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Archive for the ‘Tools’ Category

Shopping for a treadmill? Things to think about

07 Jul

By Rajesh Karavadia

Getting enough daily exercise helps in maintaining a physically fit body. You can do your exercise workouts in your own home or in fitness gyms. If you’re getting tired of you’re old routine exercises, one great alternative to do is complicated running or walking exercises using a treadmill.

Treadmills can be quite expensive, true, but this is usually the case when you buy treadmills with luxurious features. There are also cheap treadmills that you can purchase if you’re on a tight budget. Treadmills are becoming more and more popular for many years now. The treadmill is a well-known effective device that burns calories.

Choosing the ‘best’ treadmill, if there really is one, can be a very challenging task. Different treadmills have different interactions with a person’s body. And there are many treadmill models out in the market.

Before shopping for a treadmill, it would be better if you get to use different models of treadmills. And a good place to start is the gym, or you can also try your friend’s treadmill. Getting a hands-on experience with two or more treadmill models will help you in assessing which treadmill model will work for you best. Take note of the one that you’re comfortable with, and one that is easy for your use.

Another important thing to do is to ask for opinions from people having treadmills of their own. A very good example is a fitness gym owner. You can also ask gym instructors, a friend or a colleague, and even family members that have experienced using treadmills.

Once you’ve decided to purchase, list down first the treadmill features that you like. Some treadmill features may include heart-rate monitors, displays that show the amount of burnt calories, step counters, and the treadmill’s ability to change the incline or speed.

Usually, features determine the price. The more luxurious the features are, the more expensive it is. But if you’re just a starter, you can go for basic models of treadmill which are more affordable.

Another important consideration is the noise. If you don’t want to be bothered with the noise coming from treadmills, check for the treadmill’s noise level. Cheaper treadmills have very loud motors. But the noise can be resolved easily if you put the treadmill near the television set. If you’re not doing anything, watch a TV show while exercising or you can listen to the radio. This can also kill the boredom when you’re doing your exercises. Using treadmill exercise videos will also take your attention away from the treadmill’s noise, and you get to perform your exercise the right way.

Choose a treadmill with a long-term performance and one that is easily maintained. There are services which offer consumer assistance and it is wise if you take part in these services and use it to your advantage. Treadmills with a long-term performance level go a long way and a good investment as well. Maintenance of the treadmill is equally important. Over time, some parts of the treadmill will wear out and will need to be replaced. Make sure that the treadmill’s parts are available at least within your locality.

Compatibility with the treadmill is the biggest consideration when buying the best treadmill of your choice. If you enjoy doing your daily exercise with your treadmill, then you have found the best treadmill that you’ve been looking for.

Rajesh Karavadia is the author of http://www.bargaintreadmillsguide.com, an informative website about treadmills. Different types of readmills are discussed including information on proform 525 ex treadmill and trotter treadmills. (Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rajesh_Karavadia)

 
 

Free Fitness Tracker: My Fitness Pal

10 Jun

I’ve always been a huge fan of free stuff, so I wanted to share with you guys a new free site. It’s called My Fitness Pal, and it’s a combination free calorie counter, fitness tracker, forum and food diary (I’ve got some screenshots below). It’s got some pretty great features:

  • Calorie Tracker
  • Calorie Counter
  • Fitness Tracker
  • Charts and Reports that cover Weight Loss, Calorie Intake and Exercise.
  • Great Support Forums
  • Fast-Loading
  • Easy To Use

Screenshots (click for large view):

My Fitness Pal — Home Page mfp_profile.gif mfp_goals.gif mfp_fooddiary.gif

Really the only thing that I saw that could be improved a bit were the reports. They are mostly good for looking at a large amount of weight loss long-term, in the short term it can’t really display much change. The problem is that it divides into 80-pound increments — which is great because it loads quickly, but bad because it’s not detailed enough. This is my report for the past week.

mfp_report.gif

As you can see, there was a big spike when I joined (my start weight), but you really can’t tell how much I weigh by this graph. I would guess 310 pounds if I had to go by the graph, when really I’m about 15 less than that. The good thing about the reports is that you can see large changes in your weight over time, and you can insert older weigh-ins into the report to see changes in weight over an even larger area.

Honestly the whole site exceeded my expectations, and unlike most sites they only have one text-based ad on every page, not a ton of big flashing ads like most free sites. My Fitness Pal is similar to SparkPeople, but it’s a bit less-complicated and loads a lot faster. It’s also newer, has fewer people and it’s easier to develop a friendly acquaintance with people there. SP is really large, so it’s a bit harder to make friends there. With MFP, it’s not required that you participate in the forums (you can stay very anonymous if you want), but the people there are incredibly friendly and helpful.

Pros: Great for calorie counting, fitness and weight tracking, and for people who want a Support System.
Cons: Weight reports aren’t as in-depth as some sites.

Total Rating: 5 out of 5

MFP’s tools also work well with people of both sexes, and everything is presented in a way that makes it clear that the site really is for everyone who needs to lose weight. I absolutely adore sites that are for everyone, and it’s no coincidence that sites that are inclusive of everyone tend to have better tools and articles.  :D

 

The Lose Weight Diet

05 Jun

The Lose Weight Diet

Honestly, any diet that starts out as a joke is probably going to get a good review from me :D

The Lose Weight Diet is a very simplified version of every fad diet you’ve ever seen in your life. It’s so simple that it divvies everything up into three phases:

The fundamentals of weight loss are easy, and the lose weight diet spells out how to lose weight effectively. The blog section is definitely worth a look, and includes really funny posts on weight loss like “Calorie Counting is just like WW points — ONLY FREE!”

Final thoughts:

Pros: Free, informative, easy-to-read format, great for beginners
Cons: Not a lot of specific information on exercise, doesn’t have calorie lists
Rating: 4.5 out of 5