One of the big reasons people don’t like to have a home gym is the expense. Treadmills and other large equipment cost a lot and take up tons of space. Then you feel guilty as you use it as a place to store clothes rather than exercise with it.

This is a mistake that results from trying to make your home gym look like one you might join. There’s nothing wrong with wanting that kind of equipment, so long as you are sure you will really get good use out of it.

For the rest of us, a simpler home gym is more affordable, more fun and more likely to be used.

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To me, exercise ball exercises seemed like something for older or sedentary people. So I was pretty surprised when I found out my buddy Ray was amped on the idea. Ray is more of a jock than I am and has always been to the extreme in his workouts. For him, an exercise program means jogging, push-ups, sit ups, and lifting weights. I have never known him to be following fads. To see him going in for exercise ball videos was pretty surprising and I wanted to find out more.

I sat down and watched one of the exercise ball videos while Ray followed along on his own exercise ball. It turns out that it had some pretty

useful activities on it. The good thing about exercise ball exercise is that it can really target and strengthen the core muscles. Core muscles strengthen the abdominals and lower back, also known as the power center. This is key to doing Pilates. Ball exercises work on the same principle. Even so, the exercise ball video seemed pretty stupid.To me the exercises looked really easy, and the target audience is not a very athletic bunch (no offense Ray). I was still a non-believer.

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In many sports, a high level of aerobic fitness is necessary for optimal performance because it promotes endurance and assists recovery in “stop-and-go” type sports such as ice hockey. To improve aerobic fitness, coaches have traditionally prescribed long and tedious sessions of continuous sub-maximal exercise for athletes, regardless of their sport-specific metabolic demands.

Most team sports are not characterized by continuous sub-maximal movement speeds BUT/ rather these sports demand periods of high-intensity effort interspersed with maximal bursts of speed and periods of almost complete inactivity. Take soccer for example, a player may move at a moderate speed for minutes while following the play and then will be forced to sprint at their maximal pace for the ball. After that,

the player could be faced with a stoppage in play of up to a minute due to various factors.

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Aerobic workouts burn a considerable amount of activities but the rate will highly depend on duration, type of activity and intensity of the workout.

Based on a table formulated by the American Council on Exercise, calories equate to one minute of activity. Each activity should be performed for a minimum of 30 minutes to maximize results.

Aerobic class

For those weighing 150 to 180 pounds, over 300 calories can be burned. Some of the most popular workouts are:

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Did you know that rowing is one of the best exercises for developing aerobic fitness? Not only does working out with rowing machines or rowing ergometers allow people to develop their cardiovascular system, but they also place considerable demands on your muscular system as well!

Unlike cardio machines such as treadmills, exercise bikes and stair climbing equipment, a rowing machine exercises your upper body as well as your lower body. The rowing stroke when using an indoor rower is composed of 65-75% leg work and 25-35% upper body work.

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