Fitness Magazine wrote a short article on the fitness blues a few weeks back. In it they touched on a few tips for keeping up your fitness when the weather turns, including doing it for yourself, and staying consistent. While the article focuses on two extreme runners who love running outside (in Alaska) the reality is that many of us hate the cold weather. While we’re still in first month of the year, it’s safe to say there is probably a correlation between cold weather and the downfall of people’s new year’s resolutions. (more…)

Whether working out from home or exercising at a gym, a multitude of fitness equipment options exist. The elliptical trainer has become one of the most popular forms of exercise for a number of reasons. Elliptical trainers offer a low impact exercise, safe range of motion, and are affordable if you choose to get one for your home. Ellipticals are very versatile machines and enable users to exercise a wide variety of muscles groups. We hope to shed some light on what these groups are and why ellipticals are a great way to tap into these parts of the body.
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Whether purchasing a piece of home fitness equipment or working out at a gym, chances are the question of “elliptical or treadmill?” has crossed your mind at one point or another. Both elliptical trainers and treadmills can be used to burn calories and get into shape, but they are two very different machines. Each offers a unique set of workout functions. Making an informed decision when it comes time to start your routine or purchase a piece of home fitness equipment is very important; therefore, we have outlined some key differences and similarities between elliptical trainers and treadmills.
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Elliptical bikes are a great way to get into shape with versatile workouts that offer real-world intensity and calorie burning benefits. With the new Smooth Fitness V2300 Semi-Recumbent Elliptical Bike, these fitness benefits are available from the comfort of your home. What separates elliptical exercise bikes from traditional elliptical machines is the user position. On a traditional elliptical machine the user is standing. On an elliptical bike the user is seated in an upright or semi-recumbent position. Because of this positioning elliptical exercise bikes offer two primary benefits, low impact training and a total body workout.

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In a recent study it found that almost 25% of the American population has flat feet, and almost 43 Million American’s suffer from foot problems. For most people that have flat feet or (low arches) it’s extremely hard to exercise on a daily basis, and extremely difficult to run for extended periods of time. There are several ways to combat this with the use of orthotics or insoles for your shoes, but does that alleviate all your issues?

In the course of running for 1 hour you put upwards of 1 million pounds of pressure on your heels, ankles and feet. Orthotics alone are not meant to combat the affects that running can have on your feet, and are intended more to alleviate normal pains during walking and normal daily activity. So what can you do to help reduce the pain, but also be able to exercise and stay healthy?

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The biggest loser competitions in the workplace are becoming a big craze with a lot of companies.  Inspired by events like the biggest loser TV Show and the Nike Plus competitions, but which one is best for you and your company? How easy are they to setup and manage? We have some helpful tips on how to create a competition that is both fun and helps you get in shape.  

There is one question you need to ask yourself before starting these competitions. What are you trying to achieve, losing weight or being in better physical condition?  These are two things people tend to lump together but they aren’t interchangeable.  As many of you know, 65% of your body comes from water weight and an average person can fluctuate 5lbs on a daily basis depending on how much water the drink or don’t drink, so simply going on the number of lbs lost can be deceiving.  Most weight loss competitions can focus around fasting or depriving the body of the nutrients it needs and it can destroy muscle and not necessarily help you lose fat.  That is why on the surface these types of weight loss challenges are ineffective at achieving their ultimate goal, to make their employees healthier, happier and give them more energy. 

What Challenge is the Right Challenge?

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You expect us to brag on our own excellent treadmills and ellipticals here on the Smooth Fitness blog. That’s only natural, right? But we’re grateful when an outside source has good things to say about us, so we were pretty happy to see that in the February issue of the magazine, Consumer Reports rated treadmills and ellipticals, including four of our models.

Since 1933, Consumer Reports has been providing the public with impartial ratings of consumer products based on extensive testing performed in their own labs and facilities. None of the products they rate are provided to them, nor are they paid to test them. As such, Smooth Fitness did not provide any treadmills or ellipticals, nor did we pay for any testing or ratings.

Consumer Reports does not accept advertising in their magazines or on their Web sites, either. They buy all the products they rate with the money generated by subscriptions and other products sold to, and with donations from the public they serve. We’re very proud to have received some wonderful ratings for four of our products—two treadmills, and two elliptical machines.

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