Motorized Vs. Manual TreadmillsWritten by Kathryn O'Neill
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Tend to be more expensive and can range from $800 up to $8000. However, they tend to last longer and are built to take more of a beating. Also, because belt moves for you at varying speeds, this motivates you to keep up and actually results in more calories burned (vs. a manual treadmill). You can easily adjust speed and incline on most motorized treadmills, usually while still on machine. This makes it much more convenient and saves strain on your joints. A final advantage to motorized treadmills is that they tend to have more options and features (iFit compatibility, numerous built-in workout programs, scrolling information consoles). This makes your workout more interesting and possibly even enjoyable as you can watch your progress. This means that you will probably USE treadmill more often which again results in more calories burned and a better body achieved. The Final Conclusion: Unless you’re in extremely good physical shape, a manual treadmill is not recommended. Choose a motorized treadmill for maximum calorie burning and exercise convenience. The biggest motivation to choose a manual treadmill is low cost. However, you can find a quality motorized treadmill for a relatively low cost if you know where to look. Regardless of what you choose remember to have fun and commit yourself to a better, healthier you!
Kathryn O'Neill is chief editor for http://www.treadmillreview.net For more treadmill brand reviews, best buys and buying tips, visit http://www.treadmillreview.net
| | “Bodybuilding Sins” That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts: Part 2Written by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS and Steve Hefferon, CMT
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you know what we mean… in just one workout you do flat bench, incline, decline, pec deck, dumbbell fly, cable cross overs… and then for biceps you’ve got barbell curls, dumbbell curls, preacher curls, cable curls, machine curls, and list goes on… So instead of emphasizing muscles that are already strong, why not really hit those weak and under worked muscles like: neck, upper back, shoulder rotators, hamstrings, glutes, hip rotators, lower abs, and shins. These areas tend to be weak, tight, out of balance with their opposing muscles, prone to muscle strains and pulls and most importantly, these imbalances lead to major injuries and conditions like back pain, knee pain, rotator cuff tears, tendonitis and others. All of these conditions are caused by muscle imbalances and will NOT go away unless you work towards correcting imbalances… and only way to know for sure which imbalances are causing your pain or injury is to do a series of physical assessments like ones covered in our “Lose Back Pain Video”. Strategy #2 - Experiment! Here’s a personal challenge for you: Replace at least 1 of your normal weekly workouts with something totally different like combat martial arts, kettle bell training, functional training, or even strongman style exercises. For example, instead of doing your super heavy, 3 inch partial rep leg presses, try a single leg squat… and if that’s easy, try adding weight! Or instead dozens of sets of shoulder presses and lateral raises, see if you can do 1 handstand push-up. Those are just a few examples… do yourself a favor and experiment with other types of exercises. You can find hundreds of different types of training styles by taking classes, reading books, watching videos, surfing web, hire a personal trainer, etc. We aren’t asking you to give up your traditional workouts… but just cross-train a bit so you not only work towards a balanced body but also towards a stronger, more powerful and usable strength. Again, what good is muscle if you can’t use it! Strategy #3 - Switch It Up! Another great way to minimize number of missed workouts due to injuries is to vary exercises that you do for each muscle group. For example, if you always do barbell squats try rotating in other exercises like single-leg leg presses, trap-bar dead-lifts, d-bell squats, etc. Conclusion Remember, key to eliminating injuries and preventing future ones is to identify what areas you need to target. In next two articles we’ll be discussing in detail, how to address various injuries like back, hip, knee, and shoulder pain with targeted exercises and stretches. In meantime, be sure to read thru all of our detailed Articles and if you have questions, please post them in our Discussion Forum.
Article by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS, CSPN and Steve Hefferon, CMT, CPRS of http://www.losethebackpain.com. If you’ve got back pain or sciatic pain, you’ve gotta check out their video.
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