Misc
The Arena comes from Oregon Scientific, well-established providers of all that’s a tad quirky in the world of electronic gadgetry. Here they’ve come up trumps with what is one of only a limited number of waterproof MP3 players on the market. The Arena MP180 is waterproof to a depth of 1m for up to 30mins; […]
The pool-friendly 1GB Sport player from Freestyle Audio is kitted out for sports use straight out of the box, coming complete with three different-sized earbud fittings for the waterproof phones and an armband. Sound quality is reasonable and the earbuds aren’t uncomfortable, though the use of ear clips for swimming is slightly odd. However, the […]
Available in several colours and two sizes (£39.99 for the 1GB we tested; £59.99 for the 2GB version), the 2-Play MP150 will look familiar, as it follows the now ubiquitous USB stick format. Initial impressions are pleasing: its body comes wrapped in a nice rubber coating and the two-colour, four-line LCD greets you with a […]
The baby of the market-leading iPod family, the stamp-sized, 1GB Shuffle is designed as a no-frills, no-fuss way of bunging some music in your ears while you’re on the move. And there’s the rub: the lack of an LCD or all but the most basic playback controls (there’s no EQ, for instance) mean this won’t […]
In recent years, the inventors of the original Walkman have fallen a bit behind in the personal audio arena but, as games of catch-up go, the 4GB NWZ-A826 is hard to beat. Design-wise it’s not a million miles from the iPod Touch, its obvious main rival, being an ultra-slim, black beauty with a large full-colour […]
Although aimed primarily at coaches, this British Triathlon Federation DVD provides plenty of technique advice that you can put into practice on your own or with training partners. You get a disc covering each of the triathlon disciplines, broken down into various different skills. The swim disc, for example, covers body position in the water, […]
The prospect of enduring a whole DVD on core training might sound daunting, but this is great stuff. US coach Eric Schmitz manages to make strengthening your mid-section interesting by demonstrating loads of exercises you’ve probably never done before and adding plenty of variety throughout the workouts. Some sessions require no equipment; for others you’ll […]
This impressive DVD is all about getting race day right, covering everything from visualisation to nutrition to specific technique advice for each of the disciplines. Former US pro Wes Hobson and Olympic coach Michelle Blessing anchor things, and you get plenty of additional input from well-recognised experts: 220 contributing coach Joe Friel gives useful tapering […]
Fancy conquering one of the Tour de France’s most feared climbs from the comfort of your own turbo trainer? This is a cyclist’s-eye view of riding the Alpine mountain Ventoux. And it couldn’t be simpler: you pedal along, a number in the corner of the screen tells you when to adjust the gear or resistance […]
This DVD is built around turbo-trainer sessions, where you cycle along with former British tri champ Rick Kiddle on the rural roads of southern France. You get a low- and high-end endurance ride, hill climbs, extensive intervals and a scenic jaunt, which you can do either individually or all together as one tough workout. Graphics […]
In jargon-free language, regular 220 Triathlon contributor Joe Beer unravels the basics about our beloved sport, from the fundamental training required to become a triathlete, to the equipment you’ll need, all the way through to racing. Along this enjoyable ride, there are plenty of training plans and tips to get your teeth into. Complementing the […]
Triathlon Made Easy is written by Zoe McDonald and Lisa Buckingham from Zest magazine, and their day job has clearly seeped through to the pages of this guide, as it has a stereotypical girly air to it – lots of stars, pastel colours and cute illustrations. While these fluffy visuals will appeal to some, many […]
Everyone with a pair of running shoes should have Running Well by Sam Murphy and Sarah Connors on their bookshelf. It aims to show runners how to minimise and treat injury through smart training and good technique. But Running Well is far more than just an injury book. It’ll help you assess and correct your […]
This kit bag-sized book by Anita Bean is a valuable reference tool for those interested in supplements and nutrition. Easy to read and packed with concise information, it’ll help you understand the massive range of supplements on the market to see which you need, which you don’t and how to make them work for you. […]
At a massive 351 pages, with excellent examples, exercises and tips, Jeremy Lazarus gives you a practical handle on the use of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) for sports people. NLP breaks down the mental aspects of sport into scenarios that are easily practised and visualised, which helps the athlete to take the most appropriate actions […]
Body Glide is of a waxy consistency rather than liquid/gel and comes in a handy stick-type dispenser (like some antiperspirants). The obvious advantage of this is the cleanliness of application and zero risk of it leaking in your car/kit bag and ruining all your clothes or carpets. The downside of the stick is that liberal […]
Brave Soldier is the official skincare supplier to Carmichael training systems in the US, so they should know a thing or two about athletes’ needs. Friction Zone (we tested the £2 sample version but we’d recommend the 180ml product) is their multipurpose skin lubricant and, like all those tested here, is wetsuit friendly; in other […]
The age-old triathlete’s favourite. On the plus side, Baby Oil is widely available, cheap and leaves your skin lovely and smooth. Unfortunately, though, its watery consistency means it inevitably goes everywhere when you’re trying to apply it. It also absorbs too well into your skin and, as a result, offers less protection than the specifically […]
Made on the Isle of Man, Sal Clear Tri Lube has been designed specifically to get triathletes in and out of wetsuits in a hurry. The ingredients are tested so that they won’t affect the neoprene, and consistency is quite thin but not too watery, making precise and localised application easy. In terms of protection […]
Suit Juice would clearly be Captain Planet’s choice of lubricant: biodegradeable, fragrance free, hypoallergenic and containing no animal by-products. It’s even approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Consistency is quite thin but it comes in a neat pump-action bottle, which makes application much less messy than daubing it on by hand, and is the […]
Activate (90g) is a soy bean oil with noticeable additions of peppermint, menthol, lemon rosemary and lemongrass. It’s rather more lotion-like and doesn’t feel quite as luxurious when you’re applying it as some warm-up oils can. But the plus side is that this makes it easier to identify and isolate problem areas, as they can […]
This 100ml bottle is made by the same guys who build turbo trainers, so we assume it’s aimed at cyclists and triathletes. (The instructions aren’t exactly in the Queen’s English, but if you can read Italian perhaps that part makes more sense.) We particularly liked the dispenser system Elite has used: the oil sprays out […]
This 100ml product is marketed specifically as a warming massage oil for use prior to sporting activity in cold and wet weather, and the ‘lively’ smell adds weight to the claim that it’s good to get you in the mood for racing. For an oil it absorbs remarkably well, is cleaner than some and is […]
This oil, which comes in a swishy 500ml pump dispenser, has a really high quality feel to it. It comes out of the dispenser as thin as the other oils on test, but gets thicker as you work with it. The smell was a definite winner with us – it’s reminiscent of a rugby changing […]
