Posts Tagged ‘Abdomen’

Gaiam Pilates BodyBand Workout Kit with DVD

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Gaiam Pilates BodyBand Workout Kit with DVD




Three different resistance bands allow you to isolate core muscles so you can build strength without “bulking up”, increase flexibility and improve your coordination, posture and stamina. Use the purple band for light resistance, the green band for medium resistance and the blue band for heavy resistance. Includes a DVD featuring Ana Caban who will show you can hone in on trouble zones and make fast work of sculpting your arms, legs and torso. Includes three 4″ x 6″ BodyBands and a 40 minute DVD.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Ana’s BodyBand Workout: Intermediate Difficulty, Great Results
If you are like me, you want to obtain maximum results in a relatively short time. Ana Caban’s BodyBand workout does just that for me. I have been practicing Pilates for 12 years, initially in a class setting, followed by Videos and DVDs. This workout is always challenging to me. This may be due to the fact that I can increase the intensity by increasing (or decreasing - for abdomen work) the tension in the bodyband.

It is oxymoronic, but workouts with Ana Caban (or Moira Stott or Hilary Burnett) are *relaxing* to me, even if they are intense (intermediate or advanced). Knowing the Pilates “poses” in a DVD allows me to better focus on form, and correct form yields better results. I own approximately 15 Pilates workouts. This is one of my favorites and I use it often. I travel a good bit for business. When I do, I always bring this workout.

Length: Approximately 30 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate

Results: Consistent use of this DVD once per week will result in well defined biceps, triceps and deltoids; increased abdominal and back strength; and toning in hips, upper thigh and calf.

Bottom line: a great workout, well worth the time and the price

4 Stars Good product,
This is a good video to learn pilates techniques. However, I think it was a little too expensive for what you get. After just viewing the video twice, I had all the moves memorized.

5 Stars Complete workout
This is a nice set with the three graduated bands. The workout is relaxing but seems to hit all muscle groups.

4 Stars Nice Kit, Hard on Hands
This really is a great kit that comes with a good DVD. But am I the only one whose hands hurt from being squeezed by the bands?

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Polar T31 Coded Transmitter and Belt Set

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Polar T31 Coded Transmitter and Belt Set




Polar Chest Strap and Transmitters sold as a set.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Exercise Transmitter
The product works perfectly. It was an exact replacement for the one my dog chewed up and I was very pleased to find it online. Better still, after doing some research, I found that your price was the lowest of all vendors (including the actual manufacturer, which by the way had one of the highest prices)

4 Stars A good buy
I was frankly a little concerned that, despite the product description and picture, the item might not include the elastic strap with the transmitter, since Amazon listed the strap as an item frequently purchased with this item. In case anyone else is concerned, yes, it does come with the elastic strap!

The transmitter works well in general, although I’ve noticed it gives me trouble when running near power lines — I don’t know if anyone has found a way to prevent that yet.

5 Stars Polar T31 Coded Transmitter and Belt
The product was received on time and in perfect condition. I use the heart rate monitor in my daily workouts. Performance is very reliable.

4 Stars Fastening the tranasmitter
Polar make great products. I still don’t know why they don’t add a silicon stripe (similar to those that you find on spandex bike pants) on the transmitter or belt to improve fastening.

4 Stars Effective but a bit uncomfortable in warm weather
This Transmitter works very well. I use it for spinning. It is effective in giving you feedback about your workout. The drawback is that wearing a band around your abdomen is a bit uncomfortable in warm conditions. The discomfort is worth it, though, since it allows your to work out more efficiently.

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Ironman 65cm Deluxe Stability Ball Charcoal

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Ironman 65cm Deluxe Stability Ball Charcoal




The Ironman 65-Centimeter Deluxe Stability Ball is designed to be used in a variety of strength, balance, core training, flexibility and rehabilitation exercises. Its proper use is intended to improve your posture, balance and flexibility as well as trim your hips, thighs, and abdomen. The 65-centimeter ball is charcoal in color and fits a person five feet, seven inches to six feet tall.

Manufacturer’s Warranty
90-day warranty for materials or workmanship with proof of purchase

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Nice but too small
This might be a nice size to work out with but I wanted one to use as a chair for my desk. This one was too small. 75cm is what I needed. Fully inflated, this ball comes up to a little under my knee.

This ball has a nice silver color (a bit duller in person than the picture).

It comes with a small hand pump which is a workout in itself.

The ball does have a bad smell that is failry strong for a few days. After that, it is fine.

4 Stars Sitting on it as I write this!
I got sick and my therapist recommended I get one of these for two reasons. 1, to do exercises with and 2, to sit on at work. After buying it, I never really used this particular model for exercises, since I my therapist always had their own…from experience though these things make a lot of exercises harder, and I’ve become a fan of using them to strengthen your abs and your other core muscles.

I took this one to work and sit on it like a chair. It is not really comfortable enough to sit on full time, so I keep my office chair nearby and usually switch after about 4 hours. Sitting on it does improve your posture and seems to really help your core strength as well since you can’t slough down and lean on anything like a chair back.

Per other reviews. Mine might have smelled like vinyl when I first got it, but that quickly faded. Yes, the pump that is included sucks, and worse off there isn’t a standard hole on it so you can’t use a regular pump to inflate it. This isn’t too big of a problem since you only really inflate it once and it holds the air pretty well. Also, according to another review regarding slow leaks…mine has never had any leaks. I inflated it at home and actually carried it to work I think I had to re-inflate it once and that was more to get comfortable with it and haven’t had to pump it up since over the last couple of months.

5 Stars Great Product!
This is a great product. It has helped me increase my situps and improve my abs tremendously.

2 Stars Hate to burst your bubble, but.. . .
I was using this as a seat at my computer desk, and unfortunately, it got a slow leak within a week.

Pumping it up again did not help, though it is possible I simply received a defective item, or my [persnickety] cat took out its aggression on this ball while I was away.

That being said, I CAN tell you that using it as a seat will offer you a good core and stability exercise. I was enjoying the subtle, but constant workout of my abs and lower back, which is why I was so disappointed when it deflated.

3 Stars holds air fine, but smelly and not round
The included pump is a joke if you want to get this thing inflated out of the box. I used my bike floor pump and it still took forever. But hopefully it’s something you only need to do once.

The ball I got is not round, and may explain why some folks complain that it’s not the advertised size. It may well be the advertised size on one axis, but not another.

I’ve had this thing airing out in the garage for weeks now and it still wreaks of the plastic/vinyl/whatever smell such that I can’t stand having it in the house long enough to actually use it. The smell is subsiding though, so maybe in another few weeks I can bring it inside.

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