Lifestyle

Fit fam, see how strong you are at Under Armour Combine!

The fitness competition makes its debut in Manila, pooling in a total cash prize pool of P680,000

Published

September 10, 2023

MJ Jucutan

Heads up, all athletes and fitness freaks!

Under Armour’s COMBINE — the largest fitness competition that benchmarks an athlete’s performance — is back for a second year. The successful debut last year brought in over 1,200 participants across four countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia.

This year, Under Armour expands the competition, pooling athletes from diverse sports and training disciplines in the Philippines.

Testing your limits

UA COMBINE will see competitors testing their limits in a total of eight physical and mental tests devised by Under Armour‘s Global Head of Athlete Performance, Michael Watts.

Each test challenges an athlete’s agility, stamina, vertical, power, endurance, strength, speed, and cognition. The eight tests will focus on the following:

Agility Star Drill (Agility)
Pull-up Beep Test (Stamina)
Vertical Jump Test (Vertical)
20m Sled Push (Power)
20m Beep Test (Endurance)
3RM Bench Press (Strength)
40 Yard Dash (Speed)
Reactive Intelligence Wall (Cognition)

A glimpse of your strengths and weaknesses

Under Armour has been hosting Train to Win sessions in the Philippines before the inaugural COMBINE event slated in November. On its fourth leg, Under Armour and Avantgarde Fitness mounted a fitness test at Activate Sports where I got invited to participate. The event also invited athletes from various disciplines such as CrossFit and Obstacle Course Racing.

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The session covered seven out of eight tests, pushing athletes to top their benchmarks through shuttle runs, wall balls, bench presses, max height box jumps, strict pull-ups, and burpee box jumps overs.

Going through various tests made me realize what I’m good at and what are my deficits. My stamina, endurance, and vertical are quite good, and I’ve been exceptional at speed and agility — thanks to my background competing in obstacle course racing.

However, I’ve been struggling with strength and cognition which gave me insights on what to work on before the actual competition.

Tweaks and then some

As part of the brand’s continuous efforts to better define athletic performance, the UA COMBINE 2023 will see significant tweaks made.

As opposed to a more traditional sargeant jump from last year, the standing vertical leap test will have competitors assessed through force plates. This accurately measures an individual’s upward propulsion force.

The cognition station will also use the Reactive Intelligence Wall used by professional athletes in Formula 1 and the NBA. With six light pods positioned on a vertical wall, participants will be tasked with tapping out as many blue pods as possible in 30 seconds. The test will measure reaction time, decision-making, and attention skills when doing so.

Happening in November

UA COMBINE 2023 is slated to happen on November 19, 2023, at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall. The competition is open to 350 competitors and all participating athletes will receive a full set of Under Armour competitor gear on the event day.

Points will be earned for each completed test and athletes will be ranked according to their final result, with medals and cash prizes of PHP200,000, PHP100,000, and PHP40,000 awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place athletes in both the men’s and women’s divisions respectively.

Moreover, Under Armour lowers the entry age to encourage younger athletes aged 16 to 18 to compete. Under Armour products worth PhP 50,000 for the top male and female youths await.

For those who want to compete as a team, participants are encouraged to form a group of four. The scores of each individual on the team will be totaled to a team score. Then, the highest team score will bring home PHP80,000 worth of Under Armour gear.

For further information on UA COMBINE 2023, including competition rules and how to register, please visit the official website www.uacombineph.com, or follow @underarmourPH on Instagram using #UACOMBINEPH.

Lifestyle

Philips launches the Fidelio L4, Fidelio T2

Releasing in the coming months

Published

September 30, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

Whenever you’re shopping for a new pair of headphones, Philips might not be on the top of your list. However, with the burgeoning Fidelio series, the company is building a strong case to be part of the conversation. Between the holiday season and the middle of next year, Philips is launching the Fidelio L4 and the T2, bolstering its lineup of premium headphones and earbuds.

Fidelio L4

The Fidelio L4 is Philips’s next pair of over-ear headphones. However, this time, Philips is going all-in on wireless. Using Bluetooth LE, the Fidelio L4 is built for commutes and long travels. Plus, the new pair completely redesigns the earpads to fit the ears much more for long-term comfort. It also optimizes the clamping force, so it doesn’t press too forcefully on the user’s head. The Scotting Muirhead leather adds to the premium look and feel of the headphones.

In terms of audio quality, the Fidelio L4 features a 40mm graphene-coated electro-dynamic drive unit. It will come with Hi-Res audio, LC3, LDAC, SBC, and AAC compatibility. Further, it will have four AI mics to optimize Adaptive ANC. It also comes with Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri compatibility.

The battery will reportedly last up to 40 hours on a single charge. Plus, it is compatible with quick charging for a quick top-up.

The Fidelio L4 will sell for US$ 349. It is set to launch sometime in this quarter.

Fidelio T2

Meanwhile, the Fidelio T2 adds to the brand’s TWS earbud lineup. Much like the over-ear headphones, the earbuds exude the same feeling of premium quality with Ceramic Injection Molding and premium Muirhead leather. The new tragus lock ensures that the earbuds fit comfortably and securely inside the ear for long periods of time.

For sound quality, the Fidelio T2 will have a two-way acoustic design, bolstered by a 9.2mm graphene-coated electro-dynamic driver. Like the other pair, it will come compatible with Hi-Res audio, LC3, LDAC, SBC, and AAC. With four AI microphones and two bone microphones, the earbuds have improved Adaptive ANC.

The earbuds will last up to 9 hours on a single charge. The charging case, on the other hand, can hold up to 36 hours of charge.

Shipping starting the second quarter of next year, the Fidelio T2 will sell for US$ 279.

First Look

4 reasons to check out the Huawei Watch GT 4

When fashion meets fitness

Published

September 28, 2023

MJ Jucutan

Huawei introduces the Huawei Watch GT 4, unveiling a new look and feel to its smartwatch. It blends style and smart connectivity, but of course, there’s more to a smartwatch than its appearance.

Lo and behold, here are four reasons to check out Huawei’s new smartwatch.

1. Refined design

Huawei puts fashion at its core, turning a fine smartwatch like the Huawei Watch GT 4 into a smart timepiece. The 46mm variant prides itself with a distinctive geometric design, using an octagon watch body. It is inspired by the diamond cut and chiselled exterior found in performance cars, pushing a classic look that matches any strap you prefer.

There’s also the 41mm variant, embodying a pendant design. It achieves the perfect balance between sleekness and sophistication.

Both smartwatches feature a stunning AMOLED screen with ultra-thin bezels, giving more space to the data that matter.

2. Live a smart, connected life

What’s a smartwatch if it can’t stay connected, right? The Huawei Watch GT 4 pushes smart connectivity inside a fashionable timepiece.

It brings seamless integration between the smartwatch and the connected smartphone. Yes, it works beyond non-Huawei smartphones. As long as you’re using smartphones running Android 6.0 and iOS 9.0 or later, you can enjoy the wonders of this timepiece.

It also comes with improved app multitasking management, allowing users to continue getting updates from the background running app while accessing information from the watch face.

Luckily, it offers up to 14 days of battery life on the 46mm and 7 days on the 41mm. You don’t have to worry about charging your smartwatch every single day.

3. Better health monitoring

The Huawei Watch GT 4 uses HUAWEI TruSleep 3.0 sleep monitoring technology, which monitors sleep stages, real-time heart rate, sleep breathing, and assesses sleep quality.

Furthermore, it’s equipped with a newly upgraded TruSeen 5.5+ heart rate monitoring technology, leveraging the power of AI algorithms to provide accurate heart rate readings.

It also introduces Pulse Wave Arrythmia Analysis to help users better understand their heart health through a comprehensive cardiac health management.

There’s also a lung function assessment, respiratory check, and cycle tracking as part of its 24/7 health monitoring.

4. A companion for staying active

The Huawei Watch GT 4 promotes staying active and being fit.

It comes with 200+ free fitness courses with personalized scientific training plans. It intelligently adjusts based on real-time feedback to optimize progress.

Moreover, it has over 100 diverse sports modes, and introduces 19 new professional sports mode. It covers indoor and outdoor activities such as walking, running, cycling, swimming, and more.

For those who want to manage their weight, the smartwatch has an app called Stay Fit which aids in scientific calorie management.

And if developing healthy habits is your thing, the Huawei Watch GT 4 has an upgraded Activity Rings serving as visual target.

Entertainment

Usher to headline Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show in 2024

Apple Music releases mini series

Published

September 26, 2023

GadgetMatch

R&B king Usher will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII halftime show in February next year. Coincidentally, 2024 will also be 20th anniversary of the release of Usher’s hit studio album Confessions.

To celebrate the news and commemorate the album at the same time, Apple Music has released a series of short videos which includes snippets of the iconic music video of the song Confessions, as well as where a young Usher receives a life-changing phone call.

The identity of the caller has never been revealed in the original music video, a mystery that has been confusing fans up to this day.

Finally, after two decades, Apple Music will show who the singer is talking with on the other end of the line.

The mini-series includes Kim Kardashian, Coach Prime, Odell Beckham Jr. and Marshawn Lynch. Usher also talks about starring for the halftime show next year in an Apple Music 1 interview live from Paris.

The 58th Super Bowl will take place on February 11, 2024 at the Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.