thePULSEMachines, Mats & More for Your Home Fitness Routine
January 2006 –
There’s no shortage of health and fitness-related gadgets out there, from minor accessories to full-fledged home gyms. The trick is balancing what you can afford with what you actually need so that you don’t wind up throwing good money after bad on toys that you’ll use once, if at all. And since now is the perfect time to make good on all those newly-made New Year’s resolutions to become fit and trim for 2006, here’s a list of some of my favorite gadgets.
The first tool I’d recommend is a quality heart monitor. Buy one you can wear directly around your chest; it should come with an accompanying wrist band that gives a read-out of your heart rate. That information can help you stay at your targeted heart rate, which will vary depending on whether your goals are burning fat or increasing cardiovascular capacity. (As an aside, there are plenty of calculators online to help you find your personalized targeted heart rate.) Average price: $60 and up, depending on quality.
The next device is a body mass/fat calculator. There’s a good variety of these on the market, but I’d recommend one that doubles as a digital scale. That way, you’ll know that the information the body mass calculator is utilizing to measure your muscle to fat ratio is accurate and consistent (as opposed to whatever the scale at the gym might say). There’s no better way to keep tabs on your fitness level than to know whether your ratio of lean muscle to fat has gone up or down. Average price: $60 – $90, including scale.
I’d also highly recommend the Bosu Home Balance Trainer. This is basically an exercise ball cut in half, with a flat base. To me, it’s simply an awesome adjunct to your weight training routine. Almost any exercise you can do on a flat surface you can do while standing on the spongy, ball side of the Bosu. For example, grab an eight pound weight (or a gallon of water) in each hand, and do some slow squats. Your quads, hamstrings and glutes (that is, your butt) will get all the benefits of a regular squat, but the unstable surface of the Bosu will force your calves and especially your “core” ~ your abs and back ~ to get involved as well. Likewise, for a great upper body workout, do some pushups on the Bosu. You’ll work your chest and triceps, but again, the unstable surface of the Bosu will cause greater strain on your shoulders, and ~ you guessed it ~ your core. The Bosu is a great piece of equipment to keep at home or in your office, especially if you don’t think you have time for a “regular” workout. Squats and pushups on the Bosu can give you a great total body workout in a very short period of time. Plus, you can lie back on the Bosu and get a terrific ab workout. Average price: $99.
The Powerslide Lateral Trainer is one of my favorite new discoveries. It’s basically an ultra-smooth, eight foot wide platform; you put a pair of cloth booties over your sneakers, get in touch with your inner Dorothy Hamill (uh, not that I do), and slide from side to side like a skater. This motion works your balance and stresses all of your core and leg muscles, especially the often underworked abductors (muscles on the sides of your hips that enable your legs to separate) and adductors (muscles located on your upper inner thigh that enable your legs to come together). The average price for the Powerslide is about $135.
Fitness bands (glorified elastics, really) can be a nice complement to your workout ~ and because you can vary the tension and are forced to maintain full control of the band throughout the exercise, they are an excellent, low-impact way to stress your muscles or even work your way back from an injury. They run about $15 apiece. You’ll want two.
It’s not a bad idea to keep several padded mats around the house. First, if you have a home gym, you don’t want to scuff your floor, do you? And maintaining your hardwoods aside, you can do higher impact aerobics to your heart’s content without running as high a risk of joint damage. I’m a fan of “old school” training, and good ol’ jumping rope is a great exercise. On the other hand, it can be tough on your knees, ankles, and arches. So put a mat underneath, and you can get the great workout without the joint pain. They’re a little pricey, though, and a 4’ by 6’ mat can run you about $80.
Finally, it’s time for the gadgets that will provide you with a little post-workout relaxation. You can pay $20 for a great foot massage bowl (basically a swirling pool with a bunch of marbles in it ~ dip your five little piggies in and board the express bus to Nirvana); $27 for a massaging bath-safe pillow; or about $30 for an adjustable shower massage (again, welcome to Nirvana). Enjoy ~ if you’ve used the products mentioned earlier in this article, you’ve earned some major relaxation!
