Edited by Katie Barnes. Email:
katiebarnes@leisuremedia.com Lightweights
UNBEATABLE MUSIC SYNCHS TO THE HEART
Jogging along and getting into ‘the zone’, the last thing runners want is to get distracted by music that’s either too slow or fast. To avoid such a situation, Shahriar Nirjon, a computer science student at the University of Virginia, US, has created a biofeedback-based system for smartphones that synchs to the heart beat. With the Musical Heart, a microphone is
placed in the earphones which detects the pulse of the arteries. An app then selects tunes from a playlist based on that beat. The really clever part, however, is that an
algorithm refi nes the selection process by storing heart rate data and calculating the effects of the music. In time, it learns to select music to optimise the user’s heart rate if they’re working out, or can be programmed to help people relax. The Musical Heart system is not on the market
yet, but the good news is that it may only cost as little as US$20. Details:
https://news.virginia.edu
ZOMBIE FEVER REACHES THE RACE CIRCUIT
Forget the dreaded stopwatch. Now there’s another more sinister way to get your health club members to step up a gear – zombies! And no, we’re not talking about
a phone app – we mean blood- spattered, growling zombies lunging at you as you run. That was the tack taken by organisers of the Zombie Evacuation Race held near Cambridge, UK, recently. The 5km run saw around 200 ‘evacuees’ released in half-hour intervals into the countryside to contend with lurking zombie volunteers, smoke bombs and other obstacles. Details:
www.zombieevacuation.com
Exercise excuses exposed
The number one reason people give for avoiding a workout is ‘I don’t have time’ – this according to an article recently published by online newspaper The Huffi ngton Post, which detailed the top 10 excuses people give not exercising. Next on the list was ‘I can’t afford it’,
followed by ‘I’m too tired’, ‘I’m too old’ and ‘I hate gyms’! Weaker excuses included ‘I’m too fat’ and ‘I don’t have the right kit’.
January 2013 © Cybertrek 2013 If you work in the fi tness industry,
you’ve probably heard all these reasons on numerous occasions. But if you want to keep members engaged after New Year resolutions begin to fade, it might be time to start thinking up your counter arguments – or put in place initiatives – now. The advice offered in the article by personal trainer Neilon Pitamber might be a good starting point – see
http://lei.sr?a=W3f1v
SAUNA IN A TENT AT NEW WELSH SPA
One of the UK’s fi rst outdoor log-fi red sauna tents forms part of a new £2m spa at the Ruthin Castle hotel in north Wales. Not to be put off by UK weather, The Moat
spa also features other outdoor experiences including a hot tub with seaweed and herbs, a fi re pit for BBQs and a spring water shower fed by the nearby Clywdian mountains. The spa was designed by Blue Spa and
Leisure and indoors it houses a gym, fi ve treatment rooms, hot tubs also using the spring water, and Finish, Siberian and Russian heat experiences. It’s open to hotel and non-hotel residents
and offers a range of spa days, breaks and packages. Details:
www.ruthincastle.co.uk
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 83
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