HEALTH CLUBS VS. HOME GYMS

Pros of Health Club:

1.) Good looking people

2.)Variety of fitness equipment to use

3.)I am having a really tough time coming uo with number 3….. let us know if you can think of something….

Cons of Health Clubs

1.) Takes too much time out of our day to gosit in traffic and go to gym. The physical act of getting to the gym is an obstacle in and of itself.

2.)Germs – If somebody at your gym is sick, watch out, before you know it, you, your family and friends will all be sick! (worst case scenario) – either way, fitness equipment centers, health clubs, gyms, they are all laced with germs.

3.)Co$ts- These days it is very expensive to join a fitness club. I have two friends who pay up to $600 a month in gym fees! Even if you are only paying 30$ per month, it adds up over time.

4.)Waits and lines. – Nothing bothers me more when I am trying to do the right thing for my body and mind…EXERCISE! – and then when I actually get to the gym, after waiting 2 hours in traffic, I can’t even use my favorite piece of equipment. For example, I have gone to my gym Elios on Wilshire Blvd., in the heart of Los Angeles, may times, and have lost my edge waiting for others to get off the machines. Not being able to use the stair stepper you want or rowing machine, treadmill, multi-station strength piece, or whatever your personal favorite piece of gym equipment or pieces of gym equipment may be, destroys our aggressive mood sometimes and we end up not working out at all1

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.

Just want to say hello to all of our awesome customers and potential clients. The Kings of Cardio on are track to help California lose 10,000 pounds. We are able to help our home state and other athletes across the nation stay in shape because we offer health club quality fitness equipment at rock bottom prices and most importantly, we the Kings of Cardio follow up with their customers in order to make sure the equipment that we provide them with gets used!

Yesterday I walked into Sports Chalet to get some exercise mats and I saw that they were selling a brand new precor AMT 100i for $7500.00+tax+shipping! WOW! We offer the same unit for $2000.00 less! We know how tough making a living is in this economy and we have adjusted the prices of our home gym gear and cardio fitness equipment accordingly.

Being a type 1 diabetic myself, I understand first hand how important it is to make exercise a routine part of your day. Did you know that both type 1 and type 2 diabetics who exercise daily for 9 months, their glucose metabolism (the body’s ability to process blood sugar) improved 87%, and their fasting glucose (a marker of diabetes risk) decreased significantly?This can be as easy as taking a 15-minute walk everyday, even starting at 5-10 minutes sessions and working your way up. I find taking a short stroll through the neighborhood after dinner a great way to boost my mood, energy, and overall metabolism. Another trick I’ve found is always looking for a way to add a few extra steps into your day… be it not using the nearest restroom at the office, and using another one on a different floor, climbing the stairs to get there. Or instead of taking that 10-minute coffee break, substitute it for a short walk outside. Once you learn tackle short walks in your everyday, it’s even easier to work up to more intensive workouts, such as cycling, stair climbing, weights, and cardio. Not only are these great for lowing your blood sugars, but your blood pressure as well! The best way to keep track of your new workouts is to keep a 30-Day Planner. Try writing down your daily walking progress, as well as your blood-sugar readings before and after each workout to see how certain exercises affect your numbers. At the end of the week, see how well you’ve done with walking and controlling your sugars, and plan your routine for the week ahead. I promise, it will only get easier from there as you begin to test your body, strength, and overall health. You’ll be amazed how much better you feel in just a month!

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

As we near July, it has become evident that I have not done all that I need to in order to look good in my bathing suit for the summer, and I am not ready to accept that. Every single year I promise myself that by the time summer comes around I am going to be toting a six pack and not weigh more than 170 (I am 6’0). The nor weighing more than 170 pounds thingn is only when I am not weight training really hard, if I was lifting weights every day and eating lots of protein and around 4000 calories, then I would be satisfied at like 180 pounds or even 190 pounds as long as my body fat percentage remained under 6.5%. But anyway…..back to the swimsuit thing and I am not totally out of shape, there has been some work done on my part, but you get out what you put in and right now I don’t have too much that I can take out, so I have to put a lot more work in and just pray that by mid-July, my swimsuit body will be ready, if not, I will consider myself a total failure….just kidding, kinda, sorta. Ha! Anyway, as I mentioned, I am 6’0 and right now I weight around, like, ummmmmmmmmm, 183 pounds. I need to get down to 170 pounds and I was looking for some good ideas from the KOC bloggers and bloggets as to what my best course of action is? Should I just go all out and exercise for like 4 hours a day? Different people have told me different things. I have heard that yeah, if you really want to look your best and feel your best, get some cardio and strength equipment for your home and just go crazy. Don’t let up, no matter how sore you are, just keep pumping iron and doing cardiovascular workouts and the rest is history. The counter argument to that, which I have heard quite frequently as well, is that if you try and push yourself too hard, through daily physical training, cardio and strength training, that you will become so sore and beat up that you will just burn yourself out due to exhaustion and just not want to exercise anymore at all.

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

Whether you own an elliptical and are looking for new ways to use it, or are interested in buying one, you should be aware that there are many ways to turn this machine into an effective gut buster!  In the absence of resistance bands or dumbbells, here are some ways to play with the machine by varying resistance.  Using the resistance listed below – I will then show you an incredibly effective and short workout!

Elliptical trainers can vary resistance through a few different ways.

1. Speed you move your legs (revolutions)
2. Intensity or resistance of the machine
3. Your position (standing up, or in semi squatting position or in a full squat position on the eliptical)
4. and Whether you push the pad with your heel or your toe

These 4 elements can be used to vary your workouts to BLAST your body in only 20-30 minutes!

HERE IS WHAT TO DO!

The first part: Start the machine at a steady pace for a 4 minute warm up

Next Stage is 5 minutes of 10/20 blasts: increase the resistance to a mid level intensity for yourself, and during this section go as fast as you possibly can for 10 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of recovery.  Repeat for 5 minutes straight. (push with heels)

Next Stage of 4 minutes: do 15 seconds in a full squat position (squatting while you hold on to the handles for support and staying in the squat while you move your legs quickly) 15 seconds in a semi squat position and then 30 seconds of rest.  Repeat 4x through this sequence

Next State of 4 minutes: Do Mud running for 30 seconds 30 sec rest followed by 20 blast 40 sec rest, repeat this sequence 2x.  Mud running..turn the machine up to the highest resistance and go as hard and as ‘fast’ as you can.  Note: the resistance should be high enough that you have to aggressively push with your arms!  Drive mostly with the arms here while keeping your back straight to get an AB WOROUT on an eliptical!!!!

Next Stage: 1 minutes of balls out going fast at a high resistance

Recover Stage: go light at an easy resistance for 2 minutes – you can end here for a short workout or go on for some more!

Next Stage of 2 minutes: Mud running..turn the machine up to the highest resistance for 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of ‘rest’ at a lower resistance, repeat.  Note: the resistance should be high enough that you have to aggressively push with your arms!  Drive mostly with the arms here while keeping your back straight to get an AB WOROUT on an eliptical!!!!

Next 2 Min Stage 10 sec blast, 20 rest, 30 mud run, 10 sec blast 30 mud run, 20 second rest

Next 3 minutes: 10 sec blast 20 sec squat 10 sec blast 20 sec rest, repeat 3x

Cool Down: Congratulations!  You made it through an incredibly tough workout!  Take 2-5 minutes to go slow and let your heart rate come down and your body cool down naturally.

This workout will burn more calories than your basic eliptical training workouts and will stimulate your metabolism in a huge way!  By switching this workout in every 2-4 weeks for 3 days straight you can be sure that your body will not fall into a “routine”.  In plain english – THIS CAN BUST THROUGH YOUR PLATEAUS AND GET YOU BACK ON TRACK WITH YOUR GOALS.

I recommend the Kettler CTR3 Elliptical ,  the Life Fitness 95xi Elliptical Crosstrainer, or the Life Fitness 9500HR Elliptical for the best units for this workout!  The sturdy frames of the Life Fitness models and the high levels or resistance make them great matches!

Enjoy this kick butt cardio workout and stay tuned for more ideas on how to provide incredible variety using single pieces of equipment by thinking outside the box!

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

Playing different sports is a great way to stay in shape through fun and action packed exercise. Time flies by much quicker when you are running up and down a basketball court, playing hoops with your friends, than it would if you were doing sit-ups at home with your feet fastened under a book case.  Being a multi-dimensional athlete helps eliminate those mundane and routine workouts, the workouts that make each second feel like a minute, and each minute feel like an hour. The ones that don’t provide the kind of excitement we are looking for after a long day of work at the office. The ones where we look at the clock the entire time to see if it is time to leave yet. We need to eliminate those kinds of fitness training programs through various cardiovascular athletic competition. It is important to incorporate sports such as Basketball, Volleyball, Swimming, Yoga, Softball, Tennis, Baseball, Ice Skating, Golf, Football, and Track & Field into our everyday lives if possible. Sports are fun because we get to compete with our friends and before we know it, we have got in an amazing cardiovascular and strength workout.

Another benefit of actually “getting out on the field”, other than the fact that it works out our body in ways that we are not used to , therefore keeping our exercises fresh, is that playing sports drastically increases our coordination, agility and balance. When you lift weights, run on treadmills, train on an elliptical, climb stair steppers, or ride on an upright bike/recumbent bike/spin bike/stationary bike, your muscle memory becomes accustomed to the same, repeated motions. Doing the same exercises over and over again doesn’t allow you to tone virtually every spot of your entire body like playing the different sports mentioned above allow you to.

When you are playing sports you are unconsciously tearing down and rebuilding all muscles in your body, but through adrenaline and excitement, you push through the aches and pains without notice. If you have ever played sports, you know what it is like to wake up the next day after a rough game and your entire body is extremely sore, and you think to yourself, “Why am I so sore, I was not this sore during or after the game?” This is because the physical fitness aspect of your exercising was out-matched by your mind and its ability to concentrate and adapt to competition.

That total body soreness you feel from playing volleyball at the beach, a tough match of tennis or football, is not attained by sitting on an exercise bike for 10 minutes. If you want to work your body towards exhaustion and really push yourself to look and feel your best, there are workout routines, when followed, that can maximize your cardio results as effectively as playing sports themselves.

You will be able to stay in shape just like a superstar athlete through the use of home gym equipment and personal fitness equipment if you mix up your routine and keep your workouts fresh and creative. Through the use of all different kinds of equipment, such as Treadmills, Elliptical, Home Gyms, Recumbent Bikes, Stationary Bikes, Exercise Bikes, spin bikes, cross-trainers, abdominal machines, multi-station strength pieces, Stair Climbers, Pilates machines and any other piece of cardio fitness equipment for that matter. Throw them all in the mix. Don’t just let your body get used to the same old boring 30 minute jog followed by 20 minutes of weight lifting. Do different exercises, work out with different muscle groups, work out with different equipment, exercise with different people, run in different locations, lift different amount of weight. Change up your sets. On Monday when you lift weights on the bench press at the gym, do 5 sets of 5. On Wednesday, instead of doing the same exercise with 5 sets of 5, do 8 sets of 3. The last thing you want to happen is for your exercise routine to become dull and redundant. It is hard to enough to carve out enough time in your busy day to do something that you like to do, let alone something that doesn’t invigorate you. Never let that happen. Always change up you fitness routine thorough playing sports with friends and through the use of all different kinds of physical fitness gear. Not just treadmills, elliptical and bikes. Use everything from the abdominal crunch machine, to the Stair Climber, to the Cross-Trainer and then jump in the pool when you are done. The point is to keep your workout routines fun and exhilarating through various exercises that train a multitude of the muscles in your body.

When is the last time you incorporated all of the machines mentioned above into your exercise routine? When is the last time you worked out with firends and actually had a good time doing it? Never let your exercise routine lose its flavor and zest. Once that happens, it becomes more like a job than a hobby, and we start counting down the minutes. Throughout your cardio or strength training, or your sports game/match, you want to put forth your best effort so that you achieve maximum results. Maximim results will not be achieved unless you enjoy what you do, period. Cardiovascular and strength training is like anything else, you get out what you put in, so put money in the bank now, and when you need that extra burst of energy at 3 o’clock in the morning, you will have enough power to make it happen!