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Safety First! 4 Safety Products for Your Active Lifestyle

active lifestyleAn active lifestyle carries with it a certain amount of risk. Running trails? You could easily trip on a rock and twist an ankle. Playing a little beach volleyball? You wouldn’t be the first to crash into a teammate while diving for a ball. Lifting weights? Oh, the risk factors — they are numerous.

But maintaining an active lifestyle is more than worth the risk, not only because sitting around all day is even riskier, but also because of the way living an active lifestyle makes you feel. Strong. Proud. Confident. Exhilarated. Happy.

And if you’re doing what you can to mitigate the risk factors (like using good form in the weight room, paying attention to your surroundings on the trail, knowing the rules of the road, etc.), then really, your risk factors go way down. Paying attention goes a long, long way when it comes to practicing safe fitness!

Still, there’s always more you can do, right? And Erin and I have rounded up a few products that the safety-minded among you just might want to check out.

runbell

The New “On Your Left”

When you’re out running and see someone (or a group of someones) blocking your path up ahead, which of the following do you do?

A) Try to run around them without bothering them; the quieter, the better.

B) Make some sort of noise, like clearing your throat or saying, “Coming through, please!” to give them a heads up that you’re, uhh, coming through.

C) Yell, “MOOOOVE!” at the top of your lungs as many times as necessary.

D) Stop behind them and seethe until they finally figure out that you’re trying to get by.

E) Barrel through them. If they didn’t want to get pushed, they should’ve been paying attention.

So, the proper thing to do is make some sort of noise or polite announcement (Answer B), but in a strong, clear voice well in advance to give them time to react and move. (And say thank you afterward!) But some people have trouble projecting their voices (or even if they don’t normally, during a hard run it can present a big challenge), and in those cases, a device like the Runbell ($25) is a handy item to have on hand (literally).

It’s a small bell that you wear on your hand while running — when you’re coming up on a person or group while running, you use your thumb to ding the bell (and yes, it’s definitely loud enough to get their attention), at which time you can politely call out something along the lines of, “On your left!” if they don’t see you and move on their own. Sound-wise, it’s great — there are two ways to ding it, and one is very loud while the other is a bit softer. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to use, though — positioning my thumb correctly takes some maneuvering — and it takes a bit of practice to become adept at the ding. But if you’re someone who’s hesitant to call out a warning, it’s a great option! —K

rearviz

A Portable Rearview Mirror

Am I the only one who isn’t 100 percent comfortable turning to look behind me on my bike? It’s not a huge problem for me to turn and look back for traffic, but if I have people behind me and I’m just checking to see if they’re still there … well, I hate that. But I also don’t necessarily want yet another thing added to my bike — I like to keep my road bike pretty clear of stuff because I don’t want to deal with taking things off and putting them back on after races, and my beach cruiser? Honestly, it just has plenty attached to it already.

Enter RearViz ($55). It’s a rearview mirror for cyclists that’s worn on the arm (as opposed to being mounted on your bike). It’s adjustable in multiple ways (folds up and down, rotates 360°), is lightweight, and easy to slip on and off. There’s a bit of an adjustment period, because even though you’re not turning around to look behind you, you’re definitely shifting your eyes so that you’re no longer looking at the road in front of you, and until you get used to using the mirror, it’s easy to steer yourself a bit off track (believe me). But after I practiced a bit, I found it to be incredibly helpful. I doubt I’ll use it in races, but for group rides or rides on roads with a fair amount of traffic? My RearVis will be coming with me. —K

Light Up The Night

Now that I’m running more, I’m taking my workouts out of the gym more often. That means running on the mean streets of New Jersey, where the drivers don’t even stop for a pregnant woman, a child and a stroller at a crosswalk (ask me how I know). So taking my runs to the streets can make me a little nervous, particularly when the sun is going down (or coming up, but let’s be honest, I’m not an early morning runner). If it’s dangerous when drivers see you, it’s super dangerous when they don’t, so I’m vigilant about looking three times before crossing a street, especially if I’m jamming to my music.

To help increase my visibility, I’ve been using the 4id PowerSpurz shoe safety light ($19.95) and the LED PowerArmz safety band ($19.95). The shoe light easily attaches to the back of your shoe and with the push of a button, lights ups. You can set it on continuous light or flashing.

4id PowerSpurz

The light is lightweight and pretty unobtrusive, so unless your feet are super sensitive to stimulation, you won’t even  notice it’s there, but drivers will notice you. The arm band is similarly easy to use; you simply strap it to your arm, push the button once or twice for the light setting of your choice, and hit the road.

4idUse both lights at the same time for extra visibility — and extra safety — in night-running conditions. They’re weather-resistant, so you don’t have to worry about rain or puddles rendering them useless, and the battery run time of 70 hours (continuous) and 100 hours (flashing) ensure you don’t have to worry about batteries for many miles and moons. E

What measures do you take to stay safe while you’re out getting your active lifestyle on? —Kristen & Erin

FTC disclosure: We often receive products from companies to review. All thoughts and opinions are always entirely our own. Unless otherwise stated, we have received no compensation for our review and the content is purely editorial. Affiliate links may be included. If you purchase something through one of those links we may receive a small commission. Thanks for your support!