How has your overall health been these past six months? Have you had trouble keeping up with your exercise & recovery during this stressful period? We’re now in month seven of this dreaded disease that’s still hovering over us. Hopefully, a cure is on the distant horizon. Many of us, however, are more anxious than ever before. The constant anxiety is beginning to wreak havoc on our mind, body and spirit. Personally, I can’t tell you how much I look forward to starting my day off with a long walk, run or hike. I still do my strength workouts in the evening but it’s the morning exercise ritual that has been truly life-saving these last 180 plus days! Yes, its been that long!
Winter is coming though. I’m already thinking about how I can replicate my outdoor excursions indoors when the weather is not cooperating. I’m fortunate to have a nice set-up in my “garage gym” but I’m in the market for a new cardio toy. In addition, I’m always on the lookout for a game changing recovery product to use on my aging body.
Here are some of the exercise & recovery products that I’ve used recently along with a few others that I’ve been looking at.
Exercise & Recovery Tool: Hyperice Products
The company offers recovery and movement tools and has hit the big time recently partnering with the NBA. Their vibration massage gun is basically a better, quieter, less costly version of similar products on the market. The Hypervolt gun comes with five easy to snap on heads designed to get deep into connective tissue and muscle. Use this or any of their other recovery products and you’ll end up feeling like a new version of yourself. The product is ideal for a recovery day or for pre or post workout use. It even comes with an app to educate you on the benefits of proper recovery and vibration technology, it also helps track your overall use.
Exercise Product: ElliptiGO SUB
We have a tendency to sit more than we should throughout the day. We have read the reports that too much sitting is slowly killing us. The average American spends about 6½ hours a day sitting, an increase of about an hour a day since 2007. Anyway, we know we need to stand up and move more throughout the day, right? The issue is the gym requires us to sit on the majority of the equipment. This can feel counter productive at times. Enter the SUB, the stand up bike.
The West coast company, ElliptiGO, was started ten years ago to help us solve this problem. They have several different product lines including their well received SUB. The bike has no seat and you feel like you’re on an Elliptical machine. The big difference is you’re outside and not stuck in the gym. Using this product will help you burn 33 percent more calories than a traditional bike. The product can be a great tool for both exercise & recovery. The design is amazing and say good-bye to neck and back pain typically associated with long a bike ride. I can attest to that. Individuals who have trouble getting on and off a bike now have no issues that would impede them from riding. The ability to exercise standing up, while outdoors, with no pounding on the joints is priceless!
Exercise Product: Concept 2 SkiErg
The Concept 2 SkiErg with PM5 is one of the top-rated ski machines available. Concept 2 is known for their well-built rowing machines typically found in gyms and CrossFit boxes. It may not engage the lower extremity like outdoor skiing but it still offers a great full body workout. It ‘s a fantastic upright workout that incorporates the whole body not to mention its high caloric expenditure as a by-product. The legs get targeted via a squat at end of each stroke but it’s done from a stationary position. The product, in the right hands, can also be used both as an exercise & recovery tool. A great workout is expending 100 calories for time.
New Exercise Product: CLIMBR
This is a new product that launched recently from Colorado-based Climbr. The traditional versa climber on the market is a functional cardio product. The training concept has gained some traction over the past decade especially in various boutique fitness studios. The Climbr is basically a versa climber on steroids with a beautiful design equipped with the latest in technology. Again, it’s a great workout because the body is upright and mimics contralateral movement found in activities like climbing. When you utilize a lot of big muscles in any type of movement or activity it’s usually better.
Next time you’re at the gym try to choose equipment that requires you, when possible, to stand not sit. When you’re in the market for home exercise equipment, try doing the same. At either location, take advantage of the Jefit app to design, log and track your strength and cardio workouts. Don’t forget the value of both exercise & recovery. Stay Strong!