Exercise Equipment-Can You Get A Good Workout Without It
My friend turned me on to watching infomercials on certain TV stations in the evening and all the programs I have seen are about exercise equipment of every kind. Some of those machines have you standing on your head, some evening hanging upside down; others look like the poor fellow is being stretched on the torture rack pretending he is having fun, other channels are also promoting things like machines, treadmills, the elliptical machines and a lot of others.
It seems to me it would behoove the men especially to heed a word of caution: with all those additional Abs and increased muscles being hyped, where are you going to put ‘em? You’ve only got so much arm, leg or stomach, what then? As for you ladies, will you really slim down or bulge up? Where do the muscles hide? Please be careful.
TV commercials are enough, we also had gyms galore with very seductive names, in every mall, arcade, plaza and shopping center. And what takes center stage? Aching bodies in sweats wall-to-wall on treadmills, the ellipticals and every kind of machine imaginable. Where there is a wall there is a machine; where there is a machine there is a body and where there’s a body there is every shape imaginable.
With all the shtick and flippancy of some of my remarks, we must now assume a more serious posture and focus on whether or not these gyms and their exercise equipment are the way to go for those of us determined to get and keep in shape. Are we really just being duped; do we really need them, and can they really do the job?
So the question still remains: do we really need all these machines? The professional trainers have nailed the answer: It is not a need, it’s a convenience or comfort aspect of exercise. Stretching, bending, crunching is easier to do with the help of the machine at home. It’s more comfortable and it still does the job, even as you exercise in front of the TV, watching the newest infomercial hyping the next great machine coming up.
We’ve talked about gyms with machines and home machines -which is best for you? Do you use your workout time to socialize, to be with friends and to lunch later? Many people do that to their advantage. Many, like myself, prefer keeping our activities separate, choosing to concentrate on one thing at a time - like exercising in the gym and socializing at a favorite restaurant, place of worship or entertainment center.
From one who has at least five different home machines, each targeting a specific body area, his answer is: to each his own. He prefers exercising at home, because going to the gym takes extra time and he doesn’t need the social time. Even though his exercise equipment, the treadmill, elliptical, Ab machine and such is expensive, it’s effective and very much worth it and he enjoys the comforts of home. A gym enthusiast might say: I don’t have the room at home; machines are too expensive and I’m not a mechanic to assemble them; furthermore I need and enjoy the company. So indeed, to each his own.
Whichever you prefer, the home or the gym, professional trainers encourage you to consult a professional to plan your program, or to research and map out your own plan for the safest and most effective results. Usually the instructions with your exercise equipment have a suggested plan of action. So all you “hefty, hearty and happies” start pumpin’, stretchin’, pedalin’, and crunchin’ and join ranks with the trim, fit and slim.
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