Top 10: Worst Workout Equipment

There are thousands of horrible  pieces of workout equipment out there and they all have the same basic goal. Their goal is to make money off of you by making ridiculous claims to fitness and weight loss. If you can use simple common sense you can see through these horrible (sometimes funny) infomercials and save your money for something you actually want. So first up is…

1)      Electronic Ab Belts: When these first came out they were all the rage and people really wanted to believe that they could sit on their ass all day and get a ripped six packs from some electrical currents running through their abs. Hate to break it to you, but if it were really that easy would there be any fat people? We would all be watching TV eating Cheetos and have ripped abs.

2)      Shake Weight: This is a relatively new piece of workout equipment, but it has already gained a lot of attention as one of the most ridiculous pieces of workout equipment ever made. The idea is that shaking this piece of metal in front of you will give you a ripped chest, arms, and shoulders. They claim that you WILL feel the burn and that’s proving you’re getting a great workout. I bet if I took a big rock and shook it in front of me for 35 minutes that my arms would be sore, but that doesn’t make it a great workout product. Since this product is actually selling maybe I should start selling big rocks as workout equipment….

3)      Ab Circle: What’s they’re slogan again? Oh yea, “A treadmill for your abs!”, I’m not even sure how that makes sense. A treadmill isn’t meant to directly work your legs, but that beside the point. If you really want abs you would be better off getting a real treadmill, instead of swiveling around on this dangerous machine for hours. The goal of this magical machine is to swivel from side to side and BOOM you get abs. It has to be that simple right? Why don’t you just do some weighted crunches and bicycle crunches, or I guess you could throw away $100+ on this horrible contraption.

4)      Ab Doer: Twist your way into shape, or throw money away for a glorified office chair. I suppose the first slogan sounds better than the latter. The “science” behind this great chair is that twisting like fish out of water will get you the body you’ve always wanted. I would maybe buy this as just a regular office chair if I could get a good deal on it.  Something is a little fishy about this chair…

5)      Hawaii Chair: If you haven’t had the joy of watching this infomercial I high suggest it as it seems like it could be an SNL skit. This chair is pretty much the same thing as the ab doer on it does all the work. You literally sit in the chair as it spins you into a new body. This product is for the laziest of the lazy who want to flush their money down the toilet for a chair that might make you vomit.

6)      Vibrating Belt: This is a nice old school piece of art. The idea is that wrapping this belt that vibrates around you will jiggle the fat right off. I don’t see how this great product wouldn’t work. I’m sure if you dig deep enough you could find a company that still attempts to rip people off with their fancy vibrators…

7)       Bodyblade: Another great infomercial is attached to this ridiculous product. If you haven’t seen the body blade it is practically a flexible piece of plastic that is about 3 feet long. Apparently you just shake this thing in front of you, to the side of your or wherever you can shake it and there’s your workout.  I would actually compare this masterpiece to the shake weight as the workout apparently comes from flailing your arms around like a monkey.

8)      Vibraslim: Vibram slim claims that by doing half squats and curls while on a vibrating platform that you will lose weight and “tone” your whole body. This vibrating platform not only vibrates, but it well, actually that’s all it does.  The cheapest model of this product runs for $1700 and the most expensive comes in at an insane price of $4200. I’ll tell you what, you can pay me $500 and I’ll personally come to your house and shake you while you work out.

9)      Leg Magic: “Over 2 million people believe in magic. Do you?” NO.  This $100 machine basically takes out the arm movement in jumping jacks while making the leg movements a little easier. So for $100 you get the ability to do a jumping jack that is less effective.  This small paragraph is worth more to your fitness than that terrible piece of “workout” equipment.

10)    Saunabelt: The claim behind this wonderful tool is that you can concentrate a saunas power onto your abs and it will melt the fat away. You do not have to be an expert on weight loss to understand that fat does not magically (remember we don’t believe in magic) turn into water and come pouring out of your pores.  Apparently all you have to do is wrap this belt around your ass and you will get that great behind you’ve always wanted. Be sure to have a sweat bowl handy to soak up all that fat that comes pouring out….

What is Spot Reduction?

Spot reduction is simply the myth that by working a certain part of your body you can magically reduce the fat stores in that area. Spot reduction is the main reason you can go into any gym and see 25 people doing crunches until they’re brain dead. The myth that spot reduction is possible has led to the creation of thousands of horrible products based off of using just one small sections of muscle. The thought that working a certain area of your body will reduce the fat mass seems like it would make sense, but our bodies do not work that way. Working the muscle of a certain area will not make the fat surrounding it disappear. Once you get this thought out of your mind you can really start focusing on creating the best body from all aspects.  The media has pounded into your head that spot reduction is possible, but don’t fall for it. Practically every infomercial product works on the fact that they try to convince you that spot reduction is possible, when it is NOT.

How is Body Fat Reduced?
You have no control over where your body appears to put fat on your body and you have little control over where you lose fat from. What we do know is that you must lose weight by being in a caloric deficit and your body will decide where that weight comes off of first. Your body will choose where the weight comes off of certain areas dependent on your genes, sex, hormones, and age. Do not fall into any traps that you have control over where your body burns fat from first. Do not let this get you down knowing that you will never be able to control how flat your abs compared to your arms. This is a good thing since you would look pretty ridiculous if you had a ripped six pack, but your arms and legs were still soft and flabby. To get that ripped six pack or lose some flab on your arms you have to simply lose weight. There is no easy way around it, so stop looking and start working on it.

If you really wanted to flatten up your stomach you would be much better off doing cardio and keeping tabs on your calorie consumption rather than doing any crunches at all. Everyone has the same muscles; the issue is that there is too much fat covering the muscle so you can’t see them. If you do crunches for days you will build the muscle, sure, but you will not see it since there is a nice layer of fat over it. The best attack is to work the muscle with some sort of weight training while watching your calories and doing some form a cardio.

Get the Body You Want

In order to obtain the best look you need a good balance of diet, weight training, and cardio. If you just did a million of repetitions of the same exercise you will never reach your goal. If you want to lose some flab in your arms your best tactic would be to do some cardio and watch your diet. This seems like it may be ridiculous that you can throw out all arm exercises and get thinner arms, but it WILL work. If you can manage to get your body to start burning off fat, then it will get fat from all areas of your body. You have muscle there, or else your limbs would be useless so if all you are going for is a slim look than simply losing weight would help you attain that goal. If you want a more muscular appearance you can work on building muscle by lifting weights, but you don’t want to overdo one aspect of fitness. Unless your goal is to get very bulky don’t just stick do lifting weights, and if you just want a slim look don’t only concentrate on cardio. Remember the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn, so muscle is always important. The best way to get the body you want is to attack it from the 3 aspects of diet, weights, and cardiovascular work.  There is not trick or magic workout tool, it just takes hard work and dedication!

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is one of the four fat soluble vitamins and one vitamin that can be obtained through exposure to the sun. Vitamin D is also nick named the sunshine vitamin for obvious reasons. There are 5 forms of vitamin D, but only two are physiologically relevant to us. Forms D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3(cholecalciferol) are the two we use, and D3 is produced from our skin. Vitamin D is carried in the blood to the liver where it is then converted to calcidiol, which can then be converted in the kidneys to the biologically active form of vitamin D called calcitriol. Vitamin D inefficiency is most popularly linked to osteoporosis and rickets.

Vitamin D and Bone Strength

Vitamin D plays a major role in building and maintaining strong bones. Vitamin D increases bone strength by increasing the calcium that is absorbed through your intestines, increasing osteoclast (bone building) numbers, maintaining phosphate and calcium levels, and helping the parathyroid hormone to maintain calcium levels. Those that are deficient in vitamin D are at a high risk for lower bone density, osteoporosis, and therefore are at a higher risk for bone fractures.

Immune System and Vitamin D

A study done at University of Copenhagen has come to the conclusion that vitamin D aids T cells in our bodies.  Without vitamin D these cells will not be able to react to a foreign substance and won’t be able to protect us. If someone is lacking vitamin D their T cells will not be activated to attack a virus or bacteria. If the T cells just lay dormant, than you will have no line of defense to ward off an illness. Professor Carsten Geisler from the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology, was quoted: “When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D. This means that the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize. ” Be sure to be getting your vitamin D BEFORE you get ill.

Multiple Sclerosis and Vitamin D

Multiple Sclerosis or MS is a disease that results from the body’s failure to recognize itself. The immune system will then attack and destroy the sheath that protects nerves. The body cannot distinguish between itself and a foreign substance or infection. This turns the body’s normally effective defense system against itself. Since vitamin D is an immune system regulator people who spend more time outside have less occurrence of MS. People living in regions where they can spend time outside year round have a much less potential to get MS. Vitamin D pills are now being used as a treatment for MS

Vitamin D and Asthma Control

According to a study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, done with 600 Costa Rican children serum vitamin D levels were linked to asthma severity. The study found that children who lad lower serum vitamin D levels were more likely to have been hospitalized from asthma, and use more inhaled medicine. There still needs to be more research on this topic as the study was a simple epidemiological study.

Other Benefits

Vitamin D has been casually linked to other benefits such as healthy brain aging, helping maintain a healthy body weight, protection against low levels of radiation, and some studies have shown that people with appropriate levels of vitamin D are at lower risk to develop cancer.

Foods with Vitamin D

If you are not getting enough vitamin D by simply being outside there are foods that you can get vitamin D from. Many foods are now fortified with vitamin D like milk which was fortified to help prevent rickets in the 1930s. Here is a list of foods with vitamin D:

Vitamin D Requirements

• Birth to 12 months – 400 IU
• 1-13 years – 600 IU
• 14-18 years – 600 IU
• 19-70 years – 600 IU
• 71+ years – 800 IU
• Pregnant/Breastfeeding women – 600IU

Vitamin D Supplements

If you are usually active during the summer months it may be a wise idea to start supplementing vitamin D during the winter when you’re not getting vitamin D naturally from the sun. You do not need to get your whole daily requirements from supplements, but you can help reach that value with foods high in vitamin D and supplements. The best plan of attack for obtaining enough vitamin D is to balance your foods with vitamin D and your supplement usage. Vitamin D supplements happen to be fairly cheap, so it’s not a huge investment for some incredible health benefits. Here are some examples of cheap effective vitamin D supplements!

Is red wine good for you?

Red wine has been thought to have many heart benefits as we’ve all heard that a glass of wine a day is healthy. Red wine does have antioxidants, which we know can help destroy free radicals that can eventually cause cancer. Red wine can also increase HDL cholesterol which will protect against artery damage. Resveratrol is the main substance that scientists have been looking more closely at, and which appears to have many health benefits. Besides the antioxidants the alcohol in red wine also appears to have some heart benefits. Please beware though that doctors tend not to recommend drinking red wine EVERDAY simply because any alcohol can be addicting and you can get antioxidants from many other sources. Don’t think that chugging glasses of red wine everything is going to make your heart invincible.

Resveratrol
Resveratrol has gotten a lot of the credit for the benefits of red wine as it seems to prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces LDL cholesterol and it can prevent blood clots. Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes, so if you’re drinking white wine for its resveratrol you will be missing out. Red wine is fermented with the grape skins a lot longer which increases the amount of resveratrol. Many of the studies done with resveratrol have been done to mice and other small animals, but those studies have shown to slow cancer growth, increase life span, and have anti-inflammatory properties. A 2008 study at Weill Medical College of Cornell University reported that dietary supplementation of resveratrol reduced the plaque formation (a component of Alzheimer). The study was done with mice, but scientists believe that oral doses in humans may reduce plaque associated with changes to the brain from aging. Researchers also believe that resveratrol has an anti-diabetic effect, but there are no known mechanisms for this effect.

Resveratrol in food, and wine:

Is alcohol doing all the work?

There have been many studies that show that alcohol in MODERATION does have it’s health benefits. The problem is that people struggle with the moderation part, so it’s risky to recommend alcohol to everyone. The maximum recommendation for alcohol is one drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men. No you should not save those 1/day and 2/day throughout the week and consume them in a 3 hour period. There is evidence that alcohol can:

• Prevent LDL cholesterol from damaging arteries
• Reduce the formation of blood clots
• Raise your HDL, or good cholesterol

Not so fast though, because the negatives associated with drinking too much can surely outweigh the positives of drinking in moderation. Drinking too much can:

• Increase your blood pressure
• Increase your triglycerides
• Cause liver damage
• Lead to obesity
• Cause cancer
• Weaken your heart

How many calories does red wine have?

Remember that alcohol does have 7 calories per gram as compared to fat which has 9 calories per gram and carbohydrates and protein have 4 calories per gram. Alcohol is very energy dense, so be careful with the calories you might be adding to your diet. In the average 5oz serving of red wine there are about 125 calories and this can range from wine to wine. The average light beer has around 100 calories per can, and the average shot of hard liquor (80 proof) has 100 calories. Just be aware that a 5oz glass is not a full glass, most glasses are only 1/3 full when they reach the 5oz mark!

Resveratrol Supplements

As with any supplement it is recommended to get your resveratrol from food, but if you cannot do that on a daily basis supplements are your next best bet. Since it’s not recommended that you drink every day to get resveratrol taking supplements is going to be better than becoming an alcoholic. More research needs to be done to see if supplements are as effective as say grape juice or red wine. With all of the evidence that is slowing building on resveratrol it would be a shame to be missing out on this great compound!

Here are some popular Resveratrol Supplmenets:

Don’t let your failures discourage you!