We’re just two days away from the annual ball drop in Times Square. And with the new year comes new year resolutions.
Let’s simplify some of this list.
While we all like to believe that our 2023 goals can be achieved through sheer force of will, it’s okay to admit that we need a little outside help. Unless your New Year’s resolution is to cut back on stuff or save money, check out this list.
get in shape
Achieving any kind of fitness goal is all about taking the first step.Polar makes great fitness watches that not only help you track your steps, but also motivate you to stay on track with your training. Offer new.
Polar Ignite 3
Polar Ignite 3 is a nice GPS-enabled fitness watch that doesn’t just track your runs. With a faster processor than its predecessor and multi-day battery life, Ignite 3 keeps track of your overall fitness, not just during your workout.
Did you sleep well last night? What is your VO2 max? Based on your overall readiness, are you ready to meet your training goals for the day? All you have to do is check your wrist.
Ignite 3 actively analyzes your biometric data and training history to suggest workouts and offer relaxing meditations. Of course, track metrics on any of the 150 workouts available on your watch. It even connects to your phone’s music app so you can control your playlist without taking your phone out of your pocket. It’s like a stylish little fitness guru sitting on your wrist.
Throughout the night, as your body recovers, Ignite 3 tracks your sleep quality and whether it was productive. It’s an often overlooked, but important part of overall fitness. If your sleep is junk, trying to push yourself can lead to frustration and even injury. It lets you know when your performance peaks during the day based on your needs.
Polar Ignite 3 is slim, attractive and less bulky than other fitness watches. It has a crisp AMOLED screen that doesn’t fade in bright light, so you can easily see what’s going on. The casing has attractive metallic accents in a variety of colors. Easily swap out bands to suit your style. As far as fitness watches go, it’s user-friendly and very helpful.Get it from his website at Polar for $329 and get more with your metrics.
sleep well
Tracking your sleep is good, but having tech that proactively improves your sleep is even better. It can process algorithms locally instead of relying on sending them to the cloud, so it can actively adjust your bed to the optimal temperature for a good night’s sleep.
Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover
The Pod 3 cover fits over your existing mattress, cools to 55°F and heats to 110°F. Once scheduled, Pod 3 will begin charging the active grid and cooling to your optimal sleeping temperature. You can keep the default temperature settings that Pod 3 recommends or manually tweak it a few degrees. I can.
When set to autopilot, Pod 3 will determine the optimum temperature based on body temperature, room temperature, and even weather, and adjust the mattress temperature accordingly. The results are impressive.
Pod 3 also has a built-in vibration motor that vibrates when you wake up. As morning approaches, the bedside is gently warmed. Much more pleasant to wake up to than a blaring alarm (and harder to ignore). Your partner will also appreciate if their sleep schedule differs.
The Eight Sleep app is full of easy-to-read graphs and information to walk you through the various metrics you collect. For a data junkie like me, it’s fascinating. Unfortunately, you can’t track your bedroom environment beyond temperature (like Google Hub’s noise sensor or ambient light sensor), but there’s plenty of data to chew on each morning.
The app integrates with Peloton, Oura, Garmin, Apple Health, Google Health, Fitbit, Trainingpeaks, Zwift and even Polar so you can see how your workouts affect your sleep patterns.
For more information on the Pod 3 cover, visit Eight Sleep’s site for year-end pricing.
dry january
Okay, so this isn’t really “gear”, but getting through a dry January can be tough without a little help. You’ve likely spent the last month partying regularly and enduring family gatherings, so a full month of vacation can seem like a daunting goal.
Are you happy that there is an orange wet version and a dry version?
Whistlepig offers two ready-to-drink old-fashioned cocktails.
<0.5% ABV Dry Orange Fashion is made with 100% rye non-whiskey, barrel-aged maple syrup and Sunkist navel oranges. One serving also contains 10% of the daily value of vitamin C. As a Florida guy, I was ready to turn my nose to something made of California oranges (make my Tropicana). But Dry Old Fashioned is very good. Mostly you get orange notes with a hit of rye spice and syrup on the back end. Think “spicy orange tongue.”
Contrast this with the 35% ABV Orange Fashion cocktail made with 100% Whistlepig rye. The wet version is more complex, complementing the whiskey’s spice rather than staring at the orange flavor as the main attraction.
If asked which one I’d like to drink, I’d choose wet, but dry is a comfortable stand-in for the month ahead. I’m starting to find it attractive.
Both versions of Orange Fashioned are better than any pre-mixed cocktail in a bottle I’ve had. Both are limited editions, with 100% of profits donated to bartenders nationwide (usually lower earnings in January).
Bottles are $49.99 each. The dry orange fashion can be found on his Whistlepig website (or it will be out soon, hopefully the wet page will be up soon). Also, visit the Grove to Glass giveaway site to win all kinds of fun His Whistlepig prizes (including a trip to visit his Whistlepig in Vermont) or grab a free orange with your cocktail. You can also put it in.
