Home Fitness Equipment Who needs it?
American men and women and their kids, too. According to a recent Gallup survey of about 1,000 U.S. adults: we are heavier than ever, with few people exercising frequently or even trying to lose weight. Why? Are we giving up? (Maybe we’ve forgotten how good it feels to feel GREAT.) The CDS’s (Center of Disease Control) figures are equally grim. According to the CDC, 66% of American adults (age 20 or older) are overweight or obese, as of 2003-2004. Why? All these computers and conveniences – we’re connected mentally but totally disconnected from our physical bodies. Hello! This isn’t Star Trek – we still need them.
One way is rebuild our strength, flexibility and physical sense is to take responsibility. Home fitness equipment creates an opportunity to take it off (the pounds); put it on (lean muscle); stretch it out (muscles, tendons) and build it up (bone mass.) It is easier to do this in the privacy, of our personal “no spin zone,” our home. Another obvious advantage of bringing “it” home is its, 24/7, accessibility. It is SO easy to bail on yourself when you depend on a public gym. “Ran out of time,”
“There was no parking,” “all the machines were taken,” “I forgot my workout clothes,” “my buddy didn’t show up.” Sound familiar? At home there is always time, parking, available machines, workout clothes and, hopefully, a buddy. Do you need one more good reason to do yourself right? Here’s a bunch: Regular exercise, 30 minutes – 3 times a week, increases good cholesterol and decreases the bad. It reduces the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It lowers high blood pressure, the risk of breast cancer and minimizes the risk of osteoporosis by building bone mass. It reduces symptoms of PMS, stress, anxiety and insomnia.
Bottom line: you will feel better, sleep sounder, be able to eat more and still weigh less. You will stand straighter; eliminate aches and pains, sore shoulders, and that stiff neck they’ve been carrying around. You will look better, feel better about yourself and be more pleasant to everyone around you. And, if you have a spouse or kids, all of these benefits apply to them to.