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EdmundR.Burke,Ph.D.
mGetting the Most Out of Your Home Fitness Program
Thethree main reasonsfor the increasedpopularityof homefitness gymsand exercise
areconvenience,convenienceandconvenience.Foranyfitnessprogramto besuccessful,
it must bedoneon aregular,sustainedbasis.With equipment inyourhome,you can
roll out of bed,put on a pairof sweats, and start working out while the coffee is brewing.
Formany,homeworkouts areeasierto fit into their hectic schedules.Nogetting in the
carand havingto goto the healthclub. No standingin line to usethe stair climber.Then
there is the comfortand safetyfactor. Who wants to run outdoorsduring a raging blizzard.
Or,who wants to ride abikeon busycity streets duringrushhourin the heatof summer.
It's muchmore comfortableto hop onyour Schwinn homefitness equipmentand exercise
in the comfort and securityofyour air-conditionedroom.
Privacyandcleanlinessare alsoimportant. Manyfeel intimidated in a gym, especially if
they arecarryingarounda few extra pounds.At homeyou canexercisewithout feeling as
if you arebeingrushedorthat anyoneis lookingat you. No morelyingdown ona sweaty
benchorwondering if you'll catch athlete's foot in the shower.
Flexibility oftime may bethe biggest advantage.Work schedulesvary for manypeople
who work flex shifts or havea family that hasdifferent schedules.Parentswith children
soondiscoverthat exercisingat hometurnsout to bethe onlyviable alternative if they
want to stay fit. But parentsand busyworkers maynot be the onlyoneswho benefitfrom
exercisingat home.
mThe Stanford Home Exercise Study
Recently,researchersat Stanford University Schoolof Medicine, conductedayearlong
studyof over350individuals to examinethe effectivenessandcomplianceof a groupof
supervisedhomeexercisersversusa group of individualswho reportedfor a groupsession
at the university.Thesubject populationincludedmiddle agedmenand women and
includedfit individuals aswelt asindividuals who were overweight andsmoked.
individuals inboththe high intensity (three40-minute sessionsperweek onthe treadmill
at a73to 88percentof max heart rate)andlow intensity group(five 30-minutesessions
at 60-71 percentofmax heart rate) reportedsignificantly greater adherencethanthose in
the universitygroup basedprogram.
Manyat the beginningofthe studythoughtthat the universitybasedgroupwould have
agreater compliancerate than the homebasedgroup,becauseof the camaraderieof
the groupandthe instructiongiven bythe instructors. Butthe study foundthe opposite
to betrue. Thegroupprogramwas just too inconvenientoverthe 12month periodfor the
subjectsto justify the benefits.
Butthe goodnews was that a!l three groupsshowed fitness improvements.With the
individuals inthe low intensity groupachievingsimilar resultsasthe high intensity group.
Goodnewsfor thoseof youjust starting out in a moderateexerciseprogram.
Perhapsmost importantly,researchhasalsoshown that it's nevertoo lateto start exercis-
ing.., and experiencingthe benefits. Studiesconductedat TuftsUniversity,for instance,
showthat even peoplein their 90'scansignificantly increasetheir strength asa resultof
following a moderate,strengthtraining program.
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