Recently, I was reading Rachel Cosgrove's blog. For those of you that aren't familiar with her, she is best known for creating "The Female Body Breakthrough" program, that I learned about through my co-worker Lucy. On Rachel's blog she was talking about an author she came across who went out and tried every exercise program out there and reported back on the results...or lack thereof. I thought I would do the same, but instead of exercise programs, talk about different exericse tools or gadgets that I have tried and loved. These are things that are very useful for the fitness professional, as they make things like personal training and group fitness a little simpler, but they can be used by anyone.
1. Jillian Michael's Hot Bod in a Box. This is a box of picture cards demonstrating several different great exercises. Some are basics, others are combo exercises, and others are variations of a standard exercise. Just ask my boot camp participants how many different push-up variations I've learned from Jillian--frog, half-crow, scorpion. (They are about as fun as they sound.) Also, this box has pre-made circuit workouts which I've often used in class. They include a good mix of strength exercises and high-intensity cardio that make for a great workout. I've used them for my own workouts on the days when I just want to go on auto-pilot, but I've also used them in my boot camps. There are 9 circuit cards total, so I did a 9-week session focusing on 1 card per class. Everyone dreads coming to class on Jillian days, but you'll leave with the satsifaction of using every ounce of strength left in your body.
2. Garmin Forerunner. Running made easy is what this watch should be called. Before I had this watch, I would map out my runs on mapmyrun.com before I took off outside. Now, I just get up and go, and I know at all times what my mileage is at. And not only that, but my pace, speed, time, calories burned and heart rate. I have the 110 model, but any of the basic Forerunners will at least tell your distance and pace. I can also upload my runs to the computer to show other people my route and all the stats about that particular run. It really comes in handy for races too, so you know that you're on your target pace even between the mile-markers.
3. Polar RS 200 sport zone watch. Before I got my Garmin, this was the watch that I never exercised without. (I don't think they make this exact model anymore, but there are several Polars with the same features.) You program in your max heart rate, and from there it splits up your 5 heart rate zones, 1-3 being aerobic, and 4-5 being anaerobic. It took my own training to a whole new level, because it gives you goals. For example I would say, for the next 2 minutes, let's try to get my heart rate into zone 4, or let's recover and see how fast my heart rate drops into zone 1. Knowing your individual zones helps you know when you're burning fat versus sugar (both are beneficial).
4. Gym Boss. This is basically a glorified stopwatch, (thanks for this idea, Lucy!) but it's made teaching group fitness so much easier, especially boot camps where things tend to be chaotic. Say you wanted to do a 45 second round of exercise alternated with a 15 second rest break, 20 times total. You can program all of this into the Gym Bosss, and it will beep and/or vibrate at those intervals. It allows you, as the group fitness intructor, to not have to stare at your watch, but rather watch people's form, give instructions, or participate yourself. I'm horrible at counting people's reps, but I can even tend to forget how long my stopwatch has been running, so it's great to have a tool to keep me on track and make sure we finish all the planned exercises before class is over. I've also found the Gym Boss is handy when you train clients that tend to chat more than workout:) They know when the Boss beeps, they have to get down to business!
When I come across new things that amaze me, I'll add them to the list! PS...I should totally be getting paid for this marketing!
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