The weekend approaches. You’re eager to do something, but what? And when? And where?
Behold the GetGoingNC Comprehensive Calendar Collection. For a while now I’ve been mulling a unified calendar that would include every outdoor activity — from nature hikes, to bike rides, to paddle trips, to 5Ks, to Yoga-in-the-Park to whatever — going on across the state. I’m still mulling (I’ve discovered that such a calendar is a lot of work), but in the interim I’ve come up with the next best thing: a collection of event calendars culled from across the state that should clue you in to dang near everything going on on any given day in North Carolina.read more
Those of you who are in great shape yet feel betrayed — and baffled — by your BMI, take heart. A study released earlier this month by the American College of Sports Medicine finds that you can be in great shape, yet deemed overweight by your BMI.
Seventy-one high school football players from seven schools were poked and probed in a variety of ways to determine their fitness levels. Based on their their body fat percent (or BF% in industry shorthand), 45 were declared of normal weight. But based on their BMI, only 26 fell into the normal category. Likewise, 18 were considered overweight based on their BF% and 21 using BMI as a measure, while six were considered obese under BF% guidelines, 24 when judged by their BMI. Said the ACSM: “These larger players’ muscular body composition may lead to overstated body mass indexes.”read more
Last year I was backpacking across Jane Bald on the Appalachian Trail when I came upon a 74-year-old gentleman from Atlanta. We talked for a few minutes, mostly about his extensive hiking experience in the region. “Of course,” he said after sharing his 10th favorite trail, “I wouldn’t be hiking any of them without these.” At that, he tapped the two hiking poles he’d been leaning against. “Wish I’d started hiking with ‘em seven years sooner,” he added. “Would have spared my knees some pain.”read more
The following post on Team Bandwidth.com’s winning of this year’s Race Across America originally appeared in the Work & Money section of The News & Observer on Sunday, June 27. I’ve written more on the team’s experience here.read more
In today’s The News & Observer, I write about Team Bandwidth.com’s experience in Race Across America, the 3,004-mile bike race from Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md., that TB.com won (competing in the four-person team division), covering the distance in 6 days, 3 hours and 9 minutes. Here are more details on TB’s experience. (Probably makes more sense if you read the main story first, then come back here for more insights.)read more