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Advanced Fitness Newsletter
Information for a Healthy Life

January 5, 2001
Issue 18

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IN THIS ISSUE:

- Benefits of Flexibility Training
- The Lowdown On Folding Treadmills

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Benefits of Flexibility Training
By Chad Tackett, president of GHF

Flexibility is a joint's ability to move through a full range of motion. Flexibility training (stretching) helps balance muscle groups that might be overused during exercise or physical activity or as a result of bad posture. It's important to clearly understand the many benefits that result from a good flexibility program.

Improved Physical Performance and Decreased Risk of Injury

First, a safe and effective flexibility training program increases physical performance. A flexible joint has the ability to move through a greater range of motion and requires less energy to do so, while greatly decreasing your risk of injury. Most professionals agree that stretching decreases resistance in tissue structures; you are, therefore, less likely to become injured by exceeding tissue extensibility (maximum range of tissues) during activity.

Reduced Muscle Soreness and Improved Posture

Recent studies show that slow, static stretching helps reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Static stretching involves a slow, gradual and controlled elongation of the muscle through the full range of motion and held for 15-30 seconds in the furthest comfortable position (without pain). Stretching also improves muscular balance and posture. Many people's soft-tissue structures has adapted poorly to either the effects of gravity or poor postural habits. Stretching can help realign soft tissue structures, thus reducing the effort it takes to achieve and maintain good posture in the activities of daily living.

Reduced Risk of Low Back Pain

A key benefit, and one I wish more people would realize, is that stretching reduces the risk of low back pain. Stretching promotes muscular relaxation. A muscle in constant contraction requires more energy to accomplish activities. Flexibility in the hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, and other muscles attaching to the pelvis reduces stress to the low back. Stretching causes muscular relaxation, which encourages healthy nutrition directly to muscles; the resulting reduction in accumulated toxins reduces the potential for muscle shortening or tightening and thus reduces fatigue.

Increased Blood and Nutrients to Tissues

Another great benefit is that stretching increases blood supply and nutrients to joint structures. Stretching increases tissue temperature, which in turn increases circulation and nutrient transport. This allows greater elasticity of surrounding tissues and increases performance. Stretching also increases joint synovial fluid, which is a lubricating fluid that promotes the transport of more nutrients to the joints' atricular cartilage. This allows a greater range of motion and reduces joint degeneration

Improved Muscle Coordination

Another little-known benefit is increased neuromuscular coordination. Studies show that nerve-impulse velocity (the time it takes an impulse to travel to the brain and back) is improved with stretching. This helps opposing muscle groups work in a more synergistic, coordinated fashion.

Enhanced Enjoyment of Physical Activities

Flexibility training also means enhanced enjoyment, and a fitness program should be fun if you want to stick with it. Not only does stretching decrease muscle soreness and increase performance, it also helps relax both mind and body and brings a heightened sense of well-being and personal gratification during exercise.

As you can see, flexibility training is one of the key components of a balanced fitness program and should be a part of your exercise routine. Without flexibility training, you are missing an important part of overall health. Flexibility training provides many important benefits that cannot be achieved by any other exercise or activity. Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of an effective flexibility training program.

Chad Tackett is president of Global Health & Fitness http://www.global-fitness.com, "Your on-line guide to healthy living and optimal fitness."

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The Lowdown On Folding Treadmills
By Clark Stevenson

We have been hearing from quite a number of people concerning folding treadmills so we wanted to use this month's article to set the record straight on folding units. Hope you enjoy.

A folding treadmill can be a great way for you to accomplish several goals:

1) Have a treadmill without having the space to devote for it.

2) Have a treadmill that is easy to clean under on a regular basis.

3) Have a very stable treadmill that is overbuilt structurally.

These are some of the advantages to a folding treadmill. Of course, there are some disadvantages to these models as well.

1) On average, folding treadmills are cheaper than their non-folding counterparts.

2) For most companies, more money has to be devoted to a folding mechanism so a comparably priced non-folding treadmill will have a price advantage - meaning you will pay more for a comparable folding machine.

3) The folding mechanism has more parts that can break.

Let's discuss the advantages, then the disadvantages. First, it is a great way to pack a big exercise machine into a small space. There is no way around it, if you don't have the room, it is next to impossible to fit a machine that takes up nearly 20 square feet of space into a spot that only has 6 square feet of room unless it will fold up. This works perfectly in apartments or homes where you either don't want or can't have a treadmill that is intrusive.

If you have been a subscriber for long, you know how much we emphasize cleanliness with your treadmill and there is no easier way to clean underneath a treadmill than by having one that will fold up and out of the way to clean under. On a regular basis, you can simply fold the treadmill up and clean underneath to prolong the mechanical and electrical systems' life.

Finally, most folding units have extra structural support to help the folding mechanism work and so they are typically very solid machines. This is not true of all models but on the whole, it is a truism.

Now to the disadvantages - Since most lower-priced treadmills are folding units, the perception has become that all folding treadmills are cheap. A friend I had in the car business once told me a story about a Japanese man who visited him when he owned an Oldsmobile dealership in our town. He brought a cheap looking car along with him and offered my friend a chance to have an exclusive arrangement to sell this awful looking machine in Memphis. Since my friend knew that only cheap junk was made in Japan, he politely turned down the chance to be the only dealer in Memphis to sell Honda cars for the next 20 years!

The parallel in this story is that in the beginning all folding treadmills were cheap but now they have become better. Still some models are cheap but justice is not served on many, high quality folding units that are available on the market. In fact, now many folding units are better than some non-folding treadmills but dealers that still don't or won't sell folding treadmills are like my friend who had his head in the sand. Does this mean that non-folding treadmills are going the way of the dinosaur? Not at all, but there is definitely a place for folding treadmills in this day and many are better than their counterparts.

Keep in mind the mechanism to make them fold costs more for most machines, so if you are comparing a $2000 folding treadmill with a $2000 non-folding treadmill, chances are the non-folding unit is a better value if you don't need the folding feature. On the low end of the scale, one manufacturer has actually figured out how to make the folding units cheaper so if you are looking for a sub-$1000 treadmill and a few $1000+ units, the rule that they cost more does not apply.

As with all mechanical devices, if you have a folding treadmill, you typically have more parts that can break. It is fair to keep in mind that we don't know of a single folding system that is susceptible to breakdowns but there are items such as gas filled shocks, springs, bushings, etc. that can wear out in these systems.

With all of this in mind, you may be wondering if a folding unit is worth it at all. The truth of the matter is that, all things being equal, you will know if you need one of these machines or not. Just keep in mind the advantages and disadvantages and don't feel like you are getting an inferior machine just because it folds up. For most brands, you are getting a comparable treadmill but you will pay more for this feature in the quality brands.

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