Total Gym

Tom's Log – Fitness in China

China – a country of over 1 billion people and under 7,000 health clubs. What’s wrong with this picture?

Bao (GRAVITY distributor), Tom and Xoijing at China Fit conference

Let’s put this in perspective:  There are 3,500 clubs in California and 20,000+ clubs in the USA with 330 million people!

However, China’s fitness market is still in it’s infancy stage and with the trainer base growing, there is a lot of room to move. Total Gym is ready to grow with it!

Talking with many people while I was in China last week for the China Fitness 2010 convention, I heard the same story emerging:  Clubs in China are mostly in the business for money and could focus more on the quality of service to the member. Clubs are cutting prices and creating major competition so they are loosing money and not buying new equipment.

The fitness movement here is similar to what we are seeing in America, which is movement into the small box and studio space. The good news is the trainers in China who experienced our GRAVITY on Total Gym education LOVED it!!

Unfortunately, the China Fitness exhibit floor was dead and all the companies have told our Total Gym distributor that they may not be back next year. All of the big companies had small booths, and I also found they’re experiencing a lot of local knock-off competition.

On a more positive note, here are a few short videos from our GRAVITY on Total Gym demo at the convention led by Italian GRAVITYMasterTrainer Matilde Demarchi:

Those are my thoughts from China. Do you have any thoughts on this topic? Leave your comments below.

Tom’s Log – Fitness in China

China – a country of over 1 billion people and under 7,000 health clubs. What’s wrong with this picture?

Bao (GRAVITY distributor), Tom and Xoijing at China Fit conference

Let’s put this in perspective:  There are 3,500 clubs in California and 20,000+ clubs in the USA with 330 million people!

However, China’s fitness market is still in it’s infancy stage and with the trainer base growing, there is a lot of room to move. Total Gym is ready to grow with it!

Talking with many people while I was in China last week for the China Fitness 2010 convention, I heard the same story emerging:  Clubs in China are mostly in the business for money and could focus more on the quality of service to the member. Clubs are cutting prices and creating major competition so they are loosing money and not buying new equipment.

The fitness movement here is similar to what we are seeing in America, which is movement into the small box and studio space. The good news is the trainers in China who experienced our GRAVITY on Total Gym education LOVED it!!

Unfortunately, the China Fitness exhibit floor was dead and all the companies have told our Total Gym distributor that they may not be back next year. All of the big companies had small booths, and I also found they’re experiencing a lot of local knock-off competition.

On a more positive note, here are a few short videos from our GRAVITY on Total Gym demo at the convention led by Italian GRAVITYMasterTrainer Matilde Demarchi:

Those are my thoughts from China. Do you have any thoughts on this topic? Leave your comments below.

Fitness Wisdom Wednesday – Core Golf Fitness

JayDee Cutting III, MBA, is a GRAVITYMasterTrainer

My passion in life is fitness, but golf is a close second. I picked up the game at the ripe old age of two!  I started lifting weights for sports performance at age 12, but it took the last 17 years living my passion as a fitness professional to figure out the most important component to improve my golf mechanics – flexibility!

For a lot of us fitness fanatics who love to put our bodies through energizing, blood pumping, heart pounding workouts, stretching is like flossing: we know it is good for us and we should do it consistently, but it’s often forgotten. My opinion about why we don’t stretch enough is the lack of instant gratification, which our society can’t seem to live without. With resistance training, we feel the pump, the effort exerted and we have that sadistic soreness the next day, which tells us we actually worked something. With cardio, we feel the heart instantly pump harder, our breathing picks up and we start sweating within minutes. With stretching, well – it’s just not sexy! But maybe if you and your clients are armed with reasons why it will improve your golf swing, you’ll give it a shot and make it a regular part of your workouts.

Look at the pros. Some are strong and it’s apparent they work out; but the majority is of normal strength. And then there are plenty of guys and gals who can hit the ball 300+ yards who, if not for their golf spikes, might be blown away by a heavy gust of wind! However, they ALL are extremely flexible and have good timing – two components that are highly correlated and essential for solid golf swing mechanics.

Case in point:  Tiger Woods. He has put on 30 pounds of muscles since he left Stanford; however, his previous swing coach, Butch Harmon, stated, “… [Tiger Woods] hit it farther when he was wiry…” In addition, Tiger’s physical therapist, Keith Kleven divulged that Tiger’s golf and workout sessions begin with 40 minutes of stretching and core work. Kleven has also been recommending Pilates to golfers since 1975, before the mind/body practice became mainstream in the fitness world. Good Pilates repertoire usually consists of an equal amount of lengthening and strengthening the muscles, and of course, core work.

So, if you love golf but still like to strength train like I do, just remember the flexibility component. Be sure to use a lengthy rest time between sets to stretch the muscle you just worked. I like to use Total Gym GTS for this purpose. Here are a few stretches I like to do:

As soon as I complete a chest exercise, I stand up and use my own bodyweight to passively open up the chest, breathe and relax.

Or after a pull-up set, I use the Total Gym and the weight of my body to open up the lats.

And finally, I LOVE the leg pulleys for opening up the hamstrings and hips (and as you can see, I can slip in some abs while stretching!). If you don’t own leg pulleys, buy them! It’s an investment your hamstrings, hips AND your golf swing will LOVE.

And for best results on the course, make sure you take some time to stretch your hips, shoulders and spine. You’ll get more distance, improve your accuracy and prevent injury.

Hit em’ straight!

Feel free to contact JayDee at CuttingEdgeWellness@san.rr.com or check out www.NiceDogYoga.com. JayDee’s CoreGolf Fitness DVD, produced by Total Gym’s own Brian Rose, is due out this August.

Total Gym Exercises: Tom’s Weekly Tip- Progression of Pull-up

This is the final video in my rehab series. I recruited GRAVITYMasterTrainer Nicole to help show the progression of pull-ups on Total Gym PowerTower. Watch to learn how to progress with your “plyometric pull-ups” unique to Total Gym only.

I wanted to briefly recap my rehab for my left ankle, which started with exercises on Total Gym, as you’ve seen, including lots of stretching of the ankle and calf for that ever-shrinking left calf. Today, I incorporated vibration training on Total Gym Zen Pro, one of the new Vibration Training Platforms. First thing I noticed was the added ankle flexibility while squating on the platform. It was a nice feeling doing calf raises while on the Zen Pro and I felt a nice loose sensation in my lower body. More to come on my vibration training…

Enjoy the video and your weekend!
Tom C

Always consult your doctor or rehabilitation specialist before performing Total Gym exercises if you are injured or recovering from an injury.

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Tara's Friday Bite: Delicious and Nutritious Summer Grilling!

Summer is heating up and that means so are the bar-b-ques!  We all know that grilling can be a fun and flavorful way of cooking, but it can also be one of the healthiest. If you keep just a few things in mind you can make each bar-b-que safe and delicious for your entire family!

There have been some recent studies that have linked grilling to the production of cancer causing agents called Heterocyclic Amines (HCA).  Basically, these HCA’s are caused when meats come in direct contact with intense heat and flames. Typically the parts of the meat that become the hottest and char are the fattier parts. So choosing leaner cuts will greatly reduce these carcinogens as well as increase the heart health of your meal.  It has also been shown that marinating your meats can reduce the formation of HCA’s. Specifically, creating marinades with fresh herbs, citrus juices and olive oil has been shown to reduce these carcinogens by up to 99%. As luck would have it, this is also a delicious and healthy way to add flavor!

There are certain tools that are essential to a healthy cook-out. If you are using a charcoal grill, skip dousing the briquette with chemical-filled lighter fluid and try using a Chimney Starter. You simply fill the chimney with charcoal and newspaper. Light the newspaper and in about 20 minutes you have perfectly heated briquettes without the anxiety of building the perfect pyramid or cursing the wind! I also recommend getting a Grill Basket to cook chopped vegetables that might fall through the grill rack or delicate foods such as fish or tofu.

Finally, while we typically associate grilling with steaks, burger, hot dogs, etc., there are many other foods whose flavor is enhanced by the bar-b-que. One of my absolute favorite summer treats is grilled pineapple!  I simply quarter the pineapple and remove the core. Then I squeeze fresh lime juice over the pineapple and place it on the grill for about 5 minutes. Finally, you can garnish with a little honey or agave and serve warm and delicious!

Happy grilling!

Tara Coleman www.taracoleman.com

Tara Coleman is a Clinical Nutritionist in San Diego, CA. She’ll be guest blogging twice a month with “Tara’s Friday Bite.” Leave us your comments with ideas for future topics or email Tara directly at tara@taracoleman.com.

Tara’s Friday Bite: Delicious and Nutritious Summer Grilling!

Summer is heating up and that means so are the bar-b-ques!  We all know that grilling can be a fun and flavorful way of cooking, but it can also be one of the healthiest. If you keep just a few things in mind you can make each bar-b-que safe and delicious for your entire family!

There have been some recent studies that have linked grilling to the production of cancer causing agents called Heterocyclic Amines (HCA).  Basically, these HCA’s are caused when meats come in direct contact with intense heat and flames. Typically the parts of the meat that become the hottest and char are the fattier parts. So choosing leaner cuts will greatly reduce these carcinogens as well as increase the heart health of your meal.  It has also been shown that marinating your meats can reduce the formation of HCA’s. Specifically, creating marinades with fresh herbs, citrus juices and olive oil has been shown to reduce these carcinogens by up to 99%. As luck would have it, this is also a delicious and healthy way to add flavor!

There are certain tools that are essential to a healthy cook-out. If you are using a charcoal grill, skip dousing the briquette with chemical-filled lighter fluid and try using a Chimney Starter. You simply fill the chimney with charcoal and newspaper. Light the newspaper and in about 20 minutes you have perfectly heated briquettes without the anxiety of building the perfect pyramid or cursing the wind! I also recommend getting a Grill Basket to cook chopped vegetables that might fall through the grill rack or delicate foods such as fish or tofu.

Finally, while we typically associate grilling with steaks, burger, hot dogs, etc., there are many other foods whose flavor is enhanced by the bar-b-que. One of my absolute favorite summer treats is grilled pineapple!  I simply quarter the pineapple and remove the core. Then I squeeze fresh lime juice over the pineapple and place it on the grill for about 5 minutes. Finally, you can garnish with a little honey or agave and serve warm and delicious!

Happy grilling!

Tara Coleman www.taracoleman.com

Tara Coleman is a Clinical Nutritionist in San Diego, CA. She’ll be guest blogging twice a month with “Tara’s Friday Bite.” Leave us your comments with ideas for future topics or email Tara directly at tara@taracoleman.com.

Total Gym Exercises: Tom’s Weekly Tip – Pull-up

Who can do pull-ups??

One of the best upper body exercises is the pull -up, but not many people are able to do them using their full body weight.

Total Gym allows you to unload your body weight using the incline plane so you can do higher-repetitions of pull-ups that you can’t do on a static pull-up bar in the weight room.  Do these exercises with your Three-Grip Pull-Up Bar attachment for your Total Gym 14000 or 26000 (for Total Gym XLS accessories click here), or your Total Gym GTS or PowerTower model with folding LAT bars.

Check it out!