Fitness Notes

Horizon Evolve SG Compact Treadmill is a compact, durable treadmill that solves one of the primary problems reflected in all treadmill locations - space. This 100 pound unit folds up and can be stored vertically or horizontally. When finished, just fold it up and put it back under the bed. Two sturdy wheels allow movement to any location at all. Perfect for offices and apartments, even for home offices where kids take up the rest of the place, this handy and smart training aid is a total winner.

The technology in this product also matches that of spa-level units. An easy-to-read LCD display is lit up in large lettering and makes taking the data from the workout a real breeze. Categories listed are thumb pulse heart rate monitor, calories, time, speed and distance. Two audio speakers come at the handle above making plugging in to audio as easy as pie as well. An adjustable speed from 1-6 MPH gives a completely aerobic possibility and a leg trainer's delight. The emclosed motor comes with a 5 year warrranty and the unit itself with a ten year warranty.

Stuedy, compactible, simple in design but worthwhile in concept, this is a major breakthrough in space-saving technology for the ever-popular and growing field of treadmill training.

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Ab Rocket Abdominal Trainer is labeled as an Ab-specific training apparatus but it is actually far more. Naturally, it was initially developed for ab training and development but recent innovations in the design now allow for a far more total full body workout. It comes with a training regimen and suggestions for implementing a program at your own speed, and the instructions are perfectly conceived.

While the nature of the abdominal muscles seem any more to revolve around appearance and a fixation on tummy issues, the fact is that a strong set of abs is the most enabling and helpful part of the anatomy in its very central role in lifting, squatting and even climbing. What this system offers is even more than this fundamental focus. It is possible with this most interesting workout system to develop strength and muscle tone thoughout the entire body. Legs, tummy, arms, neck - even the sides get enormous focus from a most useful and interesting training tool.

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Ripcords Exercise Bands are stark in their simplicity but amazingly effective when the rubber meets the road - when the workoput commences. Coupled with some great instructions on how to go about this toning operation, these bands act in ones or even twos to require as diligent and as thorough a workout as one could possibly want.

As opposed to working with weights and machines, these bands actually engage to work the whole muscles, including stabilizers, giving a far more thorough result. Resistence training with bands and tubes have long been a staple workout mechanism of all physiotherapists for long years, in dealing with torn rotator cuffs, bad knees and general rehabilitations. Ripchords use the same tension training principles but takes them to another level by supplying a fast and effective total body workout. Obviously, these otems are as portable as they can be and can extend the gym to just about any location - a true plus. Add that the 7 Minute Workout instructions incouded in the set are one of the best and even aerobic workouts there are.

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Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar proves the adage that the best things often come in small packages. Versatile in an unimaginable sense, this little unit provides pretty much every muscle group in th human body a platform from which to tone and strengthen itself. It truly is a gym on a stick, in many ways. Work your chest, arms, shoulders, abs, back, legs and more doing chin ups, sit ups, pull ups and countless exercises in new and not so new ways.

The metal bar fits between any doors 24" - 32" wide without damaging the doorway, and is releasable immediately. Pull ups and chin ups become the order of the day before dismantling and applying the bar and its straps to other exercises. It supports up to 300 pounds as well.

This is a terrificly-engineered American product. Versatile to the max and a definite training aid of the first order, it proves one does not need a $100 a month spa membership nor does he need some humongous and expensive workout exercise machine to achieve the goals of tone and strength.

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Stamina Manual Treadmill is a very quiet, self-powered treadmill that lets you set your own workout pace by virtue of your own hard work. It is a 42-inch-long walking/running deck which easily accommodates both long and short strides. A multi-function, battery-operated monitor tracks the distance, time, speed, and calories burned while operationing. This unit has a heavy-duty steel frame; 2 incline positions (8 and 10 degrees); folds for storage, and measures 46.5 x 43.5 x 26 inches.  It carries a 1-year warranty on the frame itself.

What it really does, aside from being extremely storable, is be extremely quiet during a workout. The self-driven pacing indicates any workout will be resulting from the power of the one actually doing the work. Other details include a textured, non-slip walking/running surface; foam-padded front and side rails; a heavy-duty steel frame; a pair of incline positions (8 and 10 degrees); skid-resistant rubber floor protectors to maximize stability; and a weight capacity of 250 pounds. It does not require an electrical outlet, so you can put it just about anywhere.

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Timex T5G941 Heart Rate Monitor Watch provides a comfortable and - more importantly - very reliable assessment of heart rate for every purpose. Connected with information sensed from a comfortably-fitting adjustable elastic strap unobtrusively situated around the chest, the readout mechanism - the watch - is available in large print LCD readout, with INDIGLO backing for night lighting. Information included in the readouts are heart rate, activity time and duration, peak, minimum heart rate and it includes a 12/24 month/date and time display.

From Timex, this little watch is an inexpensive method of tracking your health and vital signs with ease. Inasmuch as so many currently available heart monitors - especially at gyms and spas - have a cumbersome feature requiring interrupting a workout to check vital soigns, a glance down at this watch's large LCD information can keep one in tune and up to date with his very latest reads.

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Slendertone Women's Flex Abdominal Toning System Belt exercises, tightens and tones abdominal muscles like few other implements for ab training. 3 AAA bateries (included) actually activate signals which reach out to nerves to relax and strengthen the impact of workouts relating to abs in general. A site-specific entity, restricted to abdominal work primarily, this FDA-Approved mechanism is a truly focused and effective way of working out that region of the body and reaching a point of beauty and of tone. The fact is, it actually does work to simply strengthen abdominal muscles in a way few other things can in the time frame. Used regularly in 30 minute workouts, results are guaranteed within 6-8 weeks of starting the regime. Actually, according to the testimonials, many people find results far earlier. This is a simply stunning piece of body region-specific raining technolgy whose results are totally convincing.

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Total Gym 1700 Club is a compact edition of what is, in essence, an entire gym. An ergonomic sliding platform, the "glide board", allows a person to tone and sculpt every major muscle group in the human body. A few very handy and easily adapted attachments can bring one from lower body work to upper strengthening exercises - including weights - in seconds. A Pilates Bar helps improve range of motion and balance. Dip Bars and the Pilates bar add versatility and allow more effective focus on very specific body regions as workout aims. An additional 75 pounds of weights can be purchased separately to augment what the unit offers in general for pure weight training for any part of the body.

For many people who are not among the steroid-laden classes of weight lifters and body builders, this gym is a dream come true. Small in size yet utterly effective and extremely durable and well-built, the fascinating compactness of the design allows for the most rigorous workouts for the ultimate result: great good health.

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Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer reveals just how far modern pedometers have come. Far from needing strapping to a leg, this unit can be attached to a belt or even even just put inside a purse or a pocket to reveal to the user how many steps he takes over a period of time. It measures, among other things, steps, aerobic steps, minutes, calories and distance on one hand - of an individual workout - and seperately meaures the number of aerobic steps when they amount to over 10 minutes. A 7 day history allows one to down load the data onto accompnaying software or to even make a spreadhseet listing the data involved. The unit, which also has a clock, shuts down at the end of every day automatically, so the data involved will always be automatically fresh.

It passes the acid tests of practical measurments given by users and is remarkably - of not totally - accurate as to the rate and number of steps taken daily. The software is easily adapted and accessible and can reveal much about the normal day suppositions versus the reality of how far, how long and how aerobic we actually do walk.

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GoFit 10-Pound Kettlebell is perfect for working out with weighted bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder raises, and a host of other exercises without having to dedicate an hour-and-a-half to a routine. The Kettlebell can be manuevered from hand to hand easily with its oversized handle and easily-manuevered shape. Like many exercise regimens and workout aids, this one caught some international popularity. Featured on E! News and CNBC's The Big Idea with Danny Deutsch, Kettlebells are all the rage among celebrities, with such fans as Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz, Lance Armstrong, Mariska Hargitay, Sylvester Stallone, Claire Danes, Kim Cattrall, and Matthew McConaughey.

Kettlebells come in several weights and colors. GoFit recommends that fit females begin with 15- to 20-pound Kettlebells and fit males with 25- to 35-pound Kettlebells. Women who are just getting started with an exercise program should begin with 10 pounds, while beginning men should start at 15 to 20 pounds. Easy to store and fabulously concentrated into a small package, this remarkable workout aid is a real plus for anyone.

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Bowflex PR1000 Home Gym is the best available  way to strengthen muscles and add cardio training to the homw workout mix. This versatile machine comes with with over 30 strength exercises and a built-in rowing station. It also has up to 210 pounds of Power Rod resistance, making a complete workout for the abs, arms, chest, back, shoulders, and lower body. It includes triple-function hand grips for lat pull-down, a horizontal bench press, and four-inch upholstered roller cushions for leg extension and leg curl exercises.

The rowing machine rail folds up when ythe workout is done, providing yet more versatility in workout choices. This machine uses the noivel approach of an alternate to free weioghts in power lifting, relying on resistance - much the same as real weight - which feels as good as or better than free weights, but allow a safer condition, without the inertia or risk of joint pain often associated with free weights. Hook one, two, three, four or all of your Power Rod units to the cable pulley system and go from as little as 5 pounds all the way up to 210 pounds of resistance.

The power rods and the entire machine itself are very precisely manufactured from a high-tech composite material under the highest quality control measures, then sheathed and tested 4 separate times to ensure quality and durability. Warranties for the Bowflex PR 1000 are as follows: Frame - one year; Rods - five years; Parts - 60 days. This is yet another generation of the famous Bowflex discovery, a great live of remarkable and total home gym technologies.

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