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Greg Stiles Mail Tribune @GregMTBusiness

Medford is one of three Southern Oregon cities in line for a Planet Fitness gym.

A Planet Fitness gym opened in Grants Pass this month and another is in the works in Roseburg.

A spokesman for a regional franchisee with 13 gyms expects a 20,000-square-foot Planet Fitness Gym to open in August at the former Office Depot location in the South Gateway Center off Center Drive.

Richard Padilla, a regional manager said Planet Fitness has a low-key approach to training.

"We want to make everyone comfortable," Padilla said. "We cater more to the first-time gym user, not the power-lifter or bodybuilder. We have a non-intimidating atmosphere."

So much to the point, he said, that grunting or slamming weights to the ground is discouraged. Those who persist will be asked to leave.

"We don't get a lot of young-ones trying to show each other up," Padilla said. "Anybody who doesn't abide will be reminded of our rule, and if they keep it it up, we will cancel their membership."

The club's annual fee is $39 and monthly dues are $10. A $20 black card membership allows use of multiple gyms and spa amenities.

Planet Fitness, which has 8 million members and is publicly traded, was founded in 1992 in Dover, New Hampshire. The local franchise holder's first gym was in Rohnert Park, California.

A lease for the building was signed earlier this year, but remodeling has yet to begin.

Planet Fitness opened its Grants Pass gym in a former Ray's Food Place location on Williams Highway.

"Depending on space and parking requirements, we go wherever we think is good for us, whether it's in a mall or a stand-alone site," said Cecelia Newman, the local group's chief operations officer.

"There is nothing like Planet Fitness. It's a judgment-free zone."

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or business@mailtribune.com.

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Planet Fitness is on the Medford horizon - Mail Tribune

Wrist-worn activity trackers such as Fitbit dont reliably assess heart rate, a new study finds.

While the devices may have some legitimate benefits, they shouldnt be used for medical purposes, researchers suggest.

Evaluating four wearable activity trackers from Fitbit, Basis and Mio, the researchers compared results to those from an electrocardiograph (EKG). They found results varied among the different models and were much less accurate during exercise than at rest.

These devices are probably good enough to inform consumers of general trends in their heart rate -- high or low -- [but] its important to have more accurate information when physicians are relying on this data to make decisions on medications or other tests and treatments, said Dr. Mitesh Patel.

Patel is an assistant professor of medicine and health care management at the University of Pennsylvania. He wasnt involved in the study.

However, the studys lead author cautions against making too much of the discrepancies.

At any moment, the tracker could be off by a fair bit. But at most moments, it wont be, said Lisa Cadmus-Bertram, an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

The heart-rate feature performed better at rest, she said. Theyre not as precise during exercise.

A 2014 survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 20 percent of American adults owned a wearable activity tracker.

For the new study, 40 healthy adults, aged 30 to 65, were recruited to test the Fitbit Surge, Fitbit Charge, Basis Peak and Mio Fuse.

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Fitbit has grown into the world's largest maker of fitness trackers since it was founded in 2007. The company has sold more than 48 million Fitbi...

Generally, when compared with the EKG results, the activity trackers were near the correct mark, Cadmus-Bertram said. But occasionally, their estimates of heart rate could swing too high or too low.

At rest, the Fitbit Surge was most accurate; Basis Peak was least accurate, the study authors said.

During exercise on a treadmill at 65 percent of maximum heart rate -- defined as 220 beats per minute minus age -- accuracy suffered more.

The monitors could overestimate heart rate by as much as 39 beats per minute (Fitbit Surge), or underestimate it by as much as 41 beats per minute (Fitbit Charge), the study found.

The findings support those of a study released last month at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting. Depending on the type of activity, the wrist devices were up to 34 beats per minute off, those researchers found.

Again, the devices were least accurate during exercise.

Some wrist-worn activity trackers use a light-emitting diode, or LED, that measures heart rate by detecting changes in the amount of blood in the skin.

Patel said accuracy may be a problem because the devices move around on the arm, especially during exercise.

Meanwhile, Fitbits maker said its fitness trackers arent intended to be medical devices. The company issued a statement in response to the new study.

We conducted extensive internal studies which show that Fitbits PurePulse technology performs to industry standard expectations for optical heart rate on the wrist.Fitbit devices were tested against properly calibrated industry standard devices like an EKG chest strap across the most popular activities performed worldwide -- including walking, running, biking, elliptical and more.

Cadmus-Bertram cautioned that the data for the new study were collected about a year ago.

Not only have newer models since been released, but the algorithms behind the data are presumably being updated and improved on a regular basis, she said. So the results we found might be different if we did the study again now.

In general, shes remains a fan.

On the whole, fitness trackers still provide a tremendous amount of useful information to the average user who just wants some feedback to help them to increase their exercise level, Cadmus-Bertram said.

The study findings were published online April 11 in theAnnals of Internal Medicine.

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Don't bank on heart rate accuracy from your fitness tracker - CBS News

Staying active is a big part of staying healthy, and thats often the reason given for why you should wear a fitness tracker; theyre a constant reminder to get up off the couch. But stress can be just as detrimental to your health as sloth, so Garmin hopes its new vivosmart 3 will finally quantify what you already know: you need a vacation. Besides all the features weve comes to expect from a fitness tracker, the vivosmart 3 has a stress tracker built in too.

The Garmin vvosmart 3 is an update to the late 2015 eyesore, thevvosmart HR. Like the vvosmart HR, the new vvosmart 3 doesnt include any GPS hardware for tracking a running or cycling route. Thats odd coming from Garmina company notable for its GPS tech. Yet its also a minor trade-off which results in a fitness tracker that doesnt look as bulky as a smartwatch, despite also being able to receive vibrating alerts for emails, messages, phone calls, and appointments when connected to the Garmin app on a smartphone.

The lack of bulk isnt just a welcome change from other smartwatches, but the vvosmart HR as well. A year and a half of technological advancement has resulted in a smaller, sleeker fitness tracker that, among other improvements, is just more comfortable to wear.

Though thats not a terribly difficult feat to accomplish. The vvosmart HR is monstrous compared to the new vvosmart 3. The protruding heart rate sensor and LEDs on the older model dug into my wrist, making it uncomfortable for me to wear.

In the vvosmart 3 that lump has been reduced to a barely noticable bump more in line with heart rate trackers on other wearables. Garmin claims the new model measures everything youd expect a fitness tracker equipped with a heart rate sensor to quantify, but Garmin is also introducing two additional metrics for VO2 max levels and stress.

VO2 max (also known as maximal oxygen consumption) is a metric designed to give athletes an indication of their overall physical fitness. If youve ever seen a professional athlete running on a treadmill while wearing a breathing apparatus, that device is calculating their VO2 max. Last year Fitbit claimed to be able to measure the number with nothing but a heart rate monitor, and Garmin is now making the same claim, helpfully translating the number to a fitness level score ranging from poor to superior. Until we get a chance to hop on a treadmill and pick up an oxygen mask youll want to take that metric with a grain of salt.

More useful to non-athletes struggling to find the time (and motivation) to stay fit, is the vvosmart 3's claimed ability to assess stress levels by measuring variations in a wearers heart rate. The results are delivered via a simple graph, and the wearable can even walk you through breathing exercises to help you relax. Its a clever way to reinterpret a users heart rate data, and a feature that companies like Fitbit dont offer yet. Yet a couple of goofy Kickstarters have made similar claims, and were quickly noted to be virtually incapable of accuracy. Without additional context about someones lifestyle and health, measure stress via heart rate is far from being an accurate, and definitely not a replacement for doctors consultation.

The vvosmart 3 also includes a mostly-improved display compared to the always-on but unlit LCD display on the vvosmart HR, which was occasionally hard to see indoors. However, the glowing display on the new vvosmart 3, which automatically turns on when you raise your wrist, is hidden behind a thin layer of smoky rubber. As a result the display always looks a little fuzzy (I swear its not a problem with my camera) but is also very difficult to read outdoors in the sun, despite it being so bright indoors. If youre primarily a runner, that could very well be a deal breaker.

Available now for $140, the vvosmart 3 comes in at $10 cheaper than the new Fitbit Alta HR, while doing essentially the same types of fitness and activity tracking. But as we pointed out in our review of the Alta HR, the popularity of fitness trackers has been in decline since the resurgence of smartwatches, and Fitbit recently laid off six percent of its staff. So if youre still in the market for a fitness tracker, and want to guarantee your investment will be supported for at least a few years, Garmin always has its GPS business to keep it afloat. One less thing to keep your stress levels in check.

[Garmin]

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This Fitness Tracker Wants to Tell You How Stressed You Are About Not Being Fit - Gizmodo

MIAMI (KMSP) - A Minnesota man was one of two managers who were shot and killed by a former employee at a gym in Miami over the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, 33-year-old Abeku Wilson walked into the Equinox Gym at the Shops at Merrick Park and killed two people before turning the gun on himself, according to Fox-affiliate WSVN-7. One of the people killed was the gyms fitness manager, identified as Mario Hortis of St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Hortis grew up in St. Cloud and worked at The Firm in Minneapolis before moving to Florida in 2005.

Mario had a presence you felt as soon as you met him, The Firm wrote in a Facebook post. We will miss Marios warm heart and engaging smile. Our hearts are broken.

According to the Miami-Dade Police Department, the shooter was let go from his job at the gym earlier that day due to workplace violence, according to a statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department. He had to be escorted off the premises.

Wilson returned to the gym a short time later armed with a handgun and fired several shots at both managers. Both victims were taken to the hospital, where they both died of their injuries.

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Former Mpls. fitness trainer killed in shooting at Florida gym - KMSP-TV

If you are a military veteran interested in running your own gym near Daleville, Anytime Fitness may be able to help you make that happen.

Anytime Fitness has partnered with the non-profit Tee It Up for the Troops to help military veterans open their own gyms and provide additional employment opportunities for fellow veterans. This partnership is known as Operation HeartFirst.

So far the partnership has led to two veteran-owned franchises and now the search is on to find a veteran to operate a franchise near Daleville.

The Operation HeartFirst initiative and Tee It Up for the Troops will offer a $125,000 grant, and a $125,000 loan, to an honorably discharged veteran for the purpose of assisting with the initial start-up capital to be used for the development of an Anytime Fitness franchise. The Anytime Fitness HeartFirst Charitable Foundation will provide a grant to Tee It Up for the Troops, which will then offer this opportunity to approved veterans, National Guard members, or reservists. The foundation will also oversee the selection process and management of logistics.

For the third-year in a row, Anytime Fitness has partnered with Tee It Up for the Troops to offer this opportunity, said Anytime Fitness National Media Director Mark Daly. The first gym through this program is located near Fort Bragg in Southern Pines, N.C. The second gym is located near Fort Benning and is scheduled to open in the future.

According to Anytime Fitness LLC President Dave Mortensen, Operation HeartFirst is a way of saying thank you to all the service men and women who have made sacrifices for the United States of America. Currently, 10 percent of Anytime Fitness franchises are operated by military veterans and Mortensen would like to see those numbers increase.

Not only is this opportunity a great way for Anytime Fitness to give back to our military, Daly said, it is also a way for Anytime Fitness to gain trained operators. Veterans are some of our best and most successful operators. They know physical fitness and the importance of physical fitness. A veteran knows how to follow the system by leading and being a part of a team.

Tee It Up for the Troops President Tim Wegscheid said candidates wishing to fill out an application need to be eager to help others lead healthier lifestyles and will continue to serve and support the Unites States military and veterans.

This is a great opportunity for our veterans, Daly said. This opportunity involving Anytime Fitness will be located in the Dothan area, near Fort Rucker.

According to Wegscheid, the selected franchisee will determine the precise location of the gym.

Anytime Fitness LLC agrees to waive its initial franchise fee and ongoing royalty payments related to this opportunity.

The unemployment rate for military veterans is significantly higher than the national average, said Anytime Fitness LLC, CEO Chuck Runyon. Thats just not right. Our hope is that Operation HeartFirst will not only help veterans operate their own business, but also provide jobs for other veterans as gym managers and personal trainers for years to come.

Consideration will be given by Anytime Fitness LLC to veterans with service-related disabilities.

The application deadline has been set for May 1. Applications are accepted online by clicking here.

The recipient will be selected June 15, with an anticipated club opening date of early 2018.

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Anytime Fitness looking for veteran to run gym near Daleville - Dothan Eagle

Misfit is introducing a bare-bones fitness tracker today that brings its devices core tracking functionality down to a much lower price.

The new Misfit Flare sells for $59.99 and is capable of tracking how many steps youve taken, how far youve traveled, and how many calories youve burned. It can also track how well youre sleeping at night if you keep it on.

For people who want nothing more than a fitness tracker

Aside from that, the Flare keeps its price low by ditching most of the other features youd find in a typical Misfit fitness tracker, like movement reminders and the ability to receive call and text alerts. But Misfit trackers with those features start at $99.99, so the Flare really does offer a much cheaper point of entry for people who want a device for tracking fitness, and not much more.

The simplicity and lower price could help Misfit better address competitors like Fitbit, which sells a basic step- and sleep-tracking band called the Flex that can be found for around $49.99.

Hitting a lower price point also fits in with the strategy employed by Misfits owner, Fossil, which makes a huge range of devices to fit different needs and budgets. Fossil actually has some fitness-tracking devices of its own, but theyre all watches and start at more than double the Flares price.

The Flare does get one of the fancier features its more-expensive siblings have: a button that can be programmed to make your phone do a number of different things. The face of the device is basically just a giant touch-sensitive button that you can customize to do one of several different actions, like starting and stopping music or snapping a photo with your phones camera.

Like other Misfit trackers, the Flare relies on a replaceable battery, which may or may not be a positive in your book. While it means youll never have to charge the device, you will have to replace its battery every so often Misfit says itll last up to four months.

The device is also waterproof down to 50 meters, but youll have to pay an extra $9.99 to unlock swim-tracking features inside Misfits app, which is a standard but still frustrating business model across the companys line of fitness trackers.

Originally posted here:
Misfit's $60 Flare is a fitness tracker for people who just want a ... - The Verge

There aren't a lot of trackers in the Flare's price range -- another option that pops to mind is Fitbit's original Flex, which runs $80 but can be had online for much less. Others include the $35 Xiaomi Mi Band 2, $47 or so Withings Go and Jawbone Up 2. Misfit used to sell the $30 Flash, but appears to have discontinued it.

As with its other models, Misfit's Flare is waterproof, but swimmers need to pay an extra $10 to unlock its pool tracking features, for some reason. It comes with a 3-axis accelerometer, single white LED, Bluetooth 4.1 and a capacitive touch sensor. The latter can be programmed to activate your phone's battery, play music or "control household devices," presumably speakers or other things with some relation to exercise.

As with other devices from fashion brand Fossil (Misfit's parent), the Flare looks pretty nice for the price, with an aluminum case and crystal face. As a design-focused firm, Fossil has a unique position in the wearables market compared to tech firms like LG and Huawei -- ie, it can make nice-looking watches that people will actually want. Between its own brand and Misfit (with the Vapor), it already has more Android Wear watches than most companies, for instance. The Flare tracker is now available online and in stores for $60.

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Misfit's Flare is a $60 no-frills fitness tracker - Engadget

New York Post

The fitness tracker craze has kids racing toward obsession New York Post While there are no stats on kids who wear fitness trackers a 2015 report from research firm Forrester cites only that 20 percent of Americans use some sort of fitness wearable anecdotal evidence shows kids as young as 4 years old are following ...

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The fitness tracker craze has kids racing toward obsession - New York Post

"It's very exciting because we've had so much advance in technology during such a short period," lead researcher Lisa Cadmus-Bertram said. "These trackers are such an enormous improvement over what we used to have."

For the small study, Cadmus-Bertram and her team at the University of Wisconsin looked at how the trackers worked for 40 healthy middle-age adults, compared with an ECG and against each other. The participants wore four devices during the test: a Fitbit Surge, a Fitbit Charge, a Mio Fuse and a Basis Peak smartwatch.

Compared with the ECG reading, wearable products varied in their accuracy. The Fitbit Charge performed the best at rest, measuring within 5 beats per minute of the ECG reading 95% of the time. The Basis Peak activity tracker was shown to be within 22.6 bpm of the ECG reading during the 10-minute resting test.

Although data were not provided to show readings at each measured time, Cadmus-Bertram suggested that outliers -- numbers well outside normal readings -- may have caused a wider range.

Critics, however, say that the devices are not performing up to their advertised promises and could supply users with dangerously inaccurate information.

Questions about the devices and their accuracy sparked a class-action lawsuit in 2016 over the technology in Fitbit trackers. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of people who bought Fitbits especially to help track their heart rates, whether for health reasons or to make sure they are getting the most out of their workouts. The lawsuit is ongoing.

"However accurate they may be at rest, the Fitbits are wildly inaccurate as heart rate monitors when worn during moderate- and high-intensity exercise, which is precisely the purpose for which Fitbit (in particular) markets them to consumers," said Jonathan Selbin, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit.

Physicians and researchers note that the trackers aren't medical devices. Selbin and others point out that Fitbit, in particular, "claims to be a 'Digital Healthcare Company' and is actively trying to get corporations and insurers to make health care decisions based upon data they collect."

Researchers and physicians said the technology has a long way to go. Dr. Nisha Jhalani, a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, who was not involved in the new study, noted that the technology in ECG machines and LED-based activity trackers is entirely different.

"Electrocardiography, or ECG, involves placing electrodes on the skin surface to measure electrical impulses generated by the heart muscle itself. The LED technology used in fitness trackers is an indirect measurement looking at the changes in light reflection through the skin during each heartbeat," she said.

If you've ever worn a wrist heart monitor, you may have noticed a time or two during exercise when your heart rate read inaccurately low for a few ticks before getting it right. These hiccups are one reason, researchers say, why the range of accuracy of these devices is so wide.

"A tracker will give you the occasional crazy reading, but most of the readings will be quite a bit closer than that," Cadmus-Bertram said.

Overall, researchers and experts are encouraged by the improving technology and continue to promote the use of fitness trackers to provide more information about a user's health.

"Fitness trackers are a great way to make people aware of their activity level throughout the day," Jhalani said. "Oftentimes, our perceived activity is much more than actual time spent we spend moving, especially people whose jobs involve sitting at a desk for hours at a time."

Heart rate data, she says, can be an empowering tool that can allow users to be more aware of their heart health and overall fitness.

"It is good for people to see their heart rate, both at rest and with exercise. Low resting heart rates, in the 60 to 70s bpm range, are considered generally healthy. High resting heart rates, especially when close to 100 bpm or higher, can be a sign of high stress levels or other medical conditions," Jhalani said.

"How quickly the heart rate goes back to normal after exercise also holds a lot of information. Quicker indicates better cardiopulmonary fitness level."

The compact, convenient and more stylish design achieved by using LED technology versus ECG comes with a few tradeoffs.

"LED technology can be affected by variables such as how loosely or tightly the tracker is worn, the user's skin tone or any other interference between the sensor and the skin. It can also become inaccurate with motion, which is why it doesn't fare as well as ECG with exercise," Jhalani said.

In response to the new study, Fitbit said in a statement that its trackers "are not intended to be medical devices and, unlike chest straps, wrist-based trackers fit conveniently and comfortably into everyday life, providing continuous heart rate for up to several days without recharging (vs. a couple hours at a time) to give a more informed picture of your overall health."

Representatives from Mio also emphasized that the product is a consumer device. "We need to make understanding heart rate easier for the average consumer," the company said in a statement. "This opportunity defocuses the importance of needing to know the exact heart rate at any one time, and rather put emphasis on understanding what getting your heart rate up does for your health over time."

Representatives from Basis could not be reached; the fitness tracker used in this study was recalled in September. According to the company's website, the recall is "because the watch can overheat, which could result in burns or blisters on the skin surface."

As a commercial product, Jhalani said, the overall impact is a positive one. "I think it keeps people from becoming complacent and empowers them to work towards a healthier lifestyle."

"While you wouldn't want to rely on a commercial tracker if you need absolute precision during exercise," Cadmus-Bertram said, "there's also no reason for the general public not to use it for feedback and motivation."

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Fitness trackers' heart rate monitoring accurate enough for most, study says - CNN

Angie Ferguson, Special to The News-Press 10:02 a.m. ET April 10, 2017

Burn fat and get more bang for your buck is by combining strength and cardiovascular training through High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.).(Photo: Halfpoint, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The fitness industry has been plagued with more myths than ancient Greece. However, of those that continue to be most common are myths surrounding strength and weight training. Lets debunk these myths once and for all so you can get on with the business of being strong and reaping the benefits of your labor.

1. Myth one:Women who weight train look like Rambo. This is a glaring misconception. One of the biggest differences between maleand female athletes are theirhormone levels and how these hormones behave - most specifically, testosterone. Testosterone leads to increases in muscle and bone mass. Men have significantly higher testosterone levels than women and therefore increasing muscle mass for men is much easier. The truth islifting weights and increasing muscle mass can increase your resting metabolic rate and in turn help you burn more calories during work efforts and while at rest.

Fitness: Make most out of personal training sessions

2. Myth two: The only way to burn fat is by doing hours of cardiovascular training. Thankfully, this is very false. While steady state cardio is great exercise for the heart-lung complex, we would need to spend countless hours pounding pavement to see an appreciable return for our efforts. A more effective way to burn fat and get more bang for your buck is by combining strength and cardiovascular training through High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.). HIIT is a great way to get the best of both worlds while burning more calories in less time.

3. Myth three:You can spot reduce fat. Unfortunately, genetics predominate our bodys size and shape and how we store fat. We are predisposed to store fat in different places. While it would be great to do a few planks, and get rid of any belly fat, the reality is that our bodies are going to lose weight/fat at its own rate and on its own terms. Doing triceps presses to get rid of flabby underarms is not an amazingly effective course of action. Your time would be better spent moving several muscles (compound exercises) during the same exercise to maximize the calories burned.

4. Finally, our final myth:Muscle turns to fat when we stop exercising. Another utter falsehood. Muscle and fat are twodifferent types of tissues, just like water and wine. There has only been one person who could turn water into wine. The adage of if you dont use it, youll lose it is much closer to being true. If a muscle is not used, the individual fibers decrease in their cross-sectional size (get smaller, this is called atrophy). If we continue to eat the same as we have when we were training, but stop exercising regularly, of course we will put on weight. This is because our energy inwould exceed our energy out,not because muscle is turning into fat. The bottom line is that if you stop movingand keep eating, you will most probably gain weight.

-- Angie Ferguson is an exercise physiologist from Fort Myers. She is a USA Triathlon Advanced Level 2 coach, Ironman Certified coach, Slowtwitch Certified coach, USA Cycling coach and has a Specialty in Sports Nutrition certification. For more training tips, read her blog at http://www.triathlontrainingisfun.com or contact her at http://www.gearedup.biz."

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Health: Debunking strength and fitness myths - The News-Press

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