Tag Archives: exercise

Slimming down the cost of getting fitter

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When most people decide they want to get into some sort of exercise routine, their first consideration is often cost. You can start by checking the Sunday newspaper circulars – what’s on sale at Target? Does anybody know of any good workout DVD’s? Does Sears have a decent treadmill that I can put on my credit card?

The good news is that there are even more options than these, some of which are even free.

First things first: start by talking with your primary care physician (PCP) about your specific goals. Your doctor will tell you what they think you’re physically up to doing, and they can often refer you to a nutritionist, physical therapist, or other specialist, if such attention is needed. If your PCP is part of a “patient-centered medical home” (sometimes called a “PCMH”), your health insurance plan may cover visits to your doctor with a reduced (or $0!) co-pay. The key thing here is that you never want to start a new exercise plan without checking in with your doc FIRST.

Second: look at no-cost options. Make sure you actually LIKE the exercise/plan you’re trying out before you invest cash in it. Consider walking or running in your neighborhood before you buy a treadmill or get a gym membership. Cable TV subscribers can often benefit from “On Demand” services offered through cable providers like Cox, Comcast and Time Warner that allow you to view unlimited quantities of exercise videos as part of your cable subscription. Try before you buy those DVD’s!

Third: Use the discounts that you get through sources OTHER than the paper. Many health insurance plans, especially the national biggies (i.e., Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Aetna and Cigna) offer “wellness” programs that include discounts on everything from gym memberships to equipment to apparel. Some insurers also offer rewards for completing wellness activities, like completing online health assessments or going for an annual physical exam. Go to your insurer’s web site or call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card to get the skinny on these discounts.

Fourth: Look at work! Many workplaces have started to offer wellness programs and rewards, sometimes in addition to those offered through the insurance plan. Rewards can be anything from cash reimbursement for specific activities and memberships to discounts on gym memberships, race registrations, and more. Check with the Human Resources (HR) department, as applicable, for more info on what may be available for you.

I’ve gotten some great deals for myself in the last 12 months, like personal training sessions at my gym paid for by my company, and 15% off my awesome sneakers for the marathon (Brooks Addiction) at the local running store, thanks to our health insurer. I know about these discounts mostly because I read the stuff that’s posted on the HR section of my company’s intranet, and I glance at our health insurer’s newsletter before I toss it in the recycle bin. I also occasionally log in and check our health insurer’s web site for new discounts, since deals are often updated there and not put in the printed material. In other words, there are LOADS of things out there to help reduce the cost of getting fitter, and they’re not always hidden in the most obvious places. Happy hunting! (and if you know of other good, semi-hidden/non-obvious sources, feel free to post them in the comments so others can benefit from your wisdom!)

Product Review: Empower Fitness 2lb Pair Walking Weights

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{Disclaimers: 1) I am not, not do I claim to be a doctor. Before you attempt to use this product, check with your primary care physician and/or specialist health care professional to be sure that it’s right for you. 2) I received this product for the purpose of testing and was allowed to keep it as a courtesy for posting a review. I received no other compensation for this review and was specifically told, “Write whatever you want.” In other words: this is MY opinion and not a company-paid PR piece. Take that for what you will.}

Seeing as how I’m trying to find ways to kick up my workouts by a notch or so, as I get closer to the next marathon, it seemed only fitting that I try out workout weights. I’d been intrigued by them before, since they seem to come in so many flavors – things that wrap around your ankles, things that wrap around your wrists, things that wrap around your waist, etc. So, when I was offered a chance to try out weights that you hand-carry, I was definitely interested in seeing how well they worked.

The product I tested is a 2lb pair walking weight set from Empower Fitness; the set is 2lb total (1lb per weight). These are supposed to be designed specifically for women, and the softness of the sand inside them certainly did make them comfortable to hold. They’re enclosed in a bit of neoprene, with a neoprene strap to go around your hand – again, all quite comfy stuff. According to the Empower Fitness web site, the set retails for $9.99.

Empower Fitness 2lb Pair Walking Weights

Empower Fitness 2lb Pair Walking Weights

 

The tests:

I did a bunch of walks with these, both indoors and outdoors, ranging from as little as a half-hour to just over an hour. Distances covered were anywhere from 1.5 – 4mi, with my pace ranging between 17-20min/mi.

Typically, I was walking holding my arms parallel to my body with my forearms approximately 90 degrees off from my upper arm. Holding the weights seemed to force me to have better posture and hold my core muscles tighter than I typically would without the weights.

The results:

I liked them! They were comfortable to carry and they were light enough to be easily carried in one hand if needed, yet heavy enough to give me just that little bit of resistance I needed to make my walk a bit more of a workout than it was previously. The straps made it easy to hang onto them, and the squishiness from the sand meant that they had plenty of give for me.

If I needed to put them aside so I could get a drink, if I was indoors and on a treadmill, it was easy enough to put them on the shelf in front of me. When I was outside, they were light enough to transfer to one hand and carry as 2lbs on one side while I got my drink.

It’s a handy thing that you can wipe them down if you need to, although I will say that no matter how sweaty my hands got from wearing them during walking workouts, they never got stinky (big plus!). They  never slipped off my hands due to  sweat; they really seemed to fit my hands perfectly with those straps, and I appreciated the comfortable, tight-but-not-constrictive fit of the straps.

If you’re interested in spending short dollars to add a little oomph to your walks, I’d recommend giving these a try. I’ll definitely continue using them, and don’t be surprised if I purchase a carabiner to allow me just to clip them to a belt-loop for much longer walks when I want to alternate using/not using them. For my walks around my neighborhood, I often eschew wicking fabric in favor of my boy cargo shorts; they just make it a ton easier to carry stuff (granola bars, iPhone, etc.). Hence – a carabiner + these weights (or two carabiners, so I can clip one to each side) is a VERY likely outcome for future walks.

Where to buy:

You can purchase these at various places online, including Amazon.com. Check out the Empower Fitness web site for full details on purchase options.

Kicking my training up a notch…

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It’s not every day when someone shows up at your door with a box filled with stuff. With things piled on top of the box. I do so love days like that, especially when the stuff that the person shows up with happens to be stuff I can use.

In this case, it’s stuff I know I *want* to use, so we’ll see if I can kick my own behind into gear enough to be able to use it properly.

This all stems from one of those “it’s who you know” things, where I happen to know someone who works for a company that makes fitness equipment that’s designed specially for women. Now, I say this not to get all mushy – “ooh, it’s pink and it has wings!” NO NO NO. “Things designed for women” isn’t code for “looks like a tampon and smells like Febreze”. In this case, it’s fitness equipment that was designed for different body needs. Will dh use any of it? Uh, yeah. Why? It’s not because he wants to get in touch with his feminine side…it’s more that there will come a point when his curiosity will get the better of him. (He was already sniffing around the fitness mats and was excited that there was more than one.)

Of course, I haven’t yet had the chance to try this stuff out. My friend was kind enough to bring all this stuff last night, showing me everything from mats to medicine balls. As I try things out, I’ll post some reviews so that you can see what I found that worked for me. Bear in mind that my current schedule has me working out – at most – 3-4 times a week, with most of my workouts running maybe 35-45 minutes (and a longer one on the weekend). Some weeks I work out more, some less. I work out when I can, as we can fit it into our schedule (dh is training for his first triathlon). Add in full-time jobs and two kids and our schedule is almost military-level regimented from about 4:45am until the kids are finally asleep for the night.

Thanks to a fitness competition that was going on at work for the last few weeks, I’ve been focusing my workouts on walking, but now I can start to reincorporate core work. Hopefully, this will be less likely to kill me than what the sadistic incredibly sweet personal trainer at my gym had taught me earlier this year. (For such a nice guy, he certainly got an evil grin going when I was feeling near death halfway through his workouts. Yeesh.)

My eyes are on the prize(s): becoming fitter and finishing this year’s walking marathon without limping my way into the finish line. FINISH STRONG. As it happens, I connected with the Director of this year’s walk and there are a bunchload of people who live in my town that are also planning to do this year’s marathon; I suggested that she help organize a training club, and she’s going to see what can be done to make that happen.

So we’ll see if this works. I don’t consider this a reboot or even a .x release. This is just continuous flow. I haven’t stopped moving. (On the contrary, I was averaging well over 10,000 steps/day for the last three months.) I’d just like to kick things up a notch and, with a little help from my friends (and some new fitness toys!) I think I can do just that.

Who’s with me?

P.S. – If things work out nicely with any of the items I try out, there is a chance for giveaways. *claps hands in joy and grins madly* Keep your fingers cross, peeps.