Helping You Lose Weight and Get in Shape – Home Fitness Equipment Suggestions that Challenge the Everyday Myths

The New Year and the resolutions that are made with it are just around the corner again. With each new year comes weight loss programs that seem to be forgotten, exercise equipment that gathers dust, personal trainer appointments that get cancelled, and goals to get in shape and burn fat that are never met. It's unfortunate that out of all the New Year's resolutions that are made each year, most of them are fitness related and over 80% of them are not kept.

Despite the endless market for exercise machines that make false claims, a lot of equipment is available that, when used correctly, can be very beneficial to your health and fitness and can become a useful part of your weight loss program. There are several factors to keep in mind when choosing the equipment that best suits you. For starters, it is best to start by assessing the shape you are in, and then determining what your goal is. From there, you can select the appropriate equipment to lose weight, build/tone muscle, and tone your ab muscles and waistline.

Losing Weight and Getting in Shape - It can be fun!

Many fitness goals and weight loss programs fail because the person who wants to get in shape loses interest. Let's face it - running on a treadmill is boring and monotonous. The key to ensuring that you stick to an exercise program is to find activities that not only burn calories, but also keep you entertained.

Swimming is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise. Unfortunately, most people do not have a pool that is large enough or designed for lap swimming. For those situations, the ExerSwim Portable Swim Current Generator is the ideal solution. It installs in minutes on most swimming pools and, using an enclosed propeller drive, provides you with an adjustable speed current of up to seven miles per hour. The ExerSwim uses two rechargeable low voltage batteries and is easily transportable. If you do not consider yourself to be a strong swimmer, the Exerswim can be adjusted to a lower setting for walking and other aquatic exercises.

Much like running on a treadmill, swimming laps can be a boring exercise as well. With the SwiMP3 V2 Waterproof MP3 player you can listen to your favorite music downloaded from your Mac or PC while you swim. The device includes an integrated rechargeable battery, easily clips to most goggle straps, and uses a special "bone conduction" technology to provide you with crystal clear sound under water.

If the weather is too cold for aquatic exercise, or you just consider yourself to be more of a land person, the Pilatesstick Portable Body Sculpting System is a completely portable device designed to allow you to perform a highly-effective form of exercise anywhere. Pilates is a method of physical movement and exercise, coupled with focused breathing patterns, designed to help stretch, strengthen, and balance the body. It has been used world-wide as not only a lone fitness endeavor, but as an important addition to professional sports training and physical rehabilitation. The Pilatesstick includes a heavy-duty cable system, its own carrying case and Pilates mat, and a Full Body Basic Training DVD.

Building and Toning Muscle - Say "Good Bye" to the Hassle of Weights

For years lifting weights has been the method of choice for building and toning muscle. Unfortunately, a wide variety of weight machines and weights are necessary to give your muscle groups the workout needed to improve definition and build mass. Why waste your time and money while risking injury with these machines? A variety of simple and affordable devices are available that accomplish those same goals.

Chances are you have seen the Perfect Push Up advertised on television. Because it has been seen on television, most people dismiss it as just another useless device… this is not true! The Perfect Push Up takes the ageless push up, an exercise that is highly effective for strength training, and enables it to work more muscle groups while taking strain away from your wrists. The rotating ability of these push up handles allows your arm to follow its natural rotation as your arms go from being near your chest to being fully extended from your body. The height of the hand grips allows you to lower yourself farther into the push up, working your arms, shoulders, chest, and back. The Perfect Push Up is also available in a Travel Edition that collapses and comes with a travel case. Both versions include an exercise program to get you started.

If you are more interested in muscle tone and definition than bulk, the Thera-Bands Exercise Bands and the Ultra Toner Bowtie Exercise Tubes are a simple yet effective form of training. Available in different levels of resistance to accommodate your individual strength levels, these two products are small enough to make them perfect for travel. The Thera-Bands Exercise Bands can be cut into different lengths and offer a variety of available exercises. The Ultra Toner Bowtie Exercise Tubes are sold in set lengths but have built-in foam handgrips to make holding onto the bands during exercise easier. This form of muscle toning and training is used by Olympic swimmers and professional athletes all over the world.

Toning Your Abdominal Muscles - Getting Rid of That Gut!

Commercials and infomercials for machines designed to help you lose belly fat and get six-pack abs are all over television year-round. The population as a whole is obsessed with this hard-to-obtain look and will spend money on products that promise impossible results. The common misconception is that, if you want to get a slim waistline and toned abs, you need to use a specific ab machine to do so. Unfortunately, that is not the case. If you have a lot of excess fat at your waist or are very overweight, diet and cardiovascular exercise are the first steps you should take towards achieving this goal. The devices mentioned in the first section are great for getting you started on the path to this goal. Once you have slimmed down from diet and exercise, you can begin using ab machines to tone your existing abdominal muscles.

One of the most simple and inexpensive, yet very effective devices for exercising any part of your body is a gym ball. You can select from the Gymnastik Maxafe Ball, FitBall Exercise Ball, or the Physioball Maxafe Ball. They are available in a variety of sizes and colors, and many include exercise charts and pumps. Besides offering an assortment of abdominal exercises, exercise balls enable you to tone your arms, legs, chest, and back as well.

The Slendertone Flex Abdominal Training System is another product that is often dismissed as ineffective and a waste of money. This is primarily because consumers expect this product to drastically reduce their belly fat and give them six-pack abs. The Slendertone is an effective product but only when used in conjunction with diet and exercise. If you already have a stomach with very little fat and need a way to gain that extra edge to reach your fitness goal, the Slendertone Flex is the ideal piece of fitness equipment for you. Electrical impulses cause the muscles of your entire abdominal area to contract and relax, giving you an effective workout while you go about your busy lifestyle. This product is perfect for those who sit at a desk all day or are too busy to get that extra ab exercise in their schedule. The digital display allows you to easily set the desired level of stimulation and choose from four preprogrammed workouts.

Who says ab exercises need to be boring and painful? The Bongo Board is a unique device designed to give you an effective and fun core workout. At first glance it looks like a skateboard with one set of wheels. The Bongo Board is fun to ride and requires only a small area indoors or out for use. Its patented design allows you to learn proper distribution of body weight to achieve constant equilibrium and tone the muscles used for balance and stability, such as your abs, lower back, glutes, and obliques.

Getting Fit Through Nutrition - A Healthy Diet is the Key to a Healthy Body

America's obsession with weight loss and the desire to have the perfect body with minimal effort has lead to a flood of weight loss supplements on the market. Many of these supplements promise fast results by suppressing your appetite. Unfortunately, these methods of weight loss carry serious health risks and side effects such as damage to your heart from overworking it, stomach problems, mood swings, nausea, and headaches.

Supplements should never take the place of a healthy diet and exercise program, but they can be used to help augment it. Sublingual B-12 is a supplement that contains vitamins B-12 and B-6 as well as folic acid. It helps increase energy and improves cardiovascular health. Unlike other supplements that are swallowed and can take hours to enter your blood stream, Sublingual B-12's fruit punch-flavored tablets dissolve under your tongue to enter the blood stream in a fraction of the time.

Finally, Set Realistic Goals

The products mentioned above are not miracle devices. While they are very effective tools to help you lose weight and get in shape, you typically will not see results immediately. Do not over-exert yourself to try to achieve faster results as this can cause injury. Above all, be patient - if you want to go from a "couch potato" to an athlete it will take some time.

Cat Lovers Rejoice! – Two New Innovative Products to Eliminate the Hassle of Frequently Changing Your Cat’s Litter Box

If you have a cat, or know someone who does, you are probably familiar with the unpleasant odor a cat's litter box can leave behind. Cat owners, especially those who own more than one cat, find themselves constantly bending down to clean out the litter box in order to keep it fresh. This chore is time-consuming, nauseating, and in many cases, tough on your back.

Two new products have recently been invented to make the lives of cat lovers much easier. Unique in their functionality and design, the CatGenie Self-Flushing, Self-Washing Cat Box and the Scoop Free Automatic Self Cleaning Litter Box use different methods and technology for the same goal: to help with the unpleasant task of keeping your cat's litter box clean and fresh.

Scoop Free Self Cleaning Litter Box

The Scoop Free Self Cleaning Litter Box is simple to use, requires no installation, and is very cost effective. Rather than having to deal with the mess associated with pouring cat litter from bags, this device uses its own cartridges that come filled with Fresh Step Crystals kitty litter. Simply lift the unit, remove the old cartridge, and replace it with a new one.

Because of the integrated system and design of the Scoop Free, cat owners can go up to a month without having to change the cartridge if they have one cat. When a cat uses the box, a motion sensor is activated and a twenty minute countdown begins. At the end of the countdown, the integrated rake moves across the litter pushing solid waste into the covered trap at the end. The rake then moves back across the litter to smooth it out and freshen it. There is no scooping (hence the name "Scoop Free"), bagging, or changing of any cartridges for up to a month. The Scoop Free includes an AC adaptor so it can be plugged into the wall and is roughly the same size as a normal cat litter box.

In addition to packs of additional cartridges, two other accessories are available for the Scoop Free Self Cleaning Litter Box. The optional litter box hood provides comfort and privacy for cats that are shy while the optional anti-tracking carpet sits in front of the box to keep your cat from tracking litter or waste through your home. The Scoop Free and its accessories make great holiday gifts for any cat lover and are a "must have" for anyone with physical limitations that make frequent litter box cleaning difficult.

CatGenie Self-Flushing, Self-Washing Cat Box

The CatGenie Self-Flushing, Self-Washing Cat Box is a very unique device that functions as a litter box, acts like a toilet, and cleans like a modern washing appliance. While it is more expensive than the Scoop Free and requires some installation, the CatGenie does not require any manual disposal of waste, scooping, or changing of cartridges.
Using litter-like, washable granules that never need changing, the CatGenie uses the water line and waste disposal abilities of your toilet. Once the cat uses the box, water and a special SaniSolution wash are flushed through it to clean the granules and push the solid waste into a special compartment where it is turned into liquid waste. The waste is then disposed of through your toilet or laundry waste line and the built-in hot air blower dries the granules. The entire process is completely automatic.

Washable granules and the SaniSolution are available for purchase separately along with higher side walls and the GenieDome for your cat's privacy. While it does require some one-time installation, the CatGenie is perfect for elderly people and those with physical disabilities as it eliminates the need to scoop waste and change liners or cartridges.

"How Will My Cat Adjust To These Devices?"

Different cats adjust to change in different ways. Typically cats take to these devices immediately, especially if you put them in the same location as where your old litter box was. In the beginning, you may wish to add a half scoop of your existing cat litter to the granules included with these two devices in order to help your cat adjust to the new box.

Cat lovers are sure to enjoy either one of these devices - your house will not be filled with the unpleasant cat litter odor, the back-straining chore of cleaning the box is eliminated, and most importantly, your cat will be happy.

Back Pain - How to Find Relief From Chronic Back Aches and Back Injuries

Whether you have spent years over-using or misusing your back, you are an active athlete, you are pregnant, or you suffered a back injury at some point in your life with long-term consequences, back pain is a condition that affects more than half of all working Americans. It can be caused by health conditions such as cancer, arthritis, and infection or it can be caused by mechanical injury such as muscle pulls, muscle tears, sprained ligaments, or ruptured discs. In fact, back pain is the most common reason for missing work and is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor's office, outnumbered only by upper respiratory infections. Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain and experts suggest that as many as 80% of the population will experience back pain at some point.

Almost every movement of the human body involves the use of the back in some way, making living with this condition unbearable. Because of the growing number of back-related injuries and the costs associated with them, demand for products that help to ease the pain of this difficult condition has increased drastically. The population as a whole does not wish to spend the rest of their lives dependant on pain medication, and most cannot afford, or do not have insurance to cover, the cost of a chiropractor.

Unbeknownst to most people suffering from back pain, a wide range of highly effective products are available to the average consumer to help ease the suffering of this condition. Most are very cost effective and none of them involve the use of medications. Most have been designed by doctors, physical therapists, and athletic trainers who see on a daily basis what life with back pain can be like.

Gels and Sprays for Instant Relief

When a back injury flares up, relief cannot come fast enough. Sometimes you find yourself in situations where you don't have time for massage treatment or heat therapy and you need relief quickly. Anyone who has used creams, gels, or sprays is probably familiar with the discomfort that comes with the relief. They can burn, irritate the skin, and leave a foul odor, essentially advertising that you are in pain. Biofreeze is available in both gel and spray form, and is a quick, comfortable, and effective way to relieve back pain. Once applied, it gives your skin a cool, refreshing feeling, followed by penetrating heat that works its way to the core of your pain. The small spray bottle, roll-on, and tube are ideal for travel in a purse, backpack, or car, while the larger spray bottle and pump bottles are great for use in the home or office.

Massage Therapy

When most people hear the phrase "massage therapy", they immediately think of a costly treatment that involves some stranger putting their hands on them. Fortunately, many of the tools massage therapists use are available to the public so you can have the relaxing effect of a deep penetrating massage in the comfort of your own home.

The Acuforce 7.0 Deep Penetrating Massage Therapy Tool is a weighted device with multiple points and surfaces to provide a variety of massages. The overall weight provides the necessary downward force for a deep penetrating massage, allowing people with any level of strength the ability to give an effective massage without putting stress on their hands, arms, or joints. The Acuforce 2.5 Weighted Massage Tool is similar in design to the 7.0, but weighs only 2.5 pounds, while the Acuforce 3.0i Cryo Therapy Massage Tool combines weight with cold therapy for a soothing therapy session.

When you don't have the luxury of someone there to give you a massage, the Body Back Buddy provides you with the ability to give yourself a deep penetrating massage anywhere on your back without straining your shoulders. The unique, s-shaped design allows you to apply significant pressure with very little effort, while the 11 different points offer an assortment of massage options. This product is great for use at home and for use in the office, especially for those whose job requires sitting at a desk all day. The Backnobber II is a similar device with only one pressure point that breaks down into two pieces, making it ideal for travel.

Heat Therapy vs. Cold Therapy

Two of the oldest remedies for pain relief, heat therapy and cold therapy are still recommended by doctors world wide for treatment of injuries and chronic pain issues. A multitude of options for applying hot and cold therapy are available that go far beyond the traditional electric heating pads and ice cubes wrapped in a towel.

When recovering from a strained or pulled muscle in your back, doctors will often recommend that you alternate between hold and cold therapy. Some products offer the convenience of being able to use them for both applications. The Elasto-Gel Multi Purpose Wrap and the Elasto-Gel Hot/Cold Pack can be heated in the microwave for relaxing dry heat therapy or placed in the freezer for soothing cold compression therapy. Featuring a unique gel core that remains pliable at temperatures as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit, the Elasto-Gel products will not leak, even when punctured.

The Bed Buddy products, such as the Bed Buddy Body Wrap, Bed Buddy Hot Cold Pack, and the Bed Buddy Back Wrap, can be put in the freezer for soothing cryotherapy relief. When heated in the microwave, the Bed Buddy products offer soothing moist heat therapy without the need to soak the product in water.

Moist heat therapy has been proven to be much more effective at penetrating deep into muscles and soft tissue than dry heat therapy. After a long day at work, a long car ride, or any activity that makes your back sore and stiff, moist heat therapy is a great method of soothing pain relief. The Thermophore Automatic Moist Heating Pad provides moist heat therapy without the need to wet the pad. It draws moisture from the humidity in the air, and then retains the moisture in its fleece cover. The simple one-touch control features a built-in auto-off timer, and the pad is available in four sizes. The Original Hydrocollator Moist Heat HotPac requires that the pad be heated in hot water, but is very cost-effective and available in an assortment of sizes to fit the natural contours of your body.

Far Infrared Heat Therapy

Far Infrared Heat Therapy is available in a wide variety of machines, ranging from handheld devices to three-person home saunas. In addition to the long list of health benefits it offers, Far Infrared Heat Therapy is a great source of relief from back pain and an ideal method of speeding up the recovery process of a back injury. Infrared heat rays, which are both harmless and painless, penetrate deep into your body, heating the muscles and soft tissue from within. Unlike traditional heating methods, infrared therapy can heat your body without heating the air around it, providing you with a more comfortable therapeutic experience. Besides relief from back pain, Far Infrared Heat Therapy increases circulation, removes toxins from your body, and stimulates the production of collagen, which helps your body to heal and repair itself faster.

The Far Infrared Home Sauna provides a relaxing form of pain relief superior to that of any traditional sauna, in the comfort of your own home. Because infrared heat therapy does not require the air around you to be hot in order to heat your body, the interior of the sauna stays under 150 degrees, allowing for the included CD player and reading light. Available in models that seat two or three people, the Far Infrared Home Sauna is easy to assemble and uses roughly the same amount of electricity as the average hair dryer.

Both versatile and highly effective, the DPL - Deep Penetrating Light Therapy System can be attached securely to your back using the strap provided, allowing you to apply infrared heat therapy directly to the affected area. The two panels contain a total of over 150 infrared LED lights. The Thermotex Infrared Heating Pad combines the effectiveness and comfort of infrared heat therapy with the convenience of a traditional heating pad. It is available in a variety of sizes with velcro straps to hold it in place and both high and low settings.

See your doctor before starting any form of back pain therapy

While back pain is typically the result of sore muscles and an over worked or improperly used back, often the discomfort is caused by a serious injury or medical condition. Before starting any sort of therapy, it is best to see your doctor to find the cause of the problem and see which form of therapy he recommends. But, chances are, he's going to recommend one of the methods mentioned above.