Author: Janine

Treadmill app throwdown: Studio vs. Peloton

Treadmill app throwdown: Studio vs. Peloton

Jul 8, 2019 | , ,

Do the minutes and miles you spend on the treadmill seem to crawl by? Does bad weather put a serious damper on your training? If you’re like me, you find that the monotony of slogging out a few miles on the treadmill can be just as miserable as ironing a mountain of clothing or waiting in line at the DMV. To help deal with the drudgery, I tried (and reviewed below) two popular mobile apps for runners: Studio and Peloton. In short, here’s the key difference between the two: With Peloton (we’ve all seen the ads for their bikes...

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The “spring in your step” mix

The “spring in your step” mix

May 2, 2019 | ,

The seasons have turned, spring is here after a long drippy, dreary winter, and it’s time to crank your workout volume up. This mix, perfect for running or indoor cycling, draws mostly from bouncy hip hop and electronic dance tunes and has just the right amount of attitude. You can get it on Apple...

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Review: Deep Work by Cal Newport

Review: Deep Work by Cal Newport

Jan 13, 2019 | , , ,

I am a knowledge worker with two masters degrees and years of work experience. But this is me every day: via GIPHY I’m constantly and easily distracted, either by intrusions (office-drop-ins, pings and “emergencies”) or by my own weak attention span (what new thing is there on my news app?). And I don’t think I’m alone in this, given the online shopping and Facebook checking I see when I nosily glance at my coworkers’ screens. But really, how are we to resist this? On most days I have 6.5 hours of meetings. What’s more, these are generally 30-minute meetings,...

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More Cowbells (and Xylophones)! A running playlist

More Cowbells (and Xylophones)! A running playlist

Dec 31, 2018 |

OK, I’ll confess: I do not play any musical instruments, nor have I spent even an hour of my life ever studying music. Therefore — take this playlist title with a grain of salt. These are songs that sound like they feature xylophones (in reality, much of what’s played here might be from a synthesizer, a glockenspiel or a marimba) or some of these cowbells may not really be cowbells (the extent of my knowledge here is the Saturday Night Live skit). Having provided that disclaimer, I will say that for runners these two instruments (or things that sound...

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Songs about running: A runner’s playlist

Songs about running: A runner’s playlist

Dec 31, 2018 |

There’s nothing like running to a song that seems like it was written just to motivate you to get your butt through a workout. You know: The kind of inspirational tune that almost gets you singing along in the gym — totally off-key so that everyone’s staring at you? Well, here is a playlist for the runners who like to be extolled to run. To run away. To gain freedom. To win. To get the police off your back. To trot around like a colt for the pure fun of it....

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