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Fitness Equipment

With today’s hectic schedules, meetings, work, long commutes, and soccer games, people are always looking for a way to save themselves a little bit of time. One way people are choosing to save themselves time is by putting fitness equipment in their homes, saving the time commuting to and from a gym.

Bringing the gym to their homes allows them flexibility to work out on their own schedules, instead of schedules dictated by the hours the gym is open for operation. More and more fitness equipment is making its way into the average consumer’s home, as people look for ways to stretch out the few minutes they have in a day.

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What is an exercise bike?

An exercise bike, or stationary bike, is piece of exercise equipment that looks and works like a bicycle, but remains in one place. Modern exercise bikes not only have pedals and handles, but some have computer screens to track time, speed, and more.

Many of these bikes also track calories burned, or have programmable resistance routines. These routines allow a person to specifically target weight loss or muscle growth. Some bikes also come with movable handles that allow the user to work out his or her upper body along with the lower

Some people enjoy using exercise bikes in lieu of treadmills or elliptical machines because the bikes are easier on knees and lower backs. Exercise bikes are considered low impact aerobic activity equipment. This means that less stress is put on leg and back joints while exercising. This is especially important for exercisers for whom traditional running is painful or difficult.

Furthermore, exercise bikes strengthen the core muscles of a person, including their back and stomach, which helps with posture and overall strength. Aerobic activity is very important for cardiovascular health, and has been shown to help prevent heart disease.

How can I choose a quality exercise bike?

One good recommendation is to visit with a salesperson in an athletic store. These employees are knowledgeable about exercise bikes, and can help you comparison shop. Before you go, however, consider what you want in a bike.

If you are looking for an upper body workout along with the lower, a bike with moving handles will work well for you. If you want programmable workouts, then a bike with a computer should be what you are looking for. It is also a good idea to look up product reviews on the internet. These reviews will give you an idea of what brands to steer away from, and which brands are of high quality.

Once you have narrowed your choices down, choosing a bike becomes a matter of comfort. Try out the floor models at the store. How do you fit on them? Are the pedals or seat adjustable? How comfortable are you with the computer screen? Is the seat comfortable? These questions are important because an ill-fitted or uncomfortable bike will not encourage you to exercise!

How can I use an exercise bike with my workout routine?

An exercise bike can replace the cardiovascular section of any workout routine. Many people use bikes instead of jogging on rainy, cold, or very hot days. Others choose to use them almost exclusively. Exercisers can also enhance a lower-body specific toning routine by doing high-resistance biking with a programmable bike. This will help build muscle while burning fat. Overall, these bikes are quite flexible and can fit into almost any exercise routine.

What is a Stair Stepper?

Stair Stepper, as the name suggests is an exercising product built to simulate natural stair climbing. It is also known as Stair Climber. It is used for doing aerobic exercise similar to natural walking or running up and down the stairs minus the stress that hard surface can put on your legs and knees.

Stair stepper is an excellent workout tool for working on your lower body parts – legs, butts, thighs and calves with the facility of adjustable resistance to make your workout soft or hard. It is a proven way to build your cardiovascular fitness too.

It’s important to research the various Stair steppers available in the market before purchasing one. The price ranges from few hundred dollars to around $ 2000. The advanced stair climbers have more features built in their electronic console and also offers pre-programmed workouts for different heart rate and intensities.

There are basically two types of Stair Steppers – Dependent and Independent. In Dependent Stair Stepper, when one stepper is pressed down then the other one comes up. In Independent Stair Stepper, the two steps are independent of each other and thus using it gives you more natural feeling.

How to Choose a Stair Stepper

Electronic display of statistics – Buy a Stair stepper that displays the basic information such as time elapsed, calories burnt, number of steps and heart rate.

Safety and Sturdiness – The Stair stepper must be strong and balanced enough with non slippery foot rest and base so it won’t topple over.

Smooth Stepping Motion and Long Life – Choose hydraulic Stair Stepper as it provides better quality silent movement and is strong enough to last longer as there is less wear and tear.

Space - If you are short of space for your Stair stepper then you should definitely consider Mini Stair Stepper. These steppers don’t have the rails for hand support and there is only the leg pedal portion. They are portable and can be easily stored in a very less space.

Price - Strike the right balance between the price and the features. A typical basic Stair Stepper for your home usage should cost you few hundred dollars. Don’t buy a Stair Stepper which has too many features that you probably would never use.

Before using a Stair stepper, you must consult your physician if you have some heart and orthopedic related problems.

Using a Stair Stepper is easy enough to be included in your overall fitness schedule.

How to Use a Stair Stepper

Warm up and stretching exercises for 5-10 minutes are needed before using Stair Stepper. Use comfortable cotton and workout designed special fabric clothing to make you feel cool. Use of well cushioned athletic shoes is also recommended to make your workout with the Stair Stepper more comfortable.

After the initial warm up, you should use the Stair Stepper at a lower step frequency and increase the intensity slowly keeping your back straight without leaning too much forward.

Use your heels and not the toes alternately on the step to press the step down enough to keep the distances between your steps short. Don’t press the step to the bottom or allow it to come up to the extreme top position, in order to maintain a comfortable stair stepping rhythm.

Increase the resistance to make your step action a little harder and try other program settings on your electronic console.

In the first few sessions with the Stair Stepper, use it for 10-15 minutes maximum. Increase it slowly to half an hour after a few sessions.

Perform cool down to make your heart rate drop to normal.

What is a Treadmill?

Treadmills are used extensively for cardiovascular exercise including walking, jogging, running, and rehabilitation. A treadmill will have a rotating belt, typically propelled by the treadmill at a constant pace, with which the trainee is supposed to keep up.

Today, treadmills are mostly digital making it easy to change the speed of the belt in order to alter intensity. Many treadmills in the market today also have the ability to change the inclines level at which you are walking, for instance a steeper incline would compare to walking up a slightly more level hill. This is a great tool to help the body burn more calories.

Treadmills are great to add to any exercise program and will help with weight loss and your overall fitness. They are capable of keeping up with the distance you have walked and the number of calories that you have burned during your workout.

Purchasing a Treadmill – Sole, Proform, Epic, Norditrack, and more…

If you are looking into buying a treadmill you should first consider what you will be using it for. Will it be used primarily for walking or will you be using if for running as well? Most treadmills are designed for walking, therefore if you plan on running you need to look for one especially designed for running. This is due to the fact that the belts on the treadmills can wear our faster when used for running. Look into the different features that are common to treadmills.

Some of these include a heart rate monitor, digital speed, incline levels, calorie counter and some even have pre-programmed routines. Once you decide the features that are most important to you, you should shop around and get prices for them. Because treadmills are expensive you should check into extended warranties that may be available for the treadmill that you decide to purchase. Be sure to try a model in the store before you purchase so that you can get a feel for the treadmill, and to be sure that you will be comfortable using it on a regular basis.

Some of the top treadmills available today include Sole treadmills, Proform 600s treadmills, Epic treadmills, and Nordictrack treadmills. These manufacturers will provide you with a top quality treadmill as well as top quality service.

Putting Together a Treadmill Exercise Program

If you are an avid walker then you should use your current exercise program as a basis to begin adding the treadmill to your workout. If you are new to exercising start off slowly. Set goals for yourself that are realistic and set deadlines for the distances you want to walk or calories you want to burn during each exercise session. Remember to take it slowly at first and do not overwork your body, which could result in injury.

Start off with 3 to 4 workouts per week for 30 minutes each session. Walking is the best exercise to start a cardiac fitness program, while jogging or interval sprints are the best way to maximize the intensity. Keep a record of the calories, speed, and distance that you walk during your workouts. Your records can show the progress that you make over time as you use your treadmill.

Be careful not to overwork yourself as you get started on your new exercise program. Many people suggest skipping days between your walks to give your muscles time to relax and repair from the workout.

What is Rowing Machine Exercise Equipment?

Rowing machine exercise equipment is designed for a comprehensive full-body workout, especially back, chest, arms, shoulders and abdomen. The design principle of a rowing machine is based on a natural rowing motion such as that of rowing a boat. Rowing machines are excellent for both cardiovascular workouts and for rowing ‘sprints’ to develop power.

Choosing a Rowing Machine

Choosing quality rowing machine exercise equipment involves some research for a first purchase. There are mainly two types of rowing machines: Air resistance and Hydraulic. Air resistance rowing machines uses fans to create resistance, while hydraulic rowing machines use hydraulic cylinders with a tension adjusting knob. Some of the important features worth considering in rowing machine exercise equipment are:

1. Comfortable seat and rowing position – Try some of the machines to find which one matches your height and body contours and is an overall pleasure to use. The chassis of the rower should be lengthy enough for free movement of your legs.
2. Suitable foot stops – The rower should have large, wide and non slippery foot stops so that the user doesn’t get hurt if foot slips while doing rowing exercises.
3. Panel functions – Availability of basic functions on the panel such as distance rowed, time spent and calories burnt is essential. The machine should have feature of varying the resistance so that it can be used for both cardio and power training.
4. Budget – The typical price of rowing machines ranges from 300 to 3000 dollars, with the higher priced rowing machines having more features. So, strike a balance between the features and the price and buy one that offers you the most in terms of both. Never buy a machine that offers you features which you will probably never use.
5. Space – If you have less space then you should consider a rowing machine that can be folded.

Before using the rowing machine, the proper warm up of your body is very essential. You can do warm up at tread mill and jump rope for a combined duration of 15 minutes. After warm up, you can use rowing machine to do conditioning of your whole body.

Rowing can be done with hands or legs alternately. If you want to rest your legs, then you can row with your hands and if you want to rest your arms then you can keep them still and use legs to do the rowing. Thus rowing nearly covers the complete upper and body muscle groups.

Resistance can be increased if you want to build your muscles. One important point not to be forgotten before exercising on rowing machine is to consult your physician if you already have back related problems. Working out on rowing machine ignoring your pre-existing back issues can lead to serious back related injuries and complications.

About Weight Benches

Free weight exercise equipment offers the biggest bang for the buck. Ideal for novice to advanced trainees, free weightsare useful for building core strength, stabilizer strength, and improving overall muscular strength and bone density fora lifetime. Standard iron weight plates, a 45 lb olympic bar, and an adjustable olympic weight bench are all that is needed to start aneffective home-gym. Olympic weight benches come in many varieties including the flat olympic weight bench, decline olympic weight bench, incline olympic weight bench, adjustible olympic weight bench, and many combination units.

How to Choose a Weight Bench

The olympic weight bench is a standard in today’s fitness clubs, and should also be the standard in your home gym.Nothing builds upper body mass like heavy bench pressing. With the various olympic weight bench designs we are able to train the bench press at many angles, thereby stimulating every muscle fiber in the chest. Some of the topweight bench brands availabe today includeinclude Nautilus,Weider, Proform, Xodus, andPowertech. The Proform weight bench models are designed for both comfort and functionality. They are probably the highest quality equipment that can be purchased today. The Xodus weight benchand the Powertech weight bench are also recommended.

You will want to find a weight bench with the rackbars set several inches wider than your shoulders, with 3 or more pin settings so that the bar can be racked high, medium, and low. Your feet should reach the floor when you are bench pressing so make sure the weight bench is also tall enoughor short enough depending on the length of your legs. Be sure to also pick up an olympic barbellwith a set of olympic weight plates. You will want a set of at least 300 lbs from the start.

How to Bench Press

Always remember to bench press with perfect form, keeping your feet on the floor and pressing the bar in a straight vertical line from your chest. Press the bar with maximum force on the way up and don’t let it bounce off your ches ton the way down. Do not forget to breathe in on the way down, hold your breath through the bottom of the press,and breathe out during the second half of the press. Also try lifting with lighter weight and maximum speed once a week, for 3-5 reps, in order to increase your power in any exercise.

What is an Elliptical Trainer?

An elliptical trainer is a stationary exercise machine used to simulate walking or running without causing excessive pressure to the joints, hence decreasing the risk of impact injuries.They offer a non-impact cardiovascular workout that can vary from light to high intensity based on the resistance preference. Most elliptical trainers work the user’s upper and lower body in order to elevate the heart rate.Elliptical trainers make ideal training equipment for trainees that need to minimize the impact on their bones and joints. Some of the better manufacturers include Sole, Epic, and Schwinn.

Arm Resistance Handles

While you really don’t need these for an effective workout, many people prefer them. Arm resistance helps to provide training for your upper body and results in an increase in calories burned. However, trainees must make sure they do not have to lean over while using them, which would diminish the effectiveness of the workout.

Variable Motion, Resistance, and Incline Settings

The ability of an elliptical trainer to move in a forward or reverse motion adds variety and challenge to your workout. This change in motion allows the trainee to work different sets of muscles and results in more calories burned overall.Elliptical trainers also reduce your risk of repetitive use injuries common with some treadmill and stair climber users.

Quality elliptical trainers will have a range of resistance and incline levels, which help to increase calories burned. In order to challenge their bodies, trainees typically increase the resistance and inclineas fitness levels improve. Look for an elliptical trainer that makes both resistance and incline changes simple so that interval training sessions can be easily incorporated into your workout.

Some of the top models such as Sole ellipticals, Epic ellipticals, and Schwinn ellipticalsoffer adjustable incline levels, variable motion, and variable resistance on many of their models.

Exercise Equipment

There is a variety of exercise equipment available today. You can choose from rowing machines, elliptical exercise equipment, free weights, treadmills, universal machines, cable machines, single-unit hammer strength exercise equipment, many more. Most of the newest cardiovascular machines are built with the purpose of minimizing the pounding stress on bones and joints,which you would receive from exercising outside. The latest resistance training machines are built to minimize injury, andmake it easier for new trainees to build an initial bit of strength before moving into free weights.

Machines

Machine-based exercise equipment offer a couple of benefits over free-weights. New trainees benefit from the unvarying range of motion and path of resistance. This is ideal at a time when they might not have superior stabilizer strength.Hammer-Strength exercise equipment are some of the most popular resistance-base machines today. Rowing machine exercise equipment and elliptical trainers offer a double benefit in the form of simultaneous lower and upper body training.

Free Weights

Free weight exercise equipment offers the biggest bang for the buck. Ideal for novice to advanced resistance training athletes, free weights are useful for building core strength, stabilizer strength, and improving overall muscular strength and bone density fora lifetime. Standard iron weight plates, a 45 lb olympic bar, and an adjustable bench are all that is needed to start aneffective home-gym. Other beneficial exercise equipment include all-in-one dumbbells, a pull-up bar, and a squat rack.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular exercise equipment provides the trainee with a way to burn extra calories without lifting weights.Our bodies can only handle a certain amount of weight lifting without overtraining. By utilizing cardiovascular fitness equipment such as elliptical trainers, rowing machines, and stair steppers, we are able to minimize the negative effects of high impact exercises such as running and jumping.