2000 Page Views, Gaining Weight on Whey Protein, Winter Running Update (and the tale of two friends)

Hello everyone!  Thanks for reading my blog!


2000 Page Views
As of sometime yesterday, my tiny little blog eclipsed 2000 page views since its inception last spring.  I am not a high traffic blog, so I am grateful for the followers that I do have.  Sometimes this stuff can seem a little random, but as an active runner, and somewhat new to this stuff, I am constantly running into new issues or areas of interest - and then I pass them on here.

Gaining weight on Whey Protien
I have been "running my butt off"  like the Runner's World Challenge to run every day between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, and for some reason (???) I have been continually gaining weight.  I step on the scale and see a little nudge upward every month, and I have to say it is disheartening, puzzling, and simply not good for a guys knees. 

This week I did some research on a supplement that I have been taking, and which I thought to be pretty common among folks who train a lot and want to recover quickly - Whey Protein.  So I did some thinking, and some research, and came to the conclusion that my weight gain issues may be related to Calories - and the fact that I am putting too many calories in my body, even though I am doing my daily runs.

So I checked the labeling.  My Whey Protein has about 115 Calories per scoop, and I take between a half and a whole scoop per shake, milk has about 90 Calories per Cup, and I am sure I do two cups per shake, then there's my little secret (that makes it actually taste good) Carnation Instant Breakfast (now called "Breakfast Essentials") which contains about 130 Calories per serving, plus lots of sugar. 

So, my estimate is that the shake is a) probably pretty healthy with the exception of all that yummy sugar, and b) adding between 300 and 400 Calories to my diet that I am not taking back out someplace else!  My real world analogy to this is going to McDonalds for what they call a "meal".  The food alone constitutes adequate nutrition (OK - maybe more Calories than you need) with protien, carbs, etc. - but then you ADD a large Coke, and way overshoot on Calories!  That's how I am thinking about the Protein Shakes. 

If it turns out that taking out the shakes helps, I will certainly let you know.  And for today, it looks like I am stuck getting all my nutrition from foods (sarcasm!).  Not a crisis, just a shopping challenge.

Winter Running Update (the tale of two friends)
Interesting coincidence in my last post.  I had two good friends of mine reply to the same question about dealing with slippery conditions during winter running, and the idea of putting Yak Tracks on your feet to help with running.  I won't go into the details here because that isn't what matters.  What really matters at the two of my friends, Carmen and Joy, both replied to my question ... and they don't know each other and have never met .... and Carmen is experienced with the first stages of becoming a Triathlete ... and Joy is planner her first Triathlon in the coming season!  Now I just need to play "matchmaker" with these two.  Below is a link to Joy's blog.  It's a great journal of of the trials of preparing for a first tri.  Good luck Joy!

http://joyschmitzjourney.blogspot.com/2012/12/she-learns-why-people-love-to-run.html?spref=fb


Hey everyone - thanks for reading my blog!
Stu

Runner's World Challenge, Cold Weather Running, Investor Development

Hi everyone, and thanks for reading my blog.

A few items for today...

Runner's World Challenge - Run at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving until New Years Day.  Well - so far its going quite well, but I'm from Minnesota so I can't count on making it work every day.  I'm wondering if my insticts are going to send me to a treadmill or the track at the Y when the first snow storm hits.  Best of luck to all that are joining me in the challenge!

Cold Weather Running
I have done lots of research this month into winter running gear.  Most of it is just common sense.  Nobody, though, wants to tell  when it's just too cold to run.  The closest I found was the warnings about Athsma sufferers having trouble with cold air (I am one, and haven't noticed it yet).  I'm fully outfitted now that I bought a really light Under Armor running jacket.  I am just putting long sleave layers of poly pro on first, then the jacket, compression shorts, running pants, hat gloves, etc.   Also have taken to using a lightweight fleece vest under the jacket and over the shirts.  I have not over dressed yet since the cold weather started, but I have had to pull off the hat and gloves a few times.

Question - What are you planning to do for footwear stability on slick icy roads?  Yack Trax?  Trail Shoes?  Not run?

Investor Development
Our company, www.moxymonitor.com ,  is getting ready to launch a product.  So, now there is a need for capital.  We've gotten ourselves involved with a few outfits that are considered "Angel Networks", and things are progressing nicely.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Stu

Winter Running, Runner's World Challenge, What are you thankful for?

Hello again everyone, and thanks for reading my blog.

Winter Running
Winter Running, for me, is a totally new challenge.  My son (14) and I ran a 5k yesterday, and I may have underestimated the unpredictable Minnesota Fall weather.  At 6am it was 48 degrees and completely calm, and at race time it seemed to still be nice enough for shorts and t-shirt running.  As we took off, the wind came up and the temp fell at least 5 degrees during the race alone.  Things went fine, but I was very cold when I finished.  Maybe the weather also played a positive role, in that my son and I both put up a Personal Best in the race.

Forward to today.  I took off for a run around the lake I live on, with the temperature in the mid-twenties, but the wind chill sitting down at 5 degrees F.  Thank goodness for the under armor (not a product placement) running pants I bought a few weeks ago.  With a hat, gloves, three shirts, and my long pants, I think I was set up just about right.  However, I don't know if I would want it any windier, or colder for such a run. 





Runner's World Challenge
Just heard (via facebook) yesterday about this challenge.  And for me, I always need something to keep me going - some kind of a challenge.  http://www.runnersworld.com/cold-weather-running/2012-holiday-running-streak?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-News-_-RunStreak

Their challenge: to run at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Years Day.  What a cool idea!  And, based on today's run, I may have to squeeze in some Tread Mill time once in a while.  Good luck to all of you who decide to take the challege!!!


What are you thankful for?
I am sure that we all have something to be thankful for, even if it sometimes takes us a few minutes to ponder the question before answering.  For example, I am thankful that it's only one more week until this Movember thing ends and I can shave off this facial hair (although it does come in handy for winter running, and it doesn't slow you down a bit!).  If you haven't heard about this, check out www.movember.com .  It's all for a good cause.

I am also thankful for running.  This great past time has only come back into my life about a year and a half ago.  I am nothing short of stunned at the number of opportunities to race just in our little area of the state.  There's a race about every other weekend from the end of March to Thanksgiving Day.  Pretty amazing season, and a lot of very hard working people to make it all come together.  Add to that the fact that most all of these races are for some good cause, some charity that is worthy of our dollars.  Nice work everyone!

But most of all, I would say that none of those things even come close the how thankful I am for the love and support of family and friends.  Thanksgiving is a day where we all get together and have a great time eating, chatting, napping, watching football, and making darn sure that the next generation knows and appreciates their extended family.

Thanks again for reading my blog!

Stu

Minimalist Running Shoes, Triathlete Carmen

Minimalist Running Shoes
First of all, an update on my "minimalist" running shoe transition.  Be sure to not under estimate this one.  You could be in for a tough time if you don't prepare yourself for the impact of this transition.  Overall, I am very happy that I made the change.  I ran 4.6 miles during a lunch break today (beautiful sunny fall MN day!!!).  No problems, and really made good time for such a long (to me) run.

Some problems I have encountered during the transition include:

• Sore feet and ankles
• Needed a new cadence (used metronome and head phones at 180 beats per minute)
• Both calf muscles pulled in subsequent hill intervals, with accompanying tightness in achilles.
• Tightness in my hips - which I think is related to the transition
• Some soreness in the low back, which has since gone away.

As I said, I think it's been a good move.  I am still interested in continuing with form improvements, and would like any suggestions you can send my way.  Has anyone heard of POSE?

Triathlete Carmen
Met a person at a recent business conference and she turned me on to the novice side of doing Triathlons.  Thanks to Carmen for her enthusiasm and her great writing skills.  She gave me lots to think about regarding training the three sports, how to do "bricks", and how to practice transitions in prep for race day.

As a runner myself, I really like this prespective the Carmen passed on to me in a recent email:

Hi Stu - My Tri work is going pretty well.  I'm not as intense in my training as some people seem to be, but the races in July and August really pushed me to a new level.  I now finish a hill without realizing what I just did!  I was hoping to get in longer bike rides this fall, but found I was more interested in swimming - go figure. I'd have to say, it really is doing all 3 three on a regular basis that has increased my fitness level and enjoyment.  I can get tired of running 4-5 times a week, but not so much if I'm only going out 2 times with a swim and bike or two in between.  Everything seems to stay more fresh.

I may post on this topic again, as Carmen also went on to give me lots of advice on how to keep developing and improving toward my own first Triathlon. 

Thanks again to all of you for reading my blog, and a special thanks to Carmen for being such an inspiration to all of us. 

Stu

Moxy Monitor Blog, SmO2, Training Zones, Minimalist Shoes, Yoga

Hello Everyone - and thanks for reading my blog.

In this post I am taking a bit of a short cut because I wanted to leverage some content provided by our company's blog (www.moxymonitor.com ) that many of you may not get exposed to on a regular basis.  This one hits on training zones, and, as a runner myself, this is something I am starting to struggle with a lot.  I am trying to make the transition from a "novice" to an "intermediate" runner, and to do that I have to learn to work smarter. 

I ran a 5k today, and while I am still maintaining good times, or at least not losing ground, I keep thinking that I should be getting better faster based on the time I am spending running. 

Check this out, and let me know what you think:

http://my.moxymonitor.com/blog/bid/232431/Implementing-the-80-20-Ratio-to-Maximize-Endurance-Performance

Don't forget about my Yoga question from last week.  I am still waiting to hear from You!  Also, the transition to "minimalist" shoes is going well (and I'm reading the book "Born to Run" to keep me motivated). 

Thanks for reading my blog...

Stu

Minimalist Running Shoes, Brooks PureConnect, GOgroove AudioACTIVE Headset, Cross Training with Yoga, Bikram Yoga

Hi Everyone - and thanks for reading my blog!

I am going to give a few updates on things I have recently purchased and am actually using.  Also, a few questions about Yoga - please send me your thougths.


Breaking in my new shoes - Brooks Pure Connect

In my last blog I mentioned that I had bought a pair of Brooks Pure Connect shoes (Minimalist Running Shoes).  Well, they came in the mail late last week.  I have been trying to follow some on-line wisdom for breaking them (and me) in. 

Most of the warnings about making the change to a Minimalist shoe are related to the BIG change from heel striking to mid-foot landing.  I have found this to be quite true. 

The first day I ran only about 10 minutes, and tried to keep my pace easy.  They felt really odd to me, but when I started to concentrate on why - it was just the fact that my foot was landing underneath me, not in front of me, and I was mostly landing mid-foot.  They make you feel a bit like a ballerina. 

The second day I upped it from 1 mile to 2 miles, and the third day I did three miles.  I have a 5K this Saturday, so I want to stick with that distance.  Today's 3-miler was also an interval run, so I really got to hit the throttle and see how things work.  The prancing feeling was amplified, but it wasn't anything that I couldn't deal with.  I don't see any affect on my speed or effort, and may be seeing it actually a bit easier. 

One recommendation that I found very valuable - the foot massage.  I have been working the arches of my feet about three times a day.  Easy to do - anytime you are sitting around (maybe not during a meal ...).  So far the massages have been helping with any pain or stiffness.



New Blue Tooth Head Phones:  GOgroove AudioACTIVE Wireless Headset

Got my new Blue Tooth wireless headphones today.  So far they have been working quite well with my MotoACTV GPS Wristwatch and MP3 Player.  Had a little trouble to start with, mostly getting them to sync, and now I seem to have to sync them everytime I use them.  Very comfortable and easy to use with the MotoACTV.   I had a pair of Motorola SD10-HD Blue Tooth headphones, but they stopped working.  I think the battery is shot/defective/not working at all. Took these new GOgrooves for a run the last three days in a row, and NO PROBLEMS.





Yoga Anyone? As a Cross Training Activity?

I keep seeing articles on-line and in magazines about the benefits of Yoga as a Cross-Training idea.  Please send me your thoughts.  I have a local Yoga studio that I have never tried.

Have any of my readers given it a try?

Is it true that Yoga is good for a runner's breathing? 

Is Yoga a good way to improve and strengthen the core?

Do any of you know the difference between Yoga and Bikram Yoga? 


As always - thanks to everyone for reading my Blog!

Stu

Barefoot Running, Minimalist Shoes, Interbike 2012, Ant+ Alliance Symposium

Hello Everyone, and thanks for reading my blog!!!

A new direction in shoes...
This week I took the "plunge" and ordered a pair of running shoes that are classified as "minimalist", which means that I will be trying to switch my running mechanics from traditional, heel-lifted,  running shoes, to something with a flat heel, minimal padding, but that also provide protection for the foot that going barefoot obviously won't accomplish (glass, rocks, etc.).  I chose a Brooks product because I have a pair of Brooks running shoes and like them, and because I found a nice article in Running Times  (http://runningtimes.com/Channel.aspx?CategoryID=355) that told me what I wanted to hear about the shoes.  I chose the Brooks PureConnect shoe ($90) and expect to see it arriving at my door in the next few days.



I must say I'm a little nervous about the switch because I have had some difficulty with pain in my arches in the past.

Why am I willing to give this a shot?  First of all - I have to admit that I have had a great season with my traditional running shoes this year.  My improvements this Summer season have been very statisfying for me.  So, it's not this season's performance that drives me to try minimalist shoes.  I have to go back to last Fall when I first started using my traditional running shoes.  I had spent the entire Summer of 2011 running in some basic cross-trainer shoes (wasn't sure yet that this running thing was for me).  Once I got hooked, there were some suggestions made that "you better get some decent shoes so you don't hurt yourself".  So I made the move.

Since switching to traditional running shoes, I have had a variety of aches and pains, injuries, and set backs that made me think that my running mechanics may be the cause.  The most severe of which was a terrible case of Runner's Knee (sometimes also referred to as Jumper's Knee) this last Spring when I got back on the open road with my training. 

What finally pushed me to try minimalist shoes was a discussion I had with a gentleman from Australia that visited our booth at Interbike 2012 in Las Vegas last week.  Dominic Bricomb, an Osteo, suggested that moving to a barefoot or minimalist motion would reduce the shock and impact affects of "heal striking" on my knees.  That was it, I was sold.

Then today I read the following post, and being an engineer, I really liked the technical explanation.  Take a look.  It comes from a blog that I hadn't heard of until this week - "The Science of Sport".   Here's there blog post on minimalist shoes: http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/03/running-shoes-part-iii.html.

 I will keep you posted as I attempt to transition slowly and safely to my new running mechanics.

I should also give "honorable mention" to my good friend Herbie for running a 5K with me this Summer in a cheap pair of flat canvas high top tennies to show me that minimalist doesn't always mean that we give in to the big shoe companies and their marketing campaigns.  I, of course, didn't pass that same test...


 Ant+ Alliance Symposium
Welcome back to Roger (my partner in www.moxymonitor.com ).  He just got back from Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, where he attended a great symposium on Ant+.  Lots of highlights are forthcoming, but according to Roger, the networking was great, and a keynote speech by Ray Maker (www.dcrainmaker.com ) was worth the trip.



If you don't know what Ant+ is - it's a wireless protocol used widely (and growing) by the fitness community to connect devices (like the Moxy Monitor of course) to the user interface (wristwatch display, GPS watch, bike computer, etc.).  We have been looking at a variety of options for Moxy, like BlueTooth, BlueTooth Low Energy, and of course Ant+.  No final decisions yet (stay tuned).


Thanks for reading my Blog!!!

Stu

Interbike 2012, 2012 Ant+ Alliance Symposium,

Hi Everyone!  Thanks for reading my blog.

Interbike 2012
Just wanted to review the goings-on from Interbike 2012, held this last week in Las Vegas, NV.  We had several planned meetings at the show - people who have been interested in using the device, seeing a demonstration, meeting us, etc.  No name dropping here, with one exception - we got a visit from Ray Maker (www.dcrainmaker.com ), a very influencial blogger on technology for athletes.  Check out his most recent posts from Interbike 2012.  He peddled the on our bike, used Moxy, and took one with him for his own testing.  Really looking forward to his blog on this topic.

All three of the owners of Moxy (Fortiori Design LLC) were on hand, myself, Roger Schmitz (Owner/Chief Engineer) and Larry Flessland (Electrical Engineer).  The booth was set up to give real demonstrations of the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor.  There was an exercise bike, several Moxy sensors and wrist worn monitors, and computers available to graph and print each participant's SmO2 profile taken throughout their bike interval workout. 

A quick note on Interbike - located in the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas - my partner and I estimated some 5000ish bikes were in the building, not to mention a number of indoor exercise items, scooters, helmet cams, safety lights, helmets, clothing, street-worthy eliptical bikes, sunglasses, nutrition, GPS's, etc., etc., etc.....   But the most shocking/interesting/puzzling trend from the show????  Electric Bicycles!!!!  I don't quite understand why you'd want electric motor assist on a bicycle, but apparently it makes sense to some portion of the population. 

Our visitors had to make their way to the lower level to visit us, where the first time exhibitors were huddled-up waiting for someone to walk through their aisle and catch their attention.   In a way this was quite a positive thing for Moxy.  Our visitors had to go out of their way to find us.  Not one or two of them, but well over a dozen people interested in what Moxy is, and what it can do for them came to see us.  These were "quality" contacts interested in getting their hands on a Moxy prototype as soon as possible.  And they were from all over the world.

Larry, Stu, Roger at Interbike 2012 Booth

 

Overall - a great experience for the Moxy team.  This was our first show where we had Moxy out their for demonstrations - and we learned a lot from the experience. 



2012 Ant+ Alliance Symposium
Moxy will be represented at this meeting as well.  This is a "by invitation only" Ant+ technical symposium.  Ant+ is a wireless protocol being used in some of today's exercise devices.  It's really catching on and we need to have a keen understanding of where it's going and how adopting will possibly help with the adoption and use of our device, the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor.

I would like to conclude with a special thanks to the Moxy team for pulling together everything that made the Interbike (and now the Ant+ Symposium as well) a success for Moxy.  You guys did a great job of pulling together everything it took - from a bike to business cards - that made this a success.  Roger Schmitz and Larry Flessland brought everything, set it up, tore it down, and hauled it all back home.  And we got some great support from our marketing team at Synecore (www.synecoretech.com ) with business cards, signage, logos, printouts, shirts, etc.  Nice Job Everyone!

That's it for now.  Thanks for reading my blog!!!

Stu

Bit by a Dog, Moxy Sensor Update, Tyler Stewart Quote, Interbike 2012

Hi Everyone!  Thanks for reading my blog!

Bit by a Dog
Yes, it is true.  Last week I had the amazing experience (poor choice of words) of getting my first dog bite as a runner.  It's a bit coincidental because I was just reading an article in Runner's World magazine about two brothers who were brutally attacked (October 2012, page 82).  The story starts out with a picture of a pit bull, and a pair of running shoes and socks covered in blood.  They are carrying the physical and psychologic scars of the attack years later.

My experience wasn't that bad, at least it didn't turn out with any piercing bites or scars.  But when a dog comes at you, circles around from the side or behind you, don't turn your back.  Trust me on that one.  Makes me think about getting some pepper spray...




Moxy Sensor Status
We are having great success with the Moxy sensor.  Even though its just a prototype, it's working very well.  The sensor is now wireless, and the data is displayed real-time onto a wrist watch type device. 

However, as is the nature of prototypes, there are some issues with sweat.  We've even put a temporary fix in place - the ziplock bag.  It continues to perform well, and is really catching on with our Developers group.  Check it out on the Forum page at www.moxymonitor.com .




Tyler Stewart Quote
Professional Triathlete Tyler Stewart recently posted on her blog the following quote, so I wanted to share it with all of you:

"People often ask me what drives me to keep racing. I compete as a way of keeping myself sharp. While I think a lot of people race to compete against others, I race more to compete against myself. Each race I do I learn something — whether it’s a weakness, a fear or a strength I didn’t know I had, what I learn in each race gives me a better understanding of who I am and helps me to become a better person off the race course."
You can read Tyler Stewart's blog at http://www.strengthperformance.com/profile/TylerStewart .


Interbike 2012
The entire MoxyMonitor Team - me, Roger and Larry - are heading to the Interbike 2012 show in Las Vegas this week.  Wish us luck as we go down to the desert to show off our Moxy Monitor.  We will be using an exercise bike, and will take readings on visitors to our booth.  The link to the conference is at www.interbike.com .

As always - Thanks for reading my Blog!!!

Stu

Interbike 2012, Moxy Treadmill Validation, Neural Adaptation

Hello Everyone, and thanks for reading my blog!

Interbike 2012
We are preparing for a trip to Las Vegas where we are attending the 2012 Interbike Conference www.interbike.com .  There will be a stationary bike right in our booth so interested athletes and trainers can give the Moxy monitor a try.  They will be able to perform a brief exercise ride, then take a copy of their Moxy graph with them.  The show is next week, and I will be there participating with the Moxy team on Thursday and Friday, September 20 and 21. 


Treadmill Validation (informal)
Though it's not "officially" a validation study, there is something to be learned from Larry's work on a treadmill.  My experiences with Moxy so far have all been "athlete" paced, so the athlete becomes a variable in the output of the device - which is good, but for the purposes of validating the Moxy SmO2 data, we need some data that isolates the two.  Below is an exerpt from the Moxy Developer Forum at www.moxymonitor.com as posted by Larry, one of our engineers, and an avid runner.  Check out the graph!!!

Here are the results from some interval training I was doing on the treadmill. My normal running pace is a 10 minute mile (6mph). So I set the treadmill to 4mph for the resting and 7mph for the working interval. Each interval is 2 minutes long for a total of 30 minutes. The recovery interval starts at 30 minutes and is 2mph.

The sensor is placed on the upper thigh of the left leg over vastus lateralis muscle.
You can see the SmO2 drop to around 30 during each working interval and come back to around 50 for each resting interval. When starting with the resting interval at time 0.00 minutes you can see the SmO2 dropped lower (mid 30’s) than the other resting intervals. Maybe I wasn’t warmed up yet. The ending recovery then went above 70.

Neural Adaptation
I learned something very interesting this week.  A friend of mine, an avid recumbant bike rider, purchased a "street strider" www.streetstrider.com .  On his first outing (and this is a guy who does 20+ miles a day on his recumbant) he was totally spent, pooped out, with only 2 miles on the bike.  Within about 2 weeks, he's finding it is still a tough workout, but he's already able to get in 6 miles without stopping.  His question; how could I have improved that much in such a short time?  The answer: Neural Adaptation.  Simply put, your body adapts to the environment, the muscles learn how to coordinate the movements, and the effort decreases.  He's certainly getting into better shape, but that can't explain that much improvement.   One example I like is how the body changes the stride, while walking, to adapt to up hills, down hills, and flats.  We may not notice it, but we do adapt.


Thanks again for reading my blog.  Hope the information is helpful. 

Don't forget to say a prayer, pause for a moment, or simply remember all the brave souls and innocent victims who perished 11 years ago in NYC, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon. 

Stu

LeAnn; Pairing Moxy and Pace Data; HIIT High Intensity Interval Training

Hello Everyone!  And thanks for reading my blog...

Shout-out to LeAnn!
First of all, a big thanks to one of my readers and good friend LeAnn.  She mentioned to me that this Blog has been something of an inspiration and a source of information for her as she continues on her journey of weight loss and fitness.  She is especially interested in the HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) that I have written about, and is also being written about on the www.moxymonitor.com web site.  I am very proud of her achievement, and of her commitment to change how she lives her life and inspire us all to do the same.  Keep it up LeAnn!



Moxy Data Paired with GPS Pace Data
A nice graph (below) showing my first pairing of Moxy SmO2 Data (www.moxymonitor.com) and my running pace from my Motoactv (www.motoactv.com/).  Thanks to Roger (my business partner) for pulling the two sets of data together to make this work.


Things to note on the graph:
1) The "speed" data is in minutes per mile, so lower numbers represent a faster pace.
2) The Moxy SmO2 data is in percent oxygenation, and is related to the 2nd (right) vertical axis, and lower numbers are associated with greater effort (or "work") on my part. 
3) I took one water break at about 14 minutes, and one walking break at about 20 minutes.
4) The course was more "trail" than "road" - so for a good portion of the race I was in grass, dirt, mud, which all increase the amount of "work" I was doing to maintain speed.
6) Milestones: 14 minutes, water break; 20 minutes, walking break; 24 minutes, race is over, and I finally get into a true recover mode with SmO2 over 80% (AHHHH).

Observations:
The Moxy data represented in the early minutes of the race represents a pace that I have never taken before in a 5k race, and was quite challenging for me.  I was able to maintain a really fast pace for the first 2 minutes, then maintain a steady 7 minutes per mile for another 5-6 minutes.  At that point my Anaerobic energy had been pretty much spent, and I have to continue the race at 50% or higher and use aerobic metabolism the rest of the way.  The only exception is the last minute (just before the 24 minute mark) where I "kick" and give all I have left - again it's fairly obvious that I am pushed back into the anaerobic metabolism range (sub 50%).

A direct correlation between speed and SmO2 is evident, but remember also that I was changing elevation, so the "work" I was doing isn't always well represented by speed - in fact the Moxy SmO2 data better represents the "work" I was doing. Therefore, when speed decreases (line on graph goes up), and my SmO2 goes down (line on graph goes down), it is likely due to a hill climb. The opposite is also true when going down hills.

 

 

That's it for this blog post.  Thanks again to everyone who reads, likes, forwards, or replys to this blog.  Let's keep this conversation going!

Stu

Selene Yeager Article Quotes Allison Westfahl of Moxy Development Team

Hello Everyone!  Thanks for reading my blog!

It's nice when the blog seems to write itself (meaning the inspiration comes to me and I can just put something of value out to all of you quickly). 

As you know, Moxy has a Development Team staffed with exercise experts from all over the country.  One such expert is Allison Westfahl, and exercise physiologist from Boulder, CO, and someone I have talked about in previous posts. 

The article appears on bicycling.com and it describes something I have been very interested in for myself lately, core training.  Allison is quoted in the article, and she makes an interesting point - that her core exercises, if utilized at the end of a workout, can really help in clearing lacate from the athlete's system (and don't we all want that?).

Enjoy the article, it's short and to the point.   It's written by Selene Yeager.

http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/training-fitness/hard-core-strength-workout#.UDQHA5W_kgw.facebook

And, of course, thanks again for reading my blog.  I recently made a connection through my blog from someone in Perth, Australia!

Stu

8 Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

8 Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Just a quick blog post to direct you to the Moxymonitor.com web site blog.  The article is about the benefits of HIIT, which is a great application for the Moxy Monitor.  Please follow the link to check it out, and thanks for reading my blog.

Stu

http://my.moxymonitor.com/blog

Inside Triathlon Magazine Article - Checking Your Intensity

Hello Everyone - and thanks for reading my blog...

I don't expect a lot of traffic on this post.  Sure - it's small - but the link I put in (below) really hits home with the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor. 

The gentleman who it's about - Mr. Neal Henderson from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Boulder, Colorado - talks about the role exercise intensity plays in the optimization of the athlete's workout time and effort.  Never have I seen an article that explains better (although it get's a bit technical) the role of low intensity workouts for even the highest performing athletes.

Note that he talks about all the right metrics, but metrics that are hard to capture: VO2Max and
Lactate.  Moxy can provide so much mobility to the assessment that these two just can't accomplish.

Enough for now - I will let it stand on it's own merits.  However, for you hardcore athletes that actually read the article - please send me your comments, or give me a call!!!

Thanks again for reading my blog!

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/08/training/checking-your-intensity_59521

Another Moxy Milestone - Triathlon

Aaron Madsen

This weekend Aaron (from our Development Team - see www.moxymonitor.com) will be participating in a Triathlon - and will be the first to wear Moxy in such an event.  I spoke with him about it briefly today, and he's planning to mount the wrist watch monitor on his bike handles so all he has to do is peel off his wet suit after the swim, attach the sensor to his quad under his compression shorts, and take off on the bike portion of the race.  During the bike race he's able to gradually move his GPS and Moxy wrist watches to his arms so he's ready for the running portion of the race. 

He's also able to do this because our technical team found a way to expand the memory capabilities on the sensor so that we can store around 4.5 hours of SmO2 data.  Can't wait to graph Moxy data plotted with his GPS data.

Way to go Aaron - hope everything goes well for you and for the Moxy sensor. 

Thanks to all of you for reading my Blog!

Stu

5K Performance, Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor Debut, Interbike 2012

Hey everyone!  Thanks for reading my blog.

Increasing Performance
Had a great day yesterday.  I ran a 5K race in my home town.  It was a fairly flat course by any standard, and the weather was PERFECT!  There was no sun, cool temps, somewhat of a threat of rain, so my chances of getting too hot were slimmed down dramatically.  I ran a personal best, cutting over two minutes from my Memorial Day race time.  I think the interval training I talked about in a previous post is paying off.  In fact I'm looking forward to doing an endurance run today!

Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor Debut!
I was also quite excited (and very surprised) to see that the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor was present at the race and being worn by two runners (myself being one of them).  The other runner approached me after the race and we were able to exchange observations about our SmO2 numbers and general comments about how the device is working.  Both of us wore the device before warm-ups, during warm-ups, during the race, and during warm-downs.  It's interesting to see how the numbers follow the activity.

Moxy Monitor, New Strap, Wrist Watch Display

Interbike 2012
Roger (my partner at Fortiori and inventor of Moxy) and I are making plans to attend the 2012 Interbike Conference in Las Vegas, September 19-21.  Here's their description of the show:

"Interbike is the premier cycling trade event in North America with more than 750 companies representing more than 1,200 brands - a one stop opportunity to connect with the entire industry, discover emerging trends and learn new business ideas at Interbike University. Pick your passion and find your people. From BMX to Triathlon, to OutDoor Demo and beyond. Interbike is more than just about the companies attending, it's about the company you'll be keeping. And it only happens once a year. Come for the Culture, Stay for the Show."

I will keep you posted on what happens at Interbike.


The Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor development team (www.moxymonitor.com) is driving hard to get the product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority.  Also, check out the developers forum for updates from real users of the device - it's in the Forum tab on the www.moxymonitor.com web site.

As always - thanks for reading my blog.

Stu

Crowd Funding, MetaWatch, Wireless Muscle Oxygen Monitor

Hey All!  Thanks for reading my blog.  Lots of things going on these days...


Crowd Funding
This is a concept that has come along over the past couple of years.  Simply put, it's more of a "pre-sale" approach than it is an investor approach.  You don't end up owning a piece of the company you invest in, but you get to be the first-in on a lot of cool new items.  The one I linked up below is the MetaWatch.  They are targeting $100K, and are already almost double that at the writing of this blog post.  Really cool - see the link below.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metawatch/metawatch-strata-the-smartwatch-for-the-iphone-4s

And if you think that's amazing, check out the Kickstarter that Pebble watch did a few months ago - over $10M raised. 

Why do I bring this up in my blog?  Because we are working towards doing a Kickstarter for Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor in the Fall of this year. 

Also - another significance to MetaWatch - this device works well with the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor.  That's right - we are planning to display our SmO2 data right on the MetaWatch.  In fact our technical team already has one, and is working on establishing communications.

New Wireless Prototype
As I mentioned in a previous post, the wireless version of the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor is now available.  I have been running with mine since the middle of last week - and the data is looking really good.  Next week we will have 10 systems to send out to our Developers group. 

Reminder that our developers forum is up and running.  The developers group has edit and posting rights, all others can view their activity.  If you want to be a part of the developers forum group - let me know.   It's on our new web site at www.moxymonitor.com.


Thanks again for reading my blog.  I will keep you informed as things develop.

Stu

Big Developments in Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor

First of all, thanks for reading my blog.  I enjoy writing it, and hope you are getting something out of the discussions about exercise physiology.

To stay true to the title of this post, there is some news that I would like to share.

The Device
The progress that our development team is making is tremendous.  Tomorrow I have the honor of receiving the first wireless Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor system.  It includes the sensor, which attaches directly and non-invasively to the muscle of the athlete, and a wrist watch type device that displays the SmO2 readings.  I can't wait to hit the road and put on some miles with this device.

The New Web Site
We are very excited to see the new web site.  Please make sure you check it out, spend some time looking into the content.    www.moxymonitor.com  

The Advisory Team
The players are all in place to begin use of the new wireless system.  Their names are published on our web site.  There will be more than 13 monitoring systems going out over the next couple of weeks.  Their job is to post information, questions, and discussions on the site, and help us refine the uses for the device.

The Forum
We have started a forum that you can view from our web site.  This is where the Advisory Team will communicate with each other, and all of you will be able to observe as well.

Thanks again to all of your for reading my blog, and for sharing this journey with us.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Stu

Bonus: Here's a picture of the new Moxy Muscle Oxygen monitor.

Why I’m excited about Muscle Oxygen Monitoring for Training

Why I’m excited about Muscle Oxygen Monitoring for Training

(This blog post contributed by Roger Schmitz, Owner and Chief Engineer at Fortiori Design LLC, and inventor of the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor.)

The mechanisms by which the human body improves performance are well understood.

1)      Neurological adaptations

2)      Physiological adaptations

The first mechanism occurs relatively quickly with any training regimen.  It’s sometimes called the novice effect.  Basically it means that your body learns how to most efficiently control the muscles to perform the intended task.  This adaptation can occur very quickly because you don’t need to grow more muscle mass; you just need to learn more efficient movements.

A personal example of this phenomenon occurred when I had a job setting concrete forms to pour basement walls.  The forms were 8 feet tall, 3 feet wide and weighed over 80 pounds.  At first, I just about couldn’t move the things.  However, I quickly learned how to balance the weight, hold them close to my body, and many other techniques that made the job much easier.  Within a few weeks, I could carry them on one arm!

The neurological adaptations occur on large and small scales.  The body learns to only recruit muscles that most efficiently perform the task and fibers in within each muscle start to work together better. 

 

The physiological adaptations take longer and are more difficult to stimulate.  A muscle needs 2 things to generate physiological adaptations.

1)      Stress

2)      Recovery

Stress is the body’s signal to grow muscle.  The stress comes from use… hard use.  Recovery is the body’s opportunity to rebuild the muscle stronger than it was before the stress.  Recovery isn’t just passive however.  Recovery requires adequate nutrition and it works best with lots of blood flow to the muscle.

This brings us to muscle oxygen monitoring and we need to think about both mechanisms of performance improvement.  Muscle oxygen monitoring indicates the current stress status of a muscle.  High oxygenation means low stress and vice versa.

It’s not always easy for an athlete to know that they are exercising at the proper stress level to induce muscle growth or at the proper level for recovery.  Studies have shown that athletes tend to exercise at too low of intensity on the high stress workouts and too low of intensity on their recoveries.

The athlete’s perception of the stress level in their muscle can be clouded by the neurological adaptation.  Initially, a certain workout will induce the desired stress level to induce muscle growth.  However, as the neurological adaptation occurs, the same workout becomes too easy due to improved efficiency.  Workouts like the p90X workout were developed in an effort to address this issue.

On the recovery side athletes tend to want to feel the burn or feel like they’re pushing themselves.  Often, this puts them at too high of an intensity level for optimal recovery.

Monitoring the muscle oxygen level is a fundamental answer to this problem.  It measures directly what athletes need to know in order to improve performance.

Thanks Roger, and a big thanks to all of you for reading my blog!!

Stu

Mountain Bike Racing in Idaho! Sun Valley Nationals Course

Scott Spoo, graduate student at the University of Minnesota, and a member of our Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor Developers Forum, just got back from a Mountain Biking race on the Sun Valley Nationals course in Idaho.

The race was a "loop" and was over 22 miles in total distance.  And if you think Mountain Biking over 22 miles is tough, consider that the elevation change for this race was over 3000 Feet!  Quite a feat, if you ask me.  Congratulations Scott on a great race.

Scott tried using the physiological metrics available to him, most prominently Heart Rate.  However, in his post-race write-up, Scott commented that he really would have like to have had the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor giving him Oxygen readings throughout.  Especially, during the large elevation changes. 

Quoting Scott, he says that "I was just out in Idaho for the Mtn bike national race.... and boy do I wish I had the Moxy !"

I am really looking forward to seeing Scotts write-up published in the Moxy Muscle Oxygenation Developers Forum.

In Other News - Roger and I are off to the studio to make a promotional video for the new web site tomorrow.  Wish us luck!

Thanks for reading my blog

Stu

Muscle Oxygen vs. Muscle Oxygenation for Athletes

Getting a bit technical with today's blog - something to ponder for the physiology-minded reader.

I have done some research on the term Oxygenation, specifically regarding how well it fits with the Moxy Muscle Oxygen (or Oxygenation?) Monitor we are developing.  Any thoughts on this one are welcome ...

• Oxygenation - according to one source (Wikipedia) - "occurs when oxygen molecules (O2) enter the tissues of the body.  For example, blood is oxygenated in the lungs, where oxygen molecules travel from the air and into the blood.  Oxygenation is commonly used to refer to medical oxygen saturation."
• Oxygen - according to one source (Dictionary.com) - "a colorless, odorless, gaseous element constituting about one-fifth of the volume of the atmosphere and present in a combined state in nature."

So the question is: would "Oxygenation" be the more appropriate description of what we are measuring?  The answer would be an obvious "yes".  But the real challenge is  - do our users understand "Oxygenation" more easily, or is the term "Oxygen" more understandable to them?

I'd sure like to hear from a few readers on this one. 

At present we are continuing to use the term "Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor", but there are also a few of us that use "Moxy Muscle Oxygenation Monitor" to describe the device.






In other news ...

• This is a big week.  We are planning to release the new web site for public use.  Can't wait to see what it looks like when finished.
• In the week following ... the new wireless version of the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor we be available to our "Moxy Developers" group.  We currently are up to 13 (possibly 14) members in the group, and their on-line forum is set up and ready for feedback and discussion.  And you will have access to it!  I will be posting the web address soon.

Once again, thanks for reading my blog!

Stu

Great Athletic Training Device on Kickstarter.com

Hello again everyone, and thanks for reading my blog!

I read an inspiring piece today in Triathlete Magazine, and I wanted to share it with all of you.

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/07/gear-tech/mio-to-launch-strapless-heart-rate-monitor_57233

Using Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com) is an excellent method of raising funds for a new business opportunity without giving up equity in the business. 

Earlier this year we watched as a product called Pebble, a simple e-paper watch, raised over $10M on Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android?ref=live).  That's pretty impressive - maybe even too impressive when you think about how many of those watches need to be built and shipped in the three months following the closing of the project.

There are currently plans coming together to get the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor into a Kickstarter project - most likely by this Fall.  Our goals is to raise enough funds to get the design ready for mass production. 

Thanks again for reading my blog!

Stu

What does it take to get better?

First of all, I have to clear up some "technical" business.  As we develop this new MOxy product, it is important that we get some consistent terminology associated with the metric.  For more detailed information, check out the two blog posts I wrote earlier about the "Dump Trucks".

SmO2 - This is the technical term (abreviation) for the metric that the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor actually measures. 

The "S" refers to "Saturation", as in the percent of hemoglobin that is saturated with Oxygen.

The "m" refers to "muscle". 

The "O2", of course, refers to "Oxygen", which in this metric is tied to hemoglobin.

"Muscle Oxygen Monitor" refers to the complete measurement system including the sensor, the display, and any external software and websites that we might use. 

Now on to the topic at hand, "What does it take to get better?".

As I work through the benefits (and, at times, disappointments) in my own training regime, I am finding that there is room for both aerobic and anaerobic workouts.  I thought all it took was to just keep running, but I have never made gains as quickly as I have recently mixing things up a bit. 

I start my week (like I just did tonight) with what I'm told is an LSR (Long Slow Run), which for me is about 6 miles at somewhere around a 9 minute mile (sometimes longer).  This I do once per week.

Then I make sure I mix in a few "interval" training runs.  Being that I am mostly interested in competing in 5k and 4 mile runs, I keep the overall length of the interval training to about 3 miles.  From there, it's pretty simple.  I run half mile intervals, starting with a half mile slow and steady, followed by a half mile as fast as I can for that distance.  The fast half is always tough.

With this method I am seeing great results.  My times are consistently coming down, whereas they were actually getting worse before I tried this.

How does this connect with the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor?  It's clear from our early testing that this system gives direct and instantaneous feedback to the athlete that lets them know if they are aerobic or anarobic, how long they have been in that state, and how deep into that state they have been.

For example - the LSR (Long Slow Run) is for building endurance.  MOxy's SmO2 readings can tell the athlete that they are maintaining their Muscle Oxygen readings in a zone that is safe for long endurance type workouts.  Sure they are tiring workouts, but the supply of Oxygen is not an issue.  This "zone" is excellent for building the endurance the athlete is looking for, and has the added benefit of being great for weight loss.

However, the LSR won't build your speed.  For that the athlete must get into some kind of speed training, like the "interval" training I talked about earlier.  The athlete must push themselves to drive their muscles into the "anaerobic" zone, starving the muscle of Oxygen for short periods of time.  With MOxy's SmO2 readings, the athlete can determine the depth of the anaerobic "zone", and how long that depth has been held.  Following the fast interval, there is a recovery period that must occur before the athlete goes after another fast interval.  This is sometimes done with heart rate (HR) or with time, but MOxy's SmO2 readings tell the athlete their rate of recovery and the peak of their recovery as well.  How long they chose to hold the recovery period, once it is complete, is up to them. 

I personally tested the device, both on myself and other athletes.  The system worked well, but still had a chord and a laptop computer.  I am really looking forward to getting the wireless systems in the hands of our MOxy Developers.  The delivery date is now within just a few weeks, and our Developers are waiting anxiously for the systems to be delivered.  With wireless sensors and a wrist worn monitor, this device is ready to "hit the road". 

More to come on the Developers group.  I will share their Bios, and a link to the Forum that they will be using to post their feedback.

Once again, thanks for reading my blog!!!

Stu

It's Official - New MOxy Logo

Hi again everyone. 
I am excited to announce that we have a new logo.  This logo will be showing up on the product, on the new web site currently under development, and on clothing and other promotional materials.

Thanks to the Marketing Team for all the solid work putting this together.

Here it is!

As always, I welcome your comments.  What do you think of the new logo?

Thanks for reading my blog!

Stu

Why do we run? A comment on my dad's bypass surgery.

On a personal note, this week my father went through heart bypass surgery.  Based on my simple minded genetics viewpoint, I should be getting prepped for mine in about 26 years.  I find it amazing that today's state-of-the-art procedure has him under the knife on Monday morning, and sitting up in a chair, eating his evening meal, and laughing a chatting with his grand children on Wednesday evening. 

We all run for a variety of reasons, our personalities drive us all to this activity from so many different perspectives.  But we all get the same benefits.  I could blog 10,000 words today about the mental and physical benefits of exercise, but you can do that research yourself  - there's ton's of it out there.  My philosophy on health and fitnes, weight gain or loss, and basic energy levels is quite simply - Eat Right and Exercise.  I haven't seen a fad diet or exercise gizmo on TV yet that can come close to just working at it from that simple philosophy.

Followers of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor have probably been wondering, as they read the first two paragraphs, "how is he going to work the product into this post?". 

Well - here it is.

Again - it's all about oxygen, and the ability to deliver oxygen.  The heart bypass is a procedure targeted at dramatically increasing blood supply,oxygen, and nutrients, to areas of the heart muscle that, through disease, are becoming starved and damaged.  This is the cause of chest pain, fatigue, and heart attacks. 

You, the athlete, are working hard every day to increase the efficiency with which you delivery oxygen to the muscles you are working, and to increase the efficiency with which those muscles utilize that oxygen.  Cardiovascular improvements are noticed by you as you improve your times, increase your speed, and increase you distance.

MOxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor measures "directly" the oxygen delivery and consumption in the muscle you are targeting.   It's a scientific approach that has been used in medicine for decades, and, with MOxy, has now become portable and cost effective for athletes.

I am still planning to get the new news out on this blog regarding our new logo, web site, and user community.  That's still on the "Coming Soon" list (very soon!).  I am very excited about these changes, and know that you will be too.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Stu

Development of a user community ...

In a previous blog I talked about the addition of Valerie Hunt to the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor "User Community".  The mission of this group is to use the new wireless version of the device, help develop some best practices on it's use, and write/talk/blog about it.  Keeping this passionate group of users together and interacting regularly will help aid in the rapid development of the final device in the Fall of this year. 

If you are interested, or know someone who may be interested, in becoming a part of the User Community, please let me know asap.

I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks.  There is a lot going on with the build up of the wireless systems, establishing communication to a wrist worn monitoring device, launching a new web site, and introducing a totally new logo for the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor.  I think you are going to like it.  We are sure excited. 

Thanks for reading my blog.  I am looking forward to your questions and feedback.

Stu

More on the Dump Truck Analogy

Thanks for the feedback from the fans of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor and of this blog.  Your comments are very helpful in the process of getting this product into the hands of those trainers and athletes that need it.

In a previous blog I talked about the analogy of "Dump Trucks" where the Dump Trucks represented hemoglobin, the blood component that carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissue (muscle) that needs it.  In the blog I references a draft paper that was being prepared by Roger Schmitz, Owner and Chief Engineer at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com).
As Schmitz explains, "By carefully measuring color (of the hemoglobin) MOxy measures the percentage of hemoglobin in the capillaries that is loaded with oxygen." 

The connection to exercise is that "The human body has several response mechanisms to exercise that alter the whole dump truck system. First, heart rate goes up in response to exercise. This has the effect of increasing the speed limit... all the trucks move faster. Second, traffic can be redirected at the side street level. When more oxygen is needed in a certain area, chemical signals cause more side streets to open up.

As more and more of the dump trucks in the capillaries are unloaded, it means that more and more parts of the muscle aren’t getting all of the oxygen that is needed. This is true regardless of the heart rate.

When muscles get all of the oxygen they need ... they can keep doing work for a long time (aerobic metabolism). However, when a muscle isn’t getting all of the oxygen that it needs (anaerobic metabolism), it can keep working… but only for a while. The fuel store for this type of work is limited and it causes the buildup of byproducts like lactic acid. Eventually, the muscle runs out of anaerobic fuel and the lactic acid build up causes the muscle to stop doing work."

In future blog posts I will discuss more about the benefits of knowing whether your workout is aerobic or anaerobic.  Both have benefits - but they are quite different.

Thanks to everyone again for reading the blog.  Thanks as well to Roger Schmitz (rschmitz@fortiorides.com) for his contributions to this post.

As I stated in previous posts, "The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the MOxy product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority."

That's all for now. Thanks for reading my blog!

Welcome Valerie Hunt to the MOxy User Community

I'd like to throw a special thanks out there to Valerie Hunt.  Valerie is the owner of Xpressfitness in Austin, Texas, and is the most recent addition to the MOxy User Community.  Valerie has a BS in Kinesiology from the University of Texas in Austin, with a minor in Nutrition, and she now has a MOxy device and is just getting started.  Valerie has indicated that she's already got an application for the device, targeting improving performance of a client that seems to be lagging in performance compared to where she should be.

On an interesting note - Valerie is a Pose Method Certified Running Coach Level II.  If you want to know more about Pose, check out this link  http://www.posetech.com/services/ValerieHunt.html.  I watched one of the videos, and it makes the claim that it can reduce energy expended for the same or similar speed accomplished.  The method is very interesting, and I think I could really benefit from it myself.

Valerie's addition to the team is an example of what we intend to keep doing - looking for people who are very interested in the technology, and can help us understand the uses and methods that need to be associated with using the MOxy device.

If anyone has any questions or comments, on this post, and other posts, or just in general about the MOxy device - please contact me at sgiere.fortiori@gmail.com.  Also check us out on our web site at www.fortiorides.com.  Finally, of course, you could just respond (in-line) within this blog.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Stu

MOxy Explained - Dump Trucks of Oxygen?

As always, a very big thanks to all of you who are reading this Blog.  I am new to doing this, and I am still trying some things out - so thanks for your patience.  In this post, I would like to ask all those readers out there in my friends network to give me some feedback on the exerpts below - let me know if this information makes sense, or give ideas on how it can be improved or clarified.

A reminder - the purpose for my blogging is to develop a body of information about my start-up company, the device we are launching THIS YEAR, and some information about the fitness industry that is connected to the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor applications and technology.

Today I thought I would reference a paper recently written ( but still in draft form) by Roger Schmitz,  the Chief Engineer at Fortiori Design (the makers of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor). 

In an effort to simplify the description of MOxy, Schmitz created the analogy of "Dump Trucks" to represent the blood component Hemoglobin.  In the paper, Schmitz says that "Hemoglobin is the molecule in blood that is the primary carrier of oxygen from the lungs to where it’s needed in the body."

Schmitz goes on to state that "Hemoglobin is the dump truck that hauls oxygen from the lungs to where it’s needed. The dump trucks travel on the circulatory system of the body. The heart moves the trucks. The lungs load the trucks. The arteries and veins are the freeways for the trucks to travel. The capillaries are the business end where the trucks unload."

What's important to know at this point, is that the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor measures this DIRECTLY.  In other words, the MOxy sensor can detect how much Oxygen is in the muscle being measured.

Schmitz states "A little gift from physics is that the hemoglobin dump trucks change color depending on whether they’re carrying oxygen or not. So by looking at the color of the dump trucks in the capillaries we can see how many are carrying oxygen. This is where the MOxy comes in. By carefully measuring color, it measures the percentage of hemoglobin in the capillaries that is loaded with oxygen."

Again - I am looking for feedback on the analogy of the Dump Trucks.  In the future I will talk about the aerobic and anaerobic states, and why they are important to the athlete.

Thanks for reading my Blog!!!

Stu

First Annual Oak Island 5K! (???)

That's right, Oak Island.  I was the sole competitor in my own 5K workout.  Just so happens that if you run from the East end of the island to the West end, then back again, it's about 3 miles.  Too bad it's all rutted up muddy paths.  But that's a great challenge for a runner.  Keep on the path, keep track of your intensity, don't lose your footing in mud, and don't turn your ankle on the terrain (I did twice, a bit sore, but OK).

If you aren't aware of Oak Island, it is the Northern most point in the lower 48 states, and sits atop the Northwest Angle in Northern Minnesota.  Nice place to go if you want to catch Walleye, and a nice surprise that this island in the Northern paradise has enough trails to support at least some kind of training while up here.

Got some evidence, as you can see.  Pictures include 1) trail conditons,  2) halfway point (West end of island), and 3) my son with the "proof" of why we came this far (just a sampling).

Thanks for reading my blog!
Stu

Snyder Paper

Hope everyone is doing well and had an enjoyable Memorial Day holiday weekend.  Thanks to all those who work so hard to memorialize our heros, those who have passed on and those who are still with us.

I wanted to take the opportunity in this post to discuss briefly a paper that was published in September of 2009 in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning.  The title of the paper is "Using near-infrared spectroscopy to determine maximal steady state exercise intensity."  In this paper, the authors (Snyder and Parmenter, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) discuss a study they did on 9 men and 7 women using a medical version of the MOxy device, in this case referring to the metric as StO2 (Tissue Oxygen Saturation). 

In the paper, the authors state that "Maximal steady state (MSS) speed can be determined from blood lactate concentration (HLa); however, this method is not optimal.  (Lactate requires a finger stick blood sample).  The purpose of this study was to determine whether near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology could be used to detect a breakpoint in percent oxygen saturation (StO2) of the muscle and whether the determined breakpoint exercise intensity could be used to determine MSS exercise intensity."

The testing protocol included "Sixteen distance runners and triathletes ... they completed an incremental exercise test. A change from linearity when plotting StO2 or HLa (Lactate) vs. running speed was defined as the breakpoint."

"The subjects then completed constant speed runs to determine maximal lactate steady state (MLSS). In 12 subjects, breakpoints were identified for both HLa and StO2 values." the paper goes on to say.  This work was all done on a treadmill with the StO2 sensor on the calf muscle of the athlete.

Snyder states that "The results of this study lead us to conclude that the NIRS determination of StO2 is a noninvasive technique that is comparable with HLa (Lactate) in determining MSS intensity and therefore appropriate for use in determining exercise training intensity." 

In other words, the MOxy approach to measuring Maximal Steady State, or the pace at which a runner or triathlete can sustain long distances without running out of energy, and without pacing too slow, is an "appropriate" methodology.  And it is real-time, continuous, and non-invasive - which you can't get with a HLa (Blood Lactate) system.

Our thanks to Snyder and Parmenter for this excellent study.  This is good work.

In the near future I will be highlighting some work being done at the University of Minnesota Athletic Department with the MOxy device.  Stay tuned, its some pretty exciting feedback from real users of the device.

As I stated in previous posts, "The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the MOxy product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority."

That's all for now.  Thanks for reading my blog!

Why? Why? Why?

Why are we doing this?  Why would anyone need a MOxy Muscle Oxygen sensor - from the extreme athlete looking to hit the top of their field, to a jogger looking for weight loss or cardio gains.  As I stated in my last blog, we are doing this because:

"The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority."


Well, this week we have seen another major step forward in the potential of this product.  As you know from my last blog entry, last week we talked to trainer and tri-athlete Christian Wilhelm of MVP Fuel in San Diego(http://www.mvpfuelsport.com/).  This week we have feedback from another trainer and top athlete, Anna Larsson.  If you are interested in who Anna is, just google "Anna Larsson Fitness" and she will show up in articles and pictures.  Anna is a colleague of Christian at MVP Fuel.  She's also got quite an impressive resume'.  Here's what it says on her profile: "her sports are IFBB Professional Figure Athlete, MMA Fighter and Swedish Gladiator".  (I'll show you a sample picture later.)

Anna's comments after using the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor last week were:

• "Incredible piece of equipment."
• She emphasized the importance of being able to "see recovery".
• MOxy is "even better than heart rate". "Its the next step past heart rate...more detailed."
• "With MOxy you know when to pull back on your intensity, and when to push forward."
• Anna used the term "real-time" nearly a dozen times during the meeting.

What struck our team as we reviewed our notes from the meeting with Anna was that there are a lot of products out there that really don't have nearly the meaningful impact as MOxy.  The thing the folks at MVP Fuel are getting at with many of their comments is that it's "Real" or "Accurate" because it really measures the oxygen content in their muscle during their workout. 

That's it for this entry in Stu's Blog.  Thanks for reading my blog! (And feel free to comment!)



Oops - almost forgot the picture of Anna.   Enjoy!

RECOVERY, RECOVERY, RECOVERY!

I was reading an article in Runner's World this week, and the focus was on (guess what?) RECOVERY.

We all know that there is a ton of data and experience behind the importance of understanding RECOVERY during workout intervals.  But is there really a practical way to measure it? 

The Runner's World article (June 2012) by Cindy Kuzma (page 29) talks about a variety of running drills that include RECOVERY periods - and the RECOVERY periods are all measured in TIME. 

Just as an example, she refers to "Short Rest" intervals, between high intensity training intervals, you can teach the runner to "run through fatigue".  She goes on to say that the rest period for this "short rest" is "30-90 Seconds".  Really?  That's a pretty big range.  And ... it has to be.  No two athletes are the same.  No two RECOVERY periods are the same.  So, if you really need a RECOVERY of 30 seconds, and you rest for 90 seconds, that's a 3X overshoot.  And the opposite would also be true.

What Ms. Kuzma is merely doing is applying the current state-of-art technology for measuring recover periods - a watch.  What she doesn't know (YET!) is that there is an emerging product technology, the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor, that DIRECTLY measures RECOVERY. 

The MOxy team has been working with Christian Wilhelm (Head Performance Coach, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Ironman/Triathlete) at MVP Fuel in San Diego, CA (www.mvpfuel.com). Chris has been using two (2) MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensors on his clients for over a month, and has been able to assess MOxy's role in RECOVERY of athletes. 

Chris stated recent, regarding his experience with using it on clients, "it's awesome to see recovery and depletion".  

Chris also commented on something very important to the earlier discussion on using TIME for RECOVERY.  He said that, "You can see the recovery, see when the clients are ready for more." And, "The differences between people range from 4 minutes down to 15 seconds."

I had one of the trainers at the local YMCA take the MOxy for a spin on the Spinner bike a few weeks ago, and here's an exerpt (below) from his MOxy Muscle Oxygen data.  Note that he's pushing himself hard, and the MOxy Muscle Oxygen numbers to down into the 30% range.  Then as the instructor gives him and the class a break, he hits a recovery of around 80%.  These MOxy readings were taken on the Vastus Lateralis, the largest muscle in the Quadriceps muscle group.


The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts.  Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority.

Thanks again for reading my Blog!

Stu

Hello Everyone

Thanks for reading my blog.  And please feel free to comment - and ask questions as much as you want.

As I pondered the future of the product, it struck me this weekend that I have not taken enough time, even with friends, family, and a smattering of early users of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen device, to explain what a MOxy Muscle Oxygen sensor is measuring.  To achieve this, I have to take a little risk in pushing some of you beyond your technical understanding of the physics of how light propagates through tissue (travels through, gets absorbed, scatters).  This is fundamental to how the device works.  I have also mixed in a little physiology for those with an interest.

So, take yourself back to a time when you were on a camping trip, and, in the dark, you held a flashlight with your hand over the light.  The characteristic I am talking about in this blog is the one you observed when you saw only "red" light coming through the other side of your hand. 

The first big step is to understand that your blood is the carrier of many things for your body to use, and it carries away waste products as well.  In the case of Oxygen supply, vital to your muscles and all tissue, the blood component that carries it through the body is called Hemoglobin. 

The next big step is to understand that hemoglobin changes in "color" depending on just what it happens to be carrying.  If it carries Oxygen, it is a different "color" than if it were carrying Carbon Dioxide, or simply carrying nothing at all.

That, finally, is where the MOxy Muscle Oxygen sensor comes into the picture.  By shining 4 different wavelengths of light, or "colors", into the muscle, and measuring the amount of each color of light that is returned, the MOxy sensor can accurately and instanteously determine how much Oxygen is in the muscle.   The ratio of the absorption of these colors tells the on-board computer precisely the amount of Oxygen available in the muscle.

So that's how the technology works.  It isn't quite as simple as that, but it's close enough to generate at least an appreciation for what the sensor is doing.


The next area of focus is what I will call the "so what" factor, or "Why would someone need to know this information?".

The answer can be quite varied.  Medical applications have honed in on assessing patient status, even going as far as to predict when a patient is going to go into Shock.

The MOxy Muscle Oxygen device, however, is focused primary on health and fitness applications.    The team at Fortiori Design (inventors of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor) are working with fitness trainers from around the country, testing the device under a variety of conditions.  So far the response has been overwhelming. 

The next step for the Fortiori team is to get their wireless prototype developed and in the hands of its early users for further testing.  These systems will be available mid-Summer, with a planned "commercial" device by the Fall.

Here's a flyer that our U of MN team created this year.  It's not our "official" marketing brochure, but it's still pretty cool stuff, and it gives you an idea of what the device (currently) looks like.  They also have created a promotional video, as a part of their final presentation, that can be seen on our website at www.fortiorides.com .  Check it out if you can.


Enjoy!

Stu