Author: Iron Rogue

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Gear Corner: Apps That Motivate (Earndit, Pact)

We live in awesome times.  Information and mobile technologies enable us to get the most out of exercise, track the activities and help us stay motivated.  Today I’m going to look at two apps that do the latter: Earndit and Pact.


Earndit is not precisely an app, more like a website that connects to various other apps.  The premise is to reward you for working out, and of course that means some tracking.  It awards points that can be accumulated for rewards; more of that in a bit.


There are two main ways that Earndit awards workout points: exercise that is tracked, and checking into exercise facilities like gyms, parks, community centres, ski resorts, and probably more that I haven’t discovered yet.  The latter is accomplished through Foursquare.


For exercise tracking, I personally use Endomondo, though I also linked my Garmin account.  Other possibilities include Nike+, RunKeeper, FitBit, MapMyFitness, EveryTrail, BodyMedia, Omron, Moves and Jawbone.  Points vary depending on activity, and you can’t rack up more than 60 points in a day.


The rewards tend to be discounts or gift cards (with spending minimums) to online retailers in the health/fitness/exercise space, though I’ve also been introduced to Cory Vines (Active Wear), Blank Label (Custom Shirts) and Hugh & Crye (Men’s Wear) through these rewards. (Full Disclosure: those links contain referral codes that award me extra credits for referral if you make purchases). 

Cory Vines Top



The rewards available to Canadians are a little more limited, and though there’s a nice check box to limit rewards to those available in Canada, it’s best to double-check the fine print to see if they’ll ship there.  Most rewards are one-time only, so the selection drops once you’ve used up a few.  Except my favourite kind of rewards which are Charity Rewards.  So far, through Earndit, I have:



These rewards seem to come and go randomly, but it’s always nice to be able to give.


Earndit links with Twitter, Facebook and Google+.  You can ‘friend’ people within the system too, but I found it hard to find people I knew in general (exception: The Purple Giraffe!)


The other app I started using is Pact (formerly known as Gym-Pact).  Using this app, you commit to working out a certain number of times per week, and any workouts you miss you pay a penalty for.  The penalties for a given Pact go into a pot, which gets divided up and paid out amongst those that achieved their commitments.  You get paid to workout.  As in cash-money (it goes to PayPal or a credit card, but other than that, it’s money, not gift cards, or discounts or whatever).

I only just started using Pact.  I signed up for my first one mid-week, and the default Pact was 3 times per week at $10.00 a workout.  In hindsight, that seems a little steep (I think Fitness Cheerleader uses a $5.00 Pact, which seems more sensible). Still, I doubted I would have trouble making it to 3 workouts a week, all things considered…

Not so fast! Not all things can be considered! Home workouts can’t be tracked; that just makes sense as money is at stake and people could fake it too easily. Still, when it comes to checking into a ‘gym’ the method they use seems a little…crude I guess. The geo-location function of your smartphone is activated and they take a satellite image of it, which gets verified by some person on their end before they will give you credit for it. My gym is at work which is a large corporate campus, so I wasn’t sure if I would get credit for it until it was verified; because I signed up mid-week, I had 10 days to accrue 3 workouts for the week’s pact. Not knowing whether or not I was going to be able to count that gym in was stressful, since the only way to play with these features is to commit to a pact. Partnering with another app like Foursquare or Yelp seems like a much more sensible way to go than inspecting satellite images to me. While those apps could theoretically be cheated too, any given location could be verified by seeing if other people are checking in to workout. A lot of gyms (like Crossfit boxes) are in industrial/warehouse areas and might not ‘look’ like a gym from a satellite image.


Of course, outdoor activities can be tracked too. Unfortunately, the only apps Pact syncs with are Runkeeper and MapMyFitness so no Endomondo for me (side bar: I’m shocked to not see Daily Mile on these lists as I thought that was an incredibly popular app). Activity tracker wristbands that sync with Pact are the Jawbone Up and Fitbit. The latter are good for tracking the over 10,000 steps you need to qualify as having worked out that day. For tracking runs (or bike rides or whatever) you need to rack up at least 30 minutes while moving an average of 2 Miles an Hour. That doesn’t seem too strict, but I was still disappointed to find that our weekend outing to go cross-country skiing didn’t count toward my pact, as we spent too much time waiting for Shark Boy (he’s doing great, but he’s only 4 years old!).

When Sunday midnight rolled around, I had my 3 workouts approved, and I waited till Tuesday for the payout. Well, I should have been paid on Tuesday, but it took till Wednesday to rack up…. $1.11. A buck for 3 workouts that could have cost me up to $30 for missing them. I think that means that few people miss out on making their committed pack, which is a good thing, I suppose.

We were going on our family vacation in the Mayan Riviera the next week so I put Pact on break (I was planning on getting exercise there, but wasn’t going to be messing around with the app) till I got back (review of the trip soon to come!)

While there’s nothing preventing me from using both (and I probably will, hopefully the weekly winnings will rack up to something I can treat myself with) I really prefer Earndit’s ease of use, accessibility and no downside.

Do you use Pact? Earndit? Some other motivational app?




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Weak-Shaming?



I saw this a little ago on Instagram.  I’m going to leave out who posted it, because I wouldn’t want them to feel like I was coming down on them personally, but I am going to come down on it (i.e. the message it sends, not the messenger) like a ton of bricks (no, not bike-run workouts, those heavy things we build houses with).


The image and message is far from unique, as I’ve seen others like it.  The intended message is that women should lift weights, that strong is the new skinny, it’s sexy, and strength training is not the sole dominion of men.  Great, I can get on board with that.  The problem? It’s basically a put-down of the ‘Dude’ mentioned, which if you’re a male reader, means YOU.


So if I squat (or bench-press, or whatever) less than some arbitrary woman, I should feel bad?  Sure, as a man, I enjoy a predilection for greater muscle density, less body fat, longer limbs and greater height.  ON AVERAGE, that is.  Still, I fully expect that a woman who spends more time working out and chasing a strength goal will achieve it before me or the next guy, who doesn’t make it as big a priority – it’s only fair, and there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?


In triathlon, being passed by a woman is sometimes referred to as being “chicked”… and it’s always bugged me.  Why is it weird for a woman to pass me?  Anyone who’s faster will pass me, and those who have done more work should be faster.  Yet it’s still treated as some kind of anomaly, to the point where I’ve read of female athletes complaining about how men stubbornly refuse to be passed by them, and flaunt safety rules and guidelines to keep it from happening to them.  Usually when I read of such incidents, I write them off on a minority of insecure idiots (the men in the story) or low-grade paranoia (on the part of the female athlete) but I’m starting to wonder if isn’t that egalitarian after all.


Not everybody joins the gym to lose weight.  There are people who have always been built like broom handles, and might want to change that.  Skinny-Fat, ectomorphs, the names and labels aren’t important, but if you’re making people feel bad about their current level of strength, you’re not Fat-shaming, you’re Weak-Shaming.
I want you to read about a blend (blogger-friend) Hank, who has a series on the Huffington Post.  He had started a weight-loss journey, mostly by using an elliptical and treadmill at home, and kept this up for several months, never venturing outdoors, never mind setting foot in a gym, because he was afraid the reaction a “stay-puff fatty boom boom invading their sacred hall” would garner.  If fear of what has been dubbed ‘fat-shaming’ can keep someone who is overweight from entering a gym and exploring a new way to exercise, can’t we expect the same consequences of ‘weak-shaming’ for someone with a little less muscle?


Maybe you’re thinking “Boo-hoo for the skinny guys”, or that men have been the dishers of this kind of thing for long enough that being on the taking side of it is no big deal.  And yet, “Dude She Squats More Than You” and messages like it are a two-pronged attack.  Not only is the attempt to prop up female strength training being done on the back of someone weaker, it reinforces the idea that a woman who lifts is some kind of anomaly, and the natural order of things must be ‘Strong Man/Weak Woman’.  I remember there used to be a show called “What Will They Think Of Next” that dealt mostly with inventions, and offered us a glimpse of the future.  Some academics had figured out that the differences in physical performance between men and women would thin out in the twenty-first century (accompanied by a cartoon of a Wonder-Woman like amazon tackling a mugger).  Guess what time it is now? The future is now.

I want women to keep on getting stronger – keep lifting, keep jumping, whatever it takes, just like us men.  Just remember, if your message doesn’t lift others, you’re a weakling to me.

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The Axel Project

This post is about something wonderful, that comes from something terrible.  So it’s hard to know where to start.  Every once in a while, I’ll get a notification that I have a new follower, and it’ll be someone who seems really cool.  This happened a couple of weeks ago.  Jen Charrette is a mom into cycling, adventure, and travel.  Her twitter profilet also mentioned The Axel Project; with a name like that, how could I not be intrigued.



Before I get into what’s great about it (besides the name), I did have the sinking feeling that it was one of those causes born from a terrible loss.  Axel Charrette was a 2 year-old who had “love of life and adventure….He left a mark on almost everyone he came in contact with. His energy, kind soul, and joy of life was contagious.”  I remembered reading about his death in the news earlier last year, and I think I had repressed the memory; suffice it to say, I wish I had never read it, and if you’ll take my advice, we’ll leave it at the tragic loss of a child.


Having said that, I simply have to tell you about the Axel Project because it’s just that fantastic. From the website:


Axel Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the fundamental principle that a productive, happy life begins with bikes. Our mission is to introduce and nurture a lifelong passion for cycling to children and their families. While our goal is broad, our first project is aimed at providing balance bicycles and instruction to children in need, ages 18 months to 5-years of age, to teach the basic skills necessary to get them riding on two wheels—with their friends, their family and forever.


As I mentioned in the Designed To Move post, it’s imperative to develop these habits and values before age 10.  This is where the Axel Project is being smart – they are promoting the use of glider bikes.  The more traditional path of getting kids on pedal bikes with training wheels only delays their progress; the complicated act of turning the pedals is what they work on before learning balance, and so they get to go so fast, that they’re scared to take off the training wheels.

We’ve had great success with a glider for Shark Boy.  Thanks to using a glider, he was able to participate in a Duathlon before he turned 3. Though people always marvelled to see him cruising our neighbourhood at such a young age, I was surprised to find how resistant people could be to adopting a similar strategy – the worst had to be when I found myself arguing with an 8 year-old neighbour over the necessity of training wheels; +10 points for intention, -100 for common sense (an 8 year-old!).


The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Less than a year later he was riding a real bike (in a foreign country, no less)… that’s a bike with pedals, no training wheels, being ridden by a 3 year-old.


We’ve been struggling a little with the Lightning Kid in this regard, but the honest reason is his legs aren’t so long and don’t reach the ground from even the plastic toddler glider we got, though I have a good feeling about this spring, after seeing what kind of physical stunts he’s been capable of pulling around the house.


Thanks to the Chariot, we’ve already taken short family bike rides on weekends, and I look forward to more. Bicycles are really the best short-cut to getting the whole family involved in an active adventure, and the Axel Project is making that happen for as many families as they can. Donations can be made by Paypal or mailing a cheque.

I really hope that somewhere, Axel Charrette, is having fun, and smiling at the kinds of adventures families like mine and his might be having.

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Iron Rogue Finds a Cure For Winter Running at Tribe Fitness #JoinTheTribe

After having complained about winter running, I was feeling a little painted into a corner… was I really going to give it up? No, but without a change in perspective, I would be locked into dwelling on the negatives and wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself.  Enter an unusual set of circumstances (and a little initiative on my part).

It was shortly before Valentines and my wife and I had our plans already locked down – we were going to see a production of Alice In Wonderland that benefitted Mary Centre.  That was Thursday, so when an opportunity to be kid-free for Wednesday came up, she wanted a girls night out.  While a guys night out would have suited me fine too, they tend to end in the wee hours of the morning, and I wanted to pick my kids up and have them home and in bed before 9:00 at the latest, so I looked for other opportunities.  

One of the things I find have to miss out on are group exercise classes and lessons, since they tend to be held sometime in the period that is usually dinner and/or the kids’ bedtime.  Not this Wednesday!  I ended up picking Tribe Fitness, I believe having originally heard about it on Robyn Baldwin’s blog.  They have been doing training runs on Wednesday night, and some of the group are using this to get ready for Around the Bay or other bigger races.

All I was expecting was a fun, social 5 km run, but I got so much more! After struggling to find a parking space (which ended up being illegal, I didn’t discover the parking ticket till the next day!), I caught up with the tail end of the group and was warmly greeted by Heather Gardner who runs the group.  The warm greeting I got in person was to be expected after the one I got on Twitter when I mused about maybe turning up that night.

OK, tweeps… I have free time early Wednesday evening. Who thinks I should go to the @Tribe_Fitness 5k run?
— Axel Kussmann (@apkussma) February 10, 2014


 We ran a little around the area surrounding Canoe Landing Park

First up was Biathlon.  Instead of skiing and shooting a rifle, we ran a sprint lap and took up to 3 throws to hit Hulk-hand targets with a snowball (I made a successful hit on my second lap, but otherwise came up empty).  Taking the throws counted as recovery between sprint laps of the park.


Next up was Luge (though it reminded me more of Bobsled).  I was on a team of 3, and as the biggest member, I didn’t ride, but only pushed my teammates on a crazy-carpet.  I think I made my biggest contribution for the uphill segment, when we switched riders for the way back, I had trouble keeping up and ended up letting go, rather than contribute to bad steering and crashing.  Luckily there was none of that, though there was plenty of laughter.


The last event was a “speed-skating” relay, or more simply, a relay around the park.  All 3 events were great ways to introduce a little of the dreaded speed work (which burn more of those hibernation calories) into the evening, and what’s more, they made them fun.


The group headed indoors for warm drinks, but I had to take my leave and pick up my boys, but I’d heavily recommend to any level of runner in the Toronto area to try and make it out to one of these events, or any other that Tribe Fitness puts on.

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The Problem With Winter Running

This season has been a little different.  The weather has been unexpectedly cold, but you knew that.  It’s gotten so that there are now complaints about all the complaints about how cold it is. And I’m about to throw another complaint in, but maybe it should go into a different pile.

I live in Canada, and I like living in Canada… frankly (going back far enough) I had other choices.  This is my home and I embrace its strengths and weaknesses.  It is my belief, or I should say my family’s belief, that if you want to survive this country year-round, you have to embrace what winter has to offer.  Tobogganing, skating, skiing (both nordic and downhill), building snowmen, snow-shoeing… it’s all good.   And by that rationale, I try to include my running training in my love of fresh air in the outdoors, and like any good blogger, hope that my example will inspire others…. it’s not that bad out there!

Still, I’m starting to hate winter running… but it’s not the cold or the snow.  Really.  The cold air doesn’t seem to bother my lungs as much as everyone expects, and the rest of me gets protected by layers.  I like the lower impact of running on snow, and the muscular challenge of trudging through it.  So where’s the hate?

The logistics of it all.  Getting dressed in the appropriate layers probably takes 15 minutes, though frankly, I’m afraid to time it – it might break my heart.  I really, really have to remember to put on my heart rate monitor strap first, because it’s too hard to slip it on after I’ve put on 3 layers.  Remembering all the winter gear has created some situations I wouldn’t have expected.
While effectively preparing all the winter clothes I need for running such as:

  • hat
  • gloves
  • facemask
I have forgotten the following things at one point or another:
  • one running shoe (yes really)
  • earphones
  • water for my water bottle (twice)
  • pants
And of all the equipment you’re bringing and wearing, heaven forbid if any of it is not up to snuff…

  • Brought light cycling gloves = nearly got frostbite
  • My original facemask used to hamper my field of vision (not good because I’m having to run in areas with cars and traffic more than I usually do) so I bought a replacement
  • …which didn’t allow enough airflow for me to exhale properly.  I spent my run feeling like I was gagged by kidnappers or something, and for the air to get out, the sides expanded like the gills on a fish which was just plain weird.
Not my happy face
I haven’t quite closed the door on winter running.  Due to a funny set of circumstances, I will have a little bit of free evening time, so I’m hooking up with Tribe Fitness for a group 5k run in Toronto on Wednesday night… misery loves company, right?

I’m putting this into the #BestFoot Linkup over at Darwinian Fail… join us there, OK?
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A Family That Is Designed To Move

I came across DesignedToMove.org from a tweet by Dai Manuel.  I have no affiliation with them, but I feel it’s an important issue that I could speak to.

It wouldn’t be news to you if I told you that physical activity levels are down among today’s youth.  But you’re probably thinking about the world right outside your door; what you might not realize is how global a crisis this is.

The problem exists in the USA, UK, Brazil, China and Russia, and though they don’t present the data here, I’ll bet Canada too.  It’s not just about “Western” diet, or carbs or video games, or whatever.  It’s not even merely a health and wellness issue; it’s on the verge of being an economic and even cultural disaster.  The fix? Get ‘em while they’re young – after all, the children are the future, right?

DesignedToMove.org is targeting kids under 10 as a way to turn things around.  Younger children have an innocent natural enthusiasm to try new things (I’m sure there are stubborn holdouts, but the younger, the fewer preconceptions) and generally speaking, energy to burn.  Why not harness that energy for their own future benefit?  The approach is a simple two-pronged approach, or a pair of “Asks”.  Here’s how we implement them in our family.

Ask #1: Create Early Positive Experiences For Children

Example 1 – Swimming

Both of my boys have been in swimming lessons on and off since they were six months old.  I’m proud to say that Shark Boy is now capable of swimming a few strokes independently (without flotation aids etc.) thanks to diligent work by his Grandfather.  Still, when he was younger, did I expect him to learn to swim? Do I expect it of the Lightning Kid now? No, but it was about creating a positive association with the water.  I knew we’d be close to the water often and either it was going to be a threat to their lives, or something they could enjoy for fun.  If I had suddenly dropped them into the water at the appropriate age for actually learning to swim, who’s to say what their attitude to it would have been?  Before they even knew how to say “no” the swimming pool was a place to have fun with mom and dad.


Example 2 – Winter Sports

Even without a “Polar Vortex”, Canada is a place where you’ve really got to embrace the winter if you don’t want to be miserable.  Shark Boy started downhill skiing last year, and his mother taught him.  Getting him on cross-country skis took another year (getting kids equipment is a little harder), but he took to skinny skis like a natural.

And when we heard that he had peers that were learning to ice-skate, we signed him up to start lessons in January… along with his father, who seriously overestimated his own ability on skates. Turns out, he’s really good at that too – I noticed how much less he falls down than any other kid in the class. 



 I know some has to be natural talent, but I really think there’s been synergy from learning how to stand on skis that pays dividends into his skating technique.  Which is a big takeaway – if you have ideas of the kinds of activities your kids will like and/or be good at, consider other activities too.  They’ll gain from the diversity.  To wit…

Example 3 – Razz a Matazz

I confess I have the smallest possible streak of conservatism in me that tells me in the back of my head “Dancing is for girls”.  Nevertheless, we enrolled Shark Boy in a Razza Ma Tazz class that teaches movement basics, especially those related to jazz and ballet dancing.  Back when I first took him to Crossfit Kids, I thought he’d be a natural at it, until he was asked to jump on one foot… and had no idea how to do it.  Even though he was great at running, jumping and climbing, he’d never had this little blind spot addressed.  It’s my hope that a class like this shores up any weaknesses in his physical skills development in ways that say, soccer, can’t.  And honestly, if he decides he wants to pursue ballet, I’ll support him 100%, though I’m hoping to hear a little less Nutcracker suite in the house.



Ask #2: Integrate Physical Activity Into Everyday Life

Example 1 – Dancing

One of my fatherly duties is keeping the kids out of their mother’s hair while she’s cooking and preparing dinner.  Going outside to the park is always good, but if the weather is somewhat Arctic-like or the time frame is less than 15 minutes or so, a simpler solution is needed.  We turn on the stereo and get our groove thang on.  Sometimes I get to pick the music, but it’s usually Shark Boy’s choice of the same old Kids music CDs.  The flavour of the month has been the Nutcracker Suite, which he developed a taste for in the lead-up to actually attending a performance with his Grandfather and wife, where his mother told him the story and described the action.  Seeing the performance did nothing to abate his enthusiasm, and the music has been in heavy rotation in our house ever since.  The name of the piece is apt, since it’s driving me Nuts and Cracked.

Example 2 – Burpees


A two year-old is a dangerous beast toward the end of the day.  If dinner hasn’t been served yet, they can be hungry in addition to tired, so you need to be quick with the distractions.  I honestly don’t know how I came up with the idea, but there was enough stuff on the floor to ensure a soft landing for the Lightning Kid and I guess I wanted a little exercise myself.  When you worry about developmental delays for your child, a lot can be traced back to gross motor skills – you start with those and work your way up.  The Lightning Kid is typical in terms of his gross motor skill development, and it’s doing stuff like this that has helped along the way.

Example 3 – Everything Else

If you look through the older posts in this blog (especially posts labeled family) you’ll see us swimming, biking, running, skiing, hiking and playing together as a family.  It’s not always easy to keep up, as we either get told by others that we take on too much, or get asked by Shark Boy: “What are we doing today?” with the expectation of adventure.  It can be exhausting but I have to be grateful when the boys are eager to get out and take on the world because I know how seductive more sedentary pursuits can be; the TV has been on more than usual during the daytime thanks to the extreme cold and the illnesses that seem to go with it.

Are you willing to answer the asks above?


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#JustRunning Chronicle: Week 2

The idea was to have running be my only form of exercise for the first 14 days of January, with a minimum of 7 runs (to average running every other day).


 You are looking at the only run of week 2 (after getting 4 runs in for Week 1).  I don’t want to be negative, and I know that the path to success is paved with failures, but I really don’t feel like launching into the next (and more complicated) phase of the 2014 fitness journey without having succeeded at the first phase.  Nor do I feel like repeating it.

 The good news is that I did develop a thirst for other forms of exercise and more intensity as I went for my runs, so from that point of view, mission accomplished.  The trick will be to not think I can go madly off in all directions again.

 While I had ideas for the next step, the fact that I couldn’t get 2 weeks of ‘Just Running’ done (thanks to illness, icy conditions on the roads), makes me hesitant to undertake them.  With things the way they are (I’m writing this instead of going to bed because I’m waiting for an update from the hospital as to whether the Lightning Kid‘s oxygen levels are going to go back up…) I need a moderate approach.  Like Ringo said, I get by with a little help from my friends.  Do you remember Carla of MizFitOnline? Her motto is #wycwyc (“What You Can, When You Can”) and our friend Katie of Mom’s Little Running Buddy demonstrated a great way to fit in exercise during domestic chores, see?


 That’s probably what it will be like for the next week or two for me.

I’m nominated for the Health Activist Awards at Wegohealth.  Please consider endorsing me! Just follow the link above.

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#JustRunning Chronicle: Week 1

Rather than any year-long resolution or big, complicated goal, I set out to regain my focus and confidence by Just Running for 2 weeks; the goal was to get at least 7 runs in 14 days.  Here’s the first 7 days…

#JustRunning Day 1: Why not start the new program on the first day of the year? I headed out while the kids were napping on New Year’s Day.  I had on layers including long underwear; it was -12 degrees C and the wind was 20km/h from the North.  I found I was dressed warm enough, except my gloves – they were a pair of  thin cycling gloves better suited for mere wind protection.   Cold hands were less of an issue once I got properly warmed up from running.  For music, I put on the Oakenfold station on Slacker; I don’t listen to that much dance music, but this was good for a fresh start to the new year, something different from my rut routine.

Keeping my HR in the low ranges… fairly steady.


#JustRunning Day 2:  I knew it was cold, and I drew some looks of concern as I headed out, but I assured everyone who bothered to look that I was well prepared.  Well, almost.  The gloves were really not enough for that day; my records show -18 and 22 km/h winds from the North, but my wife’s message of support (saying how she loves me for [or in spite of] my craziness) mentioned -20.  My hands were really hurting and I kept them in my armpits and tried various tricks, but the threat of frostbite loomed (there were warnings on the radio that I head later).  I managed to run out for 10 minutes then headed back with my hands killing me and my fear of frostbite getting all too real.



#JustRunning Day 3: Much more reasonable.  I called this the “non-death-wish” version.  I don’t know if it was the time of day, but it felt slow for the same kind of HR I’d been trying to maintain every time (around 75-77% of max).


#JustRunning Day 4: Plan A had been to run on Monday, but after a crazy morning I didn’t have run gear packed for lunch, and Plan B to run outside was being defeated by howling winds that woke us all up at various points of the night.  I could have gone to the gym and used a treadmill that evening, but things were running a little too late and I feared New Years crowds.  I rolled the dice the next morning and got a little late into work (and worked through lunch), but the reward was being on track for my Just Running program 7 days in.