It looks just like an office chair - with a motor in the base that makes the seat go round in a hula-type motion. I kid you not!

This is hyped as the workout of the future; taking the work out of the work day; exercise your waist, buns, legs and arms as you type at your computer or answer the phone. In the home it will help seniors exercise and supposedly regain their youthful get-up-and-go.

Well it might, but not in the way they think. Put your granny with her knitting on the Hawaiian chair and see her hit the ceiling….!

Just have a look at this - worth every penny of the $249 purchase price for the laughter workout. Oh God, my abs hurt. Please don’t show it again!

All the best,

Carol J Pearson
(Personal Trainer)

Technorati Tags: hawaiian chair, fitness, exercise, workout

Forza is a Japanese style sword fighting technique similar to Kendo. It has just a few basic moves (8) so it is very easy to learn. Real swords aren’t used so there is no danger of accidentally hacking your opponent’s head off!

The eight basic moves are combined together to form a fight sequence that for beginners is usually 10 to 12 moves long. It is claimed that this exercise regime can burn up to 500 calories an hour and I can believe this is possible. Striking, cutting and lifting a 38 inch sword that weighs about one pound whilst lunging and squatting are going to give you an excellent aerobic and toning workout.

Because forza requires such a high level of concentration to perform well it can help to calm a busy mind and help you relax.

If I ever see a class in my area I’m going to give it a go: it sounds like a lot of fun.

All the best,

Carol J Pearson
(Personal Trainer)

Technorati Tags: forza, kendo, relax, sword, workout, strength, forza sword

How on earth can you dance on a treadmill?

Actually, you need 2, end to end, and the speed and co-ordination of an acrobat in the circus. These treadmill belts are moving, don’t forget, at a jogging pace. The dancers, (2 of them) do a routine on their own treadmill before changing places, balancing on the safety bars, performing handstands and leaping from treadmill to treadmill with the speed and agility of mountain goats. It’s more like gymnastics than a dance, but it’s jawdropping to watch, and it’s all done in time with a pounding music soundtrack!

The treadmill dance is not something any of us will probably ever be able to attempt, but the fitness level and strength of the “dancers” has to be admired. And getting fitter and stronger through regular exercise is something we can all have a go at.

I wonder if treadmill dance classes at my local gym would catch on?

All the best,

Carol J Pearson
(Personal Trainer)

Technorati Tags: treadmill dance, jogging, slim, personal trainer, exercise

Some bright spark has attached a generator to the exercise bikes in his gym. So as well as torturing us and taking our money, they are now expecting us to power their building! Hmm I’m all for being Green, but when it’s my sweat powering things, I’m not as keen.

Sounds like a good idea although I wonder if I could attach one to my cross trainer and get my husband to power our house!

All the best,

Carol J Pearson
(Personal Trainer)

Technorati Tags: Exercise Bikes, gym, pedal

Some people will wait, others will give up in disgust and use the lack of machines as an excuse not to exercise. Is it any wonder the average length of time an person attends the gym regularly for is only 12 weeks?

I live in the UK and it was the lack of machines in the gym that finally persuaded me to do all my exercise at home (apart from the odd class). These days home exercise equipment is cheap and when you consider you could buy a treadmill brand new for less than $400 (A Proform Treadmill can be bought for $399!), why bother paying expensive gym fees? A treadmill at this price wouldn’t be my first choice for heavy use, but if you are less than 200-250 lbs it would do nicely.

When even a cheap gym membership can cost you over $50 a month, exercising at home can be a cheaper and more convenient alternative. I’ll give more on this later on.

All the best,

Carol J Pearson
(Personal Trainer)

We can find treadmills, multi gyms, ellipticals, cross trainers and multi gyms all at a price we can afford to pay.

The excuse “I don’t like going to the gym” now carries little weight. We can easily get as good a workout at home and we don’t have to re mortgage the house to do it.

A full body workout can be achieved using equipment costing less that $60! If you have more money you could spend many thousands of dollars but it’s not necessary.

I have created this Blog to help keep you abreast of all the latest trends in exercise equipment.

All the best,

Carol J Pearson
(Personal Trainer)

Technorati Tags: at home exercises, exercise at home, home exercise