Friday, December 9, 2011
7 Great Buys for Starting a Home Gym
2:43 PM | 
Posted by
Sophisticated Fitness, LLC |
With the new year coming upon us soon many of you will be thinking of what your resolution will be this year. Undoubtedly many will commit to "working out more" or some other sort of fitness related goal. Gym memberships will increase and there will be some crowded weight rooms around the country for several weeks. If you are serious about committing to fitness then starting your own Home Gym is a very good option to consider. While initial costs are more, you will save money over the long run (and time as you will not have to travel to and from the gym). Here are 7 items we have found vital to our own home gyms (for more information on each product you click here):
1. Exercise or Weight Lifting Bench: You can usually get a quality bench for under $200. One of the most versatile peices of equipment, this is definitely a must have for a quality home fitness routine.
2. Dumbbells: Your goals and budget will play a big role in what you choose here as several options are available including neoprene, vinyl, Hex, Pro Style and more. The cost of dumbbells can add up so be sure to carefully consider your goals and level of commitment before purchasing.
3. Kettlebells: Again there are several options here (Cast Iron, Vinyl, Competition). Long used by serious body builders, kettlebells have gained extreme popularity in recent years for their effectiveness in giving you a total body workout in a short period of time. You can usually find a lower weight kettlebell or pair in the $50-100 range. If you are serious kettlebell enthusiast then a kettlebell set may be for you.
4. Medicine Ball: If you will be working out alone most of the time, you will want to get a ball that bounces. Again, there a ton of exercise that be performed and many medicine balls come with a workout chart to get you started. Quality medicine balls normally run around $50.
5. Resistance Bands: Great for getting in a quick workout and perfect for taking with you when traveling. You can perform many of the same exercises as with dumbbells at a fraction of the cost and they take up much less room. For under $50 you can get a set with a variety of resistance levels.
6. Push Up and Pull Up Bars: For just a small investment you can turn any doorway or spare room into a home gym with one of these versatile pieces of fitness equipment. You can go all out and get a wall mounted unit or a just go with a doorway pull up bar. Push up and Pull Up Bars (especially doorway pull up bars) are great additions to home gyms when you do not have a ton of room for your home gym.
7. Treadmill, Ellitpical or Exercise Bike: While many of the pieces of equipment will provide you with a cardio workout as well, there is no substitute for the workouts provided by any one of these machines there are several budget friendly brands and models available. If it is still not in your budget, you can always run outside.
As we mentioned there are almost limitless amounts of home equipment available. This is just our list of favorite and most effective items, with an eye towards affordability. Establishing a home fitness routine and having a home gym can be a very rewarding experience. The whole family can get involved as well for a fraction of the cost of gym memberships over the long haul. For more information and affordable home fitness equipment visit us at www.sophisticatedfitness.com
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Fitness Tips for Thanksgiving Day from SophisticatedFitness.com
One day and counting until ThanksGiving Day where we will eat, drink and be merry! Fitness and Thanksgiving Day don't really go together but here are some great fitness tips for incorporating fitness into your holiday!
1) Go outside and have a family game of football after you eat. Instead of lounging on the couch and going into a turkey coma, get outside and burn off some of those calories.
2) Take a family walk together after dinner. This could be a yearly tradition and a great way to burn calories as a family.
3) Start off the day with a planned 5k run! You hear about turkey trot races across the country.This year plan your own race and start the day off with a power burst of calories burned.
4) Hold relay races with the kids as a fun family activity and a way to get some fun exercise.
Most importantly, eat great food, enjoy your family, and find joy in your blessings!
SophisticatedFitness.com wish your family and a safe and health ThanksGiving!
1) Go outside and have a family game of football after you eat. Instead of lounging on the couch and going into a turkey coma, get outside and burn off some of those calories.
2) Take a family walk together after dinner. This could be a yearly tradition and a great way to burn calories as a family.
3) Start off the day with a planned 5k run! You hear about turkey trot races across the country.This year plan your own race and start the day off with a power burst of calories burned.
4) Hold relay races with the kids as a fun family activity and a way to get some fun exercise.
Most importantly, eat great food, enjoy your family, and find joy in your blessings!
SophisticatedFitness.com wish your family and a safe and health ThanksGiving!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Five Great Gifts for the Fitness Lover
The new year bring new fitness goals. Why not give the gift of fitness to someone you love!
These five great fitness items are small, easy to store and make great holiday gifts!
Exercise Balls: Exercise Balls are excellent for all sorts of exercises related to the core. Have a staircase in your home? Run up and down the stairs while holding the weighted ball for a little cardio work. For a serious ab workout hit the mat for some ab excercises while holding your stability or medicine ball in place. Sophisticatedfitness.com has a large amount of Exercise Balls all under $50.00. To view our complete collection shop here.
Kettlebells: Kettlebells are small and easy to store. For an effective workout all you need is a kettlebell and a fair amount of space for swinging your arms. To view our complete collection of kettlebells under $50.00 shop here.
Yoga Mats: No exercise room is complete without a mat. Mats are small and easy to roll up and store. You can also bring your mat to your favorite workout class.Click here to view our entire selection of yoga mats and bags.
Jump Ropes: Need to boost your cardio in between sets? Jumping rope increases heartrate, burns calories, and sculps biceps. A jump rope is small and stores anywhere and can even travel!
Resistance Bands: Nothing travels better or fits into a small workout area then resistance bands. Bands are excellent for a resistance workout for both your arms and legs. Be sure to have a few different bands on hand with different resistance levels. Going on a trip? Traveling for business? Resistance bands are small and pack easily. You can workout anywhere with a resistance band. To view our large selction of resistance bands shop here.
To purchase any of the items mentioned here or for more fabulos fitness finds perfect for giving this holiday season visit us online at SophisticatedFitness.com.
These five great fitness items are small, easy to store and make great holiday gifts!
Exercise Balls: Exercise Balls are excellent for all sorts of exercises related to the core. Have a staircase in your home? Run up and down the stairs while holding the weighted ball for a little cardio work. For a serious ab workout hit the mat for some ab excercises while holding your stability or medicine ball in place. Sophisticatedfitness.com has a large amount of Exercise Balls all under $50.00. To view our complete collection shop here.
Kettlebells: Kettlebells are small and easy to store. For an effective workout all you need is a kettlebell and a fair amount of space for swinging your arms. To view our complete collection of kettlebells under $50.00 shop here.
Yoga Mats: No exercise room is complete without a mat. Mats are small and easy to roll up and store. You can also bring your mat to your favorite workout class.Click here to view our entire selection of yoga mats and bags.
Jump Ropes: Need to boost your cardio in between sets? Jumping rope increases heartrate, burns calories, and sculps biceps. A jump rope is small and stores anywhere and can even travel!
Resistance Bands: Nothing travels better or fits into a small workout area then resistance bands. Bands are excellent for a resistance workout for both your arms and legs. Be sure to have a few different bands on hand with different resistance levels. Going on a trip? Traveling for business? Resistance bands are small and pack easily. You can workout anywhere with a resistance band. To view our large selction of resistance bands shop here.
To purchase any of the items mentioned here or for more fabulos fitness finds perfect for giving this holiday season visit us online at SophisticatedFitness.com.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Box Your Way to a Great Body
Boxing training provides one of the most demanding full body workouts of any sport. Boxing can help you increase muscle tone, lower body fat, and improve reflexes and upper body strength. Equipment training often includes hitting the speed bag, focus mitts, heavy bag, boxing bobs and other impact items. Almost all gyms now offer some sort of cardio boxing training class, or you can work out in the comfort of your own home. Boxing classes often include jumping rope, shadow boxing and the underrated program of medicine ball training.
Boxing equipment training is one of the best ways to cut fat and build muscle tone. Boxing will benefit your cardiovascular system in addition to toning the muscles. At sophisticatedfitness.com we have a great selection of boxing equipment to meet your training needs.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
5 Tips for Sticking With a Home Fitness Routine
Not Enough Time: Many of us feel as if we are stretched to the limit as it is with our jobs, kids, etc. This is probably the biggest reason for not beginning a fitness routine. However, a key first step is deciding to go with a Home Fitness Routine. You will save travel time to and from the gym right off the bat.
Once you have started your home routine you may feel like you do not have time to keep it up. A key point is to carefully think about the times you will have to workout and plan your workout accordingly. If you are a night owl, it probably does not make sense to decide you are suddenly going to begin getting up at 5am to workout (although this has worked for some people if they stick to it long enough). BE FLEXIBLE! More than likley you will have to adjust your workout timing periodically.
I Don’t Have the Money to Buy the Equipment I Need: A lot people think it is expensive to begin a home workout routine. However, if you start small and use the right equipment you can accumulate enough equipment to have a full fledged home routine for less than one year’s worth of gym membership fees.
Resistance Bands, Jump Ropes, Kettlebells, Dumbbells, Medicine & Stability Balls, Aerobic Steppers and Ab Rollers are just a few examples of fitness equipment that can each be purchased for around $50 or less.
Not Having a Plan: This is key and often leads to the “I don’t have enough time” pitfall. Once you have worked out a time schedule of when you will do your workouts, think about what you want to accomplish and what equipment you will need to do so. You can start small, say a 20 minute jump rope exercise 3 or 4 times a week and build from there.
Not Setting Realistic Goals: Being realistic is key to not getting discouraged. You will want to think about what your ultimate goal is, whether to lose a certain amount of weight, adding weight and strength, or building up stamina and set incremental goals.
Keeping a journal of your progress is a great way to track your results and stay on track. Having to write down your workouts will give you a sense of accountability.
Losing Interest or Getting Discouraged: To avoid losing interest you will want to change up your routine from time to time. Some people need to do different activities daily while others may be o.k. with just a few changeups a year. The reality is, if you do not spice it up a bit you will more than likely lose interest at some point. Research different programs and pick a few that interest you and mix up your routine from time to time.
Another great way to stay motivated is to involve a workout partner. Whether it is a spouse, significant other or friend, you can schedule workouts together or just set goals together and share experiences or workout tips to keep it fun!
Remember, if you do get off track do not get discouraged or give up. Life happens and we can all get sidetracked.. Just refer to these tips and see where you may have went wrong. Then, come up with a revised plan and get back to it. Good Luck!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
How to Choose the Right Kettlebell for You
Kettlebells are an extreme form of training, and not for the half-hearted. This is not meant to discourage anyone from taking up kettlebells, but rather to caution them that this is a serious workout. The popularity of kettlebell training in the U.S. has increased immensely from Eastern Europe so if you are a newbie to training with these then make sure you are aware of the proper way to use them. If you start out with improper and unsafe practices you’ll soon find yourself hurt, uninterested, and get no results. Hopefully with the correct methods and training, you will find yourself on the fast track to immediate results.
Men usually start with a kettlebell that weighs between 25 and 35 pounds, while women tend to begin with a 12 to 26 pound kettlebell, depending on their fitness level. They will range from as low as 2 lbs all the way up to 106 lbs (obviously for expert body builders). Safety is of the upmost importance when using kettlebells because you will drop them from time to time and 35 lbs isn’t something you want landing on your foot. Here are some big no-no’s when it comes to training with kettlebells.
- Training when Over Fatigued – if you are drained don’t pick the bells up. When you are fatigued you are not concentrating and that can lead to very serious injury especially when lifting the weights over your head
- Overcompensation - when working with kettlebells it’s important to remember that not all exercises are intended to be muscled up. Most exercises need good hip snapping movements. Also avoid leaning back to help the weights up. A straight back is part of proper lifting. Keep your shoulders back and your chest forward. Failure to do so indicates unsafe habits and fatigue. Improper Balance and Swinging – an example of this would be if you are doing a swing exercise and you find yourself on your toes. While performing swing exercises with your kettlebells, proper technique is to have the heels flat. Also, avoid swinging the bells too far away from your body because you will most likely end up hitting yourself.
- Bending Elbows and Wrists – the most common flaw you will encounter is bending your elbows and wrists. This lessens the control you have over the kettlebells and the effectiveness of the workout, as well as raises the chance of injury.
At Sophisticated Fitness, we carry a great selection, including vinyl kettlebells and cast iron kettlebells. We also provide our customers with great kettlebell workout ideas as well as other exercise routines on our fitness tips page. We’re always researching and trying out new workouts and sharing them with you so check back often.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Explore the Many Benefits of Medicine Ball Exercise
Medicine balls are frequently used for strength training and rehabilitation because they’ve proven effective. They also provide a variety of exercises that can be performed to improve:
· Cardiorespiratory Endurance, Stamina, and Flexibility
· Helps improve blood flow
· Strength, Speed, and Power
· Accuracy, Coordination and Balance, and Agility
Medicine balls can be utilized to enhance exercises that many of us already incorporate into our fitness routine, such as sit-ups, crunches, core strengthening, and push-ups. These simple exercises can be made more intense by using a medicine ball. It improves dynamic movements and resistance for a more effective workout. Try combining it with a stability ball for an even more advanced workout. Medicine ball training is an ideal way to train with a partner or solo. Try one of these medicine ball workouts on our fitness tips page! At SophisticatedFitness.com, we’re always researching and trying new workouts and products and sharing simple, effective workouts with our customers so check back often.
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