We’re impressed with the modern, basic design of the Marcy PL-43211. The compact, stylish look makes it a great choice for apartments or condos. Despite the simplicity, it’s very functional and durable –- and it’s hard to find any piece of quality exercise equipment at this price.
The Marcy PL-43211 Upright Mag Cycle features magnetic resistance technology that offers a smooth, quiet ride on a choice 8 levels of resistance. The computer screen is simple and easy to read, tracking speed, distance, time and calories burned. There are no programmable options, which may be a liability to some, but a welcomed relief to those who just want the basic stats. It features deluxe foot pedals with weighted counter balance and adjustable foot straps. Seat height and handlebar adjustment accommodates different body types and support users up to 300 lbs.
This top of the line Pilates machine is a great representative of those in the private Pilates gyms. It’s easy enough to use for beginners but strong enough for the most advanced user.
The Stamina Pilates Premier allows you to perform 32 exercises, is low impact and easy on the joints. Quiet, ultra-smooth rollers bear the weight of the sliding carriage as you move back and forth. Heavy-duty elastic cords provide 4 levels of resistance while the adjustable headrest and oversized high-density foam shoulder pads offer additional support and comfort. The adjustable straps and hand grips fit any user. Included is Marjolein Brugman’s workout DVD that will leave you feeling energized and centered.
The goal of the Pilates workout method is to create a fusion of mind and body, so that without thinking about it the body will move with economy, grace, and balance.
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The Ab Lounge 2 lets you focus your abdominal workout strictly on your stomach muscles. This is a revolutionary, comfortable, effective ab machine for people of all fitness levels. The Ab Lounge 2 offers a sturdy floor-based position that helps you experience a total range of motion, making it easy to work muscles in the upper and lower abdominals and obliques. Resistance is an important part of a strong and effective abdominal workout. The more resistance you have available, the more effective the crunch.
The designers focused on supporting the body, head, neck, and back throughout the entire exercise, so poor form will not cause an accidental strain of a non-ab muscle. The unit easily supports up to 250 pounds due to the unique rolled steel frame.
The Ab Lounge 2 comes with a personal workout video and carries a 90-day warranty. It measures 39.5 by 44.5 by 30 inches (W x H x D) and weighs 32 pounds.
The Ab Lounge 2 Product Details
- Abdominal workout chair for focusing ab workout on stomach muscles
- Sturdy floor-based position helps users experience total range of motion
- Supports body, head, neck, and back; works out upper and lower abs
- Unique rolled steel frame supports up to 250 pounds; includes workout video
- Measures 39.5 x 44.5 x 30 inches (W x H x D); 90-day warranty
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Many customer responses point to the Ironman Gravity 1000 as among the best Inversion Table values for the price. It’s built with a sturdy and durable tubular steel frame that supports up to 300 lbs. of user weight and can invert up to 90 degrees. Extra long safety handles allow for easy return to the upright position. Additional quality features include soft molded ankle cushions and a tough yet comfortable nylon backrest.
The use of inversion tables to help treat back pain and improve overall health is a popular remedy that has been in existence for centuries. Inversion contributes to your body’s overall health by optimizing lumbar traction, thereby relieving pressure on your vertebrae discs and ligaments. When your back starts to relax, the rest of your body follows. It can also help increase body flexibility for improved athletic performance.
Ironman Gravity 1000 Inversion Table Product Details
- Promotes blood circulation and increases body flexibility
- Built with durable powder coated tubular steel
- Inversion up to 90 degrees
- Supports up to 300 lbs
- Tough rubber non-skid floor stabilizers
- Extra long safety handles
- Vinyl safety covers for and tough nylon backrest
- Ergonomically molded ankle holders
- Folds for easy storage
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This product is making quite a splash online and through TV infomercials. Core training, once discussed only among athletes, has become a hot trend for home gym users and fitness clubbers. The core includes the body’s midsection from sternum to pelvis, and the important muscles along the lower spine. Strengthening the muscles deep within your center creates a “corset effect”, pulling everything in tight.
The Core Sculptor will deliver results in 4 to 15 minutes per day by working the upper and lower abs, obliques, upper and lower back muscles, and the gluteus maximus (glutes). You can also use the Curl Bar to enhance resistance and effectively sculpt your upper body.
The Core Sculptor is designed for eight unique exercises: 1) Ab Glide – Forward 2) Ab Glide – Reverse 3) Side Glide 4) Ab Curl 5) Bun Toner 6) Ab Challenge 7) Circle Row and 8 ) The Boat.
Click here to see photos of each exercise in action (on the How It Works page).
The complete package includes the Core 4 workout video, two additional Core Sculptor workout videos for intermediate and advanced users, the Core Sculptor Total Body Cardio video, Slim from Within eating plan featuring a complete 4 week menu planner, Slim from Within Recipe Book with more than 40 recipes plus a 30 day money back guarantee and lifetime warranty.
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The XPress Pro Strength Training System from BodyCraft offers a wide array of features that may seem a bit overwhelming at first. The price is higher than some competing home gyms but this system packs in all the options you’ll appreciate in the long run.
The BodyCraft X-Press utilizes pulleys and cables for unrestricted, completely natural, and biomechanical correct movements. It includes a bench press station, cable station, ab crunch station, low and high pulley stations, leg extension station, curl station, and an optional leg press station.
The Bench Press Station features an adjustable starting point that allows for different size users and a variety of upper body workouts including Bench Press, Incline Press, Shoulder Press and Mid Row. The functional training/cable arms support more than 100 exercises for functional core training, sports-specific workouts, and rehabilitation exercises.
In addition to the many workout options, BodyCraft values visual appeal and user comfort. The heavy frame has a Silver Vein finish and double-stitched vinyl upholstery with added lumbar support. The perforated steel weight stack enclosure is noise dampening while being more aesthetically pleasing than most home gyms.
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The Reebok Fitwatch 10S, designed specifically for women, is the smallest strapless heart rate monitor on the market. But the lightweight, slender design houses a powerful multi function device with the fastest readings available — it displays heart rate and calories burned within 4 seconds of touching the sensors. Reebok’s “pulse technology” has put an end to the cumbersome chest straps of the past.
The Reebok Fitwatch 10S has a programmable target heart rate zone with audible and visual alarms that trigger when you’ve moved out of your target zone or exceeded your maximum heart rate. It also features standard watch functions plus a 100-hour stopwatch and 100-hour countdown timer. The fully water-resistant device includes a backlight for easy low-light viewing and comes with a complete walking and exercise guide.
Reebok Fitwatch 10S Strapless Heart Rate Monitor Watch Product Details
- Strapless, slender and contoured for a perfect fit
- Pulse technology measures heart rate and calories burned by finger touch
- Programmable Target Zone Indicator with audible and visual alarms
- 100-hour stopwatch
- 100-hour countdown timer
- Clear and easy to read backlit LCD display
- Time of day, calendar, daily alarm
- Water resistant to 50 meters
- Walking and exercise guide
- Available in Blue or Pink
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If you’ve shied away from Bowflex home gyms because of the high priced club-quality models, the Bowflex Blaze may be worth a look. The Blaze is essentially the same as the discontinued Sport model with a few cosmetic upgrades. This stripped down base model is the most economical home gym Bowlex has to offer.
At under $900 we consider this a good value as it includes all the basics needed for an effective full body workout. While featuring less bells and whistles than top-of-the-line models it utilizes the standard 210lbs of Power Rod resistance and allows you to do over 60 exercises. The Bowflex Blaze includes a lat tower, squat station, leg extension attachment, and aerobic rowing station.
Bowflex Blaze Product Details
- Most affordable Bowflex Home Gym available
- 210 lbs of Power Rod Resistance upgradeable up to 310 lbs or 410 lbs
- Lat Tower with Angled Lat Bar for back and shoulder exercises
- Lower Pulley/Squat Station to build glutes, hamstrings and quads
- Leg Extension/Leg Curl attachment to develop strong, muscular legs
- Sliding Seat Rail for Rowing and Aerobic, calorie burning cario workouts
- 5-Way Hand-Grip/Ankle Cuffs
- Workout Placard displays exercise descriptions for easy reference
- Folds and rolls on wheels for easy storage
- Owner’s Manual/Fitness Guide with detailed instructions for each exercise
If you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford one of the high end Bowflex gyms, the Bowflex Blaze may be for you. For a step up in features (and price) consider the Xtreme XTLU and Ultimate 2.
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The ingredients in Hydroxycut Hardcore have been clinically proven to decrease body fat by 7.9% and increase norepinephrine (NE), the body’s key fat-burning hormone, by up to 40%. Ten years of research went into Hydroxycut Hardcore’s formulation. Add that to clinical studies backing the ingredients, and you’ve got what MuscleTech calls the world’s most powerful fat burner.
We don’t know if that claim holds up but this product provides a very strong burst of energy and is great for cardio, endurance, and appetite suppression. It allows you to eat only when hungry and gives the energy and results you need at the gym.
Among the hundreds of thousands of loyal users are pros such as Jay Cutler, Darrem Charles, David Henry, Gustavo Badell and Johnnie Jackson.
As with any diet pill there is the risk of side effects, which include headaches and restlessness. This is not a magic pill. It should be taken as part of a healthy program of eating right and proper exercise.
Rowing is one of the most effective total body workouts, strengthening all muscle groups and providing a great cardio workout. It works your legs, arms and shoulders and isolates abs on every row. The rowing machine movement is smooth and natural, with no impact. In addition to building strength, burning calories and improving stamina, rowing machines are used for rehabilitating muscles, ligaments and joints after an injury.
The Kettler Kadett rowing machine’s outrigger design allows a natural circular movement, closely simulating the actual process of rowing on water. The two hydraulic cylinders can be set to resistance levels between 1 and 12. The comfortable ergonomic seat runs smoothly on rollers mounted on rails, the moving foot plates have adjustable straps and an anti-slip base protects flooring. When your training session is over the outriggers can be easily folded inwards to save storage space.
The Kadett also features an advanced training computer that displays time measurement, number of oar strokes, speed of strokes, distance covered during training session, total distance, energy consumption, and pulse rate. Visual and audio signals alert you when you’ve reached goals for distance covered and stroke speed.
Assembly is a bit complicated and time consuming but once you’re up and rowing expect one the most complete workouts you’ve ever had.
