Posts Tagged ‘Exercise Equipment’
Sibley Park can give you a WORKOUT
June 17, 2013
Sibley Park can give you a WORKOUT
Outdoor exercise equipment added
The Mankato Free Press
The Mankato Free Press
Mon Jun 17, 2013, 06:14 AM CDT
MANKATO — South-central Minnesotans can now get a daily full-body workout without joining a fitness center.
Outdoor exercise equipment has been installed and is available for use at Sibley Park.
“If you don’t have a gym membership, you can come here and work out in the summertime,” said Mankato Parks Supt. Mark McQuillan.
Equipment includes a cardio stepper, squat press, Tai-chi wheels, a chest backpress, an ab crunch and leg lift, and more. Located adjacent to the farm-themed playground near Mound Avenue, the Sibley HealthBeat exercise equipment will receive a formal dedication sometime in the next month.
The city’s first outdoor fitness system came to be following a $35,000 grant from the Mayo Clinic Health System, which owns and operates Mankato’s hospital. Dr. Greg Kutcher, regional president and CEO of MCHS, said the purpose of the new equipment is to shrink the number of hospital patients.
“By engaging in regular exercise, people can live healthier, feel better and help reduce the need to access health care services in the first place,” Kutcher said in a statement.
Assistant City Manager Tanya Ange said the equipment will provide all citizens with an opportunity to stay fit and said the addition to Sibley Park’s amenities fits with the prevention and wellness goals that are part of the city’s long-range comprehensive plan, known as Envision 2020.
On Thursday afternoon, the only workouts being conducted on the new equipment were by some kids who had spilled over from the playground and were using some of the contraptions as makeshift monkey-bars. But McQuillan is confident usage will grow as word gets out about the free workout stations.
In addition, some senior citizen groups are planning to bring members to the park with instructions on how each of the machines is used and the health benefits it provides, he said.
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The No-Equipment Cardio Workout
No gym in your hotel? Run get rained out? No problem! This workout makes squeezing in a cardio session easy to do anytime, anywhere with no equipment—indoors or out.
How it works: Up to four days a week, do 1 set of each exercise back to back, with little to no rest between moves. After you finish the entire circuit, rest 45 to 60 seconds, and then repeat the whole thing 2 more times (3 circuits total).
You’ll need: Nothing!
RELATED: Fry Fat with a Resistance Band
Progressive Calisthenics as a Substitute for Gym Equipment
No, this wasn’t a scene from a street performance. Mr. Kavadlo, 33, and his brother Danny, 38, were leading a workshop at Nimble Fitness in Greenwich Village for people eager to learn more about body-weight strength training, or progressive calisthenics.
Devotees of body weight strength work eschew traditional training that requires equipment like exercise machines or free weights.
“In conventional strength training there is an emphasis on doing exercises that isolate different body parts: bench press for pectoral muscles, curls for biceps and crunches for abs,” Al Kavadlo said. “In body weight strength training, the idea is to engage the whole body; progress is made by moving on to more difficult exercises, not by adding weight.”
Newbies are encouraged to start with basic moves like push-ups, pull-ups and free-standing squats. As their strength and agility improve, they can move to more challenging versions of these classic, no-gym-required exercises.
“I like that you don’t have to be the biggest, strongest guy to learn how to do these moves,” said a workshop participant, Justin Termini, 33, a lanky librarian from Lawrence, Mass.
In recent years the Kavadlo brothers have been making names for themselves in the world of progressive calisthenics: not only do people come from all over to work out with them in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, but their YouTube tutorials have also garnered hundreds of thousands of views. This summer they will be leading Progressive Calisthenics Certification workshops for Dragon Door, the Minnesota-based fitness publishing company that helped popularize kettlebell workouts in the early 2000s.
Last year Al Kavadlo wrote “Raising the Bar: The Definitive Guide to Pull-Up Bar Calisthenics.”
“Amazingly, people wrote me and said, ‘Al, what if I don’t have a bar?,’ ” he said. He answered their query with his latest book, released in April, “Pushing the Limits! Total Body Strength With No Equipment.” (Dragon Door published both books.)
“With the new book, I wanted to take the minimalist theme a step further — what can you do with just the floor you’re standing on,” he said. The book focuses on squats, push-ups and inversions like back bridges and handstands.
During the workshop the brothers showed off their strength while demonstrating variations of the exercises featured in the latest book. They coached participants through attempts at a one-legged exercise called the pistol squat; the muscle-up, a much harder variation of a pull-up; and the two-armed elbow lever (which, thankfully, is much easier than the one-armed version).
Stephanie Abrusia, 41, of Basking Ridge, N.J., said she hoped the skills she picked up in the workshop would give her an edge for an audition for the reality show “American Ninja Warrior.” At the very least, she hoped to perfect a muscle-up. “I don’t see very many women doing that,” she said. “So I hope I can get it.”
During an interview the brothers were quick to point out that they had nothing against other forms of exercise or weight training. “We both worked out with weights for years, and it gave us a great foundation,” said Danny Kavadlo, who, like Al, is a personal trainer. But about 10 years ago, when they first saw guys doing impressive feats like one-armed pull-ups and a maneuver called the human flag, they were hooked.
“The more time spent on calisthenics moves, the less time on weight training,” Al Kavadlo said. “Before long, I gave up weight lifting all together.”
At the workshop James Berman, 47, a muscular fitness trainer from East Hanover, N.J., said he recently gave up weight lifting and hadn’t looked back. “With body strength training,” he said, “it’s all about learning how to move and control your body instead of just moving weight around.”
Al Kavadlo holds a 50-minute class at 10 a.m. most Saturdays through August in Tompkins Square Park, East Village, for $30; alkavadlo.com.
Get In Shape With Willow Park’s Exercise Equipment
Treadmills aren’t cheap, but exercise is important. Turns out, all the fitness essentials you need can be found for free, all day, at a park.
Whether you want to peddle, or do forearm rolls, or learn proper stretch routines, you can do it all at Willow Park.
I spotted at least four exercise apparatuses that no one was using. You don’t need to lift dumbbells to get in shape. If the posted diagrams are any indicator, you don’t even need to wear sneakers. One pictured man is wearing trousers.
Who needs cleats when your pants have pleats?
Get the skinny before purchasing exercise equipment
LAREDO, Texas – The summer season is the ideal time to get in shape and be ‘beach ready.’ And you’ve probably seen those television ads marketing their exercise equipment to deliver “quick results” with only a few simple workouts.
But, Better Business Bureau advises consumers to do their research on those products and claims before handing over their cash.
For those advertisements that claim fast results, it’s easy for consumers to get distracted. However, it is important to read between the lines and select a product that offers realistic results, and fits into your lifestyle and fitness goals.
In 2012, BBB received 877 complaints nationally against exercise equipment and machine sales. Some complaints alleged charges despite returning the equipment within the 30-day free trial period.
Others alleged the products would break down after only a few months of use.
BBB offers these tips to consumers who are considering buying athletic equipment:
- Avoid one-spot trainers. Be skeptical of products that claim to focus on a single body area. Experts advise the best results can be achieved with a consistent routine that works the whole body.
- Buy what you will use. While the newest workout machine may seem like a necessity, if it is not practical for everyday use, it is probably not worth the investment. Make sure the product fits with your daily schedule and can help you reach the results you want.
- Read the fine print. What do the “three easy payments” add up to? Watch out for deadlines when committing to a free trial,and look for hidden fees that may not be included in the cost, like shipping and handling or restocking fees.
- Don’t be fooled by the fit models. Satisfied customers in the advertisement may have been paid and only use the product for taping. The “before and after” results may not be proof the item actually works.
- Check the seller. Research the company’s BBB Business Review at bbb.org to see previous customer experiences, history of the company and other background information .
For more tips, visit our BBB Quick-Tips video page.
To check out a company and find trustworthy businesses, visit bbb.org.
Get the skinny before purchasing exercise equipment – Alice Echo
Posted: Monday, June 10, 2013 3:41 pm
Alice Echo-News Journal
The summer season is the ideal time to get in shape and be ‘beach ready.’ And you’ve probably seen those television ads marketing their exercise equipment to deliver “quick results” with only a few simple workouts. But, Better Business Bureau advises consumers to do their research on those products and claims before handing over cash.
For those advertisements that claim fast results, it’s easy for consumers to get distracted. However, it is important to read between the lines and select a product that offers realistic results, and fits into your lifestyle and fitness goals.
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One Piece of Home Exercise Equipment Every Athlete Needs
You don’t need an expensive gym membership or a $100-per-hour personal trainer to get a kick-butt workout. In fact, you don’t even need to leave your house. The right bodyweight exercise circuit can work your muscles just as well as the weights and machines at a health club. But to work your entire body at home, there is one piece of gear you’re going to need: A Pull-Up bar.
A Pull-Up bar, which hangs from your door, can usually can be purchased at a price that’s more affordable than a monthly gym membership. Having one in your home allows you to target regions in your upper back that many other bodyweight exercises miss. In fact, armed with a Pull-Up bar, you can get a full-body workout by performing just two moves.
Exercise #1: Pull-Ups
I know what you’re thinking: Oh, Pull-Ups on a Pull-Up Bar? Duh, you don’t say. But although you surely know how to perform a Pull-Up, you might not know how many different types of Pull-Ups you can perform—or how the various types stimulate your muscles differently. The trick lies in varying your grip. For example, you can try:
- Overhand grip (palms facing away): Pull-Ups with an overhand grip primarily develop the latissimus dorsi (the large muscles in the middle and on the sides of your back that pull your shoulders back and down) and the teres major (a large tendon that lies behind the latissimus dorsi). When your shoulder blades come together at the top of the movement, the rhomboids and middle and lower trapezius have to work. The overhand grip Pull-Up also requires effort from the major muscles of the arms—the biceps brachii, brachialis and brachioradialis. Focus on gripping the bar as hard as you can to generate more power and develop more forearm strength.
- Reverse grip (palms facing you): This variation offers a more intense arm workout and also works the pectoral (chest) muscle.
- Other grips include a parallel grip (if your bar has handles) and a mixed grip (one hand overhand, the other reversed), each of which works the back and arm muscles in a slightly different manner.
Exercise #2: Hanging Leg Raises
Here’s a less “duh” way to use a Pull-Up bar. Hanging leg exercises require you to grip the bar with both hands, inhale while raising your knees as high as possible, then exhale as you lower them to complete the movement. This movement works your iliopsoas (deep abdominal muscles), rectus femoris (a quadriceps muscle) and tensor fasciae latae (in your thighs). The result: core and leg-lifting work done all at once.
Most removable Pull-Up bars can be used for other exercises, like Dips and Incline Push-Ups. Perform those with Pull-Ups and Hanging Leg Raises, throw in some Bodyweight Squats and voila! You’ve worked every muscle from head to toe, and you didn’t have to leave your apartment (or pay somebody for the pleasure of sweating in their gym).
Keep in mind that Pull-Ups can be challenging for even the strongest athletes. Like any skill, the only way to master it is to practice frequently. Place your Pull-Up bar in a doorway that you walk through often and crank out a few reps every time you walk past it.
