Category: Stamina

Swimsuit season will be here again before you know it. Are you ready? If you’re like most Americans and have spent the winter months indoors and inactive, probably not. You’ve likely put on a few extra pounds in all the wrong places.

Wondering how to get them off before you have to make that first appearance at the pool? Most doctors would offer this advice: combine a reduced-calorie diet with increased physical activity.

You can start by eliminating all those comfort foods you’ve been enjoying during the long, winter months. Instead, choose healthier dishes like broiled fish, grilled chicken, salads and fruit for dessert.

Improving your diet is only half the equation. You also need to get up off the couch. Most adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity per day, but according to “The Surgeon General’s Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity” fewer than one in three U.S. adults gets the recommended amount of physical activity.

“Nothing else you can do for yourself has more benefit than getting up and getting moving,” says certified trainer Chad Baldwin of Snap Fitness, a fast-growing franchisor of compact, state-of-the-art 24/7 fitness centers in Canada and the United States. “Not only does exercise make you feel better, it has a lot of health benefits.”

In addition to helping to control weight, physical activity decreases your risk of dying of coronary heart disease and also reduces your risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, and colon cancer. Baldwin points out exercise does not have to be strenuous to be beneficial. “Some studies show that short sessions of exercise several times a day are just as effective at burning calories and improving health as one long session,” he says.

If your company has a gym, use it during your lunch break. If not, join one that is close to work and home so you’re more likely to use it. Many reputable chains will have locations sprinkled throughout the community, and most have expanded their hours in response to members’ demands.

If the public gym scene is not for you there are plenty of other ways to get in shape. Start a walking program. Buy a jump rope - what used to be so easy when you were a kid may surprise you. Consider buying a piece of home exercise equipment. The most popular machines are treadmills, elliptical trainers, and strength training home gyms like you see in those Bowflex ads.

The gem of home fitness equipment is the rowing machine. You work every major muscle group including legs, arms, back, abdominals and buttocks at every session, and you burn calories too. The benefits of a rowing machine are many. One is that you do not need a separate room or even a corner of one to store it. You can compare rowing machines for features. One that stands out for the newbie is the Stamina 1205 rowing machine which is a compact rowing machine for less than $200.

Maybe you want to lose 10 pounds by September, or fit into a smaller dress size in time for a friend’s summer wedding. No matter what type of plan you have created for yourself, the only way you’re going to see results is if you stay consistent. Make the effort to exercise every day.

Rowing machines come in four models: water, hydraulic, fan, and magnetic resistance. With the water model the workout is generated by a flywheel overcoming the effect of drag in a water tank. Hydraulic rowers, which include most home rowing machines, consist of shock absorbers attached to handles that you pull like oars. Both types generally include a sliding seat on a track that the exerciser can pull and push himself on. Both types offer similar benefits although the water rowers are very good at emulating rowing a boat through water. Read more about the benefits of rowing machines…

One of the fastest growing sports around is indoor rowing. Whether its for competitive reasons or fitness reasons or both, the advantages of indoor rowing are clear. You are indoors. You probably haven’t had to travel more than a few yards from one room of your house to another. Its convenient, location wise and you can make it fit your lifestyle. It is a simple thing to schedule an impromptu 30-minute session on your rowing machine. The alternatives to home indoor rowing are obviously outdoor rowing and a trip down to the local gym. The saving in time and effort owning your own machine is clear. If you are lucky enough to have the space in your dwelling for a rowing machine, then take the opportunity to exercise whenever you like.

Stamina Body Trac Glider 1050 Rowing Machine
List Price: $199.00
Buy New: $114.00
You Save: $85.00 (43%)

If you have limited workout space, the Stamina Body Trac Glider 1050 is a great fit for your home workouts with a footprint of 23.5 x 46 inches. With its steel frame and aluminum center beam, the Body Trac is designed to withstand years of use while giving you a stable, comfortable workout. The ball bearing roller system and adjustable hydraulic cylinder resistance arms mimic the smooth motion of rowing on the water. The multifunctional fitness monitor shows speed, distance, time, stroke count, and calories burned during your workout, and keeps you motivated and on track to reach your fitness goals.

Features and Specifications

* Unique, full range of motion rowing
* Gas shock resistance
* Multi-function electronic monitor
* Easy assembly
* Folds for storage
* Sturdy, steel frame construction
* Manual resistance control (knob)
* Maximum user weight: 250 pounds
* Dimensions: 23.5 x 46 inches

Rowing is widely known to be one of the best all around activities for cardiovascular fitness and strength. Rowing is a total body workout that is efficient, effective, low-impact and utilizes all major muscle groups including the back, legs, arms, abdominals and buttocks. It is one of the best exercises for building a strong back, as well as one of the most effective low-impact aerobic exercises for increasing your metabolism for more efficient calorie and fat burning without the impact on your joints.

The ideal location for your rowing machine is a room with plenty of ventilation, so you can get the big lungfuls of oxygen for the final push at the end of your rowing session. Also, a room that doubles as a home gym will need plenty of airing, especially after you have had a vigorous workout. An ideal room to house a rowing machine is an attic room with velux windows. Its out of the way, so the machine doesn’t impact on everyday life. Most machines are self-assembly so you can take it up there and assemble on site as it where. The machine is then out of way and you can enjoy your indoor row without distraction or interference from others.

Once, you have your machine assembled and in place you can then add some rowing accessories. Most people like to listen to music or watch TV while exercising, so get a media system and your ready to go. This is something else that outdoor rowing cant offer. Its questionable whether listening to music or watching TV does help, but at least its possible with an indoor rower. There are many rowing accessories you could purchase, but wait until you have started in earnest before buying every little gadget and fashionable item.

Rowing is a great way to work out the stresses of the day and get the great cardiovascular workout for both the upper and lower body - rowing is one of the best forms of exercise for this. All the major muscle groups get a good workout. It is important to have a correct technique though and it may help to pay a visit to the local gym to get some good advice on the correct technique and useful programmes to follow.

It you find indoor rowing is missing something, then you good look to enter some competitive events, to give your training more of an edge. Competitive indoor rowing a fast growing sport, so do some research and you may find some venues near your home.

Ian Wide contributes to many sport and leisure sites such as home fitness equipment and rowing machines.

Science Daily — Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have found an easier way of getting off those extra kilos you may have gained over the holiday season.

The team has trialled a different way of exercising, which burns more fat than regular continuous exercise.

“The group which did around eight seconds of sprinting on a bike, followed by 12 seconds of exercising lightly for twenty minutes, lost three times as much fat as other women, who exercised at a continuous, regular pace for 40 minutes,” said the team leader, Associate Professor Steve Boutcher, Head of the Health and Exercise Science program, in the School of Medical Sciences at UNSW.

The study involved a group of 45 overweight women who cycled three times a week over a 15-week period. Professor Boutcher said this would be applicable to other types of exercise such as swimming, walking, and rowing. The results have been presented at recent meetings of the Heart Foundation and American College of Sports Medicine.

Stamina 1205 Precision Rower
List Price: $250.00
Buy New: $179.00
You Save: $71.00 (28%)

Rowing is widely known to be one of the best all around fitness activities. With the Stamina 1205 Precision Rower, you’ll use all major muscle groups including legs, arms, back, abdominals, and buttocks. Rowing provides aerobic conditioning as well as strength training, which makes rowing a very time efficient exercise. This dual-purpose workout is a great calorie burner as well. Because rowing is an impact-free activity, it can be a lifelong form of exercise. Not only that, but rowing is also one of the few exercises that can strengthen the back. The 1205 rower features a precision-extruded aluminum beam, a smooth hydraulic cylinder action, and a deluxe ball-bearing roller system. The thick-padded seat and pivoting foot plates assure your comfort. Completing the picture is the adjustable tension controls and the single button multi-function monitor.

“We think the reason that it works is because it produces a unique metabolic response,” said Professor Boutcher. “Intermittent sprinting produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, which allow more fat to be burned from under the skin and within the exercising muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation drives the greater weight loss.”

The women lost most weight off the legs and buttocks.

“This maybe unique to this type of exercise,” said Professor Boutcher. “We know it is very difficult to ‘spot reduce’ troublesome fat areas. When you do regular exercise, you tend to lose fat everywhere and you tend to look emaciated. Our results are unusual but were consistent across the women who performed the sprinting exercise.”

“Overall, any type of exercise is good. You just have to work out your objectives, whether it is to increase muscle, lose fat, or enhance other aspects of your life such as improving the quality of your sleep,” said Professor Boutcher.

And there is a positive message for some people who are overweight.

“A lot of people are fat despite having a good diet and a high level of physical activity,” he said. “But being ‘fat and fit’ is much healthier than being lean and unfit. Those overweight people who don’t have excessive fat around their abdomen and don’t have low grade inflammation typically stay healthy and don’t become diabetics.

“The message that fat is awful is an exaggerated one,” he said.

Dr Gail Trapp was the Chief Investigator on the research.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of New South Wales.

Tags: Rowing, Stamina 1205 Precision Rower