Site Navigation

• Home
• Sitemap
• Healthy Sites
• Privacy Policy

Exercise Equipment

• Home
• Clothing, Shoes & Accessories
• Shoes
•   Women

Exercise Equipment Deals

Exercise Equipment Tips

The more you want to use it, the more we would recommend that you go for high quality treadmills.

When you understand the basics of a quality treadmill, then it will be easy to find one that is perfect for your home and budget.

Long or short workouts determine the quality of motor you need for your treadmill.

I usually end my treadmill routine with about 15 minutes of quality stretching.

Researches have shown, that during exercising most people forget to breath deeply or they are unable to integrate their breathing pattern with the exercises causing them muscle pain and fatigue after the workout.

Reader Success Story: How Steve Became an Exerciser
Going from couch potato to exerciser isn't always the smoothest transition, but that journey usually starts with a moment of stunning clarity. Not to get all psychological, but there's often a moment when you realize - "Man, I am in sad, sad shape." It may be because you see a picture of yourself or you try on a pair of pants that used to fit or your doctor raises an eyebrow after you get on the scale.

In Steve's case, his moment came when he realized he'd gained so much weight, he couldn't even get his socks on. Steve had a pretty good reason for getting so out of shape. With a sick wife to take care of every day, he barely had time for himself, but he realized he would have to make time if he wanted to have enough energy and strength to take care of her.

Steve started right here at About.com using the beginner workouts and now, two years later, he's lost 35 lbs. As he says, "It is never too late to start to exercise," and he's proof of that, having turned his life around at 62.

Read more of Steve's story and share your own story if you've got one. Thanks, Steve, for sharing your story and proving that anyone can turn things around, no matter what their circumstances. Great inspiration!

Reader Success Story: How Steve Became an Exerciser originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 05:00:30.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Fit Fact: Women Have a Different Heart Rate Response to Exercise
It's taken the medical and fitness world some time to figure out that women aren't just small men (and if they'd just read "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus," they would've known that) but they are getting there. We know that women's bodies work differently from men's - woman have different heart attack symptoms, they tend to lose weight differently and they also have a different response to exercise.

In a recent study experts decided to ask an important question - are the heart rate formulas we use, largely based on men, accurate for women?

The answer: Not really. After some study, they realized that the traditional formula used to calculate maximum heart rate, (220-age or the updated version, 206.9 - (0.67 x age)) actually overestimated maximum heart rate for women.

With this information, experts have come up with a new formula to calculate maximum heart rate for women. 206 - (.88 x age) = MHR

Now, the experts in this study were actually more interested in finding an accurate peak heart rate for women in order to predict future health and to make sure women recovering from heart problems were given the right exercise intensity to recuperate. If the numbers were too high (as the experts suggest in this study), they might be doing women more harm than good by trying to make them work too hard.

Now, I've always promised there would be no math on this blog, but I lied, so bear with me. Let's take a look at how target heart rate zones would be different using the new max heart rate formula along with the karvonen formula. Say you're a 49 year old woman with a resting heart rate (RHR) of 65:

Old Formula

206.9 - (0.67 x 49) = 174
174 - 65 (RHR) = 109
109 * 65% (low end of heart rate zone) OR 85% (high end) = 71 (65%) or 93 (85%)
71 + 65 (RHR) = 136
93 + 65 (RHR) = 158
The target heart rate zone for this person would be 136-158 beats per minute.

New Formula

206 - (.88 x 49) = 163
163 - 65 (RHR) = 98
98 * 65% (low end of heart rate zone) OR 85% (high end) = 64 (65%) or 83 (85%)
64 + 65 (RHR) = 129
83 + 65 (RHR) = 148
The target heart rate zone for this person would be 129-148 beats per minute.

You can see how different these numbers are and this suggests that some women may be struggling to get to a certain intensity, not because they're not in shape, but because their max heart rate has been overestimated.

So, what about you? How does this formula change your numbers and do you think it's more accurate? How heavily do you rely on calculations like this anyway? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

_Source:

Vote in This Week's Poll: Are you healthier than your younger self?
The first time someone calls you old can be a traumatic experience. It happened to me when I was about 25 and a 7-year-old boy pointed to me and said, "Tell that old lady to throw that kickball over here." When I asked him how old he thought I was, he shrugged and said, "I don't know, like, 50?" I admit, I considered telling him what he could do with that kickball, but, as an 'elderly' woman, realized I should set a better example than that.

Getting older isn't always a bowl of cherries, but exercise is one thing that can actually slow the aging process. I have a number of friends and clients who feel healthier and fitter than they ever did in their 20s - not that hard to do since, in my 20s, a balanced meal meant putting lettuce on my cheeseburger and drinking wheat beer to get in my required servings of whole grains.

What about you? How do you compare to your younger self? Are you healthier and fitter now or have you gained weight with age? Vote in this week's poll and tell us about your experiences with getting older.

Vote in This Week's Poll: Are you healthier than your younger self? originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 05:00:00.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Copyright © 2010 Home Gym & Exercise Equipment