19 Mar Final Four winners easy to pick for home gym

With “March Madness” under way, aka the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, lots of people around the country have filled out brackets in contests trying to pick the winners.
Sports history has shown repeatedly that it’s impossible to pick a sure thing, but the potential for upsets are part of what makes events like the NCAA Tournament so much fun.
When it comes to fitness, there’s a pretty clear-cut Final Four for any top-notch gym: treadmill, elliptical machine, home gym or functional trainer and exercise bike.
If your workout room has these tops seeds, you have all the tools necessary to bring out your inner champion.
** Treadmills are the No. 1 selling home exercise machine for a reason – they get results. If you purchase a treadmill for your home there are a multitude of ways it will help you get in better shape. Exercising on a treadmill can help increase your metabolism, whether you’re running or walking.
** Elliptical machines provide a great cardio workout without jarring your joints and bones. For people who have soreness in their knees or ankles after a run, the elliptical could provide an excellent alternative. The elliptical uses continuous motion instead of the up-and-down movement of your feet slamming against the ground on each step. This elliptical motion is a lot better for your joints and bones.
While the focus is on the legs, the elliptical can provide a full-body exercise. By grabbing onto attached handles, your upper body will also get a workout. The full-body workout can allow a person to burn as many as 500 calories in a half hour.
** Home gyms and functional trainers are long-time staples in the fitness world, dating back to the days of the Nautilus machine in the 1970s.
** A home gym features one or two weight stacks, along with fixed arms and hand grips to move the weights. Movements on a home gym traditionally follow a set plane, such as military press for shoulders, bench press for chest or leg extensions.
Functional trainers allow users to follow a variety of different paths and are also great ways to build strength and increase flexibility. Check with a specialty fitness store to decide if a home gym or functional trainer is better for you.
** Recumbent bikes, upright bikes and indoor cycles are a great way to get a cardio workout.
These exercise bikes give you a good low-impact workout because you’re not jumping or running on an exercise bike.
Regular exercise on a bike helps improve your cardiovascular health and research has even found that regular workouts on an exercise bike can help manage joint and even back pain. The American Council on Exercise has reported that researchers at the Virginia Medical Center found in a study that people with chronic back pain who rode an exercise bike for 25 minutes had a lower perception of pain for at least 30 minutes afterward.
Basically, if you get the blood flowing and muscles moving on a regular basis, it can loosen up your body.
Postgame show – Shop at At Home Fitness – Arizona’s specialty fitness leader – for great deals on treadmills elliptical machines, exercise bikes, home gyms and functional trainers.
At Home Fitness has stores in Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert and Ahwatukee
Having this winning lineup in your own home gym can allow you to working out in the privacy of your own home or office when you want to.
Make workouts more fun by setting up a TV or stereo system in your workout room, or plug in your headphones into the treadmill or elliptical and use your ipod or other music player.
Built in electronics allow you to customize workouts on many types of specialty fitness equipment, ranging from cardio, to strength, to endurance.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com