Millions of people take time out of their day to walk, jog or run on a treadmill. After all, the classic workout incorporates lifting weights for 30 minutes, then jumping on the treadmill for 30 minutes. That 1 hour will make you feel 5 years younger! Commercial health clubs and home gyms can not be complete without a gym grade, health club quality treadmill. One of the many great things about treadmills, is that they are beneficial for everyone from teenagers, to senior citizens and professional athletes to the disabled. Treadmill usage is essential for all people that want to burn calories, lose weight, gain speed, and build endurance. What were the streets like when there were no treadmills? How exactly did the treadmill develop?

Sparked by the necessity for a portable and continual power supply, treadmills were initially developed to generate consistent power, rather than help people lose fat and burn calories. Originating as agricultural machines, designed to power butter churns, water pumps and spinning wheels, treadmills have come a long way since their draconian days when they were used by horses, sheep, dogs and mules to help farmers produce power. It wasn’t until the 20th century, in the year 1952, that the University of Washington Dr. Robert Bruce, who was believed by many to be the father of exercise cardiology, along with his colleague, and fellow UW employee Wayne Quinton, developed the first medical treadmill, specifically aiming to study, treat and diagnose heart and lung disease. When discussing the origins of the treadmill, it helps to understand its etymology. The word “Tread” refers to a person or animal “treading” in place, while the word “Mill”, refers to a machine for grinding. Coming a long way from being used for the same purpose of a windmill, the treadmills of today are great tools for helping people to decrease their body fat percentage, increase flexibility, lose weight, build endurance, as well as countless other benefits associated with treadmill usage.

Once the 1960′s came along, the fitness equipment industry emerged and the treadmill boom took effect. No longer were treadmills only owned and operated by doctors, inventors and fitness gurus, ordinary Americans were intrigued by the technological features and health benefits associated with treadmills. Businessman and capitalists quickly realized the popularity of treadmills and decided that the commercial production of treadmills, both residential and gym (health club quality), would be a smart business move. While the fitness equipment industry blossomed, treadmills were pushed by fitness equipment manufacturers such as Tunturi (a bicycle making business based out of Finland) & Aerobics Inc (American), developed several different models of treadmills. Even NASA (National Aeronautics Space Association) jumped on the treadmill bandwagon as NASA used treadmills to train astronauts and get them in shape for long orbits in space.

With features including user-friendly interactive workout programming, wireless heart rate controls, entertainment centers with TV, DVD, Internet & iPod functions, and an aesthetic appeal that resembles modern art more than draconian machinery, treadmills have come a long way since their nineteenth century inception. Fitness equipment companies such as Precor, Life Fitness, Star Trac, StairMaster and Body-Solid, have all contributed significantly to the evolution of the treadmill, evidenced by the amount of money, time, and analysis these fitness equipment brands have invested.

If you are interested in purchasing a treadmill, let us educate you on the different parts and controls of home and commercial treadmills. Treadmill parts and products include the running belt, motor controllers, treadmill motors, running deck, frame, treadmill rollers, incline wheels, drive belts, tension motors, braking mechanisms and electronic consoles. In order to simplify things for you, make sure you buy a treadmill that has a solid steel frame, a speed motor that has at least 2.0HP, a running deck that is at least 18″W x 58″L, and an iron-clad warranty that backs up all of these treadmill parts in writing. One good thing about a saturated fitness equipment industry is that you get the benefit of having a wide selection of treadmills to chose from. Whether you are a novice or an expert, there is no benefit in buying a treadmill that is not built well. Always do your homework when it comes to buying fitness equipment such as treadmills in order to prevent yourself from not getting full value for your money.

Often looked past, is the suspension system and the suspension on a treadmill is key toward keeping its users in good health. What good is running miles and miles, while burning tons of calories, just to wake up the next morning, with severe aches and pains, because the suspension on the treadmill resembled more of an asphalt road than a grass field. Certain treadmill features come to mind when considering purchasing a treadmill and many of us look right past the suspension, while analyzing the speed, power incline, exercise programs, fitness tests and its cosmetic appearance.

People love to run in the morning, afternoon, put a reflector on and run at night. Run for fun. Running has an interesting way of making us feel healthier mentally and physically speaking. We sleep better, feel lighter, have more stamina, look healthier and eat more balanced diets when running and daily exercise are like second nature and intrinsic to our everyday lives. Other pieces of fitness equipment such as stair climbers, rowing machines and elliptical trainers are all effective cardiovascular training machines, however, treadmills give us the ability to run for as long, and as fast as possible, while allowing users to truly mimic their natural running and walking motions.

So, here’s one more reason to exercise. According to this article in The New York Times Magazine http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/phys-ed-why-exercise-makes-you-less-anxious when you exercise, you grow new brain cells, and the new brain cells are not as easily set off by anxiety. I guess science is just now proving what a lot of us have thought all along. Exercise makes us happier, really happier. A half hour on the treadmill, or an exercise bike, or an elliptical trainer, and not only do you get stronger, fitter, but literally happier. Sounds good to me. Thought I’d pass it on.

If you are not really juiced up for this years NFL and NCAA Football seasons then there is something wrong with you! These guys are such great athletes and we take great pride in supplying them with the best fitness equipment known to man. If you want to find out how structurally sound an Elliptical Cross Trainer is, then put a 6’5, 310 lb. middle line-backer on it and if the fitness equipment remains quiet while in use, and does not rock back and forth, well, then you have found yourself a winner! Big, strong and sometimes fat people are really the best way to determine the strength and quality of gym equipment.

edit: Side note, if your name is Julie, and you are 5’5 and 130 lbs., it does not matter if the piece of cardio fitness equipment you are looking for can support the weight of a Giant, it just matters wheter or not the exercise bike, fitness stepper, home gym, treadmill, or elliptical is comfortable for you.  That is not to say that you should not be concerned over the structural integrity of the exercise equipment that you may potentially purchase, we are just saying the mechanical capacity (user weight capacity), is of no importance to you. Sports equipment and gym machinery will always support at least 150lbs, unless specified otherwise.

However,  most of the people that call the Kings of Cardio, are not small and skinny, in fact, for the most part, they are big and heavy. In order for exercise equipment and gym gear to work safe and effectively, it must be sturdy enough to withstand continuous usage over time by people of all shapes and sizes. For these two reasons, we make sure that we provide our customers with the highest quality fitness equipment on earth and in return they love us for it! We hope…

For those of you unfamiliar with professional boxing, there is a HUGE match this weekend, on 9/19, this Saturday night. The United States best pound for pound fighter, Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather, faces off against Mexican living legend Juan Marquez, in what most expect to be a lopsided bout. This sentiment is reflected by the current Las Vegas odds which make Mayweather a 4.3:1 favorite, meaning that in order to earn $1 off of betting on Mayweather to win, you must bet $4.30. We here at Kings of Cardio would love to hear who everyone likes and why!

What is very interesting about this fight is the great physical condition both fighters are in and HBO documented their training every step of the way. Their cardio routines are insane. They are not running on treadmills, they are running up mountains, and do not rest. In order to be the best you can’t just go to the gym and use the Life Fitness 95Xi for 20 minutes and then leave. That will not have you lookng like the Floyd Mayweathers and other great athletes of the world.  However, if you have a comprehensive home gym, including treadmills, ellipticalls, rowing machines and free weight equipment, then you will halfway there. The other half will be whether or not you actually use the home gym equipment. So many people buy a Life Fitness treadmill or Precor elliptical and they end up only using them as coat hangers!

Labor Day is here and hopefully you are not just getting fatter by the second and drinking lots of beer while you eat ribs and inhale greasy cheeseburgers. If you are one of those unfortunate souls, then you must exercise later so you can burn of some of the 10,000 calories you injested within the past hour. Seriously, are we just the fattest, groset nation on God’s green earth? I sometimes wonder if people do not have mirrors? Maybe they just do not have any self control or disciple at all. Let me tell you something and make it crystal clear, every single day of your life you either get better or you get worse. There is absolutely no in-between. Unfortunately, some people are sick/disabled/handicapped/unable to perform and therefore they can not control their own destiny. But for all of you who are in good enough health to exercise, have 2 arms and two legs, be ashamed of yourself if you are fat and overweight. Seriously ashamed, to say the absolute least. Is it that difficult to workout once every other day, or not eat 5 servings instead of 2? If your answer to that question is yes, than we feel for you, and you need to call us right away so you don’t waste your life sitting around liek a fat ass!

Kids are going back to school, young adults are going back to college, and THE KINGS OF CARDIO ARE HAVING A MONSTER BACK TO SCHOOL SALE. We will be blowing out fitness equipment for less that we have ever sold it for. Abdominal machines, they have to go. Circuit weight trainers need to be liquidated. Home gyms and accessories such as exercise fitness floor mats, dumbbells, dumbbell racks, hyperextension chairs, chin/dip/push up towers. ALL of our gym equipment is not only offered to the public for the first time ever, but we are also not charging tax either! (except CA.) So get off your couch and shed that chunkey monkey lifestyle for good!

We have the fittest athletes in the world standing by and waiting for your call. Phone in and ask us anything. Want to know what your target heart rate zone should be so that you can maximize your results? Do you want to know how to warm your body up before you work out? What stretches and calisthenics will work best for you? WE HAVE THE ANSWERS TO YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS EQUIPMENT RELATED QUESTIONS!  What are you waiting for? Call the Kings of Cardio today and let us take you from Hell to Heaven. We will get you the best fitness equipment, for the best deals, and even provide you with free personal training tips and nutritional consulting.

Somehow people have turned against building muscle mass and as far as I can remember, there have not been any reputable athletes that have not endorsed lifting weights. Go and pump some iron today. Weight lifting will increase your muscle mass, tone your body and make your clothes feel tighter when you put them on, if you are a true weight lifting machine then you know what I am talking about. Add weight lifting to any cardio routine and it will dramatically increase your overall results from exercising. If you want to look sweet, fell good and be a champ, then you have to mix up your home gym exercise routines and not just walk on the treadmill for a mile or so. That is for wimps and simps!

The REPUPATION of the manufacturer who produces the exercise machinery you are looking at is important as well. GREAT NAME BRANDS INCLUDE KETTLER, BODY-SOLID, BODYCRAFT, PRECOR, LIFE FITNESS, STAR TRAC, CYBEX AND STAIRMASTER. Try and do some quick homework on the brand name of the piece of home or commercial fitness equipment that you are looking to buy. Most of the time you will find that the company you are looking into is entirely legit and manufactures quality machinery (especially if you purchase with the Kings of Cardio) but sometimes you will find that the company in which you are looking into doesnt have a good reputation at all. Many off-brands and private labeled products come with illegitamate warranties and are prone to breaking down. It is absolutely a must that you not buy brands such as these. With all of the great fitness equipment brands such as Precor, Life Fitness, Star Trac and Cybex (some other too), why in the world would you ever gamble on a company that has negative reviews? It would make no sense. If you really want to be the guy who gets Georged by some sly fox salesman on some toy, they call a piece of cardio equipment, then by all means go for it! Maybe you can be the guy that gets a piece of fitness equipment that matches up with those of your friends that cost double what yours cost. I tried to be that guy with a stereo system once. When some slicksters came up to my car and offered me what looked like a $2000.00 stereo for $150 and some Tupac CD’s, I jumped at the opportunity, hahhahaha opportunity, and bought it ($125 and some CD’s….seriously). Then after I bought this sweet looking stereo from these sharks, I called all my friends and told them to meet me at my house to see the new amazing stereo I bought at a fraction of what they all paid for theirs and well we all know what happened…..unless your a… well…. anyway it didnt work at all, and that is exactly what is going to happen to you when you buy some piece of exercise equipment called the Super Track by some freak who goes by the name of Super John the Fitness Don. But like I said, if you really want to give it one shot, then go for it and gamble! Good luck and remember we told you so. BUY A PIECE OF HOME GYM EQUIPMENT THAT IS MADE BY A REPUTABLE COMPANY!

In the next installment of Outside the Box – we use 5 basic exercises with an elliptical trainer.  The 5 exercises are push ups, squats, crunches, burpees and parachute jumpers.

The workout will consist of 3 minutes of elliptical trainer in the following sequence 1 min slow 1 min fast 1 min slow coupled with 4 simple body weight exercises to be performed in a circuit fashion.

Warm up:  Get on the elliptical trainer for 3-4 minutes, then get off and do some light stretching.  Warm up with 15 jumping jacks 20 body weight squats and 10 push ups.  Then get ready, the workout is about to begin.

First Circuit:

Push Up 20 reps, Parachute Jumpers 20 reps, and 25 squats, followed by the 3 min sequence on the elliptical trainer and 1 min rest

Second Circuit

20 squats, 10 burpees, 15 push ups, 25 crunches,  3 min Elliptical sequence and one minute of rest

Third Circuit

10 push up 10 burpees 15 parachute jumpers 30 squats then the 3 min circuit on the elliptical and one minute of rest

Last Circuit

25 crunch 10 push up 25 crunch 10 burpees 25 crunch 25 squat followed by 3 min elliptical sequence

Bonus Circuit (if you want to get crazy!)

10 Burpees 15 Parachute Jumpers 15 Push Ups 30 squats followed by the elliptical sequence

Try this workout on days you need to do resistance training workouts and want to fit in some time for cardio – you will do a total of 12-16 minutes on the elliptical in 1 minute intervals of low/high/low intensity and the resistance part should take 12-20 minutes also.

This workout can be fit very easily in a morning or evening 30 minute workout session!  Make sure to cool down after you finish with some stretching after a short easy ride on the elliptical.

Equipment Recommendation: Any elliptical trainer will be good for this workout!

email me if you need more details on any of the exercises!

Andrew J.
Founder
South Beach Boot Camp
www.southbeachbootcamp.net

I have always tried to make time to workout but finding the time or energy to do so is nearly impossible. I usually carry my gym bag in the trunk of my car so I can stop by the gym after work. The thought of working out daily is always on my mind but hardly ever an action. There have been times when I am excited to go to the gym but after I get out of work and start driving in traffic my energy is drained and all I want to do is get home and relax. There have even been times when I get to the parking lot of my nearby health club only to find myself parking, getting out of my car, getting my gym bag, walking a few feet and then walking back to my car and driving off home. The times when I have actually managed to walk inside the gym, I find the machines busy, and that gets me frustrated. Since I usually like to workout to relieve stress and stay in shape I realized that the frustrations that I got from trying to get a workout where defeating the purpose of why I wanted to exercise. It wasn’t until about 2 months ago that I decided to buy a recumbent bike.

I now workout at home, usually right in front of the TV while I watch my favorite TV shows. Working out at home for me has proven to be the best most effective thing I could have done. It is not a hassle, and I usually find time to exercise at least 1 hour a day 5 days a week. I think that working out should be a life style that improves our overall wellbeing. Not only is exercising good for the body but it is also good for the min. After I workout, I find myself full of energy, relaxed, and I simply feeling good about myself. What makes me even more excited is that I have started to see results. Since getting a regular workout is no longer such a hassle for me, I do it regularly and I have dropped 5 pounds and my legs and my bum are starting to get a very nice, sexy, feminine definition, which I absolutely love!!

Jaylene Miller