biological basis for homosexuality," Dailey said. "We feel the causes are complex but are deeply rooted in early childhood development," as quoted in the article) will fall into two camps: (A) the deeply apologetic that gays have been so maligned (e.g., constitutionally prevented from marrying) who will work to counteract these prejudices and social injustices, and (B) the offensively ignorant who will continue to refute sound science (as they have with global warming, evolution, and a host of other topics) and "believe" that this subset of the population is unfit for society. And unfortunately, those falling in camp (B) have had a lot of practice preaching intolerance already.
Working to eradicate a social problem (e.g., ignorance or poverty) is charity; working to eradicate a biological trait in those who don't want to change is genocide. Learning to tell one from the other is apparently something that many in our society haven't learned how to do yet.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
and Society / Politics
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May 15, 2006
Map of Weekly US Flu Activity
Weather Underground (at wunderground.com) has an interesting new feature: an animated, weekly map of flu (influenza) activity in the US.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
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April 24, 2005
Thumbboards Damaging to Hands?
Basically, technology is killing you slowly. Yesterday, we found out that constant email use makes you retarded. Now, the Washington Post has a story about how thumbboards (a la Blackberries and Treos) can hurt the nerves and tendons in your hands:
Orthopedists say they are seeing an increasing number of patients with similar symptoms, a condition known as "overuse syndrome" or "BlackBerry thumb." In some patients, the disability has become severe.The American Society of Hand Therapists issued a consumer alert in January saying that handheld electronics are causing an increasing amount of carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. With that warning, the society included directions on how to properly hold the devices, urging users to take breaks and, if possible, place pillows in their laps so their wrists are in a more upright position.
The obvious conclusion is for scientists to hurry up and get us those neural implants we've been asking for.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
and Mobile & PDAs
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April 23, 2005
Constant Email Monitoring More Damaging to IQ than Marijuana
Interesting study reported on by CNN Europe:
LONDON, England -- Workers distracted by phone calls, e-mails and text messages suffer a greater loss of IQ than a person smoking marijuana, a British study shows.The constant interruptions reduce productivity and leave people feeling tired and lethargic, according to a survey carried out by TNS Research and commissioned by Hewlett Packard.
So that's why I've started getting the munchies after sitting at my desk for a while!
Read the entire story.
Posted by Craig in Computing
and Health & Medicine
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March 17, 2005
Being Fat is...Patriotic?
From the "Glass is Half Full" department comes a study suggesting that rising obesity in the US may shorten average lifespans enough to offset some of the financial woes facing the Social Security system. Read more....
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
and Society / Politics
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March 9, 2005
UN Recommends Banning All Human Cloning
According to Wired, the United Nations has passed a non-binding resolution urging member states to ban all forms of human cloning "...in as much as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life."
The document, which has no legal force, passed 84 to 34, with 37 abstentions. The United States was joined by many African, Arab and Latin American states in voting for it; mostly European and Asian countries opposed.In speeches after the vote, several nations including Britain, South Korea and the Netherlands flatly rejected the resolution. They promised to push ahead with therapeutic cloning, which scientists believe may lead to new treatments for diseases.
US leaders are apparently quite satisfied with joining forces with many of the developing world's countries that base their policies primarily on religious zealotry and short-term wealth-creation opportunities for the nation's powerful. Yes, we may not be able to provide 21st century healthcare to our citizenry, but we'll have the Ten Commandments in every school, a bible under every pillow, and no scrap of public land will go without its own oilwell.
It was nice being a world leader...I'll miss that.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
and Society / Politics
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March 17, 2004
Starbucks : The New Drug
My township's uncontrolled suburban sprawl has actually produced a lovely little enclave called "The Streets of West Chester" and we went there last weekend to the grand opening of the new Borders bookstore. Along with the live Irish band (very good), Bravo was spooning out heaps of free pasta, the bakery had free cookies and Starbucks was pouring free joe. Free is good.
I am not a coffee drinker; in fact, I hate the stuff. But, after the pasta I needed something to drink and a big cup of Cafe Vienna seemed like a good idea. I doctored it with enough sweetener and milk to take most of the coffee taste away and with it being lukewarm I was able to gulp it pretty quickly. Not bad. Not worth the $3-4 that Starbucks charges normally for it.
This is where my problems began. In just a few minutes I got a big caffeine rush that kept me feeling edgy all through dinner. After dinner I started getting dizzy and feeling nauseous. I hadn't felt like that since OD'ing on No-Doz during an allnight thrash to Hilton Head in college. When I got into bed 2-1/2 hours after drinking the coffee, I had honest to goodness bedspins! I haven't had bedspins in years and never from caffeine.
I started doing some investigation and found this article on the caffeine content of Starbucks coffee. Holy Schnikes! That cup of java potentially had 10 times the caffeine of my usual poison, a Diet Coke. Now I understand the insane queues at all the Starbucks in the airports. These poor folks are addicted to the hard stuff! I wonder if Starbucks has come up with a way to super-caffeinate their coffee? If so, it reminds me of the nicotine level work that the cigarette companies have been practicing for years. Something to think about...
Posted by Mitch in Health & Medicine
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January 2, 2004
Aspirin Up for Canonization
Well, if it isn't, it should be, with the number of miracle cures being attributed to it. Aspirin is already being used by millions to relieve headaches, the pain of arthritis and as a preventative to heart attacks and stroke.
Now comes a report that a major clinical study is being launched to see if aspirin can protect against certain cancers.
The trial will focus on the action of aspirin against a condition known as Barrett's oesophagus, which is a pre-condition to cancer of the esophagus.
It will involve 5,000 subjects and last 10 years. Cancer Research UK, which is funding the study, believes successful treatment of the pre-condition could prevent up to 50 per cent of cases of cancer in the trial.
Researchers are hypothesizing that aspirin may cut cancer risk by affecting an enzyme called cyclooxegenase-2, which causes inflammation and is also linked to cancer development.
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
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December 11, 2003
Battling Cancer with Antimatter
Before you think - Antimatter? What are they thinking? - consider that the common medical imaging technique called PET, or positron emission tomography, already employs the antimatter equivalent of electrons to detect tumors.
Now researchers working at CERN have found that another antimatter particle, the antiproton, has potential not merely to detect cancer, but to effectively treat it.
At CERN, researchers have been studying how antiproton beams interact with living cells. As expected, antiprotons strip electrons off atoms in the cells, a process called ionization. The process rips the host molecules apart, killing the cell they are in. If the energy of the antiproton beam is chosen carefully, it can be aimed precisely at a tumour within a human body.
A proton beam could be used for ionization just as well, but when the particles in an antiproton beam eventually come to a stop at the focus, they drift until they collide with ordinary protons. This collision results in the annihilation of both particles in a matter-antimatter reaction, releasing a huge amount of energy (in the context of a single cell)....which is much more effective at killing selected cells than simple ionization.
CERN scientists estimate that routine clinical application of matter-antimatter annihilation to cancer treatment should be a reality in 10-15 years.
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
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December 8, 2003
Poliovirus, Common Cold to Fight Brain Cancer
A new report spotlights a daring experiment to combat brain tumors. Researchers from the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center have merged the cancer-killing properties of poliovirus with a genetic element from the common cold to produce a anti-cancer agent that rapidly killed cancer cells in laboratory cultures and in animals.
The key to success was disabling the poliovirus' ability to kill brain cells while retaining its ability to kill cancer cells in the brain. To do this, the team swapped a critical genetic element from the common cold "rhinovirus" - which doesn't affect the human brain - with the corresponding genetic element from the poliovirus.
"We made a drug out of a virus by engineering its destructive abilities from a foe into a friend," said Matthias Gromeier, M.D., who led the team. "The rhinovirus acts as the trigger that activates gene expression, but the genes being expressed - the silver bullets in the gun, so to speak - are all from the poliovirus [which] kills the cancer cells quickly and efficiently."
Tests in mice and primates confirm that the modified poliovirus kills brain tumor cells but doesn't affect normal motor neurons. The therapy is promising because it doesn't carry the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, and can be introduced directly into the tumor.
Testing of the new viral agent in humans should begin within two years.
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
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November 29, 2003
Cloned Turkey for Thanksgiving?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled early this month that milk and meat products from cloned animals were safe for human consumption.
So when will we see cloned turkeys for Thanksgiving?
John Kirby, a professor of poultry science at the University of Arkansas, notes that the FDA referred to clones from embryonic cells. The process makes use of blastodermic cells capable of dividing, multiplying and developing into identical embryos capable of producing genetically identical animals. The structure of birds’ eggs makes this process much more difficult for poultry.
"On top of that," says Kirby, "It would be prohibitively expensive to produce cloned birds for mass consumption."
Larger, tastier birds have been successfully produced simply through selective breeding, so there isn't much call to explore costly and controversial techniques like cloning.
His conclusion: "We’ll be eating good old fashioned turkey for decades to come."
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
and Other
and Society / Politics
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November 28, 2003
Turkey Genome Mapped
Researchers from the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms, have collaborated to produce the first genome map of the domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo).
Previous research has succeeded at mapping the chicken genome, but the turkey equivalent remained a tantalizing challenge - until now.
The report, "A first-generation map of the turkey genome" is being published in Genome, a journal of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Research Press.
Dr. David Harry, a key researcher, noted, "Finding a way to breed a turkey with naturally occurring beneficial traits is clearly of interest to the poultry-producing industry. Using naturally occurring variations, it is possible build a better turkey..."
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
and Other
and Society / Politics
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November 25, 2003
SARS Vaccine Set for Human Tests
Beijing biotechnology firm Kexing Bioproducts (Sinovac) is ready to test a vaccine against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on humans. SARS cases to date have numbered ~8,000, with ~700 fatalities.
The Sinovac vaccine has been successfully tested on animals, but the company is waiting for the World Health Organization to review the technique with respect to safety and side-effects.
Numerous laboratories around the world have been attempting to synthesize a SARS vaccine, but Sinovac will likely be the first to be able to conduct human trials.
China's State Food and Drug Administration confirmed that the new testing series SARS vaccine could start as early as mid-December. Formal approval of any vaccine will still probably take more than a year after human trials have proven successful.
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
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November 23, 2003
Researchers Unveil First Artificial Protein
Researchers at the University of Washington have designed and constructed the first new functional protein not found in nature.
Lead researcher David Baker said the problem of creating artificial proteins is similar to putting together the outline of a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, using as pieces the 20 known amino acids in nature, which can also be rotated in many ways.
“The number of alternatives can be huge," notes Baker. "Even for one fixed backbone conformation, you have an astronomical number of possible amino acid sequences." The solution was a computational algorithm - embodied in their RosettaDesign program - to search for stable combinations of possible amino acid sequences and orientations.
The result: a 93-amino acid protein structure researchers call Top7. When synthesized, the actual Top7 protein matched the computer-predicted structure perfectly.
Protein engineering is predicted to lead to new medicines and industrial catalysts. Researchers are already using the lessons learned in designing Top7 to synthesize new artificial proteins with specific functions.
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
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November 11, 2003
Pill Helps Cure Phobias
Can you banish your deepest fear by popping a pill? A recent report suggests that you soon may be able to.
In a study reported to the Society for Neuroscience, a team led by Michael Davis of the Emory University School of Medicine reported that a tuberculosis drug, D-cycloserine (Seromycin), helped people terrified of heights get over that fear.
The study offered D-cycloserine or dummy pills to 27 subjects on virtual reality (VR) therapy - using computerized goggles to simulate going up a glass elevator - to help unlearn their acrophobia.
At the end of two VR sessions, the 10 patients who had gotten placebos did slightly better than they had at the start. But the 17 on the drug did as well as or better than people who had finished the full course of eight VR sessions.
Furthermore, those who had taken the drug were twice as likely as their counterparts to go up elevators, drive across high bridges and do other things that acrophobia had kept them from doing.
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
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November 5, 2003
Leech Away Osteoarthritis
Leeches have been used medicinally since ancient times, perhaps most famously as a technique for drawing out poison from an afflicted person.
Now, a paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine reports a more modern application - as a treatment for osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis (arthritis) of the knee is a painful and potentially debilitating condition. Treatments include topical medicines and steroid injections to address inflammation and pain, but provide little relief. In some cases, surgical replacement of the knee becomes necessary.
Researchers undertook to find if leech saliva - containing a substance known to decrease inflammation - might help patients. In the study, 51 patients were assigned either leech therapy or treatment with diclofenac gel. Leech therapy consisted of applying 4 to 6 leeches to the affected knee for just over an hour (until the leeches detached themselves).
Researchers fround that patients receiving leech therapy reported less stiffness, better function, and fewer total arthritis symptoms through the full three months of the study. The results are encouraging, and studies are ongoing to compare leech therapy with other arthritis treatments, and over longer periods of time.
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
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October 23, 2003
Corkscrew Aids Stroke Victims
Nearly 1 million North Americans will experience a stroke this year. This is one of the leading causes of death in the US, and survivors are often left disabled and helpless.
But a new experimental device - the MERCI Retriever - is offering hope even for the most devastating strokes.
Tests with patients not responsive to clot-busting drugs like TPA have shown restored blood flow in nearly half the subjects.
In use, a thin tube is inserted into the patient and threaded through the body to the location of the clot. The tube contains a wire made of nitinol, a shape-memory alloy, which coils into a corkscrew shape as it's pushed out of the tube.
The nitinol corkscrew engages the clot like a wine cork, then is retracted, taking with it the problem clot and releasing the blockage.
The MERCI Retriever is at times nothing short of miraculous. At the bedside of the first patient ever treated, doctors reportedly gave each other high-fives as their patient - paralyzed for six hours - began to speak.
TPA is effective primarily within three hours of the stroke, and only for smaller clots. The MERCI Retriever has the potential to work as late as eight hours after the first symptoms, and is able to handle larger clots....giving to stroke victims another lease on life.
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
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October 15, 2003
To Live Forever
Elixir Pharmaceuticals has an incredible mission: To slow aging, forestall the disease and disability that accompany aging and extend life's most productive period.
Elixir co-founder Dr. Cynthia Kenyon, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, recently gave an interview to New Scientist, on her research into aging, and why she thinks that we are very close to synthesizing a drug to extend human lifespans.
According to Kenyon, "Not very long ago, most people thought that aging was something that just happened. We just wear out, like cars. Not true!"
Kenyon's early research was able to double the lifespans of nematode worms. This came about not by changes in diet or reproduction, but by something akin to gene therapy.
More recent studies have found similar processes affecting the longevity of flies and mice - in some cases resulting in animals that live six times as long as normal.
More incredibly, those long-lived animals stay active and healthy until the very end.
And would this apply to humans? Kenyon notes, "In genetics everything else that has been found to be true in mice, flies and worms has also been found in humans....On rational scientific grounds the chances are very high." And that's one of the reasons she co-founded Elixir.
So what do you think? What would it be like, what would you do, if you could live - vibrant and healthy - to 100, 200, 500 or more?
Posted by Sam in Health & Medicine
and Society / Politics
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August 7, 2003
More Hope for Aging Eyes
Researchers may have stumbled on a way to eliminate the need for reading glasses in older adults: removing the fluid filling of the eye's lens and replacing it with a synthetic gel.
This article in New Scientist describes how the procedure, which could take as little as 15 minutes in an an outpatient facility, could work.
Testing is currently being done primarily on animals, but human testing could be close to follow if the results continue to be as promising. Between this and cataract surgery and Lasix, treatment of common eye maladies are definitely seeing a lot of headway. Now if we can just get some better progress made on treating macular degeneration, that'll be something.
Posted by Craig in Health & Medicine
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August 4, 2003
One MILLION meters
1,000 kilometers. 621 miles. It's not that far, but it has taken me eight months to cover that distance on my Concept 2 Model C Rowing Ergometer. If that's your first time seeing those words and letters arranged just so, the C2 as it's universally known is the defacto standard in indoor rowing machines. It was developed by Dick and Peter Dreissigacker back in 1981 and has gone through three model iterations, hence the current Model C designation. If you want to know more, see this complete history.
If anyone who rows asks you, "What is your 2K?", the question is really, "How fast can you row 2000 meters on a Concept 2 rowing ergometer?" It is an extremely accurate gauge of your performance as a rowing athlete. The world's elite do a 2K in about 5'46" whereas I can do it in 7'22" and not be able to walk or catch my breath for several minutes afterward. Rowing is a tremendously demanding sport with aerobic requirements nearing those of cross country skiing. Top rowers consume 7.0 liters/minute of oxygen which is outrageous.
I received mine last Christmas as a present from my wife and then used it to compete in an office weight loss contest. After the contest ended and an unwanted 20 pounds had disappeared, I set my sights on my first 1,000,000 meters and the free t-shirt and certificate associated with that milestone.
My C2 is hooked to my PC which runs a neat training and racing program called eRow. Using eRow, I set up all of my workouts and can even enter online races with rowers around the world. It keeps track of my time, heartrate, pace, stroke rate, splits...it does it all. Working out is fun and those 30 minutes every morning at 6AM jump start my metabolism and my day with a boost of energy.
I use the Concept 2 website's personal logbook feature to record all of my workouts and enter my work ranking times for comparison against other rowers. To keep my cool during workouts, I use a little device called a CBreeze which re-directs all the air you move with the C2 back at your body. Every C2er should have a CBreeze.
Now it's on to my second million meters!!!
Posted by Mitch in Health & Medicine
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