Product Review - Speedo Aquabeat

I recently ruptured my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) meaning that for the foreseeable future I won't be doing any running of any sort! This is massively frustrating to me as I was intending this year to concentrate on running events rather than triathlon, which I have been doing for the last couple of years. Unable to run I have found myself swimming more. Whilst I've always enjoyed swimming it's not something I have ever done enough of as part of my triathlon training. My thinking was always that I can swim a mile pretty comfortably and that the effort required to get speed into that swim was probably better spent on the bike or out pounding the pavement. 

Take away the ability to run and suddenly the pool has a greater lure. It's convenient, more or less, as there are a couple in Cheltenham that I use, Brockworth 25m pool which is a couple miles or so down the road and the Lido which is just the most beautiful swimming pool; particularly on a sunny school day afternoon when there's hardly anyone else in there! Guaranteed to make you feel like a millionaire with your own private pool! I also swim at St. Nicks pool in Warwick where I work during the week.

As I was swimming more frequently I began to increase the laps and time in the water, swimming currently between 45-60mins a session. This is boring! Particularly in an indoor 25m pool. Whilst I am comfortable in my own head there is a definite need for a diversion. It's a bit like running on a treadmill. When I run outdoors I never use music or anything. Even on my long runs, which 90% I do solo, I never use music. I have always preferred the meditational aspects of running and the clarity of mind you get when out on the road. When on a treadmill that is different and the lack of scenery etc makes it almost essential to have music. so it was with this rationale I decided to buy a Speedo Aquabeat MP3. I opted for the 1GB version in black and bought it from Amazon for £49.90 with free delivery.

When it arrived I was pretty excited! Out of the box you get the Aquabeat, headphones, headphone extender lead, ear plugs (that connect to the headphones) and spares, net carry bag, instruction manual, USB charger/transfer lead  and a mini CD-rom. The device charges through USB via the headphone port. Loading tunes was easy, the software installed in a couple of minutes and recognised the Aquabeat immediately it was connected. It's then a case of browse, drag and drop. You then set the play order which is pretty cool as you can select an increasing tempo in songs to cover the workout time, warm-up, main sets and cool down.

A couple of things surprised me one was the size of the device, it's not small. My kids have Zen-stone mp3's and they are about a third of the size of the Aquabeat. I can only imagine that the Aquabeat needed to be larger so the buttons can be worked without looking at it and also that maybe to make it waterproof it needs to be larger. Secondly the software was on a CD as opposed to a download from the internet.

The headphones have a clever design. So that there is minimal wire to deal with the headphone lead is very short and has a coil like a spring so that any flex is catered for without the need for a longer, looser lead. the extension turns this into a standard length headphone wire making the Aquabeat easily useable as a normal MP3 player. The headphones are the in the ear type with the hooks that go over the back of the ear. They need to be secure. They have connectors, they come with spares too, that are like ear plugs and channel the music further down into the ear than normal headphones do. they are surprisingly comfortable.

First swim and I needed to connect them to my headphones. this was a little tricky as the clip on the Aquabeat is understandably tight so it does not release easily, that makes it tight to actually connect. I tried to connect it to the back of my goggles, which are also Speedo, and it would not fit. After a couple of minutes experimenting I secured in to the right had side strap, the loose bit that goes through the securing loop (does that make sense). It didn't look ideal but actually works fine. I then had to disconnect it as needed to turn it around so that the headphone jack points backwards and so doesn't take the force of water. I was pretty frustrated by this time as the securing mechanism is incredibly tight and so taking it off and connecting it is not easy. My advice would be to actually sort this out at home and not just as you are about to get into the pool!

At the water side I plugged the headphones into the Aquabeat and into my head! hit play and the sound came through loud and clear. Volume is easily controlled with simple and large enough buttons on top of the player. Plugged in and playing I got into the water and went under. It is a weird sensation being underwater with an MP3 player! I swam a length front crawl and as I moved my head to breathe I could feel water in my ear and then I'd lose the music in that ear. I stopped after a length and wiggled them about a bit (very technical) got the fit better and set off again. Now it was fine and I finished my set.

I have used it subsequently on every swim session and have had no problems, the sound does fade a little at times depending on the water in the ear but is more than adequate. It works well at steady pace with good consistent sound quality. If you up the pace and get a little more wash the sound can get drowned (see what I did there) a little by the water noise. I now cannot imagine swimming without it - frankly it's brilliant and you should get one.

Zen and the Art of Coffee

I just listened to a podcast where the podder spent 20minutes (more or less) talking about a specific addiction,

 

.....how it affects his energy, his moods, how he feels dependant on it and hates that he feels that way. 

.....how he cannot start an athletic endeavour without some. 

.....how when he gives it up he feels great but still the lure remains, how he has given it up "thousands of times" and that last time never even had a headache.

 

Sounds pretty serious and interesting until you realise the addiction was to caffeine. 

 

Seriously, caffeine!

 

That stuff in coffee, tea and soft drinks. The stuff you drink more or less every day and that even your kids drink. Sure you may be mindful of how much you drink, and maybe you don't drink coffee before you go to bed but its there constantly... everyone drinks it! If you follow any pro-tour cyclist on twitter you'd think those guys cannot get out of bed without it. Lance Armstrong even takes a personal pot with him if last years tour tweets are anything to go by.

 

To hear the discussion on the podcast you'd think it was going to be something juicy and revelationary like a class a substance or something....not humble coffee. A substance that every shop sells and that even your 10year old kid could go and buy without the need for id!

 

A really ridiculous podcast effort if ever there was one! If anyone listens and nods in agreement please get over yourself.

 

(I don't really want to name names/podcasts but if you listen to triathlon podcasts you'll probably find it anyway!)

Cyclists using insulin to dope?

I have just been listening to the Real Peloton podcast take on the Floyd Landis accusations this week. 

The nugget of information that caught my attention was that one of the products Landis confirmed he used to dope was insulin. I had never heard of insulin doping before and as a diabetic was curious to see what possible benefit could be gained...

An article from 2007 on the Royal Society of Chemistry website explains...

"...Insulin, when used as a performance enhancer, works to slow down the degradation of muscle tissue, which is attractive to such athletes as bodybuilders especially when they are also doping with a growth hormone. For endurance athletes, cyclists and runners, for example, insulin provides fuel for muscle cells and improves stamina. Although the prevalence of insulin doping is not known, luggage seizures at airports and testimonials from formerly doped athletes suggest that the abuse of this hormone is a real problem..."

On checking further there is this explanation on the Peak Performance website

"...Although it’s more usually associated with the regulation of blood glucose, the hormone insulin can also act as a powerful anabolic agent, helping to drive glucose and amino acids (the building blocks of protein) into muscle cells, thereby helping to increase glycogen synthesis and lean muscle mass. And when combined with anabolic steroids, insulin also helps prevent muscle tissue breakdown. Given the widespread availability of artificial insulin, it’s perhaps hardly surprising that growing numbers of athletes are reportedly using it in an effort to boost performance illegally..."

The next question that comes to mind is how a non-diabetic body will react to having insulin administered externally. The answers i have been able to find seem to indicate that normal insulin production via the pancreas will be suppressed and that if the practice continues the pancreas may stop functioning altogether, in short the administration of insulin to a non-diabetic patient may in fact render them diabetic.

Note: this is anecdotal information rather than something i have been able to locate on a scientific website.

Read the RSC full article here.
Read the full Peak Performance article here.