Easy Ways to Fit Exercise into your Daily Routine, part 2

While many women know that an exercise program would help them feel healthier, have more energy or even lose weight, sometimes it's difficult to change previouse non-exercising habits into fitness conscious ones. In part 1, we explored two ways to sneak exercise into our busy schedules. If one of your New Year resolutions is to exercise regularly, here are some more ideas for ways you can (almost) effortlessly incorporate some type of exercise into your busy routine with minimum effort but big payoffs.

Multi-Task Your TV Time

If you don’t want to miss the morning news or your favorite television show, put your time in front of the TV to good use. Multi-task your TV time with an exercise bike or the Phoenix Health & Fitness Power Rower. Working out in front of the TV isn’t like “really” exercising. Keeping your mind engaged while keeping fit prevents you from focusing on aspects of your workout that might discourage you such as thinking about how long you’ve been exercising, how tired you’re feeling and how you should be catching up on paperwork. Many types of exercise bikes and models of rowing machines can be folded away when not in use, which is a bonus for maintaining a room’s uncluttered and cozy atmosphere.

If exercise equipment, no matter how user-friendly, doesn’t appeal to you, even exercising in the commercials will pay off in the long run if you get yourself into the habit on a regular basis. Doing leg lifts, crunches and mild stretches while the ads are on will get you moving and loosen muscles.

Step It Up

Stepping units are conveniently portable and easy to use. They can be used virtually anywhere in your home, so you can watch baby, keep an eye on the kids or tune into your favorite soap while getting a little exercise. A stepping machine like the Phoenix Health & Fitness Denise Austin Mini Stepper Plus also has the added benefit resistance handles for working upper body muscles at the same time as giving your legs a workout.

How about just doing housework or working in the garden? Health professionals advocate 10,000 steps a day to keep you active and promote general well-being. The Timex Ironman Pedometer not only keeps track of how many steps you’ve taken, it also tracks how many calories have been burned.

It doesn’t have to be high-tech or complicated. By making the most of what “spare” time you have, fitness is at your fingertips. It just requires a little creativity, consistency and motivation. And the best part is it doesn’t have to take a lot out of your day.

- E.L.

Easy Ways to Fit Exercise into your Daily Routine, part 1

Many women know that they would greatly benefit from a regular exercise routine, particularly those of us who want to feel healthier, lose a little weight or get back into shape after having a baby. For a lot of us, finding the time in our hectic schedules to exercise is a constant struggle. And for busy new moms or moms with more than one child, it can be even more of a battle. But it doesn't have to be, with a few simple tricks and low-tech pieces of fitness equipment. Without even realizing you’re “exercising,” you can sneak fitness into your everyday routine before the love handles sneak up on you. This two-part series will give you some ideas as to how to begin.

Exercise at Your Computer

You can exercise at your computer while searching online for parenting tips or working from home. Replacing your office chair with an exercise ball is an excellent way for getting some exercise without really trying. Unlike sitting in a chair, an exercise ball is relatively unstable and requires balance in order for you to remain seated upright. Attempting to maintain your balance forces your spine into proper alignment.

Since you are constantly shifting position, you’re burning more calories than you would in an office chair, even one with wheels, which essentially does the work of moving for you. Sitting on an exercise ball for a full work day can actually burn up to 350 calories. Even if you don’t burn that many calories or are not seated at the computer desk continuously for eight hours, it will still contribute to your overall fitness.

An exercise ball has other benefits as well. Not only will it improve your balance, but while you’re maintaining your balance on a regular basis, you are strengthening your abdominal muscles (abs in fitness-speak). Using an exercise ball instead of a regular desk chair promotes good circulation, allowing blood to flow freely to all parts of your body. And of course, the best part is the cost: an exercise ball is much (much) cheaper than a regular office chair, especially an ergonomic one.

If an exercise ball seems too bouncy for you, consider the Power Systems Ball Chair. It provides all of the advantages of a standard exercise ball, but it has a rolling base, giving you the mobility of an office chair with all the benefits of the fitness ball. Whichever one you choose, an exercise ball is just plain fun and can help you get your work done while keeping you fit and energized.

Run When You Walk


Taking baby for walks is important to the child’s development, not only in terms of fresh air but also introducing them to the world around them and stimulating their little minds. Since you will need a stroller anyway, select the Kolcraft Jeep Overland Limited Jogging Stroller. Baby gets to sit safely in comfort while you jog down the street and around the block, getting into shape.

If jogging full out for any period of time seems a little intimidating, plan to alternate between jogging and walking. By choosing to walk and jog for specific intervals, for example two minutes of walking then switching to two minutes of jogging, you not only ease yourself into an exercise routine, you are also making it interesting. If it’s too hard, not fun or just plain boring, you won’t stick with it.

Come back Thursday when I'll be sharing more ways to sneak exercise into your daily routine in "Ways to Fit Exercise into your Daily Routine, part 2."

- E. L.

Resolution Time

The close of a calendar year and the beginning of a new one leaves some of us feeling obligated to make positive changes in our lives. For many, it’s a commitment to increased fitness with an aim to better overall health, and here at Cymax Stores we’ve got the fitness equipment you need to take on the challenge in the comforts of your own home.

In truth, these early days of January are no different than any of the other 360-plus of the year ahead, yet the allure of “a fresh start” to go with a new year creates something of a now-or-next year mystique. One that leads many to believe you’ve got to seize the initiative now in making NEW YEARS resolutions rather than just a plain old resolution that is taken up sometime during the next 11 months.

It’s been suggested that many individuals draw inspiration for their resolutions from the rejuvenative period that is the holidays. Family, friends, celebrations and a general sense of well-being “recharge the batteries,” so to speak, and provide us with a feeling of empowerment that we can and should undertake these challenges come January. Often times, however, once the daily grind resumes itself we may lose that wind in our sails.

I’m reminded of a cartoon I saw once where a decidedly large wealthy socialite announces her resolution is to “get in shape” while making short-work of an entire Yule Log cake. The next frame shows her decked head to toe in work out wear, spandex pants, head and wrist bands etc., but brandishing a platinum Visa as she makes her way into a liposuction clinic.

For those of us with tighter purse strings, a desire for real results and some grasp on reality, it’s understandable when things may not fall into place with your fitness resolution as you’d hoped. Here are 3 tips to stay motivated:

1. Time and schedule permitting, try to exercise first thing in the morning. Your metabolic rate will be at its highest and you will burn calories most efficiently. Also, you are less likely to put off your workout on account of being “too tired” – the most common excuse.
2. Try to leave time in your week as “flex time” where you can make up for workouts lost for whatever reason. Should you stick to your workout plan exactly as planned, use this flex time as a reward of sorts to partake in any activity you love. (Eating entire Yule logs is inadvisable however.) Also keep in mind kinesiologists say you must undertake any regime at least 3 times a week for it to be effective to the extent where you will “see results.”
3. For effective results that can be seen more quickly, combine cardiovascular / aerobic training with resistance training. For example, if you have 30 minutes at your disposal for each session, spend 15 minutes running, cycling or at any other similar exercise and 15 minutes lifting weights in some capacity. Compound resistance training exercises, where more than one muscle group is put to use, are most effective in facilitating calorie burning.

Fortunately, Cymax Stores has all the equipment you’ll need to fashion a workout that best suits your needs. For example, most men wish to lose a little around the midsection and tone up their musculature. Pairing a Phoenix Motorized Treadmill with a Phoenix Power Bench will give you a reasonably priced, top-quality workout station that is not overly space-consumptive and can accordingly be located in a rec. room or similar area.

Women often desire to firm and tighten all over the body, and for that task there is no more effective piece of equipment than an elliptical machine. Pair some time with a MultiSports Fitness Elliptix Dual Action Crosstrainer Elliptical and the aforementioned 3 times-a-week commitment and you’ll be on the fast track to the results you want to see. Stair Stepper units are not as multi-muscle group oriented as the ellipticals, but for pure gluteal conditioning you can’t beat a stepper. A MultiSports Fitness Ultimate 2200 Programmable Stepper can be adjusted to different levels of resistance to keep you pushing yourself towards your goals.

Whatever your New Year’s Resolution may be, stay positive and realize changes don’t happen overnight. In addition, do try to remember you’re not delayed until the dawn 2010 should it come derailed. “New Year’s” Resolutions have taken on something of a limited identity in this regard, but making life changes for the positive are possible all year long.

Should you have one or more, good luck and be resilient!

Get Up and Go

How many of you take the elevator when the stairs are equally as readily accessible? How many drive the car two blocks to the convenience store for a liter of milk?

How many still find it’s not you walking the dog, but rather the dog walking you?

The majority of North Americans lead an overly-sedentary lifestyle. What’s more, the demands on our time and resources are growing exponentially almost daily and we have less and less of both to devote to changing this unfortunate reality. Diet is a contributing factor to many people’s lack of fitness and less-than-ideal physiques that can be adjusted easily. Finding a segment of the day and the initiative to make one’s way to the gym can be decidedly more challenging.

Further, many people find a crowded gym to be full of judgmental eyes and as much a young-persons social scene as a fitness center. Add obnoxious nightclub music and TVs in every direction, and many simply find the gym is not conducive to their focusing on an effective workout.

Enter the rise in home gyms and home fitness equipment. For those who either chose to or needed to exercise at home, these products were well-received and accordingly introduced to the market in waves. Some were well-made, some were decidedly poorly made. While the ones that came into your living room via infomercial night after night were usually shoddy, the quality products all shared one characteristic; they were expensive.

Times change, and so has what you should expect to pay for quality home fitness equipment. For those who have made a resolution to pursue a greater sense of health, strength and well-being, a visit to www.fitnessequipmentselect.com is recommended. They feature one of the largest selections of fitness equipment online, and all at the same competitive pricing that you can expect of a Cymax Stores specialty site.

For those who wish to tighten or pump up long-neglected muscles, one of the many Phoenix Health or Keiser benches or strength machines is an excellent choice for those who have the space to accommodate these quality-made units. For others who are more in need of shedding pounds and getting a great full-body workout, a Multisports Fitness Elliptical will work both the upper and lower body and not your wallet. A Phoenix Health Treadmill is equally good value and a similar means of getting a solid aerobic workout at home.

Ever been cross-country skiing? If you have, you’ll remember the day after your first time traversing the hills and how your gluteus was so sore you could hardly walk right. Imagine capturing that tush-toning power in an exercise machine. That’s exactly what’s yours for the taking with a stepper from Fitness Equipment Select. These compact exercise machines are a godsend for your lower body and are particularly popular with women.

If you’re still drawn to the AB-Ressurectifier on Channel 132, so be it. However, you may want to consider that Fitness Equipment Select offers free shipping of its quality products straight to your door. Now, you may not be able to lift the box up the stairs YET, but we’ll check back with you in 6 months.

Fitness Equipment is Summer’s Best Friend

Whether you’re still shaking off the effects of winter hibernation couch potato style or you’re in denial that Bathing Suit Season a.k.a Summer is just around the corner, many us have difficulties with following a regular exercise program. For those of us who think bench pressing a bag of flour at the grocery store or balancing a three-year old on one hip is enough of a workout, Cymax Stores offers a range of fitness equipment sure to fit almost everyone’s lifestyle.

The good news is that many health care and fitness professionals point out that an exercise program doesn’t have to be high tech or intensive or even require an expensive investment in order to be effective. A little exercise goes a long way to contributing to our overall well-being. Even if you don’t want ripped abs or a buff body competition style, there are a wide variety of exercise gizmos and machines that will add a little fun and motivation to your exercise plan.

Geared to being comfortable and user-friendly, exercise bikes come in a variety of styles, sizes and colors and offer a number of different features. The popular treadmill is a favorite piece of fitness equipment for those who want to start out nice and easy. Many kinds of treadmills can be folded up and stored out of sight. They can include electronics displays, handy holders for water bottles and programmable controls to customize your workout. Great for exercising the muscles of the lower body and for burning calories, stair steppers or stair climbers are also another popular way of getting into shape.

Then there are the elliptical machines that conveniently combine the benefits of an exercise bike, a treadmill and a stair stepper. Since these three types of workouts are low impact, an elliptical machine is a good choice for people who would benefit from exercise but who are reluctant to begin a fitness program because they suffer from joint-related conditions.

For those who do want a more traditional style body building regime, a basic workout bench might be a good place to start. Or if you need something a little more challenging, a home gym that includes a variety of exercise options would be the perfect choice.

Whatever you’re into—or not into as the case may be—online shopping at Cymax Stores is the ideal way to take your time and browse for the perfect piece of fitness equipment that will get you in shape for summer.