Exercise Equipment

As the title of this post suggests, today’s article will discuss Exercise Equipment.  This will be the final installment on the “Focus Exercise” series and I hope it has been beneficial to you.  We have talked briefly in previous weeks about the benefits of exercise, the importance of exercise, tummy flattening tips, aerobic exercise and now Exercise Equipment in general.

You have probably owned at least 1 of the many different types of exercise equipment available.  If not, you might have joined a gym or exercise club at some point.

When you stop to think about it, there are hundreds of different pieces of equipment you might consider.  For example, treadmills, elliptical machines, home gyms, bikes, Bowflex machines, Ab/Bun/Thigh training machines, “As Seen on TV” equipment, boxing equipment, club equipment, core training, dumbbells, fitness balls, footwear, heart rate monitors, jogging strollers (for the new mom), jump ropes, massage/relaxation devices, mats, mixed martial arts equipment, pedometers, Pilates, portable audio devices, resistance training tools, rowers, saunas, scales and fat monitors, sports medicine steppers, stopwatches/timers, trampolines, videos/DVDs/books, water aerobics, weight training instructions, Yoga classes and the list goes on and on.  Ever try any of these?  If I were a betting person, I would wager that you have.

How long did you stick with it?  Did you get any positive results?  Did you get discouraged after a few sessions and skip a day or two?  Then realized you had not used the equipment for several weeks.  Then suddenly you found yourself listing it on Craigslist or selling it at a yard sell for much less than you paid for it.

Don’t feel bad.  You are not alone.  The sad truth about exercise equipment is that you actually have to use it for it to become effective.  I have had bikes and treadmills that wound up being “clothes hangers” more often than pieces of exercise equipment.  Life is so hectic that it is hard to schedule time for ourselves to work out.  But let’s think about it for a few minutes.

If you actually have some exercise equipment available at home, the chances are better that you will use it more often than going to a gym or exercise class.  Why?  Because it takes more time out of your day to “go somewhere” than to jump on your own equipment at home.  And these days, available time is a rare commodity.

A good idea (and one that works for me) is to actually put it on your calendar.  Just as you would schedule a meeting or a dinner, schedule your workout.  Determine a time slot that is convenient and will not interfere with other activities.  And also make it a time where there will be less chance of interruptions.  It is easy to “bump” your workout to a time later (or earlier) in the day to accommodate a last minute change in your schedule.  So if you can find a time with less chance of that happening, you will be more inclined to keep that appointment with yourself.

With all the health benefits of exercise that we have discussed, it really does make sense to stick with this.  There are so many choices of exercise equipment from which to choose, and as long as you use them consistently, they will all have positive results.  Determine what will benefit you the most and which pieces of equipment you will be most likely use.  Keep it simple and don’t overextend yourself.  Being consistent with one piece of equipment is much better than having 3 or 4 and not using them.

It can be a bit overwhelming.  Don’t expect too much of yourself.  Start small and work up to bigger and better.  But make the commitment to yourself today to get started.  You are an exquisitely designed machine and you want to stay that way.  Just as you do routine maintenance on your car, you want to do preventative maintenance on your body.  You will feel better, longer if you do.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

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