Whether you're doing a triumphant triathlon, some soul-stretching yoga, relentless rock climbing or ballsy beach volleyball, play your best with KT Tape!  It's hard not to do a double take when you see athletes donning brightly colored tape on their toned bodies.  But what is it exactly?  How does it work?

It's Kinesiology Therapeutic Tape (KT Tape) and it's used for common sports injuries such as ITBS, runners knee, shin splints, hamstring strain, & many more. Ultra-light, elastic, and strong, KT Tape is highly effective at providing pain relief, stability & support, & faster recovery for injured or sore muscles and joints.

Sounds pretty sweet!  Be a Top Skimbler in September and score some KT Tape to wrap all your aches and pains away.

We had a great time stress-testing KT Tape, finding it to be the most flexible and durable athletic tape that we've ever used.

Ligaya happily recovers from a minor knee injury and gets her physiotherapy on:

Maria lifts (her own) weight at the gym in pink and black fashion:

Gabe sports the green and black combo on his back during a sport climbing session:

And if you're looking for some more wild success stories, we just came back from rock climbing Mt Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States.  We wore KT Tape on our knees to prevent injury and ensure we were able to to a little yoga and a lot of climbing up its 14,505 feet peak:

If you'd like more information about the tape, visit the KT Tape website.  Be sure to check out their blog and get tips for excellent adhesion, sports prevention and recovery!  If you can't wait, grab some KT Tape at a store near you.

Kerri Walsh gets ready to crush with KT Tape and so should you!

We're excited to announce that Kevin C from San Francisco is Skimble's August Contest Winner.  Kevin scores a big Back-to-School Prize Pack including a Mountain Hardwear Enterprise Backpack, Evolv Sports Climbing or Hiking Shoe gift certificate and a Skimble T-shirt + other goodies, valued at over $250 USD.

Kevin, keep crushing it with the new gear for your favorite sports!

 

Skimble's August Contest: win a Back-to-School Prize Pack including a Mountain Hardwear Enterprise Backpack, Evolv Sports Climbing or Hiking Shoe gift certificate and a Skimble T-shirt + other goodies, valued at over $250 USD.  The prize pack is perfect for all your projects, whether they be in the classroom, on top a mountain or clinging onto a boulder!

Here's a little review:

Mountain Hardwear Enterprise Backpack:

Take this pack with you on your day hikes and urban walks to school or the office.  Consistently a best seller, this year the Enterprise has been upgraded with CoolWave Suspension for even better performance.  Equipped with all the essentials pockets, we give it an A+ for the attention to detail with the super soft pocket to store delicate electronics and the fully padded hydration / laptop sleeve!  Choose from five hot colors including Black and Jungle:

Evolv Sports Climbing or Hiking Shoes:

What's not to like about the most "vegan-friendly" synthetic climbing shoes around with TRAX Rubber performance soles?  Maria loves to wear the Talon G2s for her most overhanging sends including Tonsai Playboy (5.12a) in Tonsai, Krabi, Thailand and the Evo for more vertical sends like Threadfin (5.12b/c) at the Tsunami Wall in Red Rock Canyon State Park, near Las Vegas, NV.

Gabe digs the Optimus Primes (the Chris Sharma shoe), which is ideal for the wider foot and aggressive sport climber!  He's also excited to try the Predator G2 in the coming month.  What if you're new to climbing?  For an all-around shoe, go for the Pontas for guys and the Electra VTR for girls.  And if you're vertically challenged, slip into the Escapist hiking shoe and hit the trails.

Skimble Shop Tees:

For your inner outdoor shopaholic, the Skimble Shop helps you look stylish and buff in American Apparel t-shirts with flex printing.  You can wash these tees over and over and they'll continue to look and fit great.

How to win in August?

Just be active and track your adventures on Skimble.  Let's take a look at some active Skimblers:

• Into tennis and running? Follow Kenzo H because he's still undefeated and could use a little competition.
• Julia H's hand jestures make you want to bust a move during your yoga and aerobics session.
• Take a look at Scott N's running trails...see if you can run them as fast as he can.
• A fist bump goes out to John T for Crossfit training in Pasadena...Skimble's new Crossfit Champ, perhaps?
• Watch out for Raul G who may have clocked more hours in the gym than Arnold Schwarzenegger did in his prime.

Sports records are being broken left and right.  Usain Bolt stunned the world with his 9.58 second 100 meter dash and John Isner was left wondering when his 138 game fifth set at Wimbledon would ever end.  This summer track and share your own record-breaking achievements with Skimble!

High fives go out to Hannah B & David D who've both won a custom Avery Tennis Racket valued at $179.99 USD.  Whether you're a pure beginner, a weekend warrior or the social doubles player, an Avery Tennis racket will improve your serve, ground strokes and volleys.

Founder Tom Avery is a really sweet guy, he's over 70 years old and has over 35 years of tennis coaching experience...let him guide you with the racket of your choice:

• Avery M3 Control Mid +
• Avery M3 Power Mid +
• Avery M5 Oversize

Check out the Avery tennis racket reviews here.

Special thanks to our sponsor:

Stay tuned for more info about this month's Contest Prize Pack announcement...

And the WINNERS of last month's prize giveaway (drum roll please.....) are:

 Charity F. & Dustin G. - congrats!

Last month's Lululemon Yoga Mat prizes were donated by our friends at the Lululemon store at 327 Grant Ave. in San Francisco, CA and from the Lulus at the Austin, TX store!

Be active to win big (in more ways than one)!  This month, Skimble will be giving away Skimble Action Packs including your choice of Skimble t-shirt and a $50 Gift Card from REI or MEC:

What do you have to do to get the goods?  Just be active with Skimble.  Each day in February that you track at least one activity on Skimble, you earn one contest entry.  At the end of the month, winners are randomly chosen from these entries.  That's pretty much it so get on it and be active!

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Need some motivation?  Invite your friends and follow some people who got their 'action' on last month!  Congrats to the Skimble Leaders of January 2010:

• Sebastien V is an advanced ashtanga yoga instructor with a pretty impressive video on his profile...just saying.
• Matt Y is an all arounder who likes running, biking, rock climbing, yoga, and gym fitness.
• Tony M swims like a dolphin but prefers ninja-fighting pandas (refer to profile pic)!
• Inuk S - In oder Aus in Switzerland: pilates & aerobics indoors, biking & hockey outdoors.
• Sean N is enjoying his personal-best triathlon w/ his favorite activities: hiking, cardio and yoga.
• Cedric M keeps fit in the city by playing basketball and lifting weights.
• Dan C tracks his urban and adventure hikes all around Taipei, Taiwan.
• Katie J spends her time learning yoga and hiking around New Mexico.
• Gian F is a trooper road bike riding long distances on cold mornings in Florida.
• Chris B achieved his personal best while mountain biking pretty damn hard.