If you think the Total Gym is out of your price range, try the Total Trainer Pilates Pro by Bayou Fitness sells for about half the price and is considered a superior product in terms of how smoothly it performs and how stable it is.
It is a Pilates-style trainer similar to a Pilates Reformer. You will lift from 4% to 69% of your own body weight. With 21 levels of resistance and a 400-pound user capacity (max user height is 6′ 7”), the Pilates Total Trainer System comes with both Total Trainer and Pilates accessories.
The Pilates accessories include a dual leg cuff, Pilates Toe Bar, Shoulder Pads, and Resistance Bands. Also included is a Pilates instructional video, four program cards, and manual making this home gym versatile for men and women. This home gym ships fully assembled, double boxed and has a shipping weight of 100 lbs. Best of all, the reviews on the Bayou Total Trainer Pilates Pro are excellent.
Just a few comments: “We had the total gym about 8 years ago and there is no comparison. This is made better more comfortable to use and all the attachments you will ever need come with it- had to buy them separate from total gym.”
and…
“I tried a $1500 Total Gym, and after that a $450 Total Trainer at a friends house. The Total Trainer was built much stronger than the Total Gym and it is much more versatile with all kinds of attachments included in the price. You never get bored with this machine since there are 70 or so exercises without even getting into the Pilates. A fun way to get in shape… The board has a much thicker pad on it than the Total Gym, and the entire machine is built better. The rails are bigger, the rollers are guaranteed for life as well as the pulleys and cords. I use it for about 25 minutes a day, 3 times a week and I am in the best shape I have ever been in.”
Just a great machine. Find more information about the TOTAL TRAINER Pilates Reformer Home Gym Pro here.
Here is a superb book on why people overeat and how to stop overeating. It’s The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler MD. He will jolt you awake with his question:
“Is it real food?” The four food groups are not fat, salt, starch, and sugar.
Kessler shows how, since the 1980s, the food industry, in collusion with the advertising industry, and lifestyle changes have short-circuited the body’s self-regulating mechanisms, leaving many at the mercy of reward-driven eating. Kessler explains how the desire to eat—as distinct from eating itself—is stimulated in the brain by an almost infinite variety of diabolical combinations of salt, fat and sugar. Although not everyone succumbs, more people of all ages are being set up for a lifetime of food obsession due to the ever-present availability of foods laden with salt, fat and sugar.
He discusses some interesting research on rats being fed sugar combined with fat and shows how these animals will walk across an electrified plate to get to Fruit Loops; a food with a layered combination of salt, fat, and sugar. Rats will go to great lengths to eat this food and will become obese as a result.
Whether you run, ride, or stride, indoor workouts can get boring. Going the Distance. ERock Rocks! A Virtual 100 Mile Ride is an exciting 5.5 hour virtual training ride in 4 DVDs.
It takes you through breathtaking scenery along Colorado’s Front Range, the Black Forest, and along the gorgeous foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
It is designed for indoor training on exercise bikes but it is also interesting enough to watch while running on a treadmill or striding an elliptical trainer. (Adjust your manual settings as you follow the video.)
But if you are watching while riding a stationary bike, get ready for a thrilling workout!
Each ERock DVD provides a diverse and dynamic workout ideal for base training including intervals, climbs, high cadence, recovery, pursuits, solo efforts, paceline efforts and more. The video quality is excellent, soundtracks are included, and the scenery is incredible. The collection also includes a secret bonus video at the conclusion of stage 4.
Burn those thighs! If you love to ride an upright exercise bike where you get to work the big muscles in your legs, then a rigorous ride three times a week will give you the type of workout you crave.
Not only can riding an exercise bike burn fat, and give the heart and lungs a cardio blast, it and provide a good workout for the abs and lower body. It is especially great for toning the inner and outer thigh groups (adductor and abductor muscles).
Try Interval Training
If you haven’t tried interval training on a bike before, it is an opportunity to do something just a little bit different.
If you are already doing leisurely and low impact “steady cardio” training on a stationary cycle, try adding some short sprints of one to two minutes in length, pedaling as fast and hard as you can. Rest between sprints; a session should last 10 to 15 minutes.
There shouldn’t be any resting in between sprints; pedal steady for about 30 seconds to catch your breath. Then go again!
If you are an average-sized adult, you can expect to burn about 350 calories an hour during your moderate steady cardio workout and up to 700 calories in an hour’s vigorous interval sprints workout on an upright exercise bike. Cycle training provides users of all fitness levels a low-impact, fat-burning cardiovascular workout in as little time as possible in the comfort of your own home. And they are affordable too! You can buy a quality upright cardio trainer, such as a Proform 290 SPX Exercise Bike for as little as $299 with FREE SHIPPING.
The affordable and attractive Horizon EX-68 elliptical trainer is greatly improved over the Horizon trainers from just a few years ago. Not only do they offer a new technology called the Six Star certification for optimum comfort and performance, they have kept the price down, beefed up the quality, and included some cool features.
The models under $800, such as the Horizon EX-68 elliptical at $799, offer larger 17.6-pound flywheels (for smoother and quieter workouts), plus reliability, and lots of features. The EX68 has a couple of important features to point out: such as the easy to read orange LED windows (these are MUCH easier to read than LCD screens!), a fan, music port, and 11 challenging workout programs to choose from.
The details on the Horizon EX68 elliptical are -
* 20″ stride length
* 17.6-lb Flywheel
* 300-lb. User Capacity
* Unit Weight – 152 lbs
* Pivoting Foot Plates
* Heart Rate Grips on Handlebars
* MP3 plug-in
* Sonic Surround speakers
* SixStar Certified™ frame
* CoolFit workout fan
The SixStar Certified Difference
The Horizon EX-68 elliptical has some key features that give it a special “Six Star” certification. Those include: s a low 10″ step-on height, pivoting pedals for optimum foot comfort, an upright body position to alleviate stress on the back, an overlapping pedal stance so you don’t “waddle” from side to side when you pedal, the workout handlebars are closer to the body so you don’t have to reach too far forward when pushing them, and best of all is the flatter elliptical motion when striding. Since many front-drive ellipticals have step up motions to the ellipse pattern, the flatter motion is smoother and more comfortable – more like walking and running and less like walking up the stairs.
About Horizon Fitness
Horizon is part of Johnson Health Tech, one of the largest manufacturers of fitness equipment in the world. They are committed to designing, engineering, and manufacturing superior products for health clubs and homes. Horizon’s manufacturing facilities rank among the most sophisticated in the industry, with an intricate mix of robotics and skilled workers that maintain the highest standards of accuracy and quality. Every stage of manufacturing has a testing phase and 10 percent of Horizon’s products go through a rigorous quality inspection that includes completely taking them apart and reassembling them.
Why Horizon?
For just $799, the horizon EX-68 elliptical trainer is one of the top 3 models at this price range. Check out the reviews and see why owners are delighted with this quality elliptical, which is recommended by most elliptical review sites as well as consumers.
If you have popping in your joints or are just getting older, it is time to include hyaluronic acid and other joint supplements to let you move free again. Not only are these supplements remarkably effective on inflammation, they also help relieve pain of joint problems, including forms of arthritis.
If you don’t move as fluidly as you once did and are concerned about the health and strength of your joints, consider trying a well-reviewed product such as Schiff Move Free Advanced Coated Tablets with MSM & Vitamin D. This formula features:
* 2 times more effective than Triple Strength Glucosamine & Chondroitin Alone
* Now with Uniflex and Joint Fluid
* Works in just 1-2 weeks
* Helps by lubricating, cushioning, strengthening, protecting and rebuilding joints
* MSM is an important component of joint cartilage.
Move Free Advanced joint care supplement is the only joint care supplement at major retail today that combines two unique ingredients — Uniflex and Joint Fluid — with Glucosamine and Chondroitin.
Just after a week or two of using Move Free I noticed a difference. I had less stiffness in my joints after my daily workout (I admit, I don’t stretch after lifting and running like I should), and after sitting at my computer or in front of the TV, I can get up and walk across the room without limping and waddling. It isn’t a miracle cure but it helps a lot. Best of all, Move Free isn’t as pricey as some of the other brands. If it is time for your to get some help with your aging joints, you might want to give this one a try.
If you think the Total Gym is out of your price range, try the Total Trainer Pilates Pro by Bayou Fitness sells for about half the price and is considered a superior product in terms of how smoothly it performs and how stable it is.
Here is a superb book on why people overeat and how to stop overeating. It’s The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler MD. He will jolt you awake with his question:
is also one of the more affordable guides at $8.82 and definitely worth a look.
Whether you run, ride, or stride, indoor workouts can get boring. Going the Distance. ERock Rocks! A Virtual 100 Mile Ride is an exciting 5.5 hour virtual training ride in 4 DVDs.
are a terrific alternative to the usually boring workouts.
Burn those thighs! If you love to ride an upright exercise bike where you get to work the big muscles in your legs, then a rigorous ride three times a week will give you the type of workout you crave.
