Archive for the ‘Exercise Equipment’ Category

Gyroscopic Fitness Machines?

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

I received a press release the other day and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

Gyro Core Trainer
Gyroscopic Core Trainer?

A company called DynaFlex International has apparently used gyroscopes to create some grip training devices and now I guess they have a core training device.

After browsing to the company website and reading up on some of their products, I’m still not sure what to make of it. It appears to be a grip trainer of some sort, although now they have a core trainer too. Interesting.

Have any Project Swole readers tried this thing? If so, please leave a comment.

I don’t quite get it. If anyone from DynaFlex is reading this, send me a free sample so I can figure out exactly what the heck you are selling. I will review the product in a separate post if you do.

Anyway, let the press release begin:

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How to Calculate Your Target Heart Rate

Thursday, June 11th, 2009
Healthy Female Jogger
Female Jogger

You are trying to lose fat and you want that adipose tissue to just melt off your body.

Option #1 is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which uses both anaerobic training to build muscle and elevate the metabolism, and aerobic training to burn fat and increase cardiovascular endurance. This is the option I typically recommend. However, some people are either not able to, or not willing to, even attempt HIIT training.

This then leads us to option #2: cardiovascular endurance training. While I don’t recommend it, I know people will do it, so here’s how to do it right…

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How to Bench Press Safely Without a Spotter

Monday, August 11th, 2008
Swole Fitness Tips
Heavy Bench Press
Heavy Bench Press

A major concern for all of us big-shot men is how we can bench press when we are training alone. Chest day has always been an important day in the weekly training regimen.

This is a day when we can walk in the gym with our chests puffed out. This is a day when we can train those all-important show muscles… the pecs. This is a day when we can perform the manliest of exercises… the bench press!

Let us examine some alternatives to bench pressing flat with a spotter.

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Working Out With a Heart Rate Monitor

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

This is an old post. For more and better information, check out How to Calculate Your Target Heart Rate. You can also score a sweet Reebok Strapless Heart Rate Monitor on that page.

Girl Athlete
Female Athlete

Do you own a heart rate monitor? If not, then you are not alone. However, heart rate monitors are becoming increasingly popular, especially among athletes and those with certain health conditions.

In the days before heart rate monitors, people would have to stop and manually count a pulse by placing fingers over the carotid artery. Not only would this pressure on the artery distort the reading, but would cause some to get light headed by their pressing too hard in an attempt to find a pulse. Now, with a heart rate monitor, one doesn’t even need to stop to get an accurate reading.

The most important reason to buy a heart rate monitor is for safety.

Most fitness professionals will tell average clients to keep their target heart rate between 55% and 85% of their maximum heart rate. In order to calculate one’s maximum heart rate, simply subtract your age from the number 220. Next, you can then use this number and multiply it by 0.55 to get the lower end of the target zone and by 0.85 to find the cut off point.

Those with threatening conditions would be advised to exercise in the 55-60% range.

Still, let it be known that heart rate monitors are also a vital tool for the endurance athlete. Not only do heart rate monitors make readings simpler, they also make monitoring progress a lot simpler as well.

With a heart rate monitor, an athlete can better determine how to set the pace in an effort to optimize race performance. Without one, endurance athletes would run the risk of either over-training and exhausting the body or under-training and not pushing the body hard enough.

One thing is for certain though, heart rate monitors are useful tools that can simultaneously help and protect both the fittest of the fit and those at extreme risk.

Those trainees that regularly participate in cardiovascular activities can benefit by constantly gauging their heart rate, thus targeting their intensity to more effectively burn fat.

Again, this is an old post. For more and better information, check out How to Calculate Your Target Heart Rate. Get more info about the Reebok Strapless Heart Rate Monitor on that page too.

Building a Home Gym with Used Exercise Equipment

Monday, July 9th, 2007

There’s nothing better than to be able to walk outside, or go down stairs, and lift some weights. Sometimes it is expensive to build a full home gym set up. This is why I am starting to build my arsenal of used exercise equipment for extra workouts around the house. Clearly I will need more, newer, and better equipment that I currently have, but this is a start.

To date I have the following equipment:

  • two 45 lb Powerblocks
  • two ab rollers
  • springs
  • one rusty 45 lb olympic bar
  • one rusty 20 lb e-z curl bar
  • 200 lbs of old plastic weights that only fit on the e-z curl bar
  • one big ass heavy bag hanging from a hook in the shed + gloves
  • two pullup bars, neither of which are currently up
  • one grassy park with a river across the street from my house, which I will use for sprinting, doing pull-ups in the trees, tree climbing, boat rowing, and a variety of other activities
  • one piece of really awkward driftwood that is useful for lifting and carrying in various ways

I shall take some pictures and post them shortly. It is only July, so Project Swole is still in effect for the next two months. This will be my first week of being 100% my own boss and I anticipate weight training to resume in a 3-workouts-per-week schedule.