If you grow tired of the same monotonous circular pedaling motions on your bicycle, you might want to shake things up with the Stepster. Instead of sitting, you actually stand to get your exercise, stepping up and down as if you’re marching in place. According to the company that makes it (Inventist, Inc.), it’s a cross between a scooter and a Stairmaster, and the leg muscles targeted are the same ones used for walking. There are no gears you need to fiddle with; you can change speed or adjust for going uphill simply by moving your foot position on the platforms.
Looks kind of fun actually. This is one fitness gadget I wouldn’t mind putting to use.
It’s a little early for snow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start training for this year’s ski season. The “Pro Fitter” is a device that lets you slide back and forth to work on muscle endurance, cardio, and balance. Whether you’re into downhill or slalom, it can give you a work out. It looks like you can actually do a number of non-ski-related exercises on the Pro Fitter (though it can be argued that anything that helps build core strength will help you on the slopes), such as leg extensions and kickbacks, ab crunches, and various arm exercises. (And, of course, this is all stuff that can be done in front of the television if you wish.)
The device is available over the web for just over $500: Pro Fitter
If you’re still getting your exercise on that old stationary bike you got from Sears years ago, you might be interested in some of the settings and features available on today’s exercise machines. The Keiser M3 is a new stationary bike that’s pretty high-tech looking. Some of the features are that it’s “ultra quiet” (yay, maybe that means you can actually watch television on this thing without turning the tube up so loud the upstairs neighbors start thumping on the floor), it comes with an “anti-slip belt,” the resistance is smooth (this would be nice… a lot of the cheaper stationary bicycles I’ve used get jerky when you increase the resistance), it’s fully adjustable to seat people of many sizes, and (perhaps most important) it has a water bottle holder. A computer between the handlebars measures RPMs, trip distance, trip time, heart rate, gear (resistance), and power output. Now the only question is when is the company going to send me one to try out for them?
Push-up bars let you go deeper on your push-ups and really work your pecs (or triceps if you’ve got your hands in close). They’ve been around for ages, and there’s nothing really gadget-y about them, but these ones are padded for your comfort (oooh, luxury), so I thought I’d point them out. Available for $15 from Fitness Giant, the polyethylene push-up bars can support up to 350 pounds each, so you can be really buff (or really needing a diet) and not worry about busting these. They also have non-skid rubber pads on the bottom for traction, so you can do reverse push-ups without worrying about the bars flying away.
If you’re tired of doing wrist curls to buff up your forearms, you can try this gadget. The Gyroflex Wrist Exerciser sounds a bit like a psycho yo-yo on steroids. To use it, you pull the starter cord and just try to hold onto the vigorously squirming ball. It’s supposed to improve your coordination, strengthen your grip, buff up your forearms, and exercise your hands and fingers. The sales pitch even claims it will alleviate stress and strain on your wrist and protect you from carpal tunnel syndrome and other injuries. All this for only $19.95…
The scariest thing about riding at night is worrying about whether motorists are going to see you. Well, with a bicycle helmet that sports red LEDs along the back and white LEDs in the front, you shouldn’t have to worry about that too much any more. This rechargeable bicycle helmet (now, there are a few words you never thought you’d see linked together) can run up to 15 hours on a charge, so you can ride all night long if you want to. According to the company, the bright LEDs can be seen for over a mile, so you’ll even be good on those long winding country roads. The cost? $69.99 and you can choose from red, black, or white helmets.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I hardly ever get injured working out (okay, okay, I get some impressive bruises from karate). Granted, I’ll have some soreness after a hard weight-lifting workout, but what really smashes my body is sitting in a chair at the computer all day. The human form wasn’t meant to sit all day, hacking at a keyboard and squinting at a monitor. We were built to chase down mammoths and things out in the wilds. Sitting all day may be okay when you’re young, but when you get older, your body rebels at this captivity. You get back pains, headaches, tense shoulders, etc. etc. etc. But what can you do? You gotta earn a living. Well, you can check out some of the new ergonomic chairs on the market. One example is this kneeler chair.
It’s a little different than your average Herman Miller type chair. For one thing, there’s no back, no arm rests, none of the normal attributes one expects from a chair. But maybe that’s what makes it work (I haven’t tried one, so I don’t know if they really do work, but that’s what the makers claim). Your weight actually rests, in part, on your knees. This is supposed to take some of the pressure off your coccyx (yes, Virginia, there is a coccyx… it’s fancy medical code for tailbone) and relieve lower back pain.