Have you been thinking about asking a friend or family member to join you in your workout?  While there are many benefits associated with having a workout partner, there are some potential downsides to working out with someone else as well.  Therefore, it is a good idea for you to explore both the pros and cons of working out with a buddy before you invite someone to joint you on your workout.

The Benefits of Having a Workout Buddy

There are certainly many benefits associated with having a workout buddy, with one of the greatest benefits being the fact that he or she can help motivate you to keep working out.  After all, its hard to make excuses when someone is there pushing you along the way – and canceling your routine is far more difficult when you have to face someone else.

In addition to having someone to help keep you on track, having a partner can also help keep you safer.  Let’s face it – it can be easy to accidentally overdue it and injure yourself when working out. With someone else there to serve as your spotter and to help make certain you are maintaining the proper form, you can feel a little safer.

Of course, another benefit to having a workout buddy is that you can challenge each other to take it to the next level.  Everyone has at least a little competitive spirit and having a workout partner can help get your competitiveness really going strong.

Downsides to Having a Workout Buddy

Although there are many benefits to having a workout buddy, there are some downsides as well.  For example, if you workout buddy is not dependable, you may not reap all of the benefits associated with having a partner.  If a workout partner is not dependable, this is often because he or she simply doesn’t have the same fitness goals as you.  Having different fitness goals can be a challenge as the length and type of workout you wish to pursue may be different from your workout out buddy’s plans.

For some people, having a workout buddy can also be a distraction that stops them from achieving their workout goals.  If you spend your time chit-chatting with your buddy, for example, you may not push yourself as you really need to push yourself.  Along the same line, some people prefer to enjoy “alone time” as they workout or they prefer to create their own schedule without concern for someone else’s schedule. Therefore, it is important to know yourself and your needs so you can make the decision that is right for you.
 

Have you been thinking about adding wrist and ankle weights to your workout routine? While there are some potential benefits associated with using wrist and ankle weights, you should take some time to do a bit of research before you decide when and how you are going to include them in your routine. Believe it or not, if used inappropriately, wrist weights and ankle weights can actually detract from your workout, so it is important to know when you should and should not make them part of your routine.

Getting a Good Cardio Workout

You might think that adding wrist and ankle weights to your cardio routine is a good idea, but it generally is not. This is because adding the weights to your wrist and / or your ankles will actually slow you down. As a result, you won’t be able to reach the heart rate you need to burn fat and to improve your cardiovascular health.

Planning an Effective Strength Training Routine

Ankle weights and wrist weights are not an effective tool for strength training either. This is because you need to work your muscles out to the point of fatigue within 8 to 12 reps in order to get an effective workout. Since ankle weights and wrist weights are lightweight when compared to your typical strength training weights, they will not effectively fatigue your muscles so they can grow and become stronger.

This is not to say that ankle weights and wrist weights cannot be beneficial. If you are doing leg lifts, for example, ankle weights can provide you with a bit more resistance beyond your own body weight. Wrist weights may also be a good addition when performing calisthenics, as it can give you a little more weight on your arms as you warm your body up for your regular routine. Nonetheless, unless you have a special situation that warrants the use of arm and / or ankle weights, you most likely don’t need to use them as a part of your core workout routine.

Choosing the Right Water Bottle

Undoubtedly, you already understand the importance of staying well hydrated throughout your workout.  By drinking plenty of water as you workout, you help your body work more effectively at building muscle, burning fat and otherwise getting healthier from your workout.  Yet, you may not realize that the bottle you use to hold your water may have a long term effect on your health.  In fact, there has a been a great deal of controversy surrounding the possible dangers associated with plastic water bottles.  But, what exactly is this controversy all about and is this something that you need to be concerned about?

Understanding BPA

The biggest reason for the controversy surrounding plastic water bottles is the use of Biphenol A, or BPA, that is used when making some types of water bottles.  Researchers have linked this chemical to reproductive issues, cancer and endocrine damage in laboratory studies with animals. Yet, there is little research available regarding the effects of this chemical on humans.  Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to look into BPA and to take steps to avoid exposure to the chemical if at all possible.

Exploring Water Bottles

For the most part, you shouldn’t have to worry about being exposed to BPA when you purchase bottled water, as most water bottles do not contain the chemical.  At the same time, most experts recommend using the bottles only once in order to avoid the potential of being exposed to BPA.

Nalgene bottles currently do contain BPA, though they are taking steps to phase out the use of BPA in these bottles.  While these bottles are still considered to be safe to use, it is a good idea to stick with the BPA-free bottles in order to avoid the possibility of being exposed to the chemical.

If you prefer to fill your own bottle with water, your bottle of choice may be the soft plastic bottles that you squeeze in order to release the water.  Although these bottles do not contain BPA, they should be washed on a regular basis in order to avoid facing other health concerns.  The same is true of stainless steel bottles, which last longer than soft plastic bottles and can be safely washed in the dishwasher.

With the weather getting warmer, you may find yourself leaving the treadmill behind on occasion in favor of running outdoors.  Not only does running outdoors allow you to take in different sites and sounds than those you see while running indoors on a treadmill, it also makes it possible for you face different challenges such as running up and down hills.  Although treadmills offer incline options and some even offer decline options, many serious runners find it beneficial to still head outdoors on occasion in order to work their muscles in different ways.  If you are heading outdoors for your run, however, it is important for you to understand how to effectively run up a hill.  This way, you can avoid injury while also getting the best workout possible.

Why Leaning is a No-No

The biggest problem that many runners face when tackling a hill is the tendency to lean into the hill.  The reality is that leaning into the hill is a not a good way to get an effective workout.  While leaning does force your muscles to work harder, this doesn’t equate to a better workout.  Rather, it simply causes them to wear out more quickly, which can slow you down for the rest of your run.  In addition, leaning causes excess stress to be placed on your lower back, which can result in injury.  Finally, leaning while running uphill forces you to take shorter strides, which actually weakens your ankle’s natural flexion action.  So, in the long run, you are actually doing your muscles more harm than good.

Achieving the Proper Posture

To effectively run uphill, you should make a conscious effort to keep your posture perpendicular to your horizon.  You can keep your body perpendicular by keeping your head straight up and running tall.  This will take stress off of your back so you don’t experience lower back pain and other problems that will impede your progress rather than helping you take your running to the next level.
 

Are you in the market for a new treadmill?  If so, you may feel a bit overwhelmed by all of the options that are available for you to buy.  One of the first decisions you will need to make is whether you want to purchase a treadmill that is intended for home use or one that is meant to be used at fitness clubs.  While it may seem like a home treadmill is all that you need, you may be better off with a club treadmill instead.  Therefore, it is important for you to explore the pros and cons of each before making your purchase.

Considering Costs

One of the biggest reasons you may want to consider purchasing a home treadmill rather than a club treadmill is the fact that they are generally far less costly.  In fact, the difference in cost between a home treadmill and a club treadmill can literally be thousands of dollars when comparing low-end home treadmills to high-end club treadmills.  Therefore, if your budget is limited, you may need to stick with a home treadmill rather than a club treadmill.

Thinking About Use

If your budget is limited, but you plan on getting a great deal of use out of your treadmill, you may want to wait until you can save up more money before you make a purchase.  If several people in your household will be using the treadmill or if it will otherwise see several hours of use per week, a club treadmill will be your better option.  Otherwise, you will wear out your home treadmill rather quickly.  Remember, a club treadmill is designed to withstand continual use.  Therefore, if you are serious about your routine and you know the treadmill will see a great deal of action, spending the extra money upfront will pay off in the long run.

Whether you purchase a home treadmill or a club treadmill, make certain the one you purchase is designed to support the type of workout you plan to get with the machine.  If you just want to walk an hour per day, your needs will be much different from someone who is training for a marathon.  So, if you are in the latter group, be sure to select a treadmill with a more power motor that can withstand the type of workout you plan to achieve.

While using home gym equipment such as treadmills, elliptical trainers and stationary bicycles is a great way to get an effective workout, you can further improve the effectiveness of your workout by incorporating a variety of different exercises into your routine.  As such, you might want to consider adding calisthenics to your workout plans.

With calisthenics, you utilize your own body weight to provide you with the resistance you need to improve your flexibility and strength.  Even if you do not use calisthenics for your entire workout, these exercises are a great compliment to any workout and may be used to help you get your body warmed up or cooled down after your regular routine.

Here are a few examples of callisthenic exercises you may want to add to your workout routine:

· Arm rotations – make circular motions with your arms after extending them horizontally from your body.  Make these motions for about one minute and then rotate in the reverse direction for one minute as well.
· Crunches – while laying on your back, place your knees at a 90 degree angle and put your hands under your head.  Lift your body slightly by using your abdominal muscles only.
· Flutter kicks – while on your back, place your hands beneath your butt. Then, alternately raise one leg at a time 6 inches or more from the ground in a motion that is similar to swimming.
· Knee rotation – place your hands on your knees and slowly rotate your knees in one direction for about one minute before reversing and rotating for an additional minute.
· Hip rotation – place your hands on your hips and then slowly rotate your hips in a clockwise direction for about a minute before doing the motion again in the reverse direction.
· Jumping jack – while standing, place your hands at your sides.  Then, jump in the air while simultaneously clapping your hands above your head and spreading your legs.  Jump again and return to the standing position and repeat.
· Push up – lay on the ground on your stomach, then raise the front part of your body off the ground by placing your hands shoulder width apart and pushing yourself up.  Keep your back straight and avoid sticking your butt in the air as you raise and lower your body repeatedly.

By pairing these exercises with your regular cardio and weightlifting routine, you can effectively add lean muscle while burning fat and getting into great physical shape.

When it comes to getting in shape, one o the most difficult tasks is to keep yourself motivated.  In fact, the majority of people who give up on their routines do so because they simply can’t stay motivated.  To help yourself keep your head in the game so you can reach your fitness goals, you might want to try out these simple motivation techniques.

Keep Your Goals Realistic

The first step toward keeping yourself motivated is to simply set realistic goals.  Be honest with yourself about what you can accomplish.  If you only have 30 minutes of time available each night, then plan on setting aside that much time each evening for your routine.  Or, if mornings are better for you, set up a routine that fits into your morning schedule.  Similarly, be realistic when setting your fitness goals.  This way, you won’t be disappointed when you don’t see the pounds falling off quickly.

Choose the Right Routine

To stave off boredom, it is also important for you to select exercises that you will not become bored with quickly.  Try choosing more than one activity so you can rotate them from day to day.  Not only will this help keep you from getting bored by your routine, it will also help you with exercising a variety of different muscle groups so you can get a more well-rounded workout.

Maintain a Journal

Maintaining a journal of your workout progress can go a long way toward helping you stay motivated.  Since progress can be somewhat slow, it is easy to forget where your fitness level was before you got started with your workout.  By maintaining a journal, however, you can easily look back at your progress and see just how far you have come.

Participate in Special Events

You can help keep your routine exciting by signing up for special events such as walk-a-thons and races for charitable events.  Not only will you feel good about helping others, you will also keep yourself fit in a fun way that allows you to bond with others.

Give Yourself Rewards

All of your hard work deserves a reward, so be certain to reward yourself for a job well done.  Every couple of weeks or so, buy yourself something special as a reward for remaining dedicated to your routine.

So, you are ready to start getting a great workout on the new treadmill you have just purchased, but you aren’t quite sure what to do with your arms, huh?  If you are like many people, you will put your hands on the arm rests of your treadmill because it will give you a feeling of security and balance.  Or, you may simply place your arms on the rest because you aren’t certain what else you should do with your arms.  Regardless of your reasoning, failure to use your arms properly while working out on your treadmill will detract from the effectiveness of your workout.  Therefore, it is important for you to follow a few simple guidelines when trying to determine what to do with your limbs.

Keeping it Natural

The most important thing to keep in mind when trying to decide what to do with your arms is that you should try to keep your stride as natural as possible.  Think about it – when you take a walk down the street, you do not place your arms on arm rests that float magically by your side.  Rather, your arms hang down at your side and swing back and forth with each step.  Therefore, your arms should be taking on the same motion when you walk or run on your treadmill.

To get the most effective work out possible, you should keep your arms close to your body as you walk or run on the treadmill.  You should also keep them bent at a 90 degree angle while keeping your shoulders relaxed.  Your arm movements should be kept relatively short and you should focus on moving them quickly, as this will also help you get your legs moving faster so you can burn more calories.

Why You Should Keep it Natural

There are many benefits to swinging your arms naturally as you walk or run on your treadmill.  Some of these include:

•  Helps build core muscles as you are forced to balance your body rather than lean on armrests
•  Burns more calories because you involve your whole body rather than just your legs
•  Reduces the chance of injury or strain because you are moving with a natural stride

If you feel uncertain about letting go of the armrests, try moving at a slower pace so you can let go.  Then, slowly increase your speed while keeping your arms free from the armrests by your side.

If you are looking for a quick and simple way to lose weight, you may be tempted to try out one of the “body wraps” that are offered by a number of companies.  Unfortunately, these companies make outrageous claims regarding what a body wrap can achieve for you, which may tempt you to try to take the easy way out to shed those extra pounds.

If you aren’t familiar with a body wrap, it is a service that is often provided by spas or other companies that provide cosmetic services.  First, measurements are take of various parts of your body.  Then, your body is covered with a special mixture that could be comprised of oil, mineral salt, mud or other natural ingredients.  Your body is then wrapped up with a cotton bandage that may or may not have been pre-soaked in an herbal solution.

After your body is wrapped, steps are taken to get your body sweating. This may involve having you lay down beneath a thermal blanket or you may actually engage in some light movement to get you sweating.  Either way, the goal is to help you get rid of excess water so you can lose inches from various parts of your body. By taking measurements after the process is over, you can easily see just how much water weight you have lost.

While a body wrap may effectively help you squeeze into that special dress for a night, it is not a long-term method for weight loss.  It does not burn calories or help your body get rid of fat, but it is possible to lose several inches for a short period of time and there is evidence that body wraps help to tighten the skin, eliminate toxins from the body and reduce the appearance of cellulite.  Nonetheless, if you are looking to lose weight, nothing is more effective than following a healthy diet and being sure to get plenty of exercise on a regular basis.  Here at At Home Fitness, we are pleased to be able to provide you with a variety of different types of health equipment to select from, including:

•  Treadmills
•  Ellipticals
•  Home Gyms
•  Free Weights
•  Kettle Bells
•  Rowing Machines
•  Exercise Bikes
•  Indoor Cycles
•  Vibration Plates
•  Stair Climbers

By offering a variety of home health equipment, we hope to help you lose real weight and keep it off for years to come!

If you are a woman who has recently started an exercise routine, you may be feeling a bit concerned about how your workout may affect the size of your breasts.  After all, while many women are interested in losing body fat and fat from other parts of their body, most do not want to lose size in their breasts.  It is because of this fear of breast size reduction that many women steer clear of weightlifting, as they think lifting weights will shrink their breasts and give them a more manly physique.  The reality is that weight lifting will not shrink your breasts and, in fact, can even help make them firmer and less saggy.

To better understand why weightlifting won’t have a negative effect on your breast size, it important to gain a better understanding of the tissues that make up the breasts.  Since the breasts are made of fatty tissue and not from muscle, weightlifting will not have an effect on your breast size. If you lose fat, however, your breast size may get smaller along with the rest of your body as it burns off fat.

Keep in mind that muscle is not the same as fat and you can’t turn one into the other. Rather, if you exercise regular, you will burn off fat and build muscle.  Similarly, if you quit working out, you will lose muscle and you may gain fat because you are no longer giving your body the workout that it needs.  So, if you already have a very small amount of body fat, working out may cause your breasts to shrink.  If you are not in this category, however, you may notice a difference in your cup size, but it will remain in proportion with the rest of your body as you shed away the fat.

The bottom line is that you should add weightlifting to your workout routine in order to get the best workout possible.  Not only will it help you with burning fat, it will also help make your body stronger and healthier.  In addition, the improved posture you gain and the increased strength you achieve of the muscles behind your breasts will make them appear larger, perkier and fuller.