So, my husband had to have a triple bypass—took veins from his legs and chest, cut him open and filled his chest with ice, held his heart in their hands, and made him all better. I tell you the gruesome details because this is certainly an eye opening event, and keeping one’s heart healthy is of utmost importance. He’d had three small heart in his thirties and early forties, (quit smoking after the first one, and began to eat healthy food, and hiked a lot—but that didn’t do enough). Working your heart, and keeping your blood pressure low, are just as important as eating healthy food.

After the surgery they sent him to rehab, which was basically a room with treadmills and exercise bikes—and doctors and nurses who would hook him up to monitors to watch his heart beat, etc. They had him spend twenty-two minutes on the treadmill first, then 25 minutes on the exercise bike. (Each patient had their own regiment) He wasn’t looking forward to this, never having used exercise machines before this. He thought taking long walks was going to be good enough. But, oddly, he grew to relish the workouts, how he could get his heart rate up and lower his blood pressure. Because of the surgery, he’d lost 12 pounds. With the exercise, he wasn’t gaining any of it back, which was good because he had been about 15 pounds overweight.

Rehab lasted two months, and then summer came on and he thought he could get away with just walking now, around a nearby lake. But this summer was really hot, and the walks became fewer, and we joined a gym. The machines there are the same as at the hospital, and the same as on this website. Strong, high-tech machines that can monitor pulse rates and calories burned and distance, etc. My husband showed me how they work, and now I’m going, too. I worry about the winter, and if we’ll get it together to go to the gym, so we’re beginning to save for an exercise bike and a treadmill. Well, actually, I’m enjoying the rowing machine best, because it seems to really give my core muscles a workout, too.

I’m over fifty (that’s all I’m going to say) and I get tired often. I’ve always heard that this kind of workout gets your energy up, and it’s true. So I’m blogging at this site, just to become familiar with other people’s workouts, and hoping to become familiar with all the exercise machines here, so when we buy one, we can get exactly what we need.

About 40 women line up in rows of about 10 each. They watch as teacher Thomasenia Johnson demonstrates a few steps of a hustle called “Vanilla Swirl.” But they don’t stand and watch long. Johnson turns on the Luther Vandross song “Shine,” and every student attempts the moves.

“Up on the left foot; cha, cha, cha. Up on the right foot. Cha, cha,” Johnson calls out the steps . “Now when I say twirl, act like you have an imaginary lasso, and twirl it high and round.”

Before the dance is over, most of the students have caught on and are stepping, cha-cha-cha-ing and twirling to the beat in a hustle class at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit.

A group of women make similar moves to some saucy salsa numbers in a Zumba class at Henry Ford Hospital West Bloomfield.

“You’re exercising, but unlike running on a treadmill, you’re having fun,” says Mary Fischioni, 58, of Farmington Hills after the one-hour class.

They’ve discovered what growing numbers of people are finding: Dance is a fun way to step, shake, sway and shimmy your way to fitness.

Not only does dancing improve physical well-being, it delivers a three-pronged fitness punch — a mind, body and spirit boost. It helps with everything from cardiovascular fitness to memory, say proponents and participants.

The benefits of dancing for fitness are becoming more evident in the scientific community as well.

The American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine this year became the first American medical academy to dedicate an entire conference to performing arts, which includes dance.

“This is significant because it shows the increased importance of performing arts medicine,” says the organization’s president-elect, Dr. Steven Karageanes, sports medicine physician and director of Performing Arts Medicine at the Detroit Medical Center.

“There’s a ton of evidence on the benefits of dance,” Karageanes says. “Dance helps increase muscle tone, flexibility and, in some types of dance, aerobic capacity. It’s also easier on the joints than something like running or jumping. And almost anyone can do it.”

Interest in dancing for fitness jumped 26% from 2002 to 2010, according to a survey on exercise trends from the IDEA Health and Fitness Association based in San Diego.

There’s anecdotal indications of growing interest, too.

“I’m always getting calls and e-mails asking me to teach more classes,” says exercise physiologist Shawnita VanHook-Williams, who teaches Zumba at Henry Ford West Bloomfield, and at parks and recreation programs for Lathrup Village and West Bloomfield.

“People get such a euphoric feeling from dancing,” she says. “You feel good from accomplishing the class, but it also releases endorphins that help reduce stress and relieve tensions in your body.”

Some people say the classes have helped them with serious health challenges.

Lasandra Ross, 51, of Ferndale is diabetic and says her doctors were on the verge of putting her on an insulin regimen because her blood-sugar levels were too high. She started dancing — at least twice a week — about three years ago and now her blood-sugar levels are normal.

“My doctors told me my next step was insulin, but I could avoid it if I ate right and exercised,” she said after a two-hour hustle class at the Wright Museum. “I like to dance, and this doesn’t feel like exercise.”

Toure Finley, 47, of Southfield dances five times a week — attending Zumba and hustle classes all over metro Detroit.

“Since I started in March, I’ve lost 10 pounds,” she says.

Hustle instructor Thomasenia Johnson, who teaches classes at the Wright Museum three to four times a week, says she dropped from a size 22 dress to a size 12 in six months. “Once I realized I was losing weight, I stopped eating potato chips, and potato chips are my thing. Now, I eat whatever I want when I want.”

Denise McLaren, 48, of Detroit, says going to hustle classes has eased her arthritis pain. She dances about four days a week at various locations. “When I work out it doesn’t hurt as much. Dancing strengthens your muscles. If I miss coming here today, my whole body knows it tomorrow.”

Another benefit is that dancing has no age limits.

Just ask Josie Gentry-Huyghe, 84, of Detroit. She’s a regular at the Sunday evening hustle classes where she knows routines people a third of her age struggle to learn. She also enjoys square dancing.

“When I was growing up my parents didn’t allow us to dance, so I guess I’m making up for it,” she says with a laugh.

She says she likes it because it keeps her moving. “Dancing is something that age doesn’t define you. If you’re able to do it, you do it. And with hustling, I don’t have to sit and wait on a man to dance. When a good hustle song comes on, you get up and dance.”

Terry Klenczar, 65, of Farmington Hills, believes dancing helps with memory as well.

“You can’t let your mind wander. You have to focus on what you’re doing to keep up,” she says after Zumba at Henry Ford West Bloomfield.

Her contention is backed by scientific research, says the DMC’s Karageanes.

“For instance, a 2003 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that ballroom dancing at least twice a week made people less likely to develop dementia,” he says. “Research also has shown that some people with Alzheimer’s disease are able to recall forgotten memories when they dance to music they used to know.”

Others find it’s just a good stress reliever.

“If you had any stress, it’s gone by the time you leave here,” says Mary Fischioni after an hour of Zumba.

BY CASSANDRA SPRATLING

SOURCE: http://www.freep.com/article/20110529/FEATURES01/105290346/As-workout-dancing-helps-develop-muscle-tone-flexibility-aerobic-capacity?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

Setting goals for working out has proven to be an effective way for making sure you sustain an efficient and diligent exercise routine. Optimizing your physical fitness is crucial towards the health of your mind and body. Therefore, it is necessary to remain active through daily cardiovascular and strength training. Those who fail to maintain a constant balance of cardiovascular and strength training, are those who are responsible for the fact that the the rate of obesity is so high in the United States and even more importantly, those who do not exercise on a regular basis, become sick and have lower life expectancy rates than those who make staying physically fit a priority in there life. Unfortunately, many of us do not see physical fitness as an important priority in our lives, as evidenced by the overwhelming amount of overweight adults and children in the United States. Over the past 30 years, the obesity rates for adults in North America have doubled. Today, 34% of adults in our nation are obese. Additionally, the obesity rate for children has tripled within that same time frame. Since 1980 our adults have got twice as fat, our children have got three times as fat and we have no excuse. Healthy food is available. Gyms are open. What is going on? Well, we are too lazy and eat to much. In a study done comparing the life expectancy rates of every nation i the world, the United States ranks 31st in the world.

So what is the answer? How do we as a nation combat obesity? Well, first and foremost, we need to exercise more. If you have more TV’s in your house than pieces of home gym equipment, that is a problem. Every household should have at least one piece of cardiovascular training equipment such as a treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine, stair stepper or exercise bike and one piece of strength training equipment, preferably a home gym. It is difficult to stay true to a fitness routine that is predicated around going to an actual health club or fitness facility. It is hard to cut off the fat and get straight to the meat unless you have health club quality fitness equipment at home. Time wasted in traffic while traveling to and from the gym can be tilting for anyone. Waiting to use your favorite fitness equipment at the gym is a pretty bad beat too. Once again, it is difficult to perform at your best while having to take breaks from exercising, due to the fact that some random guy is using the machine that you were trying to get at least three or four sets in with. How many times have you finished your second set of reps while weight lifting, got up to get a drink of water, got back and someone else was using your fitness equipment? Building momentum is essential towards optimizing ones exercise routine and it is hard to build momentum when your body is cooling down to involuntary breaks from exercising. We have all had the experience at the gym of someone using the fitness equipment that we were in the middle of using, or that we were planning on using. While we wait to use this fitness equipment, our rhythm is disrupted, our muscles tighten and we lose the momentum and adrenaline that we have built up. Distractions are detrimental while one tries to focus and perform an exercise at his or her gym.

Eliminate distractions through purchasing health club rated fitness equipment and assembling your own home gym. Finding time for running and lifting weights is much easier for those who have fitness equipment in their homes. Make health the the number one priority for you and your family in 2011. Make sure as an adult that you are not contributing to the fact that two out of three adults are fat. More importantly, make sure your children are not statistics contributing to the fact that the rate of obesity for our children has tripled in the last three decades. Home fitness equipment is great for the health and well being of one and their family. Excuses centered around no time, high gas prices, and crowded gyms will be a thing of the past once you have fitness equipment to use at your home. Wake up and jump on the treadmill right away. Get a 15 minute workout in right before breakfast. Studies show people with home fitness equipment are more likely to reman fit than those who do not have a cardiovascular and strength training equipment at home.

If and when you decide to put your health first through purchasing home fitness equipment, you must make sure to buy health club caliber and professionally rated treadmill and elliptical equipment. For example, a Weslo Cadence G-40 will not provide the same amount of benefits that a Life Fitness 95Ti would. In other words, the Life Fitness 95Ti is rated for usage in gyms and expected to work perfectly fine in your home for fifteen to twenty years. Not only will a gym quality treadmill such as the Life Fitness 95Ti last a long time in your home, but the 95Ti was built to withstand constant usage by men that weigh up to 400 pounds. Conversely, the Weslo G-40 Cadence will not last nearly as long as the Life Fitness 95Ti. The Weslo Cadence is rated to last under five years. Additionally, the weight capacity on the Weslo G-40 Cadence treadmill is only 250 pounds, whereas the Life Fitness 95Ti has a treadmill weight capacity of 400 pounds! Other benefits provided by the gym quality Life Fitness 95Ti over the cheaper and lighter Weslo treadmill include a wider and longer running area, user-interactive fitness programs and a stronger, higher quality drive motor. The heavy steel frame of the LF 95Ti treadmill will remain sturdy even throughout fast and intense runs. The Weslo Cadence treadmill is not designed to perform well throughout intense and consistent usage. Through purchasing a Life Fitness 95Ti instead of Weslo Cadence , your expected value will increase as will the quality of your physical fitness routine. To simplify, home fitness equipment is necessary for those who wish to stay in shape and remain healthy, however, budget and lightweight fitness equipment will lose you more dollars than weight. Health club quality fitness equipment is exactly what is needed for the home.

Regular use of exercise equipment such as treadmills and ellipticals, will help you avoid gaining weight. Frequent cardiovascular training is necessary for those who want to be healthy and fit. Running on treadmills and exercising on ellipticals are both great ways to keep your body looking and feeling fresh and strong. Cardiovascular training can also be performed on other fitness equipment including, but not limited to, stationary exercise bikes, stair climbers, steppers, stepmills, rowing machines, pilates equipment and treadmill/elliptical hybrids. At the end of the day, one must regularly exercise either outdoors, or with fitness equipment, in order to avoid gaining excess weight.

Way too often, people let their home fitness equipment rest on the sidelines. Elliptical machines turn into nothing more than expensive coat hangers. Treadmills turn into glorified flooring, used to hold books and paperwork. Treadmills and ellipticals need to be used for exercise. Home fitness equipment is a necessary tool for those who want to workout at home and stay fit throughout the year. Regular use of treadmill machines, ellipticals, exercise bikes and stair steppers, will lead to fat loss and muscle development. Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly have healthier eating and sleeping habits, than those who do not. Religiously following an exercise routine is a lot easier if you have exciting and effective fitness equipment to use.

Make your New Years resolution health oriented. Popular resolutions include stop smoking, drink less, get a better job, take a trip, manage debt and get fit. Getting fit and losing weight are easier said than done. One must not become frustrated due to the difficulties associated with maintaining an effective exercise program. High energy levels will need to be sustained for at least thirty minutes a day and time must be made for physical activity. Cutting corners will not work for those who want to lose weight and build muscle. Striving for protection and giving it your all, is the way to becoming fit. If you have the will and determination to see the world through the eyes of a healthy and fit physique, then now is the time to start your quest towards optimal health.

There is no better time than now to start losing weight, building muscle and increasing your confidence. January 1st, 2011, what a great time to start working out and exercising. If it is too cold to run outside where you live, then buy a treadmill or an elliptical, and workout in the comfort of your own home. What shows the true spirit of the holidays better than buying a brand new treadmill for a friend, loved one, or even yourself. Who wouldn’t want a brand new elliptical machine under their Christmas tree? Fitness equipment is just such a great gift for the holidays. Giving someone a Life Fitness 95c Engage exercise bike shows then that you care about their health and fitness, rather than their wardrobe. Peak a new interest in a friend that could use some exercise and fitness in their life. Be a stickler and make sure your friends and loved ones understand the subjects of health and fitness. Show your sister who is over weight, say “See, this is a treadmill! This will be your new best friend. You know why? Because this treadmill is going to help you lose 30 pounds. Lets get started now.”

Having a natural gift for leadership isn’t everyones forte, however, if you truly care for a friend or family member who is unhealthy and overweight, you must show them the light. Explain to them the benefits of daily exercise. You do not have to be a master psychologist, in order to convey the importance of exercise to someone who is overweight. Get your point across and be a motivator for the holidays. Don’t just buy your brother a new TV, buy him a treadmill with a TV in it (Life Fitness 97T Engage). More often than not, a combination of tough love and motivational leadership is needed in order to show overweight people the recipe for getting fit. Uncompromising work ethics are not commonplace, especially amongst the overweight, therefore, have a positive influence on a friend of family member that is overweight and unhealthy. Buy them a treadmill and help them devise a workout plan. Go shopping with them for home fitness equipment. Quality treadmill brands include Precor, Life Fitness and Star Trac.

If you can, explain the different programs on the treadmill. Provide insight on how the statistical feedback can be an awesome tool for anyone who uses a treadmill, or other cardio equipment such as elliptical machines, stationary exercise bikes, rowers and stair steppers. For example, the heart rate readouts on cardio equipment are insightful tools that help us determine how fast we should be running. Premium treadmills and ellipticals have interactive heart rate functions that will allow its users to speed up or slow down their pace, based off of the target heart rate zone set in place by the user. for example, if Tom were to set his target heart rate zone to 145bpm, and his heart rate increased to 165bpm, the speed of the treadmill would slow down and vice versa.

One of the first thing we think about every morning when we wake up is how we look and how we could exercise more and eat better. The last thing any of us want to do is spend a lot of money on home fitness equipment. However, it is really difficult to find home fitness equipment that is going to last for a long time, for less than $1000.00. For example, there are over 100 diferent elliptical crosstrainers on the market today for less than $1000.00. With that said, out of those 100 or so pieces of elliptical exercise equipment, no more than one or two at the most will be a good piece of home gym gear. Therefore, never value the price over the quality of the equipment. It doesn’t matter if you get an elliptical, treadmill, home gym, rowing machine, stair climber or exercise bike, if you buy one that you do not use or like, it doesn’t matter how low the cost was because it was a total loss and waste of money. When looking at home fitness equipment, try to focus on reputable name brand equipment such as Precor, Life Fitness, Star Trac, Cybex and stay away from low end equipment like Proform. Always ask one of our reliable and friendly fitness experts about any and every piece of equipment that is a potential buy. The friendly fitness experts of the Kings of Cardio, are open 24/7, and can be reached at 800-990-1108.