Sprenzy Shopping Blog

If you are thinking about buying a Garmin Edge 305 or Forerunner 305 but are hesitant due to the price, you can now get a $75 rebate on an Edge 305 or $50 rebate on a Forerunner 305.

Just sign up for the PowerBar newsletter and you’ll get the rebate form. The rebate offer is good if you purchase a Garmin Edge 305 or Forerunner 305 between June 1, 2007 and November 30, 2007. The rebate paperwork must be postmarked by December 30, 2007.

I’ve been using an Edge 305 for the last year and love it as a cycling computer and training tool. Here is my previous post on the Edge 305. An added benefit of owning a Garmin fitness product, is the ability to upload your training data to MotionBased (MB), where you can further analyze the data. I am completely addicted to MB and can’t wait to upload my data after each bike ride.

Over the last year, the cost of an Edge 305 and Forerunner 305 has dropped almost $100. With the $50 Forerunner 305 rebate, I’m seriously considering getting it to track my running workouts.

Although the current Forerunner is a big improvement in form factor over the previous models, I still think the Forerunner is a little large for a wrist-mounted device. I have to remind myself that it’s a GPS fitness device, so a size comparison to a normal running watch isn’t appropriate. I’ll probably end up getting a Forerunner 305 because I love uploading and tracking my workouts in MotionBased so much.

If you read my review of the Garmin Edge 305, you know that I love my GPS cycling computer. Whether you own a Garmin Edge or Forerunner, the Garmin Training Center (GTC) is the supplied software to download and analyze your workout data. While GTC is adequate and a necessary evil, it’s pretty bland and boring. I can only look at squiggly lines for a short time. The GTC graph below is from a recent bike ride, which shows heart rate, elevation and grade over distance.

An alternative and more useful storage and analysis tool is MotionBased (MB). MB is a web application that allows a member to upload GPS track data and mashes it up with Google Maps. Let’s take a look at the free version, MotionBased Lite. After creating an account, workout data can be directly uploaded from a supported GPS device with the use of the MotionBased Agent. The uploaded activity is then sent to your MB Inbox where you can name the activity, categorize it by type and add a comment. After submitting the activity, it is stored in your Digest, which is a listing of all of your activities.

Activity Dashboard

From the Digest, you can access the activity dashboard, which displays a summary view of your workout. The summary shown below is a road bike ride with high-level data, Google mapping and elevation profile. This ride can be viewed publicly. You can then drill down and analyze the data by time, distance, speed, elevation, heart rate and laps. MotionBased also retrieves the weather from the nearest airport during the activity. It may not be the exact temperature or wind conditions experienced during a workout, especially with many micro-climates like the Bay Area, but it’s beneficial data provided by MB.

Map Player

The map player “replays” the route taken during an activity showing time elapsed, distance, speed, altitude, grade and heart rate at each location on the route. Currently, it only works in Internet Explorer with Adobe SVG viewer. The functionality could be very useful and entertaining, but there are many usability issues that render it ineffective. However, the new beta player, which shows up randomly, is a much improved version that works across browsers. Here is the MB Player for the ride shown above. There are still several UI/usability issues, but it’s a big upgrade.

TrailNetwork

From MB, “the TrailNetwork is the community-oriented section of MotionBased where customers can access activities posted by other members. It’s a growing database of activities and routes created by MotionBased customers. The TrailNetwork may be used to discover new activities or to review results of activities for virtual competition.” Unless an activity is marked private, all of your workouts will be displayed in the TrailNetwork. Additionally, each user has a public activities page. Here’s mine: public activities - Chuck415.

The community feature is the best part of MB. You can view and download route information from other members in your area or get new courses while visiting other cities or countries. It’s a great way to find the routes that are popular with the locals. Additionally, you can share your public page and XML/RSS feed with friends to keep them up to date or to simply motivate each other.

Google Earth

If you have Google Earth, you can export an activity and re-live it with a bird’s-eye view. I don’t know how helpful this feature is, but I definitely enjoy it. It’s a great way to share a run or ride with friends. And on days I’m suffering on my bike, I have more fun watching the replay on Google Earth than the actual ride.

Pricing

With the free version, MotionBased Lite, an unlimited number of activities can be uploaded or accessed, but only the 10 most recent workouts have the dashboard. Upgrading to MotionBased Standard allows dashboard access to all activities, sorting/filtering of the Digest, Saved Reports, the Analyzer and no ads. Check out the MB product features for a description of all MB features. MotionBased Standard is $11.95 a month or $95.40 for an annual plan.

Summary

MotionBased is a great web-based service to store, track and analyze your GPS workout data. With MB, you are able to:

• Upload activities and store your history on MotionBased where you can remotely access it from anywhere
• Perform more post-workout analysis than the Garmin Training Center software
• Visualize activities on Google Maps or Google Earth
• Share workouts with friends or view activities from other MotionBased members
• Export any public activity in GPX or CRS file format, which can be loaded as a course on your GPS device

My primary issue with MB is the UI of the site. I think MB can make major changes to improve the site usability. Still, it’s a wonderful service for anyone with a fitness GPS device. The free service, MotionBased Lite, provides all but a few features that paying members receive.

I upgraded to MB Standard because I want to analyze all of my previous activities. Now, I’m addicted to MB and I can’t wait to upload my GPS data after each ride. Between my Garmin Edge 305 and MotionBased, my training is absolutely blissful.

With the New Year, many people have made goals to lose weight and exercise regularly. Whether you are starting an exercise routine for the first time or a fitness fanatic, staying motivated is the key to getting fit and maintaining it. Motivation can come in many forms, such as training for a race/event, an exercise partner or the possibility of dessert with every five three mile run.

To help you reach your weight loss or exercise goals, here are some fitness tools that can keep you motivated to workout.

• Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) - To get the most out of every workout and to ensure you are pushing yourself to the right limits, get an HRM. I prefer Polar HRMs with a wearlink transmitter, which has a flexible cloth chest strap. To learn more about HRMs check out, Heart Rate Monitors - What’s Your Max Heart Rate?

• Nike+ iPod Sport Kit - If you already own an iPod Nano, this will be the best $30 you’ll spend to keep motivated on a run. I’ve been using the Nike+ Sport Kit for the last several months and I won’t go for a run without my Nano and Sport Kit. I love knowing my current pace and getting a message from Lance Armstrong or Paula Radcliffe after I beat a personal record. Additionally, the Nike+ website provides run/goal tracking and community features to inspire more running.

• Garmin Forerunner - Get the accuracy of GPS to monitor your speed, distance, pace and calories burned with the relatively sleek, wrist-mounted Garmin Forerunner 305 (HRM) or Garmin Forerunner 205. For cyclists, check out the Garmin Edge Series GPS cycling computers.

• 10 Minute Solution DVDs - Do you have 10 minutes to spare? Whether it’s pilates, yoga, kickboxing or dancing, there’s a DVD available with multiple 10 minute workouts to target and isolate various body parts. If you can’t get to the gym or go for a run, watch and follow along with one of these DVDs to get a quick workout.

• Traineo - A free and simple website that allows users to report goals, workouts, diet and weight to a group of friends who monitor and support each other. Users can also join larger support groups to get encouragement from people with similar health and fitness goals.

If you are new to working out or getting back on the bandwagon, try to set manageable goals. Small wins obtained quickly will keep you motivated to work harder. As you achieve these smaller goals, keep on raising the bar and soon enough you’ll achieve that ultimate fitness goal.