Seperating fact from fiction - infommercial fitness equipment
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Razbra was good enough to tell us about the Ab circle pro on here and I was wondering if any other ferners have "fallen" ( <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> haha kidding dude ) for anything you ring in and order for "four easy payments of XXXX"<br />
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Personally I remember buying an ab isolator at the warehouse a few years back and remember it worked my arms more than anything ie pulling it back as it "isolates" your abs. Hmmmmmmmmmm. <br />
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I mean, does Zumba really do all it claims ie Dance like a loon in the privacy of your own home for amazing results ? ( obviously eating plans are just as, if not more, important ) -
Zumba is high intensity dancing - so it'd have all the benefits of usual cardio with enough 'fun' to make people (majority = ladies) forget its exercise. Has the social aspect of it going as well. I even overheard trainers at my gym talking about how Les Mills is getting onboard with a 'Zumba' like class. I've got a couple of female friends who really seem to enjoy it as they really like dancing. I know I'd rather go to Zumba than do ballroom dancing but that is very much a beggars!! don't tell the wife!! <br />
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We know that pretty much every ab machine isn't going to produce the rockhard abs unless you work on your eating plan and cardio... I'd rather spend the money on a trainer - even if they just set you up with stuff you could do at home rather than having to add gym costs as well. -
[quote name='Paekakboyz']Zumba is high intensity dancing - so it'd have all the benefits of usual cardio with enough 'fun' to make people (majority = ladies) forget its exercise. Has the social aspect of it going as well. I even overheard trainers at my gym talking about how Les Mills is getting onboard with a 'Zumba' like class. I've got a couple of female friends who really seem to enjoy it as they really like dancing. I know I'd rather go to Zumba than do ballroom dancing but that is very much a beggars!! don't tell the wife!! <br />
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We know that pretty much every ab machine isn't going to produce the rockhard abs unless you work on your eating plan and cardio... I'd rather spend the money on a trainer - even if they just set you up with stuff you could do at home rather than having to add gym costs as well.[/QUOTE]<br />
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Zumba puts me off because everyone in the ad seems like an absolute gimp "Someone asked me how I got this body and I'm like, Zumba!" maybe its just me but I hate all that overhyped bullshit. Still I suppose if you give it a good go it'll work. Now I think about it even though many of these these workout regimes take "minutes a day" there is usually a "follow the eating plan" disclaimer in the small print which would shock many an overweight yank I'm sure. -
Les Mills have had bodyjam and body balance classes which both have elements of dance alongside cardio/strength work. Zumba is just the re-packaged 'Latino!' version of X, Y, Z that we've seen before. I'm pretty unco dance wise and I'm sure a few shots/beers before a Zumba class might not be the accepted thing!! but I need to get in my zone yo!!<br />
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Maybe we should get chopped and cut some shapes at our local Zumba class mate!! For some reason I'd have the urge to wear one of those Andre Agassi wigs though, nothing like raving out with a massive mullet! -
There's certainly a lot of fitness related crap out there in TV Land. I pretty much avoid most of it and stick to basics. However, one thing that I did buy that is advertised on TV is the "Perfect Push-up" handles. These little beauties were developed by an ex-Navy Seal and are really simple and effective. They rotate so when you're doing push-ups you can rotate on the way down and up again, really maximizing range of motion and the intensity of push-ups. They are much, much harder than regular push ups.<br />
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I've also heard good things about Px90. I've seen a few people I know lose a lot of weight and tone up using this program. However, with things like that, you get out of it what you put into it. And you can get similar results from any kind of interval training, which is what Px90 really is. -
Not really infomercial I guess but when I went and picked up a pull-up bar, got these for a tenner too:<br />
[url]http://www.everlast.com/Resistance-Stretch-Tubing-With-3-Strengths/productinfo/EVREST/[/url]<br />
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I'm on the road a fair bit for work and these have been a great purchase. Easy to just chuck in the suitcase and pretty big range of exercises you can throw together for a decent "in-hotel" workout if unable to get to the gym! -
[quote name='Bones']Not really infomercial I guess but when I went and picked up a pull-up bar, got these for a tenner too:<br />
[URL]http://www.everlast.com/Resistance-Stretch-Tubing-With-3-Strengths/productinfo/EVREST/[/URL]<br />
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I'm on the road a fair bit for work and these have been a great purchase. Easy to just chuck in the suitcase and pretty big range of exercises you can throw together for a decent "in-hotel" workout if unable to get to the gym![/QUOTE]<br />
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......or you could use a door <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
[quote name='MN5']......or you could use a door <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />[/QUOTE]<br />
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Got to be careful about that tho! I've learnt that not all doors - door frames are created equal! almost ripped one off once although that was more about my weight than my strength! -
[quote name='Paekakboyz']Got to be careful about that tho! I've learnt that not all doors - door frames are created equal! almost ripped one off once although that was more about my weight than my strength![/QUOTE]<br />
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Very true. Doing it on doors is good though, your body seems to create additional resistance against the door making regular pull ups easier when you do them ! -
[quote name='MN5']Very true. Doing it on doors is good though, your body seems to create additional resistance against the door making regular pull ups easier when you do them ![/QUOTE]You talking about pull/chin-ups? Not many a door frame I find can hold my weight, so no idea how you can bloody do it! Anyway, would be a bit silly to use those resistance tube thingies for pull-ups...
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[quote name='Bones']You talking about pull/chin-ups? Not many a door frame I find can hold my weight, so no idea how you can bloody do it! Anyway, would be a bit silly to use those resistance tube thingies for pull-ups...[/QUOTE]<br />
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You said you got a pull up bar ! <br />
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Do it on the door itself not the frame brudda ! -
[quote name='MN5']You said you got a pull up bar ! <br />
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Do it on the door itself not the frame brudda ![/QUOTE]Click on the link to see what I got! Pull-up bar ain't nowt to write home about, not when you can just break the door off its hinges <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
Aw I see. Nice work and you're right, very good for when you're on the road. <br />
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Now has anyone tried one of these [URL="http://www.nsdball.com"]www.nsdball.com[/URL]<br />
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I got one for Xmas a couple of years ago and they are great fun ( and seem to help my guitar playing ) -
Is there seriously anything you can get from an infomercial that you cant do better with a bit of good old fashioned hard work?<br />
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Heres a tip for separating fact from fiction: anything that uses the words "easy" "just" or "minutes a day" is rubbish. You get strong by lifting heavy things. You get fit by hard cardio exercise. Gimmicky infomercial crap is for people who dont really want to get fit but want to reduce their guilt by buying into the next fad. -
[quote name='Bones']Not really infomercial I guess but when I went and picked up a pull-up bar, got these for a tenner too:<br />
[url]http://www.everlast.com/Resistance-Stretch-Tubing-With-3-Strengths/productinfo/EVREST/[/url]<br />
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I'm on the road a fair bit for work and these have been a great purchase. Easy to just chuck in the suitcase and pretty big range of exercises you can throw together for a decent "in-hotel" workout if unable to get to the gym![/QUOTE]<br />
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If you travel alot Bones then check out Perfect Pushups. They easily slide into any suitcase and they make regular old push-ups a lot more effective. I'm a believer in good old fashioned hard work and I don't tend to buy any of these types of things that you see on infomercials, but the Perfect Push-up things really do work.<br />
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You can find out more about them here:<br />
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[url]http://perfectonline.com/store/index.php[/url] -
[quote name='davidav']If you travel alot Bones then check out Perfect Pushups. They easily slide into any suitcase and they make regular old push-ups a lot more effective. I'm a believer in good old fashioned hard work and I don't tend to buy any of these types of things that you see on infomercials, but the Perfect Push-up things really do work.<br />
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You can find out more about them here:<br />
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[url]http://perfectonline.com/store/index.php[/url][/QUOTE]Cheers will do. Am struggling enough with normal push-ups at the moment though - hence why I went for girly stretchy-band things! -
Bones you could check out [URL]http://www.100pushups.info/[/URL] ... looks like a pretty good approach to improving pushups etc.