I am currently testing a couple of new products. Will have some reviews coming out soon! I can't currently say much about them, but both of these are pretty different. Stay tuned...........
Thursday, October 6, 2016
SO EASY TO GO OFF THE RAILS.............
Well, here we are again, right in the middle of pumpkin spice latte season! It's beginning to pop up everywhere. This is the season, from now until the beginning of the year when everyone seems to put common sense on hold in order to enjoy "the holidays". The office in which I work is suddenly FILLED with candy bars, hard candies, bon bons, candy, and more candy. Pure sugar, sitting everywhere. Pretty inviting. It is so easy to just grab a chocolate bar or piece of candy as you walk by. Co-workers walk in every morning with their trophy from you know which coffee shop. Not exactly coffee mind you, but a 500 calorie sugar and whipped cream fueled pancreas buster.
There are some secured hallways where I work that are open only to employees, and at least once or twice per week, someone is celebrating something with a table full of carbs. It is so prevalent that they have established a permanent table in the hallway, with a big "Happy Birthday" sign over the top, ready for the next upcoming celebration.
Can't imagine why we're getting fat. This isn't breakfast, or lunch, but a 10:00 am feeding frenzy of doughnuts, bagels, muffins and cupcakes. Oh, SOMETIMES, there is the obligatory "fruit plate", brought in by some well-meaning individual. It is always relegated to the back of the table, and usually left mostly undisturbed as twenty frantic sets of hands paw over the flour and sugar "treats".
I've ranted over this many times, but it seems to get worse and worse. We have more diabetes, high blood pressure, you name it. I will see the same people "walking" for a 1/2 hour during lunch. They go to the trouble of bringing sweats and "walking shoes". That, of course, is a little bit of a bright spot, but walking for 1/2 hour won't burn off your morning pumpkin spice latte, the cupcake and doughnut you had at 10:00, AND your breakfast.
Can't fix this on my own, of course. It will get worse during the next 2-1/2 months as the "holiday parties" start to roll up. Then everyone will make a New Year's Resolution that will last a couple of days and the cycle will start again. Only you can make this better. Chances are, if you are reading this, you are already way ahead of many of your peers, because you are at least interested in making it better.
Paleo works for me. I'm a pragmatist, though. Eating paleo is a lifestyle choice, not a religion. Will I ever have a piece of pizza at one of my kids' events/parties? Sure. The problem is not the occasional break over to avoid being a social outcast in front of your kids. The problem is deciding HOW you want to fuel your body. Food is just that. Fuel, and building materials that your body needs in order to function and to repair itself. If you constantly load up with crap, that is what your body will use. If you try to build a house with broken pallets that you find behind your local home improvement store, you will end up with a crappy house. If you put cheap, watered-down fuel in your car, it will run poorly, if at all. Just try to minimize the crap intake, and at least MOSTLY fuel and replenish your body with nourishing food and clean water. It will function better............
There are some secured hallways where I work that are open only to employees, and at least once or twice per week, someone is celebrating something with a table full of carbs. It is so prevalent that they have established a permanent table in the hallway, with a big "Happy Birthday" sign over the top, ready for the next upcoming celebration.
Can't imagine why we're getting fat. This isn't breakfast, or lunch, but a 10:00 am feeding frenzy of doughnuts, bagels, muffins and cupcakes. Oh, SOMETIMES, there is the obligatory "fruit plate", brought in by some well-meaning individual. It is always relegated to the back of the table, and usually left mostly undisturbed as twenty frantic sets of hands paw over the flour and sugar "treats".
I've ranted over this many times, but it seems to get worse and worse. We have more diabetes, high blood pressure, you name it. I will see the same people "walking" for a 1/2 hour during lunch. They go to the trouble of bringing sweats and "walking shoes". That, of course, is a little bit of a bright spot, but walking for 1/2 hour won't burn off your morning pumpkin spice latte, the cupcake and doughnut you had at 10:00, AND your breakfast.
Can't fix this on my own, of course. It will get worse during the next 2-1/2 months as the "holiday parties" start to roll up. Then everyone will make a New Year's Resolution that will last a couple of days and the cycle will start again. Only you can make this better. Chances are, if you are reading this, you are already way ahead of many of your peers, because you are at least interested in making it better.
Paleo works for me. I'm a pragmatist, though. Eating paleo is a lifestyle choice, not a religion. Will I ever have a piece of pizza at one of my kids' events/parties? Sure. The problem is not the occasional break over to avoid being a social outcast in front of your kids. The problem is deciding HOW you want to fuel your body. Food is just that. Fuel, and building materials that your body needs in order to function and to repair itself. If you constantly load up with crap, that is what your body will use. If you try to build a house with broken pallets that you find behind your local home improvement store, you will end up with a crappy house. If you put cheap, watered-down fuel in your car, it will run poorly, if at all. Just try to minimize the crap intake, and at least MOSTLY fuel and replenish your body with nourishing food and clean water. It will function better............
Saturday, March 19, 2016
OK You're BAD============================================>>
But...............are you workin' the hive in your Z-Trails bad?
Ok, just for the record, I'm pretty sure that this use isn't suggested or sanctioned by Xeroshoes. My point is that these are the most versatile footwear that I've had. I wear them for just about everything, from running (on any surface), to working in our organic fruit orchard, feeding the chickens, and working around the bee hive. We ventured into some fairly wild areas of a friends place today, too! We were up and down slopes, rocks, leaf litter, etc. Great traction on all surfaces and just the right protection for my feet on the rocky areas....Get yourself a pair!
Ok, just for the record, I'm pretty sure that this use isn't suggested or sanctioned by Xeroshoes. My point is that these are the most versatile footwear that I've had. I wear them for just about everything, from running (on any surface), to working in our organic fruit orchard, feeding the chickens, and working around the bee hive. We ventured into some fairly wild areas of a friends place today, too! We were up and down slopes, rocks, leaf litter, etc. Great traction on all surfaces and just the right protection for my feet on the rocky areas....Get yourself a pair!
Friday, March 11, 2016
XEROSHOES Z-TRAILS ON SALE NOW.--------------------------------->>>
I recently had the opportunity to do an advance test/trial of the newest offering from XEROSHOES, the Z-TRAIL sandal. (See complete review below). They are currently on sale, as part of their roll-out. Check out my complete review, then take a look at these. The link is to the right->
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
NEW UMARA Z-TRAIL FROM XEROSHOES-REVIEW----------->>
First off, let me admit that I'm mostly a "between the toes" kind of guy. That's how I started in minimalist footwear, and I still have (and love) 3 pair of original Xeros (Two from back when they were still imprinted with "Invisible Shoes". A few months before discovering Xeros, I had bought a pair of sandals (a brand which shall go unnamed here), and they had the "across the toe" strap", as well. I ran 1/2 mile and had three blisters. Took them off and never wore them again.
Steven Sashen has a new offering, the Umara Z-Trail, utilizing an "across the toes" strap, and I have had the great fortune to test them. You can find them through the link to the right of this post. These are very similar in looks to the previously released Z-Treks (I'll be posting a review on them later), but with a beefier sole that is up to pretty much anything that most of us can throw at them. Since receiving these, I have run in them, done a bit of hiking, worn them to the store, out to dinner, working all day in our fruit orchard, in effect, pretty much lived in them. (At my wife's urging, I did clean them up a bit before wearing them out to dinner.) They have taken me on trail terrain, to be sure, including what mud I could find now that our California El Nino seems to have fizzled, but are equally good on asphalt, concrete, in any urban environment as well. We have a mountain camp-out coming up and the Z-Trails are definitely coming along. They roll up so they take up very little room, a men's size 9 is 5.4 oz, and even my size 12s have a weight that is negligible.
I have worn a lot of different "running sandals", and these certainly fill that bill, but they are oh, so much more. The lacing system on the Z-Trails is so versatile that I think you'd have to try very hard to have them not hug your foot. With the way these are set up, you can make macro or micro adjustments to the strap across the toes, the strap securing the ankle, the heel strap (I love Velcro), any which way you need. My feet are not always the easiest to fit, but the templates provided on Xeroshoes.com gave me the tools and instruction that I needed to get a perfectly fitting pair. When you get them on and adjusted, your feet settle into them and you pretty much forget that you have them on.
The sole, at 10mm is the thickest Xeroshoes has offered. I had been hoping for this for a while, as sometimes it's nice to have that little bit of extra protection when traversing rough terrain. They have hit the sweet spot with these, and there is still ground feel, even with the extra protection. The beefing up of the wear points on the sole should make them last for a long time, and the tread gives these sandals great traction, even on gravelly hills. The barefoam foot bed is extremely comfortable, and, maybe it's just my perspective, but I think I can see it having molded a bit to my foot. The fit is extremely comfortable and any adjustments are quick and effortless. The Xeroshoes design gurus have outdone themselves this time, and the price is great, too at only $79.99.
I will continue to wear these, and I'm determined to test Steven's 5k mile warranty with them. I highly recommend these to anyone who is looking for a great minimalist sandal with some extra protection for the foot sole, at a great price. Xeroshoes is a trustworthy company, as well, in my opinion. I have dealt with them a number of times over the years and have never been disappointed. It's clear that Steven wants everyone who puts on his shoes to be satisfied, and he seems to go to great lengths to make that happen.
Steven Sashen has a new offering, the Umara Z-Trail, utilizing an "across the toes" strap, and I have had the great fortune to test them. You can find them through the link to the right of this post. These are very similar in looks to the previously released Z-Treks (I'll be posting a review on them later), but with a beefier sole that is up to pretty much anything that most of us can throw at them. Since receiving these, I have run in them, done a bit of hiking, worn them to the store, out to dinner, working all day in our fruit orchard, in effect, pretty much lived in them. (At my wife's urging, I did clean them up a bit before wearing them out to dinner.) They have taken me on trail terrain, to be sure, including what mud I could find now that our California El Nino seems to have fizzled, but are equally good on asphalt, concrete, in any urban environment as well. We have a mountain camp-out coming up and the Z-Trails are definitely coming along. They roll up so they take up very little room, a men's size 9 is 5.4 oz, and even my size 12s have a weight that is negligible.
I have worn a lot of different "running sandals", and these certainly fill that bill, but they are oh, so much more. The lacing system on the Z-Trails is so versatile that I think you'd have to try very hard to have them not hug your foot. With the way these are set up, you can make macro or micro adjustments to the strap across the toes, the strap securing the ankle, the heel strap (I love Velcro), any which way you need. My feet are not always the easiest to fit, but the templates provided on Xeroshoes.com gave me the tools and instruction that I needed to get a perfectly fitting pair. When you get them on and adjusted, your feet settle into them and you pretty much forget that you have them on.
The sole, at 10mm is the thickest Xeroshoes has offered. I had been hoping for this for a while, as sometimes it's nice to have that little bit of extra protection when traversing rough terrain. They have hit the sweet spot with these, and there is still ground feel, even with the extra protection. The beefing up of the wear points on the sole should make them last for a long time, and the tread gives these sandals great traction, even on gravelly hills. The barefoam foot bed is extremely comfortable, and, maybe it's just my perspective, but I think I can see it having molded a bit to my foot. The fit is extremely comfortable and any adjustments are quick and effortless. The Xeroshoes design gurus have outdone themselves this time, and the price is great, too at only $79.99.
I will continue to wear these, and I'm determined to test Steven's 5k mile warranty with them. I highly recommend these to anyone who is looking for a great minimalist sandal with some extra protection for the foot sole, at a great price. Xeroshoes is a trustworthy company, as well, in my opinion. I have dealt with them a number of times over the years and have never been disappointed. It's clear that Steven wants everyone who puts on his shoes to be satisfied, and he seems to go to great lengths to make that happen.
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