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Tips To Help You Find The Right Gym

June 14th, 2008 by admin

Taking those first few steps towards establishing a Fitness Lifestyle can very well be intimidating, especially if the decision is made to sign-up for a gym membership. In fact, deciding on even using a gym can be a double-edged sword of sorts. On one hand, there are many of us who feel that we’ll become more motivated towards exercising regularly if we do sign-up for a gym membership. After all, you’re now investing more money into your health so you certainly don’t want to just throw that money away. Additionally, there are typically many more people working out at the gym than anywhere else, so you’ll probably be more likely to get caught up in the ambience and energy of others exercising as well. However, on the other hand, because there can be so many people working out at the gym, you may feel intimidated beginning those first steps towards getting back in condition in front of others. When you stop to consider all of the pros and cons with signing up for a gym membership, you may find that making this decision was a more daunting task than you first thought.

Fortunately, there are many gyms and fitness facilities available now to accommodate virtually every factor and consideration involved in your own decision making process. From the large fitness clubs such as Bally’s and 24-Hour Fitness to the local YMCA or university health centers, and from the private one-on-one training studios to even mobile Personal Training trailers, chances are excellent that a gym can be found to match your own personal preferences. What’s important to keep in mind is that every gym and fitness facility has it’s own unique personality and subsequently, there’s a gym to match your own unique personality as well. Therefore, with a little gym shopping savvy and factors that we’ll providing you for consideration, you’ll be on your way towards locating a gym that’s a perfect match for you!

Presented here then is a brief summary of several factors for you to consider when shopping for the gym that’s right for you:

1) Location

Typically, you’re better off when your gym is near to your home or work. The greater the distance that you’ll have to travel to exercise, then the greater the chance that you may find an excuse not to. At the same time, don’t let location be your sole determining factor, as it’s important that you don’t join a gym that you dislike simply because it’s nearby.

2) Management Attitude

When you walk into your gym, I strongly believe that you should never feel like only a dollar sign or a second-class citizen. Look for honesty, sincerity, politeness, and above all, respect. The vast majority of gyms that I have stepped foot into are operated by managers and staff members that genuinely enjoy their jobs and genuinely enjoy assisting their clients. However, if you feel like a gym is not interested in your needs at all, then you may wish to keep looking.

3) Hours

How does your own personal schedule fit in with the gym’s? If conducting early-bird workouts is your best option, then at what time does your gym open up? What if you can only workout late at night? Is your gym a 24-hour gym? Is it open 7 days a week?

4) Price

This factor is actually most people’s first consideration when searching for a gym. As this issue can be largely affected by your own personal taste and budget, I would simply propose the following points to consider. First, look at the entire package before you just consider the cost. Being the cheapest gym around does not necessarily make it the best fit for you. You do sometimes get what you pay for. Secondly, be mindful of the contracts you sign. There are fitness chains that have been notorious for absolutely locking you into a long-term contract and then making it nearly impossible to cancel should you decide to withdraw at a later date. If you are not convinced that you’re going to stick with regularly working out at a gym, you may then prefer to sign a short-term contract instead even if it costs more per month.

5) Sanitation

For me, this is a direct reflection on management. Bathrooms, showers, pools, saunas, tanning beds, and the gym equipment should be cleaned on a regular basis. Granted, while club members are working out, no gym will ever be 100% perfect, but as long as a club still places an emphasis on proper hygienic practices, then it demonstrates responsibility and concern for their members.

6) Client Volume

If you’re just beginning a gym membership for the first time and feel a bit insecure about working out for the first time, you may (or may not) prefer a smaller gym or even a personal training studio. Also, the best gym in the world for you may still be the wrong fit if you’re going to have to regularly wait in line to exercise on a piece of equipment. A crowded gym can result in irritable attitudes and inefficient workouts. Your best bet may be to locate a fitness facility with the proper combination of number of members and number of equipment that will allow you to maintain a steady workout.

7) Environment

Do you prefer an “Iron Dungeon” with a perpetual cloud of hand chalk and chorus of loud yells and grunts? Or do you prefer a club that feels more like a Singles joint where the clients seem more concerned with meeting the members of the opposite gender? Just like the design of the gym’s building, a gym’s environment can come in all versions as well. If you feel uncomfortable upon your initial walk-through, you may wish to continue looking at other gyms and fitness facilities nearby. When you sign up for a gym membership, it’s vitally important that you sign up at one that you feel comfortable at and enjoy the atmosphere because if you don’t, then there’s a good chance that you won’t succeed in regularly working out there.

There are still many additional factors not listed here you may wish to consider before selecting the gym of your choice such as amenities, the equipment itself, and the clientele. Just be sure to give yourself a little bit of time to shop around and determine which choice is best for you based on your needs and tastes. I truly believe that signing up for a gym membership is an outstanding investment on your physical and emotional health and is well worth the time and money spent to locate the one that’s the best match for you. Most gyms and fitness facilities today are ran by professionals in their field who enjoy their jobs and there is a good chance that this high level of enthusiasm will only energize you further.

So shop around, it’s well worth the effort!

About The Author

Nathan Boyd is author of the highly rated ebook, “The Fitness Lifestyle” and the current Director of Pro Fitness of Texas. Nathan encourages everyone in their pursuit of becoming physically fit and maintaining it for a lifetime. All questions and comments are always welcomed!

http://www.weightloss-cookies.com/page4.html

weightloss@weightloss-cookies.com

Tags: athlete, exercise, exercise facilities, fitness, gyms, physical activity, sports, workout

Three Simple Tips to Shed Fat

June 13th, 2008 by admin

Today it seems people are willing to go through almost anything to lose body fat. Fad diets, pills and magical exercise equipment are costly and most often simply ineffective. In order to lose those pounds you have to have a basic understanding of the food you are eating, and how to utilize various forms of exercise..

There are three things to consider when losing body fat.

Diet- watch your carbs in general and especially simple carbs. Avoid consuming lots of carbs in the evenings. Quite simply, to lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume.

Weight training - having more muscle mass is a huge aid to burning calories and getting lean. Each additional pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories per day at rest.

Cardio - to burn the most fat it helps to do it in a glycogen depleted state, such as immediately after waking (before consuming any carbs or fat) or right after lifting weights. HIIT - high intensity interval training has been shown to be exponentially more effective at fat burning than endurance type (level resistance) cardio.

All too often people are looking for the hidden secret when ti comes time to lose a few pounds, when in reality, it just takes a bit of work and some basic understanding of diet and exercise.

For an Online Personal Trainer and other Fitness information visit http://www.worldfitness.ca

Tags: burning, exercise, fat, fitness, health, weight loss

Why Elliptical Trainers are Growing in Popularity!

June 11th, 2008 by admin

If you work out at a health club you probably noticed that in the last few years there are fewer treadmills, because they are being replaced by elliptical trainers. And although treadmills still outsell ellipticals in total numbers, elliptical sales are growing at a faster rate.

What is driving the popularity of elliptical trainers? There are two factors that make elliptical trainers so appealing:

Low Impact Workout

Upper and Lower Body Workout

Benefits of a Low Impact Workout

Most types of exercise require some type of impact and/or reverse action. For example, when you walk each step is impacting force on your ankles, knees and lower back. That impact is minor in comparison to running, which can be as much as 2.5x your body weight. Over the years that constant pounding can result in long-term injuries and strains.

Elliptical trainers reduce the hazards of impact through an elliptical motion.It feels like you are naturally walking or running without any real impact or reverse action, and yet it is a weight bearing exercise that contributes to building muscle and bone density.

If you look at the side of an elliptical trainer you’ll notice the shape of the motion is like a flat circular pattern. Budget ellipticals tend to be more circular and bouncy, while quality machines have a flatter circular motion and more of an even stride. Regardless, the elliptical motion significantly reduces the impact to your joints, and that is why elliptical trainers are appealing to older individuals and people with injuries. It is becoming the exercise machine of choice for the “baby boomers.”

Benefits of an Upper and Lower Body Workout

The concept of exercising the upper and lower body simultaneously is revolutionary. An elliptical workout utilizes the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, chest, back, triceps and biceps. There is no other machine that offers this benefit. You are not only exercising more muscle group, you are also optimizing your energy expenditure. That means it is taking less time to achieve more results, like burning calories and increasing your cardio capacity. A number of elliptical trainers allow you to reverse the motion, thereby emphasizing resistance to even more parts of your muscles.

By exercising more of your muscle mass you improve fat mobilization, which results in burning more calories and building muscle endurance more efficiently. Certain experts have suggested that this dual action process reduces the perceived rate of exertion. In other words, you are exercising harder without a noticeable difference from a less strenuous workout.

The benefit of an upper and lower body workout, combined with low impact exercising, are the reasons why elliptical trainers are so popular. And there is one other feature that should be noted. In comparison to treadmills, elliptical trainers require considerably less maintenance. That is due to the fact there are fewer moving parts, and less wear from impact.

If you haven’t tried an elliptical trainer, get to your local health club or a fitness equipment store and take one for an elliptical spin. Avoid the budget models and test the machines that are at least $1,000+. They have a more natural elliptical motion and are more stable and durable.

You’ll find that an elliptical trainer can have a major impact on your health and fitness.

Fred Waters worked in the fitness equipment industry for a number of years and is author of the Elliptical Trainer Rating and Review site. Check out the latest reviews on over 40 of the most popular elliptical trainers, and get important buying tips from the Elliptical Buyer’s Guide.

Tags: compare, eliptical, elliptical, equipment, exercise, fitness, machine, ratings, review, trainer

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