See Monkey Do

Copyright 2006 Wendy Owen

Do you sleep well? If not, do you know why?

Keeping a sleep diary will allow you to find patterns in your sleep habits. For instance you may find, for instance, that you sleep better after a meal that is high in carbohydrates as opposed to one that is high in protein.

Or you may find that a short nap in the middle of the day keeps you awake at night. Others may find the opposite - a nap during the day helps them sleep better at night.

Only by keeping a regular record of the things that affect your sleep will you be able to pinpoint and avoid the “sleep stealers” that you may not have previously been aware of. It only takes a few minutes a day and can pay dividends over time if you’re a poor sleeper.

So what sorts of things should we write in our sleep diary? Well the most important ones are:

Naps - record any naps during the day, even the five minute doze in front of the TV. Also record the time of day when you napped.

Dinner - What did you have to eat for your evening meal and at what time?

Coffee/tea or any other caffeinated drinks - How many and what time was the last one?

Alcohol - Did you have any alcoholic drinks today? When and how many?

Relaxation - did you practice any relaxation exercises during the day? For how long and at what time?

Medications - what medications (sleeping or other) did you take in the latter part of the day?

Activities - what happened today? Was it a normal day for you or did something out of the ordinary occur? What were you doing just before bed?

In bed - Did you read or watch TV in bed? What time did you turn off the lights?

And the following morning make a note of the following:

How long did it take you to fall asleep last night?

How many times did you wake up?

What time did you get out of bed?

What was the quality of your sleep?

It may sound a bit of a chore at first, but with practice you can do this fairly quickly. Over time you will notice a definite pattern emerging which will enable you to isolate activities or eating habits which have a negative impact on your sleep. It may be reading or watching TV in bed, or it may be too may be alcoholic drinks after dinner. Then you can take steps to eliminate or cut down on these activities to achieve better sleep.

As most of you know, Christmas is less than a month away.

And even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s hard not to notice the effect this holiday has on our culture.

But what amazes me about Christmas is how much it has become commercialized and materialized. It’s now more about “what can I give or get” rather than “what is it I already have that I can be thankful for”.

And the important thing is, every one of us gets a gift, each and every day of the year. The gift of another 24 hours to do whatever it is you want to do.

In my eyes, each and every day I wake up, that’s a gift. It’s just up to me to decide how to use that gift to its fullest.

I think one of the biggest reasons people do not realize their fullest potential when trying to achieve their fitness goals is this:

They take their eyes of what’s really important. They fail to see the “big picture” of what life is really all about.

Life is not just about getting to work on time. Or making dinner for the kids. Or getting laundry done.

Sure, those things are important (believe me, I know hungry kids are NOT happy kids) But what’s truly important is how you decide to use your time during the day to realize your fullest potential.

In other words, you’ve been given a gift. And your ultimate responsibility during each day is to use that 24 hour gift the best way possible. To make yourself happy and to have piece of mind that you’re really doing what you need to be doing to get what you want to get.

You know, I happen to overhear so many people talking about the bad in their lives. These folks always seem to seek out and find the negative in everything. I’m sure you know someone like that yourself.

You know, I too used to complain about my legs being sore the day after a tough leg workout. But now I think about the person confined in a wheelchair that would give anything just to be able to feel those sore legs for one day.

And I have friends that seem to always complain about their job. But they fail to give thanks to the fact they have a job, when many unemployed people would do anything to find a job to support their families.

And speaking of families, I’m sure you’ve heard people say “My husband did this and now I’m mad” or “My wife did that and it really irritated me”.

But what about those people that go about their daily lives alone, with no one to talk to or share with. They’d give anything to even have someone in their lives.

So what does this have to do with fitness?

Everything. Whether or not you achieve your fitness goals is up to 2 things:

1. Your attitude 2. Your actions.

Think of it this way. Like I said earlier, each and every day is a gift. It’s up to you to use it to its fullest potential. Because whatever it is you want to achieve, you have the same amount of time available to you that everyone else has.

So if others have the same amount of time and are reaching their fitness goals, that just means one thing: They’re using that time better than those not achieving what they want.

So whether you want to lose weight or gain muscle, those results start and end with you. You, me, and everyone else receives the same 24 hour gift each and every day. And many people will take action and do something that will lead them to the results they want.

They’ll leave work, tired after a long day, and still stop by the gym for their workout. After working out, they’ll go home and make up a healthy, nutritious meal instead of indulging in junk food.

Bottom line, they use the gift they’ve been given.

Right now, you have everything you’ll ever need to achieve what it is you want. If you have the drive, motivation, and discipline, there’s nothing that can stop you — except for you.

And are you waiting for the traditional “New Year’s Resolutions” time like so many other people do? Don’t be like so many others. Many others fail.

Be different to get different results and start today. That way, you’ll be so far ahead of those just starting out in January.

You shouldn’t have to wait until January 1st to start getting the physique you desire. Think about how much better you’ll feel next week if you start now.

And if you’re full of motivation but are lacking direction, become informed and educated about what it really takes to get in shape. That way, you can cut out all the trial and error and instead, just do exactly what works.

Ask a friend how they were able to lose weight. Read some books on fitness and nutrition so you can learn what it truly takes to achieve your fitness goals.

But again, it starts with you deciding to use the gift you’ve been given. The gift that so few people truly use each and every day:

The gift to make this 24 hours the best possible 24 hours you can.

Not long ago, one of the members of my health club poked her head in my office for some advice and assistance. Linda was a 46 year old mother of two, and she had been a member for over a year. She had been working out sporadically, with (not surprisingly) sporadic results. On that particular day, she seemed to have enthusiasm and a twinkle in her eye that I hadn’t seen before.

“I want to enter a before and after fitness contest called the “12 week body transformation challenge.” I could win money and prizes and even get my picture in a magazine.”

“I want to lose THIS”, she continued, as she grabbed the body fat on her stomach. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”

Linda was not “obese” by any means, she just had the typical “moderate roll” of abdominal body fat and a little bit of thigh/hip fat that many forty-something females struggle with.

“I think it’s a great idea” I reassured her. “Competitions are great for motivation. When you have a deadline and you dangle a “carrot” like that prize money in front of you, it can keep you focused and more motivated than ever.”

Linda was eager and rarin’ to go. “Will you help me? I have this enrollment kit and I need my body fat measured.”

“No problem,” I said as I pulled out my Skyndex fat caliper, which is used to measure body fat percentage with a “pinch an inch” test.

When I finished, I read the results to her from the caliper display: “Twenty-seven percent. Room for improvement, but not bad; it’s about average for your age group.”

She wasn’t overjoyed at being ‘average’. “Yeah, but it’s not good either. Look at THIS,” she complained as again she grabbed a handful of stomach fat. “I want to get my body fat down to 19%, I heard that was a good body fat level.”

I agreed that 19% was a great goal, but it would take a lot of work because average fat loss is usually about a half a percent a week, or six percent in twelve weeks. Her goal, to lose eight percent in twelve weeks was ambitious.

She smiled and insisted, “I’m a hard worker. I can do it”

Indeed she was and indeed she did. She was a machine! Not only did she never miss a day in the gym, she trained HARD. Whenever I left my office and took a stroll through the gym, she was up there pumping away with everything she had. She told me her diet was the strictest it had ever been in her life and she didn’t cheat at all. I believed her. And it started to show, quickly.

Each week she popped into my office to have her body fat measured again, and each week it went down, down, down. Consistently she lost three quarters of a percent per week - well above the average rate of fat loss - and on two separate occasions, I recall her losing a full one percent body fat in just seven days.

Someone conservative might have said she was overtraining, but when we weighed her and calculated her lean body mass, we saw that she hadn’t lost ANY muscle - only fat. Her results were simply exceptional!

She was ecstatic, and needless to say, her success bred more success and she kept after it like a hungry tiger for the full twelve weeks.

On week twelve, day seven, she showed up in my office for her final weigh-in and body fat measurement. She was wearing a pair of formerly tight blue jeans and they were FALLING OFF

HER! “Look, look, look,” she repeated giddily as she tugged at her waistband, which was now several inches too large.

As I took her body fat, I have to say, I was impressed. She hadn’t just lost a little fat, she was “RIPPED!”

During week twelve she dropped from 18% to 17% body fat, for a grand total of 10% body fat lost. She surpassed her goal of 19% by two percent. I was now even more impressed, because I had only seen a handful of people lose that much body fat in three months.

You should have seen her! She started hopping up and down for joy like she was on a pogo stick! She was beaming… grinning from ear to ear! She practically knocked me over as she jumped up and gave me a hug - “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Don’t thank me,” I said, “You did it, I just measured your body fat.”

She thanked me again anyway and then said she had to go have her “after” pictures taken. Then something very, very strange happened. She stopped coming to the gym. Her “disappearance” was so abrupt, I was worried and I called her. She never picked up, so I just left messages.

No return phone call.

It was about four months later when I finally saw Linda again. The giddy smile was gone, replaced with a sullen face, a droopy posture and a big sigh when I said hello and asked where she’d been.

“I stopped working out after the contest… and I didn’t even win.”

“You looked like a winner to me, no matter what place you came in” I insisted, “but why did you stop, you were doing so well!”

“I don’t know, I blew my diet and then just completely lost my motivation. Now look at me, my weight is right back where I started and I don’t even want to know my body fat.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you back in here again. Write down some new goals for yourself and remember to think long term too. Fitness isn’t a just 12 week program you know, it’s a lifestyle - you have to do it every day - like… forever.”

She nodded her head and finished her workout, still with that defeated look on her face. Unfortunately, she never again come anywhere near the condition she achieved for that competition, and for the rest of the time she was a member at our club, she slipped right back into the sporadic on and off workout pattern.

Linda was not an isolated case. I’ve seen the same thing happen with countless men and women of all ages and fitness levels from beginners to competitive bodybuilders. In fact, it happens to millions of people who “go on” diets, lose a lot of weight, then quickly “go off” the diet and gain the weight right back.

What causes people to burn so brightly with enthusiasm and motivation and then burn out just as quickly? Why do so many people succeed brilliantly in the short term but fail 95 out of 100 times in the long term? Why do so many people reach their fitness goals but struggle to maintain them?

The answer is simple: Health and fitness is for life, not for “12 weeks.”

You can avoid the on and off, yo-yo cycle of fitness ups and downs. You can get in great shape and stay in great shape. You can even get in shape and keep getting in better and better shape year after year, but it’s going to take a very different philosophy than most people subscribe to. The seven tips below will guide you.

These guidelines are quite contrary to the quick fix philosophies prevailing in the weight loss and fitness world today. Applying them will take patience, discipline and dedication. Just remember, the only thing worse than getting no results is getting great results and losing them.

1) Don’t “go on” diets. When you “go on” a diet, the underlying assumption is that at some point you have to “go off” it. This isn’t just semantics, it’s the primary reason most diets fail. By definition, a “diet” is a temporary and often drastic change in your eating behaviors and/or a severe restriction of calories or food, which is ultimately, not maintainable. If you reach your goal, the diet is officially “over” and then you “go off” (returning to the way you used to eat). Health and fitness is not temporary; it’s not a “diet.” It’s something you do every day of your life. Unless you approach nutrition from a “habits” and “lifestyle” perspective, you’re doomed from the start.

2) Eat the same foods all year round. Permanent fat loss is best achieved by eating mostly the same types of foods all year round. Naturally, you should include a wide variety of healthy foods so you get the full spectrum of nutrients you need, but there should be consistency, month in, month out. When you want to lose body fat, there’s no dramatic change necessary - you don’t need to eat totally different foods - it’s a simple matter of eating less of those same healthy foods and exercising more.

3) Have a plan for easing into maintenance. Let’s face it - sometimes a nutrition program needs to be more strict than usual. For example, peaking for a bodybuilding or fitness contest requires an extremely strict regimen that’s different than the rest of the year. As a rule, the stricter your nutrition program, the more you must plan ahead and the more time you must allow for a slow, disciplined transition into maintenance. Failure to plan for a gradual transition will almost always result in bingeing and a very rapid, hard fall “off the wagon.”

4) Focus on changing daily behaviors and habits one or two at a time. Rather than making huge, multiple changes all at once, focus on changing one or two habits/behaviors at a time. Most psychologists agree that it takes about 21 days of consistent effort to replace an old bad habit with a new positive one. As you master each habit, and it becomes as ingrained into your daily life as brushing your teeth, then you simply move on to the next one. That would be at least 17 new habits per year. Can you imagine the impact that would have on your health and your life? This approach requires a lot of patience, but the results are a lot more permanent than if you try to change everything in one fell swoop. This is also the least intimidating way for a beginner to start making some health-improving changes to their lifestyle.

5) Make goal setting a lifelong habit. Goal setting is not a one-time event, it’s a process that never ends. For example, if you have a 12 week goal to lose 6% bodyfat, what are you going to do after you achieve it? Lose even more fat? Gain muscle? Maintain? What’s next? On week 13, day 1, if you have no direction and nothing to keep you going, you’ll have nothing to keep you from slipping back into old patterns. Every time you achieve a goal, you must set another one. Having daily and weekly short term goals means that you are literally setting goals continuously and never stopping.

6) Allow a reasonable time frame to reach your goal. It’s important to set deadlines for your fitness and weight loss goals. It’s also important to set ambitious goals, but you must allow a reasonable time frame for achieving them. Time pressure is often the motivating force that helps people get in the best shape of their lives. But when the deadline is unrealistic for a particular goal (like 30 pounds in 30 days), then crash dieting or other extreme measures are often taken to get there before the bell. The more rapidly you lose weight, the more likely you are to lose muscle and the faster the weight will come right back on afterwards. Start sooner. Don’t wait until mid-May to think about looking good for summer.

7) Extend your time perspective. Successful people in every field always share one common character trait: Long term time perspective. Some of the most successful Japanese technology and manufacturing companies have 100 year and even 250-year business plans. If you want to be successful in maintaining high levels of fitness, you must set long term goals: One year, Ten years, Even fifty years! You also must consider what the long term consequences might be as a result of using any “radical” diet, training method or ergogenic aid. The people who had it but lost it are usually the ones who failed to think long term or acknowledge future consequences. It’s easy for a 21 year old to live only for today, and it may even seem ridiculous to set 25 year goals, but consider this: I’ve never met a 40 or 60 year old who didn’t care about his or her health and appearance, but I have met 40 or 60 year olds who regretted not caring 25 years ago.

Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) is a fat loss program which acknowledges the simple truth that going “on diets,” entering “Fitness challenges” or competing in “Transformation contests” without having long term goals and a lifestyle attitude, is a recipe for failure. Don’t let yourself be part of the latest fitness dropout statistics: visit the Burn The Fat website for more details on how to change your lifestyle… and keep the change! www.burnthefat.com

A heart rate monitor is a gadget that grants exercise equipment users the ability to keep in line their own heartbeat whilst exercising. It ordinarily comprises 2 units, A receiver on the wrist and a chest strap. The chest strap utilizes electrodes to monitor your pulse and if the gadget is tied in to your training machine, its screen will indicate your heart rate to you. Receivers for heart rate monitors usually arrive in the shape of digital watches that assess a pulse by figuring out the time before blood pumps through your veins in the wrist. Cardiac rate monitors are turning out to be more and more an essential and most commercial grade fitness machines have got a pulse rate monitor as part of the package.

If you have heart or blood pressure disorders, owning a heart rate monitor whilst keeping fit is essential. You will not simply be able to find out in what way your pump takes care of hard work, you will also be able to control your pulse by modifying speed settings on the exercise machines. Some treadmills and elliptical trainers arrive with a built-in heart-rate management system, which automatically slows down the exercise machine if your heart beat is overly upward. This is really useful, as it fends off a good deal of heart-related ailments that happened at one time or another with people getting in shape harder than their heart could manage.

Even with no cardiac disorders, it is still a good idea to use a heart rate monitor now and then. This way, you shall be able to track how your system deals with intense exertion. To make sure you are in good health and there will be no disorders subsequently, you should make a daily pulse-rate graph for a single week or two, while training at the same intensity degree. You will observe if there are extreme pitfalls or ascensions in your pulse rate, but the best thing to do would be to show this report to your doctor, who will immediately notice any forthcoming problems.

If you are contriving to buy a quality heart rate monitor, one of the common makers available is The Polar company. Polar technology has been around for two decades now and the company has achieved the status of being the industry leader in the heart rate monitors field. They have various series for heart rate monitors, ranging from initiates and intermediates to professional athletes. You can also choose your heart rate monitor from different categories, depending on what your needs are: Cardiac Rehab, Jogging, Cycling, Swimming (this includes a waterproof monitor-watch), Fitness, Weight Management and so forth.

Heart rate monitors are an advance in working out at home, as they might help to avoid numerous heart problems. Always pay attention to your heart rate monitor and try not to push your heart over the limits. Consult a doctor about what the normal pulse rate should be for your body type, in an effort regime. Combine this data with an exercise machine that supports heart rate measuring systems and displays them on their console, or even better, one that adjusts its speed to your pulse rate.

Mid-life Crisis or Male Menopause?

For years men who were experiencing physical and emotional changes assumed they were going through some sort of mid-life crisis. Researchers now suggest these men were probably experiencing something quite different, a male version of menopause.

While most men do not want to accept the fact that the very hormone that makes them a man is decreasing the sobering truth is that as many as 25 million American males between the ages of 35 and 55 are experiencing some degree of male menopause or Andropause. Andropause is characterized by decreased testosterone levels associated with the normal aging process. Irritability, depression, lack of energy, reduced sexual function and libido are all classic signs of Andropause.

Risks Of Testosterone Therapy

Testosterone replacement therapy is the primary treatment for men with lowered testosterone levels. This treatment is still quite controversial considering the risks associated with this form of replacement therapy. Men and their doctors often weigh risk to reward when considering this type of therapy. Testosterone injections, while reducing Andropause symptoms may also increase stroke risk, liver toxicity, gynocomastia (Enlarged breasts) and temporary sterility.

Is A Natural Testosterone Booster Your Solution?

Many researchers and satisfied users of new super potent herbal formulations give an enthusiastic yes to this question. There are over the counter supplements that can naturally boost testosterone levels while reducing Andropause symptoms-without the negative feedback associated with hormone replacement therapy. The most promising of them all is Viastat. Viastat has been clinically proven to help your body produce more of your own testosterone, instead of adding testosterone from an outside source, which can shut down the natural production of testosterone. Obviously, this can put you in worse shape after you stop the injections.

While natural testosterone boosters may not have the immediate impact of a testosterone injection they are a useful and healthy alternative that in the long run may be your answer to lowered androgen levels.

The impact of decreasing testosterone levels can be a difficult thing to accept for most men but it is a normal part of the aging process. As with women, andropause in males begins at a time when life often offers some of its greatest rewards. So don’t let it hamper you from enjoying a normal healthy and active quality of life throughout your middle years.

Do you remember what it was like when the three year old was screaming bloody murder, the TV was blaring Barney songs at levels that could break glass, and you were hanging by your last thread of sanity? (Parents of teenagers say the same thing happens in their household now, except it is another cartoon character called “50 Cent”)

When the levels of stress got so bad, we would declare that it was quiet time. For fifteen or twenty minutes, Barney was switched off, we moved to our inside voices, and we played quietly with books and toys. There was a brief respite from the noise and confusion, and for a moment everything was good, peaceful. It made a difference in our day. We even looked forward to the next quiet time.

Consider incorporating quiet time into your stressful day at the office. Life there doesn’t have to be chaotic and bustling with activity. You can take control of your day by declaring quiet time at work. Here are some suggestions that are actually practiced by people who know stress all too well:

Turn off all electronic goods for 15-20 minutes- You will not miss your emails, people will call back, and you will feel better having the break from electronic pressures.

Get out of the office for 15-20 minutes; take a brisk walk without a cell phone or iPod- A little exercise is always good for you. The mental benefits will far outweigh the physical.

Sit comfortably, close your eyes and breathe deeply for 15 minutes- Deep breathing helps relieve all kinds of stress, reduces blood pressure, and is great for relaxation. A relaxed body can calm a racing mind.

Carry a book that has nothing to do with job or career with you to work. Take quiet time and enjoy some fiction (or cartoons)- Japanese businessmen are notorious for carrying around manga (cartoon books). One of the reasons that the Japanese work day is so long is that they spend time managing the stress of the day.

Take your lunch to a park or a quiet place away from colleagues and co-workers–enjoy the quiet- Eat lunch with your colleagues, and work never ends. If you are in need of a break, spend lunchtime alone. You will be more ready to tackle the afternoon, your head will be clearer, and you might just eat healthier.

Remember how great it was when the three year old collapsed for a nap after instituting quiet time? Here is a last suggestion for quiet time at the office:

Set an alarm (you may be surprised that you can fall off to sleep easier than you expected).

Does this sound familiar to you?

You have goals for your muscle building workouts. You follow a regime that allows you to achieve those goals. You’re doing everything right. But, you fall on your butt.

Then you find that you get back up and start the whole process working on your muscle building workouts all over again. Only to find that you keep falling down, getting back up again and repeating this over and over.

You do this until you think that you are never going to achieve anything here. You think that this training lark isn’t for you. So what do you do?

Yep, you give up.

Why does this happen and what can I do about it?

You’ve probably asked yourself that question many times. But you may have found that you never came up with a real answer. You blame the muscle building workouts and everything that led you to it.

So what is the real problem?

It seems that you have the right muscle building workouts. You may have goals in mind of what you would like to achieve with that training routine.

Maybe you’re doing one, or more, of the following:

* Having bad, or no, warm up sessions.

* Not eating enough.

* Not taking enough fluids.

* Training too much.

* Lifting excessive weights.

* Not getting enough sleep.

These are all very common to all muscle and fitness workouts, no matter what sport you do.

These are easily identified and remedied. Just go through each one of these and see if they apply to you. If so, then identify why this is the case. Having done that, you need to find the right solution to fix it. You do this in a systematical manner, until you have fully identified what is wrong, the reason for it going wrong and the appropriate solution for it.

For example:

Lets say that you not experiencing any growth in your biceps. Ask yourself some questions of your muscle and fitness workouts:

Question: What is wrong?

Answer: My biceps are not growing.

Question: What are the possible causes, and why?

Answer: The exercise may be done too quickly, or maybe I’m cheating in my training, or maybe there isn’t enough weight on the barbell.

Question: What can be done to remedy this?

Answer: Improve my form when doing this exercise. Reduce the weight so that I don’t cheat and to keep me more strict. Or increase the weight on the barbell to promote more growth in this area.

So you see, you need to identify the problem first. If you don’t do this, you cannot fix it up. Then you must identify what the possible causes are so that you can offer up appropriate solutions to remedy the situation. Just go through each solution, one at a time, until you are satisfied with the results.

This requires patience and dedication. Most people will not put in the time to find out why they’re going wrong. Instead they spend a lot of money and waste a lot of time trying out different solutions. Whereas, what they should have done first was to seek the answer within themselves. Then seek the appropriate solution elsewhere suitable for their muscle building workouts — only if that solution is outside of their grasp.

Are you looking for an intense cardio-vascular workout that can be done at home on your own treadmill? This interval workout will maximize the health benefits your treadmill has to offer.

Follow these steps and you will experience an intense cardio-vascular workout in less than half an hour.

Take 5 minutes to warm up.

For 2 minutes, gradually increase your speed and/or incline, until it is just higher than comfortable.

Then, for the next 2 minutes, every 15 seconds, increase the incline 1 percent.

Again, for the next 2 minutes, increase the incline 1 percent every 15 seconds.

For 2 minutes, every 15 seconds, decrease the incline 1 percent.

Increase the speed to a run (or fast walk) for one minute.

Decrease the speed (to recover) for the next 2 minutes.

For the next 2 minutes, increase the incline 1 percent every 15 seconds.

Then decrease the incline 1 percent every 15 seconds for 2 minutes.

For 1 minute, increase the incline to about 15 or 20 percent and work as hard as you can.

For 2 minutes, decrease the incline to 0 percent (to recover).

For 5 minutes, walk at a comfortable pace (to cool down).

Total workout time: 26 minutes

This workout can be adjusted to suit your personal workout preferences. You can go for longer if you are fit enough to do so. If you are new to the treadmill, you can reduce the workout times until you are able to handle it. Remember, never over-exert yourself. Good luck!

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Treadmill-Solutions.com He provides more treadmill reviews, treadmill ratings and treadmill buying information that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

If you haven’t been involved in weight strength training in the past, it’s easy to get confused by all the different kind of home gym equipment that is on the market today. It may almost seem like a foreign language at times. But the good news is that just a little bit of information can help you understand that language quickly and easily. So here are some things that you need to know about home gym equipment in order to get what you really need.

First let’s divide this discussion into two parts. In the first part we will cover traditional free weight systems. This may be what many people think of when they think of home gyms. Essentially, they are a collection of free weights and the bars that the weights are assembled on. The responsibility of using the weights properly in each exercise falls entirely on the exerciser in this case. And it’s easy to injure yourself if you don’t use the proper form when doing free weight exercises. For that reason, be sure to get some good guidance and training before you undertake using free weights to make sure you are doing it properly.

But the equipment that you will need is very simple and not complicated. First of all, you will need about 200 lbs. of free weights that have a hole in the center of them. Then you will need a barbell, which is a long metal bar for stacking weight on each end. Next you will need two dumbbells, and these are used for single-handed exercises. The weights have to be held on to both the barbell and the dumbbells with a simple device called a collar, and you will need enough for both ends on each bar. The next piece of equipment is a bench, and this bench should have a standing rack on one end that will support the barbell with a full load of weights.

Really, that is about all the equipment that you need for a very simple home fitness gym consisting of free weights. However, these days more elaborate home gym equipment has been made available that structures all of your exercises and help you keep the proper form as you go. This usually makes for a more safe overall exercise experience.

The most common components of a typical home gym machine includes a bench, and a press, which often are performed lying down, but sometimes are done standing up on some machines. A lat pulldown is often included too, that lets you pull weights down from above to strengthen the lat muscles in your back. Other popular equipment include a leg extension and leg curl at the end of the bench, and a low pulley for single arm curls. There are also the gyms that include leg presses and squats, but you often have to pay more for those features.

You can actually do just as many exercisers with free weights as you can with one of the expensive home fitness gyms, but you have to know what you are doing in order to do it right. Many folks these days are deciding that they prefer to use the structure that a home gym machine gives them for their individual workouts. Whatever type of the equipment you choose, be sure to use them in advance to be sure that they will meet your needs properly before you buy.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including fitness. You can find the best home gym equipment and home gym reviews by visiting our Home Fitness website.