Monday, September 29, 2014

Virtual Fitness

Many studies will show that the health of Americans is rapidly declining. According to the Centers for Disease Control more than one-third (34.9% of 78.6 million) of U.S. Adults are obese.  With that obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, which are some of the leading causes of preventable death.  Being out of shape is also expensive.  The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. 

While these are sobering statistics to say the least, fitness has experience a bit if a renaissance as of late.  More corporations and social groups are initiating fitness challenges and establishing wellness programs and personal fitness electrons such as the FitBit are become as popular as wrist watches and bracelets.

There is no shortage of fitness devices or programs on the market that are excellent means to help you get in shape or improve your fitness. Most programs are on DVD’s and require minimal equipment so they can be used for those that travel. 

It has become trendy to utilize these home workout programs and some of the personalities have become rock stars as I learned on a recent trip to NYC when my cab mates saw Shaun T from “Insanity” crossing the street and just about jumped out of a moving taxi to get an autograph!

Here are some of the top fitness programs on the market today that provide a great workout and are affordable.

PiYO - Define Yourself
Lead by superstar trainer Chalene Johnson, PiYO will help you define every inch of your body—without bulking up or straining your joints. You'll perform low-impact, high-intensity moves to get your strength training, flexibility, and cardio in each workout with no weights and no jumps.

INSANITY
Featuring trainer Shaun T, INSANITY utilizes plyometrics for legs and glutes, upper body resistance for arms, shoulders and back, pure and intense cardio for accelerated fat burning, focused ab work and a recovery segment to help your body soak up all the hard work.

TurboFire
TurboFire will help you burn more fat and calories than you would with traditional cardio. This 90-day program includes 12 high-intensity classes that go from low impact to high impact, plus a starter class that breaks down all the moves. You also get the Fuel the Fire Nutrition Guide.

With LES MILLS PUMP you can work out just 3 times a week to get results. You'll ignite calories, burn fat and get stronger, without bulking up with this high intensity work out. This 90-day program includes 7 workouts, 1 barbell, 2 safety clips and 2 set of weighted plates, 5 lbs. and 10 lbs., the Get Lean Nutrition Guide with 7 day Jump Start plan, and the Lean, and the Strong & Unstoppable Fitness Guide.

TRX Suspension Trainer
The TRX Suspension Trainer is the original workout system that leverages gravity and your bodyweight to perform hundreds of exercises. You're in control of how much you want to challenge yourself on each exercise - because you can simply adjust your body position to add or decrease resistance.  TRX is also good for flexibility training.


HERE’S TO BEING FIT FOR LIFE!
Chris is a Certified Personal Trainer, USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Group Exercise Instructor, exercise and endurance enthusiast.  He competes yearly in numerous running races, marathons, ultra marathons, triathlons and other endurance events.