Justin’s Treadmill Review

HIIT Training – Get an hour long workout in ten minutes

Stop Pointlessly Pounding that Treadmill Like a Rat for Hours

Common fat-loss programs call for long periods of low intensity cardio – spending an hour on a treadmill or bike at a leisurely pace. Walk into any 24-Hour Fitness and you will see people that spend over an hour on cardio machines. This just isn’t necessary – it is inefficient and frankly a waste of time. Now, to clarify – if you enjoy this type of cardio exercise and have no desire to change to more efficient, shorter, workouts – this article isn’t for you. Stick to watching Oprah and limping along on your elliptical. Doing that is certainly better than sitting on the couch at home. More »

You Walk Wrong – How Shoes Are Ruining Your Feet

New York Magazine has an interesting and extensive article on how humans are ruining their feet with modern shoes. Cultures where shoes are not worn have the healthiest feet, where cultures with near constant shoe use (read: Americans) have the least healthiest feet. The article chronicles how shoe makers continue to pad and coddle your feet to the point where your feet aren’t working the way they should, and worse yet it changes your gait for the worse. Efforts are being made to make shoes that more closely mimic barefoot walking while still providing your feet protection from the cold and sharp objects, but I think the bottom-line is people need to spend more time barefoot.

Try your next treadmill workout without wearing shoes – and you may realize you have been neglecting your feet.

[New York Magazine – How We're Wrecking Our Feet With Every Step We Take]

10 Machines You Must Avoid at the Gym

The Best Life presents its list of 10 machines you must avoid at the gym. These machines put the body in an unnatural position, place stress on muscles, or put you at risk for injury – the  site then lists good alternative body-weight exercises. The typical problem with machines is the path of the exercise is linear – using free weights or body weight with free movement is more natural and results in a better exercise – having to balance yourself makes it more difficult.

One of my favorites:

Squats Using Smith Machine
What it’s supposed to do: Train chest, biceps, and legs
What it actually does: The alignment of the machine—the bar is attached to a vertical sliding track—makes for linear, not natural, arched movements. This puts stress on the knees, shoulders, and lower back.
A better exercise: Body-weight squats. See “Seated Leg Press.”

[The Best Life – 10 Machines You Must Avoid at the Gym]

12 Simple Steps to Eat Healthier: Do (this) instead of (this)

The Zen Habits blog posts a technique for making gradual progress toward eating healthier and, as a result, dropping a lot of fat, both from your diet and your waistline. Rather than choosing one point in one day to completely change your eating habits, Leo Babuta says moving one-by-one through a series of “instead of” substitutions. For example, try:

• Eat fruits for snacks. If you snack on junk food during the day, have some fruits by your side at all times. When you’re feeling hungry for a snack, eat a fruit. One of those bags of small apples is a handy thing — you can’t go wrong with apples.
• Make pizza instead of ordering. Homemade pizza is the best, and if you haven’t made it yet, you should. The simple way is to get a ready-made whole-wheat crust, although making your own tastes even better. Start with the simple version, though, as you don’t want to make things too difficult.
• Nuts instead of chips. If you normally snack on chips, try unsalted peanuts or raw almonds.

Following a similar regimen, Leo says he was able to transform himself from a burger-loving junk food addict to a pretty healthy eater. If nothing else, it’s worth keeping in mind that the details can make a big difference in your diet.

A 12-Step Program to Eating Healthier Than Ever Before (Zen Habits)

Trend Watch: Treadmills with Fancy Gizmos and Frills

Here at the Revue I’ve noticed a trend that needs to be addressed : treadmill manufacturers have decided that their treadmill design is perfect and has no room for improvement, therefore they have stopped working to make a better quality treadmill and instead will lure you into buying their model or replacing your aging one with new worthless doo-dads. If you go shopping for a new treadmill today, you will be dazzled with treadmills that have heart-rate sensors,  body-fat analyzers, connections for an ipod, speakers – some even have subwoofers, LCD televisions, dvd players, and more. Even the lowest end models now have some of these extras – other times the only difference between two models is some extras that just aren’t worth the price difference. Let me help you out by shedding some light on these frivolous extra – some are nice to have, some are near worthless. Here’s the scoop:

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Did your new treadmill become a 300 pound paperweight? How to stay motivated and enthusiastic about exercising.

Note: This is a picture of a sheep running on a treadmill that powers a clothes washer. We each need our own motivator, for this sheep, it’s knowing that they will slaughter him if he slows down.

When you first buy your treadmill you are apt to be excited and enthusiastic about running and getting into shape. The reality is however that after using it for a week you will realize that it isn’t fun, it is hard sweaty work that requires dedication. While I often consider articles such as this one to be futile, as I believe that in the end only YOU can make the decision to get and stay in shape, here are some helpful tips:

• Pick a favorite television show and only watch it when you exercise.

Pick a TV show you really like, and only allow yourself to watch it while walking or running on the treadmill. Use a nearby television or if you don’t have one consider using an video iPod loaded with new episodes of your show. When you have an itch to watch that new episode, you will have to hop onto the treadmill in order to watch it.

• Don’t fold up your treadmill or put it out of sight.

Most new treadmills can be folded up to open up floor space. I say, if possible, leave it opened and ready to use. Just having to go "through the hassle" of unfolding it may be enough to psychologically convince yourself that you can’t exercise, or don’t have the time. And don’t even think about shoving your treadmill against the wall inside a closet or other inaccessible area of the house. If you have to go through a bunch of hoops just to run for a bit, believe me, you will never do it. Keep your treadmill ready to use at a moments notice at all times.

• Make an appointment with yourself to exercise.

If you lack self-discipline, like me, this could help: Get out your Palm Pilot or whatever calendar system you use, and schedule in your run/walk for the day. Then, stick to it. Keep that appointment just as you would any serious work meeting. Don’t schedule anything else on top of your workout appointment. This is a serious appointment that is not to be missed.

• Be careful of the snowball.

Often we talk ourselves out of working out because we already screwed the day up. For example, often my wife caves to temptation and eats some fatty horrible thing she shouldn’t. She will then justify not working out that day because, "I already screwed up." We all fall at times, don’t let minor setbacks ruin your workout routine. And if you do miss a scheduled workout, don’t allow yourself to use that as an excuse to miss the next one.

• Weigh yourself and look in the mirror daily.

These are insignificant things that can play a big psychological role in how dedicated you are to getting/staying in shape. Weigh yourself each day and record it in a logbook, then look at yourself with no shirt on in the mirror. This is your daily motivation to workout, whether it be to maintain that good figure or improve on your current one.

Want to lose weight? Eat Less and Exercise More says New York Times

In this day and age of gimmicky fad diets its refreshing to see some barebones common-sense dieting advice from New York Times Jane Brody – if you want to lose weight, EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE. The article bluntly explains, "If you consume fewer calories than you need to maintain your current weight, you will lose."

New York Times – No Gimmicks: Eat Less and Exercise More

Treadmill Buying Advice

The treadmill industry is shady – they are notorious for selling crappy products and providing poor customer service and warranty service. They make it nearly impossible to compare treadmills, they change models often for no apparent reason, and thrive on taking advantage of the uneducated purchaser. Arm yourself with some information – here’s a quick buying guide. More »