Exercise Equipment

Ab Work with a Medicine Ball?

I was working out in the gym where I work the other day, and a fitness instructor that had just finished up a class in the room I was doing my floor work in showed me a new method to help sculpt my abs.  It didn’t involve any fitness equipment like a big ol’ treadmill, besides a small ball, so it would not take up a lot of space if you chose to buy one or try it out.   

I think I like it too, because unlike my fairly routine way of doing crunches and modified crunches (you can only do so much with the belly after they all become some kind of crunch), I actually felt this one the next day.

She said to grab one of the robber covered medicine balls in the basket, and put it between my knees when I was doing crunches. I thought, how different could this be? But when I did it, I actually felt a lot of resistance in my lower ab area, an area that I often find very hard to isolate in my ab workouts.

I did about twenty crunches with the medicine ball between my knees and boy did I feel them in my lower abs! I would recommend this one, it’s a simple twist on the traditional ab crunch, but it really made my belly feel the burn. I would imagine you could also use an ordinary rubber ball – the size of a soccer ball – to accomplish the same effect on the isolation.

Indo Row New Rowing Machine

There’s a new rowing machine in town, and it’s a new, improved version of those old, fairly hard to use rowing machines of the seventies and eighties.  It just may be the new fitness craze since it is safe for people who have knee injuries and other fragile parts of the body. 

I’d compare it to the eliptical machine, because it’s a smooth, fluid movement, and it’s really great for scultping muscles as well as burning calories.  In fact, it’s actually an excellent calorie burner.  It’s been compared to the calorie burning abilities of the highest impact and highest calorie burning exercises of cross country skiing and swimming. 

Both of these are exercises which burn the most calories of any other known exercise, and are great for losing weight and keeping weight off.  To watch the new Indo Rowing Machine in action, it almost looks like an eliptical machine on it’s back. 

It’s got a large wheel at the front, covered up, as the engine is on the eliptical, and it works smoothly.  It works the whole body like an eliptical or cross country machine does, especially the glutes and the back due to the rowing action we all know and love.  Check it out, it should be available soon at some of the finer gyms. 

Recumbent Exercise Bike Reviews : What to Look For in a Stationary Bike

Here is a list of things to look for in your search.

1.) It should have an easily adjustable seat for easy leg length adjustment. Upright exercise bikes should have good leg length control for joint safety and comfort.

2.) Look for a quality console that will display your heart rate, miles cycled, pulse rate and calories burned.

3.) Noise control. The best recumbent bikes will have a good noise control system and should not be too distracting.

4.) Tension control. Quality bikes will have an easily controlled tension setting for resistance workouts.

5.) Is it easily stored? Most Bikes will feature breakdown or fold up option for easy storage.

6)Brand name is important also. The cheaper models and brands will not provide you with the same versatility and quality as the better models

Elliptical Trainer Reviews One of the BEST Forms of Cardio: Features You Should Look For

 What to look for in an elliptical machine, like the Horizon series of ellipticals :

1.) Range of motion. The strides should be long and smooth, not choppy and short.

2.) Ease of glide. If it feels like it’s too hard to move things along, this is a sign of a bad elliptical – probably cheaply made.

3.) Noise. The best elliptical trainers will have a good noise control system for minimum nuisance and perceived tranquility.

4.) Detailed console. Extras like heart rate, calories burned and special workouts may be something you are looking for. 5.) Easy storage. Do you want one that is “foldable” for easier storage, or does this not matter?

Denise Austin Recumbent Bike From Spartan Sports Review

enise Austin Recumbent Bike From Spartan Sports Features: Leveraged position for less stress on your body and back. Smooth resistance for a quiet workout Manually chosen course mean versatility and personalization Display console features speed, distance, time, estimated calories and a scan function LED Console is an easy to read display Price at time of print: $139.00