If you're looking for a great workout machine, one which combines cardio benefits while also toning your upper and lower body muscle groups then give some serious consideration to rowing machines. Most fitness experts agree that few other pieces of cardio fitness equipment can deliver the same results as effectively.

Firstly if you've ever watched rowing in the Olympics for example you'll see that it's an extremely demanding sports activity. Professional rowers are quite superhuman in their levels of fitness. When you are really serious about burning calories and shifting the fat then hitting a rowing machine and pushing yourself on a regular basis is going to get you there fast. It will also add a lot of definition to your muscles.

The action involved in rowing is unidirectional, you are pushing and pulling which works all your leg muscles, shoulders and back. By reducing your body fat through eating well and working on a rowing machine for the cardio side of your workouts, you'll quickly achieve a better body especially to compliment any weight training you may be doing.

You may be thinking that rowing machines are for elite fitness professionals but nothing could be further from the truth. With a little practice you'll find yourself completely comfortable on the machine, rowing is a natural motion and anyone can learn to use these machines to great effect. It's also a form of low impact exercise meaning it does not put the same strain on your joints as say running on a treadmill. It's safe and less likely to cause you injury over time.

Rowing machines are not just for off-season rowers! Go along to your local fitness store to try one out today and you may be surprised at just how much enjoyment you can get from one.




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With all the talk these days about health care reform, why not take matters into your own hands? Create your own public option. Opt to work out and get healthy. The tools you need are simple and the plan is affordable. To help cut your health care costs, get (and stay) healthy and strong with daily exercise. With a trainer or without, at a health club or in your basement, a daily exercise routine is just the kind of health plan you need.

Strength training exercises have many advantages. They increase muscle and bone strength, decrease your waistline, and give you extra energy. If your exercise plan needs some new life, consider adding some new tools to your workouts. Maybe it's time to re-think the medicine ball. Gone are the days of musty, dusty gyms and in are sleek new designs and fresh new ideas for getting fit. This one tool not only gets you stronger, it can single handedly reshape your body.

A top selling product is a dual grip medicine ball. This looks like a medicine ball with ears. Two handles protrude from the sides of the ball making it easy to hold and grip with one or both hands. Varying in weight from 2 pounds to 20, there is a medicine ball for everyone.

The medicine ball enhances the exercises you do every day by adding weighted resistance to your moves. Working your core, squats, lunges, ab exercises and arms can be challenging with a medicine ball, but easy to incorporate and you'll love the results. With the extra work, you'll be sculpted and toned in no time at all.

An easy way to use a dual grip medicine ball is to hold it in both hands while doing a lunge and raise the ball in front of your body. This compound exercise works legs, butt, arms, core, shoulders and chest. Try sitting on a mat with both knees bent, feet on the floor and the ball in both hands and held in front of your chest. Lean back tightening your abdominal muscles and lower the ball to your right side. Return up and repeat on the left. This works core, obliques and arms.

Exercises with a weighted ball become more challenging simply because the added resistance requires the recruitment of more muscle groups. This is the secret to toning your body. Compound exercises are more time-efficient and in the end, they are more functional. Whatever you choose, use a dual grip medicine ball to make your workouts more effective and more efficient. Opt out of being out of shape and opt into affordable and usable tools to help you get fit and stay healthy.




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Finding cheap fitness equipment is easy to do because there is a lot of used equipment out there. Many people buy new equipment and put it in the bedroom and it never gets used. You can get almost new fitness gear for penny's on the dollar. Shopping around can save you a lot of money.

First you want to search on Craigslist because it is one of the best places to get used items that are in your local area. When you go there search under the sporting good category and type in the type of machine that you are looking for. In most cases you will find what you are looking for that is close to your house.

Next you need to look through your local Sunday paper because they usually have a lot of great prices on good used equipment. You may have to go and look at a few of the available items but it will be well worth your time and effort. Remember that you can also negotiate the price and getting a better deal than the asking price.

Finally do not buy the first item you see because when you take your time and search around you will find that there are many deals out there. You should be able to find a treadmill or bike for 50-90% off what it would cost you brand new. Most of the equipment is so close to brand new you will think it just came out of the box.



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Whether you have been doing exercises for a long time or if you have only started recently one thing that may be a challenge for you is that all your equipment is at home and you are a bit lost when your work means that you have to go away for long periods or, of course when you are on holiday.

One thing that is essential when you start out on a program like this to get fit or lose weight or to just simply keep yourself in trim, is that it should be done regularly. It is no good to do it for a few days and stop for a week. When you start again you will find that you are right back where you started a couple of weeks before and you will lose heart and think that the plan does not work.

It is quite possible to do a lot of exercises whilst in a hotel room. You can easily do a good number of the stretching and loosening up type ones that do not need any equipment. You can simply lie on the floor or lean against a wall. I have always been a little concerned about running on the spot however as there may well be someone paying good money to stay in the room below.

One simple thing that you can do is to get a folding exercise bike which you can fold away in the boot of your car and take it out when you reach where you are going to. They are very easy to set up and it will take you hardly any time. You will be able to start your daily workout as soon as you want.

When you are looking for these you may find them referred to as a foldable exercise bike or a mini. Over recent years they have become very compact as technology has progressed. You can now buy them with most of the capabilities of the more robust traditional upright standing exercise bikes.

One of the popular types of bike now is a recumbent folding exercise bike. Recumbent means that you lie down whilst using it. This gives you total ergonomic back support, without causing strain on the neck, shoulders and arms. All of these are common effects of using an upright bicycle. If your bike is more comfortable and does not cause you pains, you are more likely to stick with the exercise routine.

Have a look around and get yourself something that is easy to carry around with you, yet lets you continue your exercises wherever you are.



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