Colleges, country clubs, home gyms and virtually any other fitness center that you can imagine has at least one StairMaster. The reason for their 30 years of popularity is because they work! StairMaster climbers reallllly do bust your butt and give you a hell of a sweat! Treadmills and ellipticals are great, but if you really want to whip your lower body into shape, workout for 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week on a StepMill and you are guaranteed to feel and look so much better. That is not some late night sales pitch you hear on the home shopping network. These stair climbers are really effective pieces of fitness equipment. They are very heavy, so users do not have to worry about the stairclimber being flimsy and wobbly when they are really working it out hard. At the end of the day, StairMaster has many climbers that can withstand rough and rugged wear and tear by 400 pound offensive lineman in the NFL. The durability is there.

Exercising on StairMaster climbers (4200PT, 4600PT/CL & SC 916) and StepMills (7000PT and SM916 StepMill), really gives your body a tough workout. People love to take unnecessary breaks and cheat while working out. Taking it easy is not an option while exercising on a StepMill. The steps on the 916 rotate in an escalator type fashion, that prevents users from resting and taking time off. Next time you are at the gym or local health club, take a second to notice who looks like they are sweating and working out the hardest. More often than not, you will find that people exercising on StairMaster climbers and StepMills, are sweating and working out harder than those using other cardiovascular training equipment.

The goal is to make health care not an issue. How can I not worry about health care you ask? Take control of your life through a balanced diet and daily exercise routine. Many of our problems are brought on us by our own inability to take care of ourselves mentally and physically. Mentally, we work too hard, and stress out as a result. Physically, we damage ourselves through eating too much, drinking too much and not exercising enough. The first thing all of our parents taught us are that “you are what you eat!” In other words, if you stuff yourself with trans fat and sugar, you are contributing to the problem, rather than the solution.

Setting goals is part of the psychological battle we fight in our war against lethargy and laziness. Another big part of the psychological side of exercising is remaining positive and optimistic. Staying in good shape and maintaining a balanced diet are long term events that should not be judged upon their short term results. The key is to progressively get better each and every day. I have said over and over that every day of your life you either get better og get worse! Which one will it be today? If you have an off day and take a step back, no big deal, just take two steps forward the next day and you will be right back on track. If you breakdown in traffic on the way home from work and go to McDonalds drive through for a double cheeseburger and french fries, who cares, just make sure you work it off the next day. We are not advocating fast food as good for you, we are just saying that just because you ate some fatty foods doesn’t mean that you should give up on your exercise routine and succumb to a passive, careless, lazy lifestyle. Even if you get off track one day, get right back on the next. Always remember, success is a journey, not a destination, so do not be discouraged with short term results. The definiton of a true champion is someone that can withstand adversity and overcome obstacles on that come up on the road towards success. Do not give up!

Now I know there are some of you out there that have a six-pack and like 3% bodyfat and have never used an elliptical in your life, but you are the exception to the rule. The amount of people that are in shape and don’t workout are slim and it shows. Have you walked around a mall in America lately? Have you gone to the movies? It is gross. To quote jay Z, “What More Can I Say?”  Last time I went to the movie theatre the 9 year old kid sitting next to me must have weighed 250 Lbs. at least, and was no taller than 5’5! Obesity in the United States of America is at an all time high and we need to do the best we can to exterminate this lazy, cocky lifestyle that way too many people in America have adopted. A lifestyle defined by your average Joe Johnson that will eat whatever, never exercise, drink and smoke, and go get pills from a Dr. when he getssick from living an unhealthy lifestyle.

Many of you reading this are probably saying to yourselves, “Why does this blog keep reiterating how important cardio and strength training are, when it is obvious that in order to reach your full potential, such measures must be taken. Is there a reason we have been told 50 times in this article that one must use both cardiovascular and strength equipment in order to maintain a successful exercise program?” Well, if we are preaching to the choir, then more power to you and we are more than pleased that our readers are doing their homework. However, although it is obvious that a total-body workout is necessary for a fitness training session to be complete, many people only focus on one aspect of exercise, while neglecting the other. In other words, many people will just lift weights and not run, or vice versa, so even though the majority of us perfectly understand the theory behind the necessity to incorporate strength and cardio training into the same workout, the majority of that majority, does not put this theory into practice.

When it comes to practicing with exercise equipment, weight machines are really fun and effective. Weight training is essential for increasing strength and muscle mass. There is a large variety of weight training machines in today’s fitness equipment industry, each having its own purpose, specializing in different functions. Therefore, there should be a machine suitable for any and all strength conditioning needs. The variety of home gym options, including but not limited to, single, double, triple or quadruple weight-stack home gyms, make it virtually impossible that someone can’t find a home gym that can help serve their needs. For example, Nautilus, Life Fitness, Body-Solid, Bowflex, Precor, Cybex and StairMaster are some excellent brands of commercial and home fitness equipment, that all manufacture a wide variety of strength training machines suitable for ones home, or commercial health club facility.

Home gyms are used for strength training and are built to help people build and define their muscles, however they are not all the same and there are many features of a home gym one must consider when shopping for one. Structural integrity and mechanical capacity are key terms that need to be completely understood by those seeking out a top of the line home gym. The mechanical capacity of the home gym refers to the amount of weight that can be lifted on the machine. Typically, home gyms, strength trainers and circuit weight machines, all have solid warranty coverage. Whereas treadmills, stair climbers, ellipticals and other kinds of commercial and home fitness equipment, all have electronic boards prone to breaking down, strength equipment such as home gyms, weight plates, circuit weight machines and selector strength pieces, are all electronic free and primarily made of steel.

Popular home gym models include, but are not limited to, the Body Solid 1500s, the BodyCraft XPress Pro, BodyCraft X2, Life Fitness G7, Precor S3.23 Functional Trainer. Extensive research has proven that the health club caliber gyms previously mentioned are mechanically advanced and structurally superior pieces of gym grade equipment. One of the best parts about having commercial gym equipment at home is that it is rated to last for decades. Imagine how long pieces of gym equipment last in commercial environments over time. At the end of the day, you are only using it for a small percentage of time, compared to its usage in the gym, therefore the fitness equipment is rated to last much longer in your home, than it would in the gym.

Nathan Roe, Nautilus’ director of marketing was quoted as saying,

The BodyTower uniquely focuses on strength training through muscle stability using body-weight. And, we’re doing it at a value price point.

Users can really isolate and tone their abdominal muscles through core strengthening exercises. These workouts are performed using the handgrips and sling-straps that come with the tower. A mountable exercise chart  with 8 different workouts comes with the purchase of the new BodyTower.

While most sturdy and effective fitness equipment is expensive and bulky, the space efficient BodyTower is sold for an affordable price in the $300 range and can do wonders to elevate your physical fitness above and beyond what you thought was possible.

High Intensity Interval Training is a training program was built around the Soccer Mom, who doesn’t have enough spare time to spend 2 hours a day at the gym, the Dad that has to work long days and take the kids to school in the morning – people that lead extremely busy lives and can’t afford to take over an hour out their day to exercise. Anyone can perform a HIIT workout as long as they have the will and desire to make it happen!

To nominate a fitness trainer, just go to www.LifeFitness.com/PersonalTrainers to enter a personal trainer that significantly betters the life of his or her clients. Please be able to quantify the strengths of your nominee and give a reasonable explanation as to why he or she deserves to be the 2012 Trainer to Watch. Finalists will be personal trainers that not only care about their clients workout programs, but trainers who are deeply involved with their clients lifestyle in its entirety, thereby maximizing the trainers potential to optimize not only the physical fitness routines of their clients, but the most successful personal trainers also make sure their clients strictly follow an optimized diet, get enough rest and maintain a healthy lifestyle through fit living.

The “Personal Trainers to Watch” program does a comprehensive worldwide search for the most efficient and successful personal trainers, culminating with the most worthy contestant being declared 2012′s “The Trainer to Watch.” Out of the 10 finalists, Life Fitness and FitPro North will select one grand prize winner who will receive a $5000.00 donation towards his or her personal training business, a trophy or plaque for their accomplishment, global media recognition as the 2012 #1 Trainer to Watch, a piece of Life Fitness Equipment and a 1 year membership to the internationally  praised  fitness educational resource PTontheNet. The most rewarding and significant accolade is clearly being THE Fitness Trainer to Watch for 2012. Nicole Nichols, 2011′s winner, was selected for her great work as a fitness expert on the online fitness forum SparkPeople.com.

This is the first year that the “Trainers to Watch Program” has gone international. Chris Clawson, president of Life Fitness said

“The positive impact personal trainers have on their clients transcends geographic borders”,

Mr Clawson added,

“By expanding Personal Trainers to Watch to a global market, we hope to give the very best personal trainers the equipment and resources they need to continue demonstrating fitness excellence. Life Fitness is honored to support and celebrate fitness professionals across the world who are committed to promoting healthy lifestyles.”

We will definitely be keeping a close eye on this race and look forward to learning who the final 10 candidates will be, as it is always interesting to hear their stories – we wish them all the best of luck!

Outdoor gyms serve not just our children, but other locals who enjoy the opportunity to just walk outside and use an elliptical cross-trainer on an outdoor gym close by. Kendra Wilmington was recently quoted in the Washing Post as saying “I can simply walk here anytime. Doctors have repeatedly told me to lose weight and get healthy, so this is my chance.” Simplified, outdoor gyms are close to peoples houses and people can use the exercise equipment for free.

South Africa has an obesity epidemic of their own, evidenced by their coming in second, in the rankings of the world’s fattest nations. Therefore, South Africa has followed suit and developed outdoor gyms, aimed at decreasing obesity, as was done previously in the U.S.

The Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse recently compared the Cybex Arc Trainer with the Precor AMT 100i. After careful analysis, the University of Wisconsin professors in charge or the study concluded that the Cybex Arc Trainer was more gentle on the users’ knees than Precor’s Adaptive Motion Trainer. One participant of the survey said “With the Arc, it allows me to do some of my speed work in a less pounding environment than running on trails,” they added “I definitely saw a big difference in recovery after a hard Arc workout going into, like a long-run training day, felt way fresher.”

Lifescape enables users to choose different outdoor adventures, such as high-definition hikes, bike rides and intense climbs, that come to life on the touch-screen, attachable TV. For example, users can hike through King’s Canyon and Yosemite National Park, as well as run through Germany and the Trinity Mountains, or ride a bike through Champagne and Col De La Colombiere, France. All together, there are close to 20 exciting landscapes to choose from.

On-Demand entertainment provides more breakthrough technology, as users are able to stream thousands of movies, TV Shows and songs, while working out. Long, gut-busting workouts are made much easier and seem to go by much faster if I am watching a movie or show. I can run for hours on end if I am not thinking about running every time my feet pit patter on the treadmill deck and am instead focused on one of my favorite movies. A wide range of music to choose from allows users to create personalized music playlists tailored to their workouts.