Equipment Articles

FITNESS HANDOUT evaluating fitness gear Ready to start or continue your exercise program in the New Year? Wearing fitness apparel that feels good and using accessories that make exercising more effective can help you be successful. However, with dozens of options you may find it challenging to choose the fitness products that best meet your needs. To help you cut through the confusion, use the s...

5 Steps for Buying the Best Equipment THIS SIMPLE APPROACH WILL SAVE YOU TIME, MONEY AND HEADACHES LATER ON. By Amy Boone S electing the equipment that will best suit your club can be a daunting and complex process, regardless of whether you work in a small, private facility or a multiclub chain. Few fitness managers receive the training they need to determine which models to choose, how to succ...

By Carrie Myers Smith and Amanda Vogel, MA buyer How to evaluate fitness equipment be before you sign on the dotted line. I wary waited with anticipation for the newest, self-proclaimed, next-best-thing-in-fitness fandangle to arrive on my doorstep. Being a health and fitness writer, I often get to try out the latest fitness products, from videos to balls to gizmos and gadgets. When this curr...

d n the 1990s, health club owners across the country eagerly anticipated the arrival of the latest exercise equipment craze: the Slide. Unfortunately, the Slide arrived but the crowds did not. Reluctant to discard their newest investment and hopeful that the lessthan-sweeping trend would eventually take hold, health club owners and fitness directors waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. Fast-f...

problem solver Getting Your Equipment Needs Met Q: A: A: A: My director knows our studio microphone is broken and agrees we need to fix it right away. She says she has requested a repair. Yet 3 weeks have elapsed, and nothing has been resolved. Meanwhile, my voice is shot. If I refuse to teach until the mike is repaired, I will be considered a problem instructor. But if I continue to teach witho...

COPY AND DISTRIBUTE TO YOUR CLIENTS client handout Getting the Most From Cardio Equipment Whether you exercise frequently on cardiovascular equipment or you are just starting to use it, these tips from Gregory Florez, president of First Fitness Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah, will help you maximize your workouts. If you have questions, consult with a personal trainer or a staff member at your fitn...

EQUIPMENT CORNER Cool, Cool Snowshoes By Gregory Florez There's no such thing as an "off-season" for outdoor walking and running as long as snowshoes are available. As a form of transportation for Native Americans, Eskimos and other cold weather venturers, snowshoeing has been around for eons. More recently, it has exploded as a recreational sport and fitness activity. Snowshoers can be found a...

EQUIPMENT CORNER 21st Century Fitness Planner By Gregory Florez A few years ago during an IDEA conference, a well-respected futurist told several thousand fitness experts that they would be carrying around information about their clients on handheld "computer devices" within 10 years. Among the murmurs in the audience that day were several outright rejections of new technology. First, the futur...

By Patricia Ryan, MS What's more important: the effectiveness of a strength training protocol or the aching back of a new client? If you're the client, it's the aching back-- even though the fitness pro knows that an effective core-conditioning protocol will solve the problem. When planned exercise became known as fitness, the developing industry concentrated on identifying activities that improv...