Treadmills

Running With Flat Feet

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

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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Posted in Elliptical Machines, Fitness Tips, General, Health Tips, Treadmills | 1 Comment »

Planning a Fitness Competition at Work

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

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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Posted in Elliptical Machines, Fitness Tips, General, Health Tips, Treadmills | No Comments »

Consumer Reports rated treadmills

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

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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Posted in Elliptical Machines, General, Treadmills | 1 Comment »