Hot workouts, cool socks, buff and brainy mice

New news from the research world … .

Cool(ing) technology: It’s 99 out and the humidity is even higher. You want to workout, you yearn to workout. On the other hand, you’re not big into heat stroke, either. Clever entrepreneurs have discovered this about you, which is why you’re starting to see an increasing number of PCDs — personal cooling devices — on the market. From the $50 Bex Runner cool pack that straps to your palm to the $189 Arctic Heat cooling vest by Cool Down Fire Up to $3,000 gizmo called CoreControl, devices abound to help you work out when it’s way hot. read more

CrossFit: covering all the bases

I originally wrote the following story for The Charlotte Observer, where it ran on Tuesday, July 13.  Yesterday, I posted a similar story that ran July 13 in The News & Observer of Raleigh.

Back in the spring, Andy Cole would have been happy to just keep up with his 5-year-old and almost 2-year-old at the local playground, let alone squat-lift 285 pounds and run two miles without stopping. read more

Weekend plans? Surf’s up in Wilmington, finding treasure in Charlotte, seeing polka dots in Boone

We usually go to outdoors events  to participate — to run, to ride, to play. Sometimes, though, we go for inspiration.

That could be the case this weekend at the 6th Annual Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest in Wilmington. Some 96 pro surfers are scheduled to attend this year’s event at Wrightsville Beach, which offers up $20,000 in prize money. Among them are former ASP World Championship tour standout and Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame inductee Ben Bourgeois, Mike Losness, Paul Fisher, Jay Thompson, Nick Rozsa, Dylan Goodale, Heath “Nutty” Walker and Tonino Benson. read more

Explore the outdoors, discover yourself.