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The Fitness and Health Report
Information for a Healthy Life
January 5, 2000, Issue 18
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Benefits of Flexibility Training
- The Lowdown On Folding Treadmills
Benefits of Flexibility Training
By Chad Tackett, president of GHF
Flexibility is a joint's ability to move through a full range of motion.
Flexibility training (stretching) helps balance muscle groups that might
be overused during exercise or physical activity or as a result of bad
posture. It's important to clearly understand the many benefits that result
from a good flexibility program.
Improved Physical Performance and Decreased Risk of Injury
First, a safe and effective flexibility training program increases physical
performance. A flexible joint has the ability to move through a greater
range of motion and requires less energy to do so, while greatly decreasing
your risk of injury. Most professionals agree that stretching decreases
resistance in tissue structures; you are, therefore, less likely to become
injured by exceeding tissue extensibility (maximum range of tissues) during
activity.
Reduced Muscle Soreness and Improved Posture
Recent studies show that slow, static stretching helps reduce muscle
soreness after exercise. Static stretching involves a slow, gradual and
controlled elongation of the muscle through the full range of motion and
held for 15-30 seconds in the furthest comfortable position (without pain).
Stretching also improves muscular balance and posture. Many people's soft-tissue
structures has adapted poorly to either the effects of gravity or poor
postural habits. Stretching can help realign soft tissue structures, thus
reducing the effort it takes to achieve and maintain good posture in the
activities of daily living.
Reduced Risk of Low Back Pain
A key benefit, and one I wish more people would realize, is that stretching
reduces the risk of low back pain. Stretching promotes muscular relaxation.
A muscle in constant contraction requires more energy to accomplish activities.
Flexibility in the hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, and other muscles
attaching to the pelvis reduces stress to the low back. Stretching causes
muscular relaxation, which encourages healthy nutrition directly to muscles;
the resulting reduction in accumulated toxins reduces the potential for
muscle shortening or tightening and thus reduces fatigue.
Increased Blood and Nutrients to Tissues
Another great benefit is that stretching increases blood supply and nutrients
to joint structures. Stretching increases tissue temperature, which in
turn increases circulation and nutrient transport. This allows greater
elasticity of surrounding tissues and increases performance. Stretching
also increases joint synovial fluid, which is a lubricating fluid that
promotes the transport of more nutrients to the joints' atricular cartilage.
This allows a greater range of motion and reduces joint degeneration
Improved Muscle Coordination
Another little-known benefit is increased neuromuscular coordination.
Studies show that nerve-impulse velocity (the time it takes an impulse
to travel to the brain and back) is improved with stretching. This helps
opposing muscle groups work in a more synergistic, coordinated fashion.
Enhanced Enjoyment of Physical Activities
Flexibility training also means enhanced enjoyment, and a fitness program
should be fun if you want to stick with it. Not only does stretching decrease
muscle soreness and increase performance, it also helps relax both mind
and body and brings a heightened sense of well-being and personal gratification
during exercise.
As you can see, flexibility training is one of the key components of
a balanced fitness program and should be a part of your exercise routine.
Without flexibility training, you are missing an important part of overall
health. Flexibility training provides many important benefits that cannot
be achieved by any other exercise or activity. Good luck: I hope you enjoy
all the wonderful benefits of an effective flexibility training program.
Chad Tackett is president of Global Health & Fitness http://www.global-fitness.com.
The Lowdown On Folding Treadmills
By Clark Stevenson
We have been hearing from quite a number of people concerning folding
treadmills so we wanted to use this month's article to set the record
straight on folding units. Hope you enjoy.
A folding treadmill can be a great way for you to accomplish several
goals:
1) Have a treadmill without having the space to devote for it.
2) Have a treadmill that is easy to clean under on a regular basis.
3) Have a very stable treadmill that is overbuilt structurally.
These are some of the advantages to a folding treadmill. Of course, there
are some disadvantages to these models as well.
1) On average, folding treadmills are cheaper than their non-folding
counterparts.
2) For most companies, more money has to be devoted to a folding mechanism
so a comparably priced non-folding treadmill will have a price advantage…meaning
you will pay more for a comparable folding machine.
3) The folding mechanism has more parts that can break.
Let's discuss the advantages, then the disadvantages. First, it is a
great way to pack a big exercise machine into a small space. There is
no way around it, if you don't have the room, it is next to impossible
to fit a machine that takes up nearly 20 square feet of space into a spot
that only has 6 square feet of room unless it will fold up. This works
perfectly in apartments or homes where you either don't want or can't
have a treadmill that is intrusive.
If you have been a subscriber for long, you know how much we emphasize
cleanliness with your treadmill and there is no easier way to clean underneath
a treadmill than by having one that will fold up and out of the way to
clean under. On a regular basis, you can simply fold the treadmill up
and clean underneath to prolong the mechanical and electrical systems'
life.
Finally, most folding units have extra structural support to help the
folding mechanism work and so they are typically very solid machines.
This is not true of all models but on the whole, it is a truism.
Now to the disadvantages…Since most lower-priced treadmills are
folding units, the perception has become that all folding treadmills are
cheap. A friend I had in the car business once told me a story about a
Japanese man who visited him when he owned an Oldsmobile dealership in
our town. He brought a cheap looking car along with him and offered my
friend a chance to have an exclusive arrangement to sell this awful looking
machine in Memphis. Since my friend knew that only cheap junk was made
in Japan, he politely turned down the chance to be the only dealer in
Memphis to sell Honda cars for the next 20 years!
The parallel in this story is that in the beginning all folding treadmills
were cheap but now they have become better. Still some models are cheap
but justice is not served on many, high quality folding units that are
available on the market. In fact, now many folding units are better than
some non-folding treadmills but dealers that still don't or won't sell
folding treadmills are like my friend who had his head in the sand. Does
this mean that non-folding treadmills are going the way of the dinosaur?
Not at all, but there is definitely a place for folding treadmills in
this day and many are better than their counterparts.
Keep in mind the mechanism to make them fold costs more for most machines,
so if you are comparing a $2000 folding treadmill with a $2000 non-folding
treadmill, chances are the non-folding unit is a better value if you don't
need the folding feature. On the low end of the scale, one manufacturer
has actually figured out how to make the folding units cheaper so if you
are looking for a sub-$1000 treadmill and a few $1000+ units, the rule
that they cost more does not apply.
As with all mechanical devices, if you have a folding treadmill, you
typically have more parts that can break. It is fair to keep in mind that
we don't know of a single folding system that is susceptible to breakdowns
but there are items such as gas filled shocks, springs, bushings, etc.
that can wear out in these systems.
With all of this in mind, you may be wondering if a folding unit is worth
it at all. The truth of the matter is that, all things being equal, you
will know if you need one of these machines or not. Just keep in mind
the advantages and disadvantages and don't feel like you are getting an
inferior machine just because it folds up. For most brands, you are getting
a comparable treadmill but you will pay more for this feature in the quality
brands.
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