Showing posts with label Exercise equipment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exercise equipment. Show all posts

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The best $40 investment

I can't say enough about why everyone that exercises should buy one of these...




Why, you might ask? Most people don't know how hard they're working AND don't work out hard enough. Sure, you can go by Perceived Exertion (how you're feeling, breathing, sweating, etc), but if you really want to know where you're at, where you should be, BUY ONE OF THESE! They will even beep to remind you you're not in your heart rate range (if it's too high or too low)! It will make you more aware of how hard you're working (or NOT working), and will be a good starting point for your fitness level.

SO, what are you waiting for??? BUY ONE at your local sporting good store, Costco, Target, or Walmart!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Exercise equipment you should invest in (and it's cheap!)

First of all, I want to apologize for my lack of blogging lately. I was out of town last week on vacation with my family and well, this month has been crazy for me. When I initially started this blog, my goal was to have at least 2 posts/week, but that really hasn't happened so far, and so now I'm just hoping to have 1 post/week for now. When I get more readers/comments, I plan to add more to this blog. For now, it's a lot of work on top of everything else I do (plus I have a family blog which takes precendence). Sorry again!

For those of you out there that hate going to a gym and would prefer to do exercises at home, I have some great suggestions of exercise equipment you can buy for a minimal price. Keep in mind that I also have selected equipment that you can do A LOT with, and will also last a long time. They are even better than machines because you can work multiple muscles in one exercise, you use your core/trunk muscles better, and you work on balance/coordination. If you have any questions on it, let me know! Stay tuned for some exercise ideas with these tools...

Stability Ball-you can buy these at sporting goods stores, Walmart, Target, etc (only cost about $15-20)

Dumbbells-preferably the rubber ones. You can also buy these anywhere and I would suggest having set of each: 5 lbs, 8 lbs, and 10 lbs at least. A wise investment ($7-10/set?)

Exercise mat-any kind will do, although I prefer one with a little "padding". Found at any of the above stores listed. (Cost: $10-20)

Resistance bands-find a couple with different levels of resistance. I prefer a medium-level and a difficult-level for most people. A TON of exercises can be done with these and they can also be found at any of the above stores listed. (Cost: $7-15/band)

Dyna-disc-a must-have for core and balance training! This will work you abdonimals better than anything! You can find this at: http://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Disc-14-95-Price-24-95/dp/B00077E32C (the cheapest I have found: $15)

Jump rope-easy to use, and great for interval training. Can be found anywhere as well. (Cost: $5-10)

BOSU ball-one my all-time favs and so much you can do with these. Cheapest I have found is located at: http://shopping.discovery.com/product-59700.html?jzid=40602653-0-0&seqStr=BOSU+ball (the link wouldn't work) (Cost: $100)

Medicine ball: I prefer one with no handle, and ideally 6-10 lbs. You can find these anywhere as well. (Cost: $20?)

Thera-bands-Physical Therapists use these a lot, but they're great for doing all kinds of exercises. It's good to buy a couple different resistance levels too. The pre-cut ones can be bought at: http://www.yogaaccessories.com/TheraBandsIndividual.asp (the link wouldn't work) (Cost: $5-10/band)