In the past, purchasing a folding treadmill meant compromise. You were going to compromise on stability for the convenience of a space saving exercise machine. In addition, the overall durability and quality of components would be less then you would find in a stationary treadmill.

In the last several years there’s been considerable design improvements that have contribute to folding models being comparable to their stationary equivalent. In fact, the treadmill company I worked for used the exact same frame for both their folding and stationary models. I could not tell the difference between the two.

There is no question that treadmills are space hogs. An average treadmill with a 20″ wide belt can be 3.5″ x 6″. If you are living space challenged, and you prefer not to sacrifice a good portion of a room to exercise equipment, then a folding treadmill makes sense. In addition to the fact that many folding treadmills are easy to move, and can be stored.

So what should you consider when buying a folding treadmill?

There are a number of good brands that build folding treadmills. Two that stand out are Sole and Smooth. Sole folding treadmills are used in the Hilton hotel chains for in-room service. If they can hold-up under that type of environment, they should do well in your home. Smooth has a good reputation for quality machines and customer service. Both Sole and Smooth have received “Best Buy” awards from Treadmill Doctor.

Fred Waters worked in the treadmill industry for a number of year and is author
of the Treadmill Rating and
Review site. Check out the latest reviews on over 75 of the most popular treadmills, and get important buying tips from the Treadmill Buyer’s Guide.

According to the American Dietetic Association, the difference
between weight loss and weight gain can be as little as 100
calories a day. Most Americans suffer from ‘weight creep’ -
those nagging pounds that creep on over the years - at an
average of about 2 pounds per year. That’s 20 pounds in ten
years. 40 pounds in 20. Can you afford to weigh 40 pounds more
than you do now in twenty years? The difference could be as
simple as cutting out 100 calories a day from your daily diet -
or adding 100 calories a day to your daily routine - or a
combination of both. How hard is it to cut 100 calories a day
out of your diet? Take a look. Are you a coffee lover? If you
drink your coffee with whole milk, you can save 100 calories a
day by drinking two cups with skim milk instead. Do you drink
non-diet soft drinks? One 16 ounce Pepsi is 250 calories. Skip
one Pepsi a day and you’ll be cutting out two and a half times
the suggested calorie reduction. Substitute a plain donut for a
jelly donut. You’ll cut out 120 calories. Think you’re doing
better by choosing the lighter croissant? Think again. A
croissant has as many calories as a jelly donut - 289. If you
eat out at Mickey D’s, skip the dressing on your salad, or you
might as well have a burger. One packet of French dressing has
160 calories. If you go out with the guys, drink one less beer.
Each 12 oz beer, even a light brand, averages 100 calories. Want
to burn it up instead of avoiding it? Here’s how much time you
need to spend at various activities to burn 100 calories.
Swimming energetically for just 15 minutes will burn 100
calories. You can burn 100 calories for every hour that you do
housework. Only have ten minutes? Jump rope. At 700 calories per
hour, you can burn up 100 calories in just 10 minutes! Knit for
an hour and fifteen minutes. At 85 calories an hour, it’s not a
major calorie burner, but if you combine that with the potato
chips you can’t munch while you’re knitting you could be saving
some substantial calories. Stay late at the office for an extra
forty - unless of course, you’re missing your workout at the
gym. An hour of office work burns about 140 calories. Hop on the
trampoline for fifteen minutes. Moderate aerobics exercise burns
400 calories an hour. Put on some music and dance on the tramp
through four songs and you’ll be doing great. Go for a 10 minute
walk - but aim for a brisk pace. Power walking burns 600
calories an hour. You can burn 100 in ten minutes. Play a round
of golf at the club. Half an hour of golfing - without a golf
cart - burns 120 calories. The beauty of it all is that you can
build any of the suggestions above into your daily routine, and
create a healthy habit that will keep off extra pounds and take
off those that you want to lose now.

Exercise Basics by Karen Skidmore, ATC

With all the nutrition and fitness hype around these days, how
do you know what is correct and what isn’t? The intentions of
this article are to help you identify factual and effective
information regarding current fitness trends.

Total health is threefold - aerobic exercise and resistance
training are addressed in this article. The third part, healthy
eating, will be examined in a future article.

Diet and supplements alone will not get you the physique you
want. You must make exercise a part of your weekly routine.
Exercise will help to boost your metabolism, change your body
composition and decrease your carbohydrate sensitivity.

AEROBIC EXERCISE

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines aerobic
exercise as “any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be
maintained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature.” This can be
any continuous rhythmic activity that keeps the heart rate
elevated in the target zone for the length of the workout.
Aerobic activity must be done for a minimum of 30 minutes a day
at least 3 times a week. Your goal for aerobic exercise is 4 - 5
times a week for 45 minutes to one hour. This is the same type
of exercise that, when done over time, will help to improve the
condition of the heart and lungs.

Examples: Walking, jogging, cycling, stairs, cardio machines,
swimming, and circuit training.

RESISTANCE TRAINING

Resistance training is a term used to cover all types of weight
training. This type of training is beneficial in many ways.
Primarily, muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so you
burn more calories while at rest. Other benefits include a
decreased risk for osteoporosis and an increase in bone mass.
Resistance training should be done twice weekly incorporating 1
- 3 sets of exercises for each of the major body parts.

“No pain no gain.” Let’s clear the air on this age old
misconception. Bodybuilders and athletes coined this phrase
because they felt that if their workouts did not leave them in
pain, they did not work hard enough to gain any benefits. It is
true that during resistance training you may feel a slight burn
or uncomfortable feeling in the muscle; this is a natural
reaction when placing a muscle under stress. However at no time
should you feel sharp pain or pain in the joints. On occasion
there will be a mild soreness after the workout and even
soreness 1 - 2 days after the workout. This is a normal
reaction, as you workout you have a temporary build up of lactic
acid, that is eventually cleared out by the recovering muscles.

A proper warm up and cool down is as important as the actual
workout. Mentally these two will prepare the body for the
workout and allow the body to return to normal activity in a
comfortable manor. A warm up will allow the bodies’ metabolic
processes a chance to catch up with the increased work load in a
more proficient manner helping avoid premature fatigue. It will
cause a gradual increase in muscle temperature which will help
reduce the chance of injury. A cool down will aid in the removal
of lactic acid which in turn will help with muscle soreness.
Also it will help the body return blood to the heart and
eliminate venous pooling, which leads the feeling of dizziness.
Lastly a cool down helps lower the levels of adrenaline in the
bloodstream. Any adrenaline that lingers in the bloodstream
after the workout can place unnecessary stress on the heart.

Flexibility is the movement or lack of movement we have in our
joints. We do stretching exercises to improve these movements.
The exercises done to improve our flexibility should always be
done at the end of a workout. They can be incorporated right
into the cool down. The reason for this is our muscles are much
like rubber bands, they have elastic properties and when they
are stretched they go back to their original form. If you
stretch while the muscles are cold just like the rubber band
they do no go back to the original form and you run the risk of
having an injury. For improved flexibility stretching exercises
should be done everyday.

The information provided here is in no way intended to be a
substitute for counseling provided by your healthcare provider.
Completely Fit disclaims any liabilities or loses in conjunction
with exercises, instructions or advice contained herein. Consult
your healthcare provider before beginning exercise or a fitness
program.

If you just walked into the health store to purchase muscle
building supplements, you are probably lost, confused and being
pushed a dozen products by the salesman. But, how do you know
which supplements are the right products for your goals? There
are various levels of muscle building supplements and some may
not be right for you. But, there are a handful that are
excellent choices for anyone looking to build muscle.

Remember, you don’t always need these supplements to build
muscle, but these will definitely accelerate you towards your
goals. They work as a tool to help you increase your potential
for muscular development. They help in muscle growth, and
quicker recovery times. Some important ingredients of muscle
building supplements are:

Protein: The protein supplements are full of amino acids which
are the building blocks for your muscles. Make sure that you
include a supplement that takes into account proteins. You can
take up to one to two grams of protein per pound of your weight.
If you don’t want to take them in a pill form, get the protein
through shakes or even bars. Also, look for those that contain
eggs, whey, soy or casein.

Creatine: The next important ingredient in the supplement you
choose should be creatine. It will help to increase muscle mass
by decreasing muscle fatigue and improving muscle recovery. It
helps to increase something called ATP which is an energy source
that will allow you to do more reps of higher weight. It is
recommended that this should be taken in cycles e.g. four weeks
on it then two weeks off of it.

Micro-nutrients - multivitamins and multiminerals: Many people
mistakenly assume that they are getting enough vitamins and
minerals through their normal diet. Unfortunately, this is not
the case. We would have to consume extremely large quantities of
food to get the recommended daily intake. An easier approach
would be to supplement our diet with a good quality
multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement. If you do not have one
specific mineral in your diet, this can slow down your ability
to develop muscles or improve your health.