More Gift Ideas for the Fitness Fanatics in Your Family

If you have a swimmer, biker, runner or walker in your family, then you might be struggling to familiarize yourself with the slew of exercise equipment on the market today, as you search for the perfect Christmas gift. Save some time and a lot of needless stress by reviewing the high-tech fitness gadgets listed below. Both items come highly recommended by experts (and mere mortals) who use them on a daily basis: Garmin Forerunner 405 Given its price this is a fitness item that you might want to reserve for a truly beloved family member. For $300 your resident fitness … Continue reading →

Christmas Gift Ideas for Fitness Fanatics

Struggling to find the perfect gift for the fitness guru on your holiday shopping list? Then, you’ve come to the right place. While many people shy away from getting exercise-related gifts for loved ones because of the high price or lack of knowledge, shopping for fitness gadgets is really not that difficult. Take a look at the following items that can help refresh your loved one’s workouts without breaking the bank: Nike + iPod Sport Kit This inexpensive yet effective gift retails for just $29. If your fitness fanatic friend uses his existing iPod Nano or iPod Touch while running … Continue reading →

Looking for a Treadmill this Christmas?

If so, then you know it’s not as easy as banging out a letter to Santa and waking up to a PaceMaster Platinum Pro VR under the Christmas tree. Unless you are getting the exact replica of the treadmill you run on at the gym everyday, then you really need to do your homework. Treadmills come in a variety of sizes and feature a wide range of price tags. In a previous blog I listed some of Consumer Reports top picks for fold-up treadmills. If you have the space to accommodate a traditional nonfolding treadmill, fitness experts recommend you consider … Continue reading →

Treadmill Shopping Tips

Someone in America spent this Black Friday braving cutthroat crowds to snag a deal on a treadmill. It wasn’t me, but I did see quite a number of door buster ads featuring outstanding deals on popular home gym equipment. If you weren’t one of the brave fitness buffs who woke up at the crack of dawn to take advantage of deep discounts on treadmills, but you are still hoping one lands under your tree this Christmas, then this blog might be useful. Recently, Consumer Reports rated some of the best moderately priced treadmills on the market. The following machines scored … Continue reading →

How Often Do You Use Your Home Gym?

Remember when you bought that new treadmill, a set of free weights, and the aerobics step, and you vowed to exercise every day? How’s that working out for you? Have your fitness investments paid off? If your treadmill is being used more as a clothes rack and those free weights are doubling as doorstops, you aren’t alone. According to a new study, expectations of our behavior often don’t match reality. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say they have uncovered a specific process that they believe contributes to unrealistic optimism. What’s more, the scientists say they are eager to make … Continue reading →

How Your Cellphone Can Improve Your Fitness Routine

Good news for cellphone addicts, according to researchers at the University of Washington, your mobile device may soon be able to help you maintain your exercise routine. Scientists at the University of Washington have teamed up with designers from Intel to create a new cellphone application, dubbed UbiFit. The new program automatically tracks workouts by displaying motivational pictures on the phone’s background screen that change the more you exercise. At the beginning of the week UbiFit displays an empty lawn, but as the week progresses and the user works out flowers grow and the display becomes more elaborate. Different kinds … Continue reading →

Running: It’s All About the Shoes–Part 2

Now that you’ve determined that you need a new pair of running shoes (the forefoot is shifted medially and laterally or you’re always suffering injury) and you’ve found the best place to shop, consider the following tips to get the right fit: Work the Shoe. Experts recommend that you leave a finger’s width between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. Meaning each shoe you try on should have an index finger’s width between your longest toe and the end of the toe box. Once you get the shoe on don’t be afraid to move around in it. … Continue reading →

Running: It’s All About the Shoes

It is for me anyway. I am a severe overpronator and I sustained a nasty injury as a result of not wearing proper shoes when training for my first marathon. That was nearly a decade ago and since then I have spent countless hours researching running and other sport specific footwear. If you are just getting started in a specific sport and are shopping for shoes I would suggest the following: Find a Reputable Specialty Shoe Store. With all due respect to discount retailers, if you want a quality pair of running shoes you need to shop at a store … Continue reading →

How Effective are those Fancy Exercise Machines? Part 2

Continuing my series that looks into whether or not expensive exercise equipment advertised on TV is really worth going into debt over I’m turning my attention to the RealRyder. It looks like an indoor bike, but this is no ordinary stationary cycle. The RealRyder allows you to steer and move from side to side in your own home. Here’s what the company claims in its commercial: “After 20 years, the indoor cycling bike finally gets moving! … It tilts, turns, and banks like an outdoor bike — works out the core, upper body, legs, cardio, and improves balance the way … Continue reading →

How Effective are those Fancy Exercise Machines?

If you are trying to get into shape then those incessant commercials hawking fancy (see: expensive) exercise equipment are bound to catch your eye, draw you in and have you contemplating paying five easy installments of $99.99. But wait! Before you get out your credit card consider the information in this blog, which provides details on one of the hottest exercise machines on the market. The Skorcher promises to deliver major results in half the time, but does it? SKORCHER The Skorcher is a fitness machine that is designed to specifically target the thighs and butt. The commercial claims that … Continue reading →