Be Fit With Biray

When it comes to subscribing to blogs, you have to spend a lot of time sorting through a million foggy-blogs before finding those that are substancial (and hopefully, still active) enough to read. I don’t care if Technorati claims over 70 million blogs online. I just want to know which blogs are worth following and which ones I should avoid completely. And in terms of health and wellness, the challenge is even greater to find blogs that are informational, creative, and let’s face it, honest. (We are all sick of hearing/reading/blogging about quick fix weight-loss and fitness gimmicks.)

Like many online addicts, I’ve spent countless hours on the web looking for relevant blogs in my profession. This week, NOEDb (Nursing Online Education Database) published the top 100 Health and Wellness blogs. (Now I can finally have my Second Life back. LOL!) The list covers all blogs dealing with medicine, general health/disease, weight-loss, diet, nutrition, physical activity, strength training, and alternative health/medicine.

Although a list like this has been long overdue, I am ecstatic that it’s finally available for people to use as a reference (if you haven’t been subscribing to them already). But I have to make one big comment about this list (okay, maybe two)…

Glancing at the blogs, I’d say most of them are written by those who are NOT professionals in their field. This, by no means, invalidates these blogs – in fact, it probably validates them more. They have no ulterior motives. Their authenticity relies on the combination of experiencial knowledge, passion in wanting current & relevant information, and enthusiasm for their topic. Perhaps they are a greater resource than their professional counterparts. It’s somehow more endearing to follow a newbie in his journey to train for a triathlon than reading a professional trainer’s how-to blog to triathlons (aka training guide, aka from his book, aka that you should buy, aka from Amazon.)

So I started thinking: Why didn’t any of the blogs written by personal trainers, group exercise instructors, or lifestyle/wellness coaches make this list? I know they exist. Don’t these health/fitness professionals have experiencial knowledge, stay current on industry education, and have enthusiasm for what they do? I would hope so. So, why wouldn’t this list reflect these professional blogs? Mmm, something to think about…

The article also mentions the lack of alternative health/medicine blogs. It only listed 4 quality blogs under this category (not counting the 2 pilates and yoga blogs), of which 2 were on acupuncture/pressure, 1 on massage therapy/body work, and 1 on Chinese medicine. Quite a limited range. Isn’t there a growing community in alternative medicine, naturopathy/homeopathy, and other holisic and complementary health practices?

So, where is the presence of our health, fitness, and wellness professionals in the blogosphere?

 
Is it just me or is Facebook one of life’s best little addictions?  I’ve been keeping my profile active, logging in at least once a day, hoping to find out if there’s more to this online social networking than making and reconnecting with new and old friends.

As most of you know, it’s running season again and I have a list of races I’d like to participate in this year (first one is this weekend).  However, I’m really having trouble staying motivated with my runs.  My running partner, Jen, opted out of training this season for personal reasons.  So I’m left to my own devices.  And let’s just say those devices are working in favor of a lazy training season.

I’ve decided to turn to Facebook for support.  Friends, strangers – if you’re out there, I need you!  I’ve loaded 3 applications on my Facebook profile that function specifically for runners to help them keep track of their regimen.

(NOTE: A Facebook application is a program embedded on your profile.  Usually it does something insignificant such as report the weather, list your favorite movies, predict your horoscope, pet your virtual animal.  They tend to have one useless function – so it’s not uncommon to load tons of different apps on your profile.  Every once in a while, you find an app that is creative and very useful.)

The following applications are designed for logging miles and running statistics on Facebook.

 
RunLogger keeps track of how much you run, by distance and duration. It also lets your friends know about your running through mini-feeds and stats on your profile page.
This is the app I use – so if you notice I’m not logging my miles – ‘poke me’ and tell me to get on it.
Runlicious also logs how much you run.  However, it specifically tracks which shoes you run in.  This is totally effective for those of us who have at least 2 or 3 pairs of running shoes.  You can monitor your friends’ running, as well as, share your PR’s with the world.

Run Time! is an extention of the features from a website called YourRunning.com.  Run Time! tracks the date, time, pace, heart rate & other details about your runs.  Cool!

I’ve gotta say — although these apps are simply adorable and fun to play with… I wonder how effective they will be in keeping me on my game.

I’ve discovered another great blog and have officially added it to my blogroll!  Amanda Vogel, MA is the owner of Active Voice Writing Service for fitness professionals (www.ActiveVoice.ca) and she’s added “active voice” blogging to her credits.  She is the author of 51 Need-to-know Writing & Marketing Tips for Fitness Pros, with her most recent release 30 Ways to Keep Profiting from your Free Media Promotion.  Her blogs are full of practical writing information (coupled with a bit of humor) and are definitely worth subscribing to (in other words, add it to your Google Reader!)

Today FitnessJen, my friend and fellow group exercise instructor, created her first official Fitness Jen blog on Blogger!  I wanted to give her a loud shout-out and let her know that she’s officially landed a spot on my blogroll!  (Be forewarned: she LOVES the color pink.)