Take This Test Before You Buy Any Exercise Equipment
Tis’ the season for people to buy exercise equipment. The sales are on and you’re worked up to finally start an exercise program and get back in shape. Ads are on the TV every hour with various mechanisms to tone your abs, legs, back, elbows and toes. Yes they do it all.
The greatest advancement came a few years ago when a company came out with an ab machine that you sat on. Brilliant advertising, since most people spend a great amount of time on their butts anyways so this will appeal to them. Then came the real great idea. It folds up to fit under your bed – because that’s where it’s going to end up. Now most everything today will fold up and keep your dust bunnies company.
Have you ever seen a TV ad showing someone who is 260 pounds using their equipment? Of course not, they hire professional models hoping to delude you into thinking you could look like them if you buy their product.
Don’t’ fall for the free trial for less than $20 either because it’s no deal. These people ship out thousands of units and so get a dirt cheap shipping rate. If after your trial period is over and you decide to ship it back, it’s going to cost you almost as much as what you paid for it in the first place.
The ads on TV often make the claim that you can lose 10 pounds in 10 days. Then in little tiny print they add “when combined with a diet and aerobic exercise”. You can lose 10 pounds the first week on a protein diet, and you may think ‘Great. If I can keep this up for a month I’ll lose all the weight I want.’ But the next week you lose 2 pounds and by the third week you’re discouraged, so you quit, eat a hoggie and have a couple of beers. When you weigh yourself the next morning, you find you have gained 10 pounds overnight. That’s because the first 10 pounds you lost was just water weight and not any fat. You’re better off just trying to cut 500 calories from your daily diet. You can lose a pound a week and it will be a lot easier and cheaper.
Take the Exercise Pre Test
Follow these simple steps to see if you are ready to buy some exercise equipment this holiday season.
1. Set your alarm clock Sunday night to go off in the morning 15 minutes earlier than usual.
2. Get up and put on your exercise clothes, do some stretches and jog in place for 15 seconds to warm up.
3. Lay down on the floor on your stomach and do as many push ups as you can. It doesn’t matter if you can do 50 or just one. You can do them from your knees if you like.
4. Now roll over onto your back, slide your feet up until they are flat on the floor, place your fingers beside your temples and do as many crunches as you can. It doesn’t matter if you can do 100 or 2 and a half.
5. Stand up, shake out your arms and legs and run in place for 6 seconds.
There you are done for today. Now repeat the program every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for the next month.
If you find that you gave up or started skipping a workout within the first two weeks or didn’t make it the entire month, then you should not buy any exercise equipment. If you can’t handle a simple and easy 5 minute workout there is no way you will get up an hour early to do an strenuous workout. Save your money and start with a walking program instead.
If you did make it the entire month then great. Check out what equipment you would like to use and get an idea of the price and make sure your have room for it. Now wait until late spring or early summer when the people who bought their exercise equipment during the holidays are trying to sell them in the paper or at a garage sale because they don’t use them. You can get a great deal on some barely used equipment. Happy shopping.
