jeff@nwfitnessportland.com

Sales Director

I talk to a lot of customers about how they can BEST set themselves up to succeed in an at home fitness program. There are 5 essential things to consider. Take these factors into consideration, and you increase your chances of sticking with your program incrementally!

1. Product Selection

People ask “What is the ‘best’ piece of equipment to get?” Unfortunately there is no single answer that fits all situations. To get a fully rounded fitness program going, you want to have the ability to work both cardio and strength. Cardio options include treadmills, ellipticals, exercise bikes, and the like. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. In short, get what you like using. It really doesn’t matter if you burn a few more calories on one piece or the other if you don’t use it, so get what you will use! For strength, you can go as simple as a few dumbbells or kettlebells, or as elaborate as a full multi-station home gym. Again, determine the way you like to strength train and get the equipment that you are most likely to enjoy using.

2. In Home Placement

Many people think, “I’ll put it in the garage!” Nothing could be more detrimental to your success. In the winter time, the garage is almost as cold as going outside, in the summer it can be too hot! Since most people workout in the morning or evening due to schedules, the temperature of the garage tends to keep people from going out there to get their workout in. For best results, create a space inside the home that is climate controlled and inviting.

3. Entertainment

Get a television in your workout room! Whether you like watching sports center, the batchelor, or biggest loser, combining your tv time with workout time will give you the best chance of creating a habit. For me – it’s morning sports center while sprint training on the treadmill, followed by strength training on my functional trainer. If you are not a tv person, set yourself up to read or listen to music that motivates you to get moving!

4. Motivation

Track your workouts. There are many ways to do this from keeping your statistics in a journal to great apps that offer tremendous feedback. Monitor your heart rate and push yourself by making improvement a priority. Some of the new cardio equipment consoles have this technology embedded and automatically track your progress for you. If you need this technology to keep track of your progress, spend the extra money to get the features you need to motivate you. Another great thing to do is set up a contest or weekly check in with a friend or family member to review the last week’s workouts. Having someone to answer to will help motivate you to stick with it.

5. Buy Quality Equipment

Many people want to “just get something cheap on craigslist.” Nothing will kill your workout program faster than poor quality equipment. Unfortunately craigslist is full of junk! I study craigslist everyday to find QUALITY used products to sell at our store – 99% of the listings are the low-end products from sears or costco that people bought before reading this article. Low end machines are typically unstable, not smooth, and break down frequently with limited local support to repair them. If you are on a tight budget, it is better to buy a QUALITY used piece from a store like us – who will back it up with a service and labor warranty than guessing about whether something on craigslist is worthwhile.

Hopefully this will help you get set up for success in your at home fitness program. If you are in need of QUALITY equipment, contact us to work with our experienced sales consultants and determine the best products for your specific needs, space constraints, and budget. We will help educate you, allow you to try a wide variety of products, and help you put together a program for at home fitness success with no pressure!

jeff@nwfitnessportland.com

By: Jeff Hahn
Sales Director

Bodyguard "imagine" iPad app

One of the biggest hurdles to sticking with any workout program is boredom.  Keeping the user entertained and maximizing results are the two biggest factors in sustaining a solid workout plan.  Once you have made the decision to buy equipment for your home, you are on your way to success!  New technology in one brand of treadmills is making workouts fun again – and their iPad integration makes it impossible to run out of fun things to do while working out.

Bodyguard fitness has just launched the “imagine” iPad app for their treadmills.  This is not simply a docking station that will charge your iPod and play music, but a fully integrated treadmill control panel app that utilizes the many great features we already use on the iPad everyday and allows for maximum multitasking and fantastic reporting on workout results too!

Studies have shown that we are now spending more time than ever on the internet.  Just recently the statistics have changed to be more on mobile devices and more time using apps than using web browsers.  The iPad dominates the tablet computer market and has more apps than any other competitive product.  The ease of use and great features give iPad users unlimited options when it comes to entertainment.  You have true entertainment options like movies, YouTube, and streaming live sports; you have social media like facebook, twitter, and pinterest; you have email, internet, games, and even interactive exercising apps that give you that “on the trail” outdoors experience like Virtual Active.

So now that you know that the entertainment options are are unlimited, let’s talk about the “imagine” app and how it can help you reach your fitness goals!  The first thing you notice about the app is the ease of setting up your user profile.  You enter your name, weight, age, etc and even snap a quick pic of yourself and you are ready to go.  Now each time you use the treadmill, just select your profile and you are logged in for history, data, and custom settings.  Setting up programs is a snap.  Each program has a brief description of what the intended use is.  Find the one you want and follow the prompts to customize the speed, elevation, heart rate and you are on your way!  Upon completing your workout, the data is saved so you can easily replicate the program you just did the next time you want to do it.  A data export allows for easy charting and graphing of performance to make sure you are reaching your fitness goals.  For more details, check out this quick video, then head on into the store for a live demo!

jeff@nwfitnessportland.com

By Jeff Hahn
Sales Director

Looking for the latest equipment that you can pack up and take to the park this summer?  Then you’ve got to check out the Human Trainer Versatility Kit by Astone Fitness.

The Human Trainer utilizes your bodyweight as resistance to perform nearly any exercise you can imagine.  You can easily adjust the intensity of the exercise by changing your body position to make the movement more or less aggressive.  Check out this video for a glimpse at some of exercises that you can perform using the Human Trainer:

Best of all, the Human Trainer Versatility Kit is in stock now.

jeff@nwfitnessportland.com

By Jeff Hahn
Sales Director

Kettlebells

Looking for Cross-Fit type products for use at your home?  We have them!  We are now carrying bumper plates, squat stands, olympic bars, kettlebells, pullup bars, pullup assist bands, medicine balls, plyo-boxes, and more!  Come to the store and check out the best local selection of these items!  Don’t forget to “like” us on facebook for a money saving coupon on these items!

Huge selections of products in stock and ready for you to take home.  No need to wait or pay shipping!

Bumper Plates

jeff@nwfitnessportland.com

By Jeff Hahn
Sales Director

If you are like me, you get bored quite quickly with the typical programs available on most elliptical trainers.  Hills, Fat Burn, etc. They are all variations of resistance change.  X-Mode is something different, something better.  X-Mode offers a variation of body positions, resistance levels, directions, and focuses that make it exciting and get rid of the typical elliptical boredom.

Octane Q37ci

I am impatient.  I’ll admit that.  Looking at a countdown timer that started at 30:00 and slowly makes it’s way to 25:00 and then to 20:00 is hard for me to keep mentally involved in my workout.  That is what I love about X-Mode.  It gives me a short 1:00 countdown for the particular segment that I am in.  The next minute is something different, and the next.  With the constant change in workout, the time flies by and I am able to remain focused and push myself to really get the most from my workout.

If you have never had a chance to do an X-Mode workout, come down to the store and we will set you up to try it on a great Octane elliptical.  See you soon!

jeff@nwfitnessportland.com

By Jeff Hahn
Sales Director

The best thing about selling Vision Fitness products is the fact that they offer 3 consoles on their cardio equipment.  This allows me as the salesperson to perfectly match the needs of the buyer to the machine and ensure that they aren’t paying for any features they won’t use.  With the recent enhancements to the Premier console, there is a ton of value and many reasons to upgrade to the best!

The first thing that is different about the Premier Console is it allows for up to six unique user profiles.  That means everyone in the house gets to have a custom setup, not just the typical one or two.  It also means easy start up without having to enter the age, weight, etc. when starting a program.  The best part of the user profiles is the machine automatically keeps a fitness calendar, making it easy to look up past workout data to make sure you are keeping on track.  It is also a great way to compete with family members to see who can do the most miles, or burn the most calories in a certain period.

Premier Console

The second thing I love is that program information is built right into the console.  Don’t you hate when you don’t know what a program is designed to do and have to dig up your owner’s manual to figure it out?  The Premier Console has a description of each program embedded in the info button so you can easily look it up as you are choosing the program. In the way of programming, the Premier gives you tons of options including all the typical programs (fat burn, interval, etc.) as well as motivational programs (pacer), goal oriented programs (calorie goal, distance goal, etc.), heart rate interactive programs (which automatically keep you at a desired heart rate), and even the unique Sprint8.  I can guarantee you will never get bored with the Premier!

The third thing that the Premier Console has that none of the others do is a full color screen that can deliver audio/video from any input source.  That’s right, you can actually watch a DVD, or your cable box, right on the screen.  When in this mode, it simply overlays your workout stats on top of whatever you are watching.  You can easily toggle back and forth between your workout program, watching TV, and multiple personalized motivational screen backgrounds, keeping you entertained and working out for longer.  The time flies by with all the entertainment options!

Finally, the Premier Console is the easiest console I have ever used.  While it may have the most programming options, it also has a very easy to navigate design similar to using an ATM (which if you are like my wife, I am sure you have mastered, right?)  You go from one menu  to the next seamlessly and easily navigating to the exact program or information you need.

If you are in the market for an exercise bike, elliptical trainer, or treadmill – make sure you stop by our store and check out the Vision Fitness lineup and Premier Console for yourself.  You will be glad you did!

Shop our Vision Fitness Products

jeff@nwfitnessportland.com

By Jeff Hahn
Sales Director

One of the most commonly asked questions by customers in our stores is, “Do you have a machine that will do both strength training and cardio but not take up my entire living room?”  With the introduction of the Octane Fitness x-Ride, I can proudly answer “YES”!!!

Octane Fitness x-R6

I start off at level 5 on manual using legs and arms.  Not that tough, but it gets the blood pumping.  After a couple minutes of warmup, I hit the “leg press” booster and this is when the magic happens!  The resistance increases by 10 levels (now at 15) and I move my hands from the multi-grip handles to the seat handles in order to isolate the legs and maximize my leverage.  The console counts down my reps from 15-1 and when the set is complete, the resistance goes back to 5 and I resume total body at the recovery rate for 1 minute until the next set comes up.

http://www.nwfitnessportland.com/fitness-exercise-equipment/ellipticals/octane-elliptical-xR6-X-Ride.asp

Octane Fitness xRide Series Ellipticals from Octane Fitness on Vimeo.