Jabra Sport Coach Bluetooth Earbuds with Motion Sensor Preview

I want to thank Jabra for sending me a pair of their Jabra Sport Cocah Wireless Sports Earbuds with intelligent audio coaching optimized for cross training and indoor workouts utilizing their integrated cross training app. The Jabra Sport Coach Earbuds are a high quality BT wireless headset with built in motion sensor for rep and step counting.

• Perfect and secure fit.
• Sweat and weather proof.
• Music powered by Dolby®.
• TrackFit: built in advanced motion sensor.
• 5.5 Hours of Audio Time.
• .56 oz.
• BT Version 4.0 with 10m range (about 30 feet).
• NFC pairing.
• Control Music from Headphones.
• In App Voice guidance.
• $169 in Canada.

Pros:

• They fit amazing in my ears, really seal nicely allowing for great full range sound, there is no worry about them falling out of my ears even when super active. Very comfortable.
• The sound quality is great, full range with no extreme boosts in any range, lots of base and just the right amount of mid and high frequencies.
• No worries about getting them wet in the rain or when sweating heavy, Built towards US military standards (IP55), Jabra Sport Coach is sweat, shock, and weatherproof.
• Have a built in motion sensor that picks up on movement for steps and reps for some exercises.
• Works with the Jabra Sport Life App that allows for real time audio coaching. Also integrates the Jabra Sound App for optimized music playback.
• Seem to be really well made and come with a nice compact carry case.

Cons:

• Keep in mind I focus mainly on body building and weight training so in my opinion this product may not be best suited for me personally. Jabra also has a product called the Jabra Sport Pulse that has a built in very capable Heart Rate Monitor that tracks your heart rate while training . My experience with HRM’s is that they are the very best way to measure how hard you are pushing yourself during a workout.
• For hard core weight training the Jabra Sport Coach Headphones are not going to be all that accurate since the motion sensor has no idea how much weight you are putting on the bar and so far in the software there is no way to input this? And most of the included workout movements are CrossFit based so most body building style exercises that require weights are not listed in the menu.
• No all day motion/step tracking unless you plan on wearing them 24/7.
• You may want to do a workout with a friend and not want to be antisocial by wearing headphones so who are you going to track that workout?

Conclusion:
I really like the Jabra Sport Coach Earbuds but as it stands it may not be right for someone like me, perhaps if Jabra added some more weight training workout movements with the ability to add in how much weight you are actually using, this could allow for more accurate activity tracking. I still see exercises where only the arms or legs are in movement as being a problem since the earphone based headphones will ahem difficulty picking up on theses movements (Example: Bench or seated pressing, seated arm curls, leg curls, leg extensions, calf raises.

If you do al lot of circuit based body weight movement workouts and or run, hike, walk, cycle and want a really great set of Bluetooth headphone to use while doing these activities then the Jabra Sport Coach Headphones would make a great option. For a little bit more money I would consider the Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Headphones with built in Heart Rate Monitor since they are going to track your workout expenditure much more accurately.

Get Fit Over 40 Update Video - 4 Weeks Out Victoria Cup (No Shirt)

I'm now 4.5 weeks out from my Men's Physique Victoria Cup Fitness Contest in beautiful Victoria BC! I have been really good about sticking to my eating program and for the most part I am at a deficit of about 1000 calories Monday to Friday with a break period on the weekends where I hit my maintenance calories on these two days.

This gives me a 5000 calorie deficit for the week which should equal about 1.5 pounds of weight loss per week. So in theory I should be down about 4-5 pounds of fat but to be honest my weight has only dropped a couple of pounds. I am at right around 192-192 pounds each morning and only weight a pound or two more by the evening. I can say I am getting leaner and I know by my extra training in the gym that I am putting in the time and effort to not only keep the muscle I have but also add a little while I cut! And to the critics out there yes it can be done and without any "special" supplements.

All you have to do is skip cardio by adding in extra weight training sessions, keep pushing yourself harder each workout. None of this super high rep light weight cutting crap. Make sure to get enough carbs to replenish your glycogen levels and give yourself enough time to get the job done, so no radical calorie restrictions!

I recorded this update video outside this time to get more natural lighting, it was a bit shadowy in places but you can get an idea of where I am so far in my cut, to be honest the video is not doing me any justice but at least when I get contest ready you will see some big changes. I figure I will be walking on stage at around 185 pounds. Last November at the Sandra Wickham Men's Master Physique Contest that I won, I was 175 pounds but was a dehydrated 175. This time I am going to dehydrate less and trust that my conditioning will get me as shredded as I need to be. The problem with dehydrating is you also lose muscle size from water loss in the muscle fibers :(

Well stay tuned for more Victoria Cup Contest Prep update videos...

Shoutout to 3 Fitness Technology Channels - RizKnows - Techy Agent - JimsReviewRoom

I want to Feature 3 YouTube channels I watch regularly. Now there are lots of great channels I watch but in this video I want to focus on more of the Fitness Technology related guys. And I also wanted to point out some channels that are not yet at that monster YouTube channel point. I am sure if they keep up there great work they are doing they will get there ;)

Jeff from RizKnows:

• Health and Fitness related with focus on Wearable Technology and other Fitness Equipment.
• Videos cover everything from: GPS watches, activity trackers/fitness trackers, smartwatches, heart rate monitors, running shoes, training shoes, activewear, headphones, workout equipment, and pretty much anything else that's related to fitness.
• Jeff is super real, with a great video presence, he’s even been featured on his local TV news station as a specialist in the Fitness Technology area.
• Jeff is a super fit guy that stays fit by doing a lot of CrossFit, Running, Biking, and staying busy.
• Jeff and I will be meeting in Anaheim this August at “theFitExpo”.
• YouTube
• Website
• Twitter
• Instagram

Eric from Techy Agent:

• Health and Fitness Technology Focused, heavy on the wearable fitness trackers.
• Other videos like headphones, Smart Watches, iPhone chargers, Breathalyzers…
• Personal Testing of devices in Real World Fitness situations.
• Eric’s videos juts keep getting better and better!
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

Jim from JimsReviewRoom:

• Consumer Technology focus with lots of great Health and Fitness related videos.
• Everything from Fitness Bands and Watches to Smart Phones and Tablets, to Cameras and Camera Gear, to Speakers & Headphones, to Car Dash Cams and many more…
• Jim makes well put together, super high quality and polished videos.
• YouTube
• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

So make sure to checkout these YouTube channels if you are interested in Fitness Technology related videos!

Get Fit Over 40 Update Video - 5 Weeks Out Victoria Cup (No Shirt)

Getting a bit closer now, only 5 weeks plus a few days out from my Men's Physique contest at the Victoria Cup. I started last week with my weight cut since I do not have a lot of extra body fat to lose. I really only need to lose about 5-6 pounds of fat, last week I was able to cut out about 5000 calories below maintenacne from my diet so that should of equaled around 1.5 pounds of fat loss. I am currently aorund 192-192 pounds and my Skulpt Aim Muscle Quality Meter as showing about the same body fat percentage as the week before (about 7.5%).

I am not surprised at these results, tech gear is not always 100% accurate so there are going to be slight deviations. What I need to do is stay focuses and trust that my program is going to get me to my body fat percentage goals, over time I will see the results I want!

The lighting in this video was not all that great for showing cuts so you may not notice any improvement over last weeks video update, after all it is only a little over a pound of fat loss so there is not much to see just yet. The big changes will take place in the last 2 weeks as I get really aggressive with my diet at that point :)

What Everyone Needs to know about Carbs

The first thing I want to point out, is that you can not use a blanket statement to cover how every person should eat or how their bodies respond to any specific diets. But in general, I would say most people eat way too many carbs for what their bodies actually require. If you are not sure if you are one of these people that eats too many carbohydrates, then take a look in the mirror and if you think you are on the fat side, then you are probably one of these people.

To make this as simple as possible this is how it works. Let’s use a car as an example:

Lets say you have a car and you fill the gas tank up with gas but then don’t drive that car anywhere. The next day you go to the gas station and try to add another $50 worth of gas to your gas tank. What would happen? The tank would probably overflow, so what is the solution to this problem? Obviously, don’t put more gas in the car right! But here is what happens in this example to illustrate my point on how many people solve this problem when it comes to eating. Option number two is to add a second gas tank to your car as a reserve tank for when your main gas tank runs out. Now imagine doing this over and over again, pretty soon you have a car which is now way larger and heavier because you have 5-10-20 reserve gas tanks depending on how much gas you have been trying to jam in your car that you never drive anywhere.

Here is how this fits in with the human body:

The car represent our bodies, Carbs represent the gas, the gas tank represents our muscles liver and the stored energy within them. The reserve gas tanks would be the extra fat on our bodies.

Here is a more Scientific approach on how to explain all of this:

When you eat carbohydrates, they are generally converted to Glucose (blood sugar) that goes in to your blood, and in healthy people the Glucose triggers an Insulin production response that uses that Glucose (blood sugar) as energy for the body. Sounds great so far.

This energy can be used immediately if you are exercising or active. It can also be store as Glycogen in the muscles and Liver for use later on. Again sounds really great so far.

Here is the main problem…

Any excess Glucose (blood sugar) that is not used immediately for activities, or that is not stored in the mussels and liver as Glycogen to aid in later activities, will get alternatively stored as fat which can be converted back to energy later on if required. I reiterate (if required)!

So again here is how Carbs get used in the body: 

• You eat Carbohydrates.
• Carbs get converted to Glucose (blood sugar).
• Your body produces Insulin so it can open up your bodies cells and shuttle that energy into the body as required.
• Your body will use that energy for any immediate activity you are doing.
• If you are not active at the time your body has this Carb energy available, then it will be stored as Glycogen in your muscles and liver.
• Once you muscles and liver are filled with Glycogen, the excess Glucose (blood sugar) is stored as fat. 

So what about eating Protein and Fat, doesn’t this also get converted into fat if it is not used up? Yes and no. Unlike Carbs that create a Glucose (blood sugar) spike which in turn creates an Insulin spike opening up the body to receive the energy one way or another. Proteins and Fat do not create Insulin spikes, so they tend to hang around longer and get used to run the body, and slowly if they are not used they can then be covered to stored energy but not as extreme or as fast as Carbohydrates get converted. Because the absorption and conversion process is slower the body can run at an optimal state (no extreme ups and downs) without the feeling that it is either too augmented (Full of energy) or depleted (tired). So no food cravings!

Isn’t a calorie a calorie at the end of the day and if you want to lose weight then you need to eat less calories than your body is burning? This statement is absolutely true and if you eat less calories then your body is burring then you will lose weight! The opposite is true, if you eat more calories then you burn then you will gain weight no matter where the calories come from.

The main difference is that too many Carbs will create extreme energy ups and downs causing you to be energetic one moment and tired the next, this body confusion also makes you crave more food, even if your body does not require it.

The problem is that we are not all program the same way, some people have great self control when it comes to their diet where as some people do not. This is not always a mind over matter issue, it can be genetic and the way some peoples bodies almost completely override their will power and also how their bodies respond to the Glucose (blood sugar) from the Carbs. To compound this further, eating too many Carbohydrates will make it even harder to control food cravings. It has been shown in research that a person can eat 7000 calories of mainly Carbs in a day and still go to bed hungry. But if they change their diet to mainly proteins and fats, it will be almost impossible for them to eat 7000 calories in a day and they will feel super full all the time. So in other words, Carbs leave you hungry while proteins and fats leave you satisfied and full.

Carbs are not bad, we need them as energy when we are active to open up the cell pathways in our bodies via Insulin to convert Glucose (blood sugar) to energy and also help our muscles absolve amino acids fore recovery and growth. We also need Carbohydrates to replace the Glycogen in our muscles when we are active. But think of Carbs as gas for our bodies, we only need to add the Carb gas when we need it for activities. If you are not active at all, then you should limit your Carbs to very small amounts, just enough to run your car at idle. If you have a very physical job, or are an athlete who is training, then you need a lot more Carbs in your diet to drive your car each day, not enough and you run out of gas, too much and your gas is stored in the reserve tanks as fat.