Researchers at the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University conducted a study about walking intensity, using treadmills and exercise pedometers.  The study determined walking at least 100 steps per minute achieves moderate intensity activity.  The research was collected from 97 men & women who were monitored while walking on a treadmill and counting steps using a pedometer.  Conclusions from the results were to start exercising at 100 steps per minute for a minimum of 10 minutes (1000 steps), then build up to 3000 steps in 30 minutes to achieve health benefits.  The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Lifespan treadmills and elliptical trainers (TR2000, TR3000 and EL3000i) include a unique step counting feature called Intelli-Step™, which counts your steps as you exercise and displays your workout progress on the screen.  No pedometer needed – your treadmill or elliptical keeps your step count for you!  Intelli-Step™ is a simple solution to help you get more physical activity each day, and is also an excellent tool if you participate in a popular step program such as the CDC’s 10,000 steps per day.

On LifeSpan treadmills, you can also select the number of steps you want to walk or jog, and the console screen will display the number of steps you’ve taken until you reach your goal.  With this exercise program you are one step closer to your fitness goal.  For additional fitness information please visit www.lifespanfitness.com.

Do you exercise regularly?  If so, do you tend to do the same exercise routine each time?  Maybe you walk on your treadmill 20 minutes every day, or jog the same 3 mile route a few days a week.  You may not know that you can enhance the benefits of your exercise by incorporating variety to work your muscles differently.  Varying your workout is important to achieving optimal health benefits, whether you want to lose weight, manage your diabetes or high blood pressure, or train for an upcoming running race.  LifeSpan fitness equipment includes a variety of exercise programs to meet your needs and allow you to change your workouts to increase the effectiveness of your exercise on your body.  In addition to offering a variety of exercise programs on LifeSpan treadmills, elliptical trainers, and exercise bikes, there is also a flexibility built into many of the workout programs so you can exercise the way you want, at the intensity level you need. Workout programs for Weight Loss and Heart Rate Control are designed by an Exercise Physiologist to give you the maximum benefit using a safe and medically-appropriate approach.

Interval training and interval exercise programs. Be sure to check each piece of Lifespan fitness equipment for details on specific programs included with each model.

Interval Training
Interval training is one of the most effective ways to train the body. Interval training is simply the alternation of high and low intensity exercise that provides users with periods of rest between high intensity program segments. Interval training has been found to burn more calories and pump more blood than lower intensity exercise. Interval training is an excellent motivator for both the beginner and the elite athlete, as interval training helps the heart, lungs and muscles make a better transition from walking to jogging to running and finally to running faster. With these programs, users can expect to improve their strength, speed and endurance by using timed intervals of effort and recovery throughout the workout.

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A lot of times headaches are unavoidable, unfortunately.  There are ways to ease your headaches & migraines…here’s a way to help reduce your headache pain without taking any pills.  Simply work up a sweat using your favorite fitness equipment or outdoors, then relax. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine conducted a study that showed exercising 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of relaxation twice a week will ease headache pain.  Not only can you use your favorite fitness equipment to get fit, you can also relieve your headache too!

Many of us have parts of our body that we want to improve, and have tried exercising to lose weight. Believe it or not, a 20 minute workout on your treadmill or elliptical trainer that alternates intensity levels will show quicker results than an exercising for 40 minutes at a steady effort level. You are probably asking yourself, “How do I start this exercise to lose weight?” All you need to do is choose a cardio machine, such as an elliptical trainer or a treadmill and set it to manual. Then for 20 minutes, do 60–90 second intervals alternating the intensity levels. LifeSpan treadmills and elliptical trainers come with Interval workout programs to make it even easier. Simply select an interval program from your console and press Start.

Here’s a sample interval workout plan I found in my Shape Magazine. Try it on your treadmill or elliptical trainer, or try it on your next jog or run outside.

-3 minutes Warm Up

-30 seconds Increase Intensity

-1 minute Increase Intensity

-1 minutes 30 seconds Decrease Intensity

-1 minute Increase Intensity

-1 minute 30 seconds Decrease Intensity

…and so forth up to 17 minutes and cool down gradually the last 3 minutes

If you need help motivating yourself listen to music that has a beat you can exercise to. By keeping up with the music you will not even realize all the hard work you are accomplishing.

So if your exercise goal is to lose weight, try interval training. You’ll soon notice the difference!

Do you take enough steps in your day? Do you count your steps and keep track of the number of steps you take?  Could you benefit by increasing your daily steps?  For many Americans, springtime signals it’s time to get moving and an easy way is to count your daily steps.  According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “more than 50% of U.S. adults do not get enough exercise to receive health benefits and 25% are not active at all in their leisure time.” A recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said, “the costs associated with physical inactivity are high… if ten percent of adults in the United States began a regular walking program, an estimated $5.6 billion in heart disease costs could be saved.”

Two studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association have confirmed that a step counting lifestyle approach can be as effective as a traditional exercise program. Simply increasing the number of steps you take each day, and keeping track of how many steps you’re taking, can have a positive impact on your overall health. A JAMA article reviewed studies that showed “use of a pedometer, especially with a daily step goal, is associated with significant increases in physical activity (additional walking of about one mile per day) and decreases in body mass index and blood pressure.” Although there is no detailed evidence of the effectiveness of recording daily steps, it has recently experienced a surge in popularity as a tool for motivating and monitoring physical activity.

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