EllipticalHome.com Blog

Welcome to the May issue of the EllipticalHome.com Fitness
Newsletter!

I’ve got a few things I’m excited about sharing with you. As
promised, the Featured Article this month will discuss how to
make your own elliptical trainer covers. There’s also an
exercise motivation tip to round things out.

So without any further delay, let’s get right to it!

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Exercise Motivation Tip: “Taking a Break From Working Out”
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I know there are times when I’m not really excited about rushing
over to the gym during my lunch hour to workout. Things may be
crazy at work, I’m feeling tired, or it’s cold and rainy
outside, but most times I suck it up and go despite the
temptation to blow off my workout.

And you know what? Just about every time I feel a whole lot
better once I’m done. Most times I start feeling better right
after I’ve put on my workout clothes and I’m heading for the
cardio room. I’m sure you’ve experienced this too.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing your surroundings and
getting the environmental cues that put you in the right frame
of mind.

But there are times when both my mind and my body refuse to get
up for a workout. It’s these signals that indicate it may be
time for a short vacation from exercising.

There’s a condition know as “over training” in the bodybuilding
world. It’s when both your mind and your body have reached a
point of burnout from a prolonged period of intensive training.
If allowed to persist, a bodybuilder can go from an anabolic
state (building muscle) to a catabolic state (losing muscle). As
you can imagine this is very counter productive.

So what can you do to prevent getting into an over trained
state?

For starters, plan on taking a week off from your usual training
regimen every 3 months or so. You can use this break to pursue
other physical activities like playing tennis or going on a
hike. You don’t need to be completely inactive. Just take a
break from your usual routine.

The important thing is learning how to listen to your mind and
your body.

If you find yourself dragging through your workouts and not
feeling better afterwards, then this is probably a sign that you
need some time off. A week should be enough in most cases, but
take more time if you need it. Then when you get back to your
regular routine, you’ll find that you have a renewed enthusiasm
and energy for your workouts.
 
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Featured Article: “Making Your Own Elliptical Trainer Covers”
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I wrote an article a while back about protecting the things you
really care about as an owner of an elliptical trainer. You can
read it here:

http://www.ellipticalhome.com/elliptical-safety-article.html

These things that need protecting in order of importance are:

1. Your children
2. You home
3. Your elliptical trainer

Obviously, protecting your children is by far the most important
thing a parent is concerned with. In comparison, your home, and
certainly a piece of exercise equipment, are extremely minor
concerns.

The point I was trying to make in the article is that if you
have an elliptical trainer in your home and you have small
children, then an elliptical trainer cover is something you
really should consider investing in. A small child could very
easily get hurt playing on your elliptical trainer. Of course,
the best prevention is to keep your elliptical trainer along
with other exercise equipment in a locked room.

The other benefit of an elliptical trainer cover is to keep dust
and moisture off the elliptical. I also recommend that you make
the small investment in an elliptical trainer mat to protect the
carpet or flooring under the elliptical. This will also help
keep dirt and dust from the floor getting into the drive
mechanism of the elliptical. You can take a look at elliptical
trainer mats here:

http://www.ellipticalhome.com/fitness-shop.html

Finding elliptical trainer covers has proven to be much more
difficult. A while back I did manage to find a website that
advertised elliptical trainer covers, but when I asked for more
information I was told that they had discontinued carrying them.

I wrote to several sporting goods merchants asking about
elliptical trainer covers, but also came up empty. To be honest,
this really makes very little sense to me. It should be clear that
there’s a real need for such covers, but no one seems willing to
satisfy the demand.

In the course of my correspondence with the Director of Internet
Marketing at Smooth Fitness I asked if he knew where to find
covers. The customer communications from Smooth Fitness is top
notch and I’ve always received prompt replies to all of my
inquiries, no matter how small the question. Besides the high
quality of their ellipticals, this is a big reason I’m so fond
of Smooth Fitness:

http://www.ellipticalhome.com/smooth-fitness.html

He wrote back saying that he didn’t know of anyone selling them,
but offered a very clever suggestion for improvising your own.

He suggested using barbeque grill covers or outdoor furniture
covers!

This sounded like a great idea to me, but please be aware that I
haven’t tried this myself. I will offer a word of caution if
you decide to go this route. I have looked at grill covers and
outdoor furniture covers online and checked out the dimensions of
the covers.

My conclusion is that these covers will only fit the smaller
elliptical trainers. They won’t adequately cover a full-sized
commercial grade elliptical. So when shopping for a cover, be
sure to compare the dimensions of your elliptical, L x W x H,
with that of the cover.

You can find the dimensions of some popular ellipticals
on the review pages at EllipticalHome.com:

http://www.ellipticalhome.com

The height of the elliptical trainer may be higher than most
covers available, but if you don’t mind the cover being off the
floor by a few inches in the front, then it may work.

Worst case, if it doesn’t fit right, you can always return the
cover.

In the mean time I will continue to hunt down a source for
“real” elliptical trainer covers and will let you know if I find
anything. If you know of a place to get them, then by all means,
please write to let me know!

That’s all for this issue. Keep on track with your training and
I’ll get back on track with the newsletter updates!

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EllipticalHome.com Fitness Newsletter #3

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Welcome to the April issue of the EllipticalHome.com Fitness
Newsletter!

Spring is in the air and summer isn’t too far off. This is a
great time for rededicating ourselves to our fitness programs and
especially any of those New Year’s resolutions concerning fitness
that may be lagging at this point.

I’ll be sharing some exercise motivation tips with you in upcoming
newsletters, but for now, here’s link to some exercise motivation
tips I compiled a while back:

http://tinyurl.com/jm5nn
 
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Featured Article: “Runners and Elliptical Trainers”
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I have to confess that I’ve never been much of a runner or even a
jogger. I did try running as an exercise routine my first two years
at college. It really was the only form of exercise available to me
at the time besides the occasional pickup game of touch football. I
did enjoy it for a while, but the major problem was I could only run
when the weather was accommodating. I eventually turned my
focus to weight lifting, which I could do year round.

However, there are lots of people who are dedicated runners and
who run every chance they get. Even during the winter months
when breathing cold air makes things very challenging. These folks
really enjoy running and are disappointed when rain and extreme cold
force them indoors for their workouts.

There is a small group of avid runners at the gym I belong too.
They will come into the gym, change clothes and then head right
back outside to run a quick mile or two. They may then do some quick
weight lifting before showering and heading back to work.

It’s clear that they get a lot of enjoyment from being outdoors and
that they like to work on bettering their times and increasing the
distances they run. Some of them even run in short races during the
summer months.

So when they are forced to take their training indoors they
invariably hit the treadmill. But no matter how vigorously they
attack the treadmill, they all complain that it’s just not the
same as the workout they get from running. Their disappointment is
strong and they refuse to ever get on an elliptical trainer for this
reason.

In this regard, I can appreciate their dissatisfaction with any
kind of fitness equipment equaling the experience of running. The
elliptical trainer, though good for fat burning and cardio-vascular
conditioning, does little for improving one’s performance in
running.

Even a treadmill is a weak approximation of distance running. I
think some of it has to do with the psychology of running — being
outdoors, the feeling of moving quickly and having the wind in your
face. They don’t call it the “Runner’s High” for nothing!

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Diet and Recipe Ideas
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My new exercise program that’s based around the elliptical trainer
and weight lifting is going very well. I’ve lost about 4 lbs over
the past month and so far have been holding on to whatever muscle
I had. I know losing 1 lb per week doesn’t sound like much to get
excited about, but it’s what’s usually recommended when on a weight
loss program.

Personally, I would prefer the weight loss to be a bit more rapid.

My diet still needs some work and I’ve been rereading “Burn The Fat,
Feed The Muscle” by Tom Venuto. There’s so much great advice and
information in this book that it takes more than just one reading
to absorb it all!

I’m going to take a few of the fat-burning techniques from the book
and begin applying them to my own fat loss program. I’ll probably
focus on Tom’s advice for dealing with carbs since this has always
made the most difference for me when losing fat in the past.

Forget all of the fad diets and false claims about diet pills you’ve
heard about, “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle” is the best fat loss
advice available anywhere in my opinion.

Check it out:

http://tinyurl.com/hmqsr

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Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe
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This is one of my favorite low-carb dishes. It’s super quick and
easy to prepare and it’s a real taste treat to boot! It’s also a
great warm weather meal if you can grill the chicken outside.

–Ingredients:

1 small boneless, skinless, chicken breast
large bowl of salad greens: lettuce, fresh spinach, shredded
   red cabbage, etc.
¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tbs chopped onion
low carb salad dressing or make you own:

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
pinch of oregano
fresh ground black pepper

Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper or use a small pinch
of McCormick’s Grill Mates rub. Grill either on an outdoor grill or
a stovetop grill. Make sure the meat is thoroughly cooked throughout.

Slice the chicken breast into strips length-wise and then cut strips
in half. Place chicken strips on top of salad greens. Top with cheese
and chopped onions. Pour salad dressing over it and season with
fresh ground pepper. Toss lightly.

I don’t know the exact nutritional content of this dish, but the
total carbs is well under 20 grams. The bulk of the carbs are coming
from the “good” fibrous kind - salad greens with the remainder from
the cheese and vinegar. And of course, there is plenty of low fat
muscle-building protein from the chicken breast.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the March edition of the EllipticalHome.com fitness
newsletter.

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Introduction:
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As I mentioned in last month’s edition of the newsletter, I’ve
been refining a new workout routine that’s really a big change
for me. During recent years I’ve emphasized weight training over
cardio in my workouts.

In the past, I would do double sessions at the gym - weights
during my lunch hour and then back in right after work for
cardio, which usually was 30 minutes on the Nordic Track skier.
This was before elliptical trainers burst onto the scene.

Recently, I’ve only been able to get into the gym during my
lunch hour. Evenings and weekends are taken up with spending
time with my wife, working on the Website and doing stuff around
the house.

I’ve tried to squeeze in 2 days a week on the elliptical during
lunch, but sometimes this became more like once a week when I had
a meeting and needed to skip the gym. And boy, do I hate missing
workouts!

Instead of trying to gain as much muscle mass as possible, my
focus has shifted to becoming leaner and also healthier. This of
course will mean losing some bodyweight and appearing smaller,
but in the long run, that’s where I feel I need to get to.

My new routine puts the elliptical first everyday in my workout.
I haven’t abandoned weights by any means, but they come last and
involve a much smaller portion of my workouts now.

The total elapsed time of my complete workout is now around 30
minutes. This is by necessity due to work obligations. My goal
is to get my body fat down to around 14% from 19% while retaining
some degree of muscular development.

I’ll give the new routine 3 months to show results before I pass
judgment on it. The diet component, not surprisingly, is much
harder to figure out, but I have some ideas.

Stay tuned…!

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New Elliptical Reviews:
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Smooth Fitness recently introduced 3 new additions to the CE
line to complement the Smooth CE. This has coincided with a
price increase for the CE.

In an effort to provide cheaper models  below the CE they’ve
introduced the CE 2.1 and CE 3.2 and also a  high end commerical
grade model at the top in the CE 7.4.

I’ve added reviews of each of these models to the site. Scroll
down on the main Smooth Fitness page to get to the individual
product review links:

http://www.ellipticalhome.com/smooth-fitness.html

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Featured Article: Octane Ellipticals
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A visitor to the site recently emailed me asking my opinion on
elliptical trainers from Octane. Here’s my reply:

“Regarding Octane ellipticals, I’m  not a big fan of front drive
ellipticals mainly due to the extra complexity of the drive
mechanism and the tendency of it to malfunction as a result. Many
fitness equipment manufacturers have understandably gone the
route of front  drive ellipticals to get around the myriad of
patents that Precor holds.

If you haven’t already, you may want to drop in on Epinions.com
and have a  read. There is one review of the Q45e there where
the reviewer appears to  be very satisfied, but he goes on to
list some quality problems he had to negotiate. 

Reviews of the Q35e are also a bit mixed as far as reliability.
I think if you get lucky, then Octane ellipticals are very smooth
and natural feeling. I just hesitate to fully recommend them due to
their high price tag and questionable reliability.”

Other front-drive ellipticals are those from Schwinn, Horizon,
Iron Man, and New Balance. Most of these models are in the $1000
- $2000 price range and from all appearances, are of high
quality.

As time permits, I will investigate some of these ellipticals and
add complete reviews.

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Wrap Up:
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In the introduction, I mentioned my body fat goal. In an
upcoming newsletter I want to share with you why body fat
percentage is an important measurement.

It’s also a difficult measurement to take and the various
techniques for measuring it can stir up quite a bit of controversy!

I’ll present these measurement techniques and show you the ones that
work best for me.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any one else that
you think might enjoy it. Also if you have any tips of your own,
questions or comments,  please send then them to:

contact[REMOVE]@ellipticalhome.com.

Until the next edition, take care and stay on track with your
training!

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EllipticalHome.com Fitness Newsletter #1

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Welcome to the inaugural issue of the EllipticalHome.com Fitness
Newsletter!

It’s very exciting for me to finally launch the newsletter. I
have a lot of ideas, tips, and news items that I’m eager to
share with you. As a charter subscriber, you will have the
opportunity to influence the direction of both this newsletter
and the EllipticalHome.com Website. Check the bottom of this
newsletter for details.

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Introduction:
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If you’re like me, then you’re probably still recovering from
the excesses of the Holidays. Actually, I wasn’t too bad, but
I’m definitely not as lean as I’d like to be. I know it’s going
to take some work on my part to shed the excess pounds. My
current training focus is still on weight training, but I’m
working on coming up with a revised routine to get more out of
my elliptical training. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

This all leads up to those New Year’s resolutions we all enjoy
making, but hate keeping. I hope you are sticking to whatever
resolutions you made on Jan. 1. If any of them included fitness,
then you’ll want to read my article “Don’t Be a New Year’s
Resolutioner”. It’s a bit tongue in cheek, but also includes
some helpful ideas for sticking with your health-related
resolutions. You can read the full article here:

http://tinyurl.com/dh3qw
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Featured Article: “Numb Feet on Elliptical”
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The title above is actually a keyword phrase that I’m seeing
searched for on Google several times a day now. I wrote an
article a few months ago entitled: “Elliptical Trainer Sleepy
Foot Syndrome”. You can read the article here:

http://tinyurl.com/8eb8z

The article caused quite a bit of buzz and I was surprised to
find out how many people experience numb feet from using
elliptical trainers. The really interesting thing is the relief
people have once they realize they are not alone in experiencing
this problem.

My very rough and unscientific estimate is that probably %30 of
people who use elliptical trainers experience numb feet at some
point. This number could even be higher based on the discussions
I’ve seen in the on-line forums. I’m a sufferer myself. Like
most others with this problem I thought I was alone. For me,
it’s really not much relief knowing that so many others have the
same problem.

I have been able to ward off the problem by utilizing the
technique of rocking my foot back and forth as described in the
article. However, I’m a little angry with the fitness equipment
manufacturers for ignoring what I consider to be a biomechanical
design flaw in elliptical trainers. I do think that they are
aware of it and are quietly making design changes in newer
models of ellipticals to prevent numb feet.

I’ve updated the article to include the possibility that
elliptical trainers with articulating (pivoting) foot pedals may
help to reduce or eliminate foot numbness. Your ankles are
designed to pivot while walking and running, so it makes sense
that they be allowed to pivot while striding on an elliptical
trainer. This will also help more evenly distribute the stress
on the nerves in your feet, which can help prevent that tingling
sensation.

Smooth Fitness seems to get it and has recently come out with a
new line of CE elliptical models with pivoting foot pedals. The
CE 2.1 and CE 3.2 are the newest addition to the CE line. You
can check them out on the Smooth Fitness site:

http://tinyurl.com/9yoh8

I’ve also received some very helpful tips from visitors to the
site for how they deal with foot numbness on the elliptical. One
suggestion is to alternate forward and backward motion every few
minutes during your workout. This will shift the emphasis from
the ball of your foot (forward direction) to the heel (reverse
direction), thus shifting the force of your body weight along
your feet.

Another suggestion is to use shoe inserts that provide some
cushioning. I really like this idea and I’m going to try it out
once I can locate shoe inserts that look like they can do the
job. The idea with this approach is to take pressure off the
nerves through cushioning.

This is a pretty serious issue and I feel it ultimately needs to
be aggressively addressed by the equipment manufacturers.
However, we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water and
give up on elliptical trainers. There are just too many
advantages to using them. I’ll definitely keep you updated on
what I find out and I hope you will tell me about your
experience and remedies for elliptical numb feet!

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Your Feedback Is Always Welcome!
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As I mentioned in the Introduction, you will have the
opportunity to make suggestions for topics to cover in this
newsletter as well as on the EllipticalHome.com Website. Please
feel free to send me email or you can use the survey form on the
site:

http://tinyurl.com/cytqn

Well, that’s it for the Inaugural Edition of the EH.com
newsletter. I’ve already got several ideas in the works for the
next newsletter and I can’t wait to share them with you!