Home Fitness: How to Choose the Right Exercise Equipment

Home Fitness: How to Choose the Right Exercise Equipment

As easy as it may seem, buying exercise equipment takes a lot of considerations. Let us look at the factors that really matter when making a purchase:

Determine your goal

The entire process of selecting which type of exercise equipment is right for you and how much do you need to spend for it relies on what goals you wish to accomplish along with your current fitness level. So before selecting one or limiting yourself to which treadmill or elliptical trainer is right for you, ask yourself, "What do I want to achieve?" Do you wish to improve your cardiovascular health? Do you want to develop strength? Do you wish to boost your energy? Such questions, when answered right away would lead you to identifying which type of equipment do you really need.

Set your Budget

The second, most important thing you need to determine is how much you are willing to spend on a particular type of home fitness equipment. Different types of exercise equipment have varying costs. A good treadmill costs from $1500 to $3500. An elliptical trainer ranges from $200 to $5000. A stationary bike ranges between $500 and $1000. The old adage, "you get what you pay for" still applies here so make sure that you balance between affordability, features and usability.

Note:
Not because you can use your credit card to purchase a thousand dollar elliptical trainer or a $3000 treadmill means that you can afford it. Study your financial position and know exactly how much you can spend on a certain purchase.

Space

Aside from your goal and budget, the 2 other equally important things to remember when purchasing exercise equipment are: to test the equipment and to measure the size of the equipment. While the former is somewhat automatic, the latter is often overlooked, simply because when you are at the store, it is hard to tell if the equipment will really fit in to your available space. So consider the space needed for the equipment. (This applies whether you have a home gym whole room or just a small space in the living room.)

Shop Around

A wise shopper does not settle in one store. Visit at least 2 stores to compare prices of the same equipment. It also pays to do your research online so that you are armed with the right information about a particular product you are eyeing at. Read product reviews whenever it is available.

Do not be deceived

People will do everything to make a sale. So if you see TV ads saying that you can lose several inches off your waist or lose several pounds after a week, don't fall prey. Yes, they sound too good to be true, and they are. Quick-fix products with "before" and "after" testimonials may be too attractive but remember this: bodies do not change radically after a number of sessions. Because if it does, everyone who desires to have a six-pack abs or who wants to lose pounds upon pounds of weight should be contented right now.

Consider all the cost

Transportation, shipping, installation and other extra charges can pile up easily. So before buying one, make sure that you take note all these charges so that you will be ready for the total amount that you have to pay.


Hope this helps when choosing Fitness equipment
Sharon


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Got Asthma? Exercise Is the Right Prescription

Asthma can be a very troublesome disorder. Everyone who is an asthmatic knows what it feels like to enter the "attack zone", which is the zone where an asthma attack is pending or beginning. You can read the symptoms of an asthma attack on all sorts of websites, but the description doesn't capture the anxiety, the sense of helplessness or the fact that every asthmatic has his or her particular set of symptoms that are slightly different from anyone else. Asthma is a very personal thing.

This is why many asthmatics feel that exercise just isn't for them. Yet, any exercise that builds stamina without requiring heavy exertion can be beneficial for people with asthma. Exercise increases strength and the ability of the body to tolerate asthma triggers like pollen. So, it helps on both ends, by reducing the frequency of attacks and raising physical strength level, thereby enabling faster recovery from attacks. Exercise also strengthens your lungs and heart, which has positive, long term affects on health and lifestyle. The more exercise, the more easily your body can tolerate exertion. In fact, going a long time without exercise can actually increase the chances of an asthma attack, so exercise is actually an important tool in controlling asthma.

There is debate as to which exercises are the best for asthmatics. Some suggest swimming because of the warm moist environment of the swimming pool, while others consider swimming too high a level of exertion. Weightlifting is also suggested and it is a good way to build strength and stamina. The problem is that experts haven't reached a consensus because asthma is such a personal disorder, with different asthmatics having different susceptibilities, strengths and weaknesses. Although, walking is considered the best exercise by most experts, there is some disagreement about it too.

So, the best way to exercise is to know your limitations at any given time. The first step is to see your doctor for a medical evaluation. Your doctor may be able to suggest what exercises are best to start with and may prescribe medication for controlling your condition during exercise.

Whatever exercises you do, try to build up slowly. The trick is to pace yourself. Keep aware and pay attention for signs of an impending attack and don't physically push yourself into the "attack zone." Warm up slowly with mild aerobic exercise. Always bring your inhaler with you and use it when necessary. Then gently resume your exercise only if your symptoms disappear. And give yourself plenty of time to cool down after exercise. The point is to build up slowly, never pushing yourself beyond what your body can handle at any given time.

While different asthmatics require different exercise programs, Yoga and Ti-Chi can be added to practically any program because they normally don't require much exertion but do build stamina, even though they seem quite mild. Yoga also helps build lung capacity because of its focus on breathing.

Asthma doesn't have to stop you from getting into shape. It's just a matter of taking the right approach on the gradient that's right for you.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Got-Asthma?-Exercise-Is-the-Right-Prescription&id=8130575

A workout for your mind

Good thinking: Jogging can be a great exercise for the brain. Photo: AMR Image

If more people aren't embracing the message to get moving maybe it's because no one's done a great job of selling it. When it comes to clocking up the minimum recommended 30 minutes of physical activity five times a week, most of us fall short – only 43 per cent of Australians get this amount of exercise according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released last year.

It's not as if we don't know that  movement can bring real rewards – like a body that works better - but often exercise comes across  as a bit like Brussels sprouts – something that's good for us but to be endured rather than enjoyed. Or it's sold in a way that puts so much emphasis on lean, fast moving bodies that some of us are left discouraged rather than inspired.

"Neuroscientists have argued that exercise can encourage innovation and problem solving. Not because it helps us study more rigorously but because it allows our intellect to relax a little." 

But here's a book with a fresh message about exercise that might nudge some reluctant exercisers into moving more. In How to Think about Exercise, Melbourne philosopher Damon Young argues that exercise isn't just a workout for heart and muscle, but a way to help the mind and the spirit thrive.

"Exercise can make you fitter and that's important but it's often framed as something you do to prevent bad things rather than something to be enjoyed for its own sake," he says. "Running makes me fit but that's not why I do it – it's because I like the rhythm, the solitude and the reverie," says Young who wrote the book partly to debunk the myth that exercise is anti-intellectual.

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"When I tell people I'm going for a run or going to do weight training they're astonished that someone whose job is to think wants to pick up a steel bar. I wanted to do away with the idea that people who exercise can't think and that people who think can't exercise."

Now that more jobs involve working with our minds rather than our bodies, exercise is especially important, not just to get us moving but to enhance mental function, he points out. It's no coincidence that stepping away from the desk to take a walk can be a short cut to problem solving – by letting the mind roam free, both walking and jogging are great exercises for contemplation, says Young.

"Neuroscientists have argued that exercise can encourage innovation and problem solving. Not because it helps us study more rigorously but because it allows our intellect to relax a little. To digest our meal of facts and arguments," he writes. "Busy with pounding legs and pumping arms, the intellect's walls come down and previously parted ideas and impressions can freely mingle."

Still it has to be an activity that allows the mind free range. Anything requiring more concentration – rock climbing, for instance – isn't a good fit for a mind that needs to wander, although it can have other benefits like fostering what's called 'flow' – that state of mindfulness where you're so absorbed in what you're doing that everything else seems to melt away. There are many different activities that can induce the kind of mental focus that leads to flow - the trick says Young is finding something that's challenging enough to make you concentrate but not so tough that you're distracted by anxiety or confusion. That's different for all of us - for me, it's any exercise involving focus and a steady rhythm like rowing, paddling or lifting weights.

And don't forget the sense of freedom that comes with breaking into a jog, especially after a day stuck to an office chair. Although Young gets his own after work buzz from hill sprints, he's not suggesting we all do this. His advice is to just run as fast as you can for as long as you can which, when you think about it, is exactly what kids do – only when they run around we don't call it exercise, we call it play.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/blogs/chew-on-this/a-workout-for-your-mind-20140120-313gq.html

The seven-minute workout: does it really work?

Only five minutes into my workout and already I'm puffed and a little shaky. I might have a good general level of fitness, but this quick-fire routine is certainly getting the heartrate pumping - and exposing my pitiful ability when it comes to push ups.

A growing body of research shows that a snappy seven-minute workout can have similar, if not better, benefits than extended exercise sessions.

Earlier this week, the short workout was back in the spotlight following an article in the American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Journal.

"There's very good evidence that high-intensity interval training provides many of the fitness benefits of prolonged endurance training but in much less time," said co-author Chris Jordan, the director of exercise physiology at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Florida.

In response to the research, the article's authors devised the seven-minute set of 12 exercises, designed to work the entire body. The set, which they suggest repeating two to three times, is possible to be performed anywhere, without special equipment.

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So I decided to test-drive the workout to see how effective it was and how achievable it is for your average person.

As someone who has a reasonable level of general fitness, but does absolutely no interval training, it was an interesting challenge.

By the seven-minute mark (well, it's actually not quite seven minutes if you do the maths) I was puffed and a little shaky - in a good way.

Working at about 80 per cent capacity and with 10 second breaks between each exercise, I felt well worked. And, given how pitiful my push-ups were, I figured I could definitely integrate the seven-minute workout into my standard, more hedonistic, exercise routine.

For those who don't enjoy spending too much time on exercise, such a short workout is no doubt appealing.

Indeed, while high-intensity circuit training might not be a new concept, Jordan and his fellow author wrote that it is growing in popularity because of its efficiency and practicality for a time-constrained society.

But is it just a heart attack waiting to happen?

"I don't doubt the science," says Fairfax fitness blogger and personal trainer Michael Jarosky. "However I doubt that this seven-minute circuit is the 100 per cent foolproof answer for the masses.

"Everybody and every body is different. I agree high-intensity, varied workouts yield results, but not everybody is ready for high intensity."

The risk here is too much too soon, even in short bursts, he says.

"What if a client is stressed at work, lacking sleep, in a bad relationship, and hasn't exercised before? They may want this circuit, but if you prescribe it and they are not ready, you can do some serious physical and mental harm. "

Heart Foundation NSW Chief Executive Kerry Doyle agrees.

“The seven-minute workout is a vigorous program suitable for people with an established level of fitness and who already exercise daily. Unfortunately that's not the vast majority of Australians," she says.

"In 2007 to 2008, around 62 per cent of adults did not meet the recommended physical activity guidelines, with a higher proportion of women not meeting the guidelines than men (64 per cent and 60 per cent respectively).

"The Heart Foundation would recommend anyone thinking of starting this program to seek medical advice first.”

In addition to seeking appropriate advice before trying to slam the seven minutes, you can also scale your workout down.

"If you can't do normal push-ups, perform them on your knees," Jarosky suggests. "If 10 seconds isn't enough rest, make it 20 or 30 seconds. And if intensity at an 8/10 level is too high, go at your own pace and intensity that is safe for your heart, mind and body."

And it's worth remembering that interval training may be effective for fat loss and toning, but it's good to use mixed and matched with other exercise.

"If you're training for a specific event, you'll still need to do the kilometres," Jarosky says. "Endurance training is still a useful tool. Mix it up, do what you enjoy, and be safe."

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/the-sevenminute-workout-does-it-really-work-20130905-2t66i.html

Never Too Old To Exercise

The word is out that we live in a very youth oriented society. That may well be true when it comes to fashion and many other things but it is not true when it comes to exercise. Thankfully there are hundreds (thousands actually) of examples of people who are continuing to exercise into their 80's, 90's and beyond. They realize that they do not have to spar with a punching dummy every day or grab a gym bag and head to a sports facility in order to make exercise a part of their lives. They just find something physical that they enjoy and do it. They swear that it keeps their spirits young and is good for their bodies too. 

An amazing Indian man named Fauja Singh recently completed what he says will be his last marathon even though he will continue to run "on his own" daily. There are some amazing statistics about this man. He didn't even start walking until he was five years old because of weakness in his legs. Currently, Singh is 102 years young. He didn't start competing in marathons until after his 89th birthday and did so as a way to combat the depression that engulfed him following the death of his beloved wife and one of his sons. He runs daily. Can you imagine someone his age running daily when many people twenty and thirty years his junior are vegging on their sofas being entertained by mindless television with their only exercise getting up for food or to go to the restroom. 

Singh doesn't claim any "secret" or magic formula for his commitment to exercise. He claims that it was what "brought him back to life" and allowed him to reconnect with the business of living after so much sadness and turmoil had darkened his days. He credits running with saving his life and gives the following advise to anyone who cares to hear it. "Laughter and happiness is what life should be about, that's your remedy for everything". He shows wisdom even beyond his numerous years - you just have to love that man. Singh provides an example that more of us should follow. Some estimates put the number of people between the ages of 65 and 74 who do not exercise as 3 out of 4. That is an alarming and sad statistic especially since it has been proven that exercise is exactly what is needed to ward off many of the problems that come about with aging. 

While there seems to be a rather pervasive attitude of "being too old, or too tired or too sick" to exercise by many seniors, it should be included in the lives of nearly all of us regardless of age. Chhandra Dutta PhD. Who serves as the Chief of Clinical Gerontology Branch of the National Institute On Aging advises seniors to exercise as a way to prevent bone loss, improve balance and coordination, lift your spirits, boost your memory, and ease symptoms of many chronic conditions. These are improvements almost anybody would like to see. What, then is keeping older people from making exercise a part of their daily lives? For many it may be because they have never found it to be an important part of life for them even when they were younger and feel that it's useless to try to incorporate it now. 

The facts, however, do not support that thinking. We see evidence that it is never too late to begin an exercise routine. Start slowly. Find something that feels right for you or that interests you and set a date to begin - the sooner the better. Like Fauja Singh, you may find that it will give you a completely new lease on life.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Never-Too-Old-To-Exercise&id=7905301