The Benefits of Exercise and Proper Fitness Equipment Selection

Regular exercise and increased physical activity can add years to your life and help you feel and look younger. A well-rounded exercise routine will include a combination of cardiovascular activity and strength training using quality exercise equipment and accessories. The proper selection of fitness equipment and flooring products is an essential component to any exercise regimen for optimum results. Ironcompany.com, a leading online supplier of commercial fitness equipment for GSA contracts, can help you attain your fitness goals. With a state-of-the-art website, Ironcompany.com provides an easy shopping experience featuring a huge selection of gym equipment, free weights, exercise machines, and rubber flooring products. Need a question answered? Not sure which piece of equipment to purchase? Their friendly staff will assist you with any of your needs and help you obtain the right type of equipment all offered at great values. Ironcompany.com has provided commercial treadmills and cardio equipment, free weights, weight stack machines, and athletic flooring products to over 50 military bases in the United States. From Ft. Bragg, North Carolina to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan Ironcompany.com proudly serves our men and woman in uniform that are stationed around the globe.

Cardiovascular Exercise

The benefits of cardiovascular exercise cannot be overstated. By performing cardio exercise on a regular basis, your body gains stamina and endurance and becomes more efficient at burning calories. Another benefit is a more efficient metabolism and a strengthening of the immune system. Cardiovascular exercise can also reduce stress and improve self-esteem.

There are several types of cardio equipment on the market today. Treadmills, exercise bikes, and elliptical trainers are the most popular choices for cardio exercise and are excellent for building cardio endurance and are easy to use as well. Ironcompany.com has an awesome selection of commercial treadmills, stationary bikes, and elliptical trainers. Remember, when you choose your cardio equipment, choose wisely. Get a quality piece of cardio equipment that will provide you the results you are looking for and fit your specific needs. If you have knee problems, then an exercise bike is an excellent choice. Ironcompany.com offers upright bikes, recumbent bikes, and the popular indoor cycle bike used in spinning classes. If you prefer walking or running, then check out Ironcompany's commercial treadmills with computer control panels and built-in programs. They also offer several types of equipment mats and athletic flooring surfaces to help absorb shock and protect flooring surfaces.

Strength Training

If you want to change your overall look and become more tone, then the importance of strength training should not be underestimated. Strength training has been proven to benefit young athletes to seniors. Women, in particular, see tremendous benefits from strength training. . If you desire that "ripped" look, then strength training is absolutely vital if you want to change the visual appearance of your body. Another added benefit is that strength training creates strong muscle and strengthens ligaments and tendons, which serve to support our joints and decrease the possibility of injury from other activities.

Wouldn't it be great if you could burn more calories throughout the day, even while relaxing? Well, you can make this happen if you strength train. The fact is, the more muscle mass you possess, the more calories you will naturally burn. So get up and start pumping that iron. Don't forget that muscle weighs approximately 3 times more than fat, so if you have embarked on a fitness regimen of strength training, cardio exercise and a healthy diet don't be dismayed if the scale goes up instead of down. A good way to measure your progress is by using a tape measure to keep track of your results. Measure your arms, thighs, waist, hips, and calves and keep a weekly log of your progress.

The proper selection of strength training equipment depends on several factors including, age, fitness goals, health, and budget. One of the most common questions in the fitness industry today is whether to perform strength training using free weights or machines.

Free Weight Equipment

The major advantage of free weights is that they are more efficient in strengthening the whole body. You can perform a wide variety of upper and lower body exercises using just a set of dumbbells. A dumbbell or barbell set is also usually less expensive than a weight machine. Using free weights also gives you the ability to imitate real life or sports related motions. Weight machines essentially guide your range of movement; however, free weights provide the user with a free range of motion. This brings us to the disadvantage of using free weights: safety. Free weights require a much greater amount of control by the user to avoid injury to muscles and joints. Proper technique and the use of the correct amount of weight are very important safety concerns when using free weights.
The most popular free weights are dumbbells and barbells. Dumbbells can be either fixed weight or adjustable with weight plates that can be switched out.

The most popular dumbbells are pro-style fixed weight dumbbells. At Ironcompany, we offer an awesome selection of free weights, dumbbells and dumbbell sets from 5 to 200 lbs. by top manufacturers like Ivanko, Troy, and Cemco in several types of materials including cast iron, rubber-coated, urethane, chrome, and solid steel for low maintenance.

Weight Machines

A weight machine can provide an excellent, safe workout. The main advantage of strength training using machines is ease of use and safety. Because the machines guide your path of resistance, there is less danger of being trapped or injured. You can also safely exercise without the assistance of a spotter. You may be more inclined to lift heavier because a machine is typically safer than going heavy with free weights. You can also make changes to the weight quickly and easily. Weight machines are typically more expensive than purchasing free weights which is a consideration if you are setting up a home gym; however, the investment can be well worth it when you see the results they can provide.

There are two types of weight machines: Single exercise machines that are designed for a specific muscle or exercise and multi-use exercise machines like a home gym or smith machine. Each of these types of weight machines can have a weight stack or accept weight plates. The obvious advantage to a weight stack or selectorized machine is the ability to quickly switch weights. The stack is usually held in place by a pin, and the simple movement of the pin can add or subtract from the weight stack. Free weight machines require the addition or subtraction of weight plates each time you desire a change.

Athletic Flooring

Let's not forget the importance of a proper athletic flooring surface to protect your equipment, flooring surfaces, and help absorb shock and static electricity. Ironcompany.com also specializes in athletic flooring surfaces for weight rooms, gyms, locker rooms, and fitness facilities including interlocking rubber flooring, rubber sports rolls, shower tiles, aerobic tiles, fitness mats, equipment mats, and flooring supplies all at great prices.

How to Lose Weight

Your pants are a bit tight, you can't seem to stop eating junk, and you're tired all of the time. It's time to get healthy and lose weight. Combined with a more sensible diet, an exercise bike can help you achieve the results you want.

Ugh, the Diet.

So many people go wrong here. Forget fad diets, forget starvation. Slow and steady wins the race. Try changing one thing about your diet. Limit yourself to one soda a day. Stop skipping meals. If you always clean your plate, start leaving one or two bites. A total change in diet is work. If you go for a radical change, you are setting yourself up for failure. You'll be surprised how well small changes work.

The Right Bike Determines Your Success

This is a critically important part. There are literally hundreds of exercise bikes available. You have to be honest with yourself to discover the one that will work best for you. If you talk yourself into some fantasy world where your exercise plan is going to work this time even though there's nothing different, you're going to be disappointed. If you think ahead, you will buy the right bike for your needs. You will end up with a successful long-term exercise routine.

Think back to your last exercise routine attempt. Why did you stop? Did you suffer an injury? Did you get bored? Was it just too hard to do every day? Was it hard to find the time? Answer these questions truthfully. If you don't figure out where you went wrong, you won't be able to come up with a solution.

Avoiding and Working Through Injuries

If an injury caused you to stop working out, how did you sustain your injury? Becoming physically fit is supposed to help you prevent injuries, not cause them. There is an exercise bike for someone who has been injured working out. It's called a recumbent exercise bike. It's the kind found in a lot of health clubs. It has a large, bucket seat, and you sit back and low to the ground. It is perfect for people beginning a new exercise routine. It's also very good for back problems as it forces you to keep good posture. It puts no pressure on your joints, and you can keep working out even if you have minor injuries.

Overcoming Boredom

Did you get bored the last time you tried to workout on a regular basis? If you did, you are likely to get bored again. With exercise bikes, the solution is usually a bike with several different levels and riding programs. You can get bikes with different difficulty levels. This means that when it becomes too easy for you to pedal, you simply move up to the next level instead of having to ride longer (which just isn't likely to happen for the person who is easily bored). You can also get different programs. Programs give you variety and goals. They make you pedal harder, simulate conquering hills, and even sprinting for short periods.

Riding programs might not be enough for you. You might need a bike that you can hook up to your television that simulates riding through different courses. You can take a leisurely ride through a park or compete with other computer riders on a difficult obstacle course. These bikes might cost more up front, but if you don't invest in a bike that will let you sustain your workout, you're wasting money on anything less.

The coolest thing for game addicts who get bored is an interactive bike that plugs into a Sony Playstation or Playstation 2. It makes over 50 games interactive. Whatever is happening on your bike happens on the screen in bike, car, and similar games. There are all types of similar bikes available.

If you plan on listening to music or watching TV while you cycle, be sure to pay attention to features that will make the exercise bike quieter. It's also a good idea to get a quieter bike if you live with other people. For all you know, your workout time is going to be 5AM or midnight. A quieter bike won't disturb other people in your home.

Don't Try to Be Lance Armstrong Yet...

People beginning exercise programs are sometimes too ambitious. It's good to be excited, but you have to remain realistic. If your last exercise program failed because it was just too much work, don't make the same mistake again. Fight the urge to overdo your first workouts. It is critical to your long-term success that you start out slow. If you go from no exercise at all to 5 to 10 minute exercise bike workouts with little resistance, you are much more likely to avoid injury, soreness, and most of all, early feelings of defeat. If you aim too high - expecting to go from a sedentary lifestyle to 45 minute workouts immediately, for example - you are setting yourself up for failure. When you don't reach your unattainable goal, it is more likely you'll quit altogether to alleviate the feeling of failure that much sooner.

The perfect bikes for people who get a bit over-excited are exercise bikes with built in riding programs. You simply start out at the lowest level, and the bike determines your workout. You program in a small goal (10 minutes, 50 calories, or .25 mile) and when you reach that goal, your workout is over.

Finding the Time

You do have time to burn fat and calories on an exercise bike. No matter how intense your schedule is, there are people busier than you who find time to make an exercise routine work. They are not better than you. They don't have more than 24 hours in a day. They simply figured out how to make it work. You can, too.

It can be as simple as the time of day you chose to workout in the past. There is scientific evidence that people who are "morning people" or "night owls" are physically different. Different people have energy at different times. Think about when you work best. If you wake up without an alarm clock ready to go, you should exercise first thing in the morning. If you are a night owl, you should consider working out at night. You might find that you are one of the people who tire yourself out enough with a night workout to sleep like a baby.

You Can Do This!

Losing weight is not a punishment. You are smart enough to know how to eat a little better and become more active. If you are honest with yourself, you will choose the proper bike. You want to look forward to the workout itself. Don't get caught up in which bike burns more calories. Find an exercise bike you will enjoy riding. Figure out the time of day that's best for you to exercise. Make it like getting dressed or bathing - it's just something you do every day. You don't have to train for the Tour de France. You just have to get on and do something every day. Ten minutes a day will yield results. Bookmark this article for future motivation, find your exercise bike, and get busy!