Workout

Fitness: Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands

October 15, 2016 · Leave a Comment

BEAUTY HACK: Want to look ten pounds thinner, lift your chest two inches higher, get a flatter-looking stomach, look taller, all while making your clothes fit better? Yeah, me too. But like many of us, I spend way too much time slouching over my cell phone, my tablet and at my computer desk, which wrecks good posture. Poor posture makes you look tired and grumpy. Even worse, it can make one look less confident, weaker and just plain older than your years. Fortunately, maintaining good posture takes only a few simple at-home exercises with equipment like the Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands set.

WHAT ARE RESISTANCE BANDS?
An ideal way to improve your posture is by doing simple arm exercises with resistance bands. You may have seen these long, colorful ribbons of thin, flexible rubber-like material in gyms, exercise, yoga and pilates studios, or maybe even used them yourself under the guidance of a personal trainer. Resistance bands are popular because they provide weight-like resistance in a portable, adaptable form.

Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands

WHY USE RESISTANCE BANDS
Resistance bands are stretchy and flexible which makes them easier to manipulate than handheld or machine weights. Bands can be stretched or pulled from a variety of angles to increase the difficulty level of your standard workout. Of benefit to all fitness levels, these bands help an out of shape person improve as well as help a fit person who is plateauing in their existing exercise program. If you have difficulty keeping good form while using hand or ankle weights, a resistance band can help.

Why everyone can benefit from resistance loop bands:

1. When exercises such as squats, situps, leg lifts, arm raises, or the hip flexor stretch become too easy, using resistance bands adds additional resistance far beyond what just an ankle or hand weight can offer. That gives better results in fewer reps. Resistance bands come in difference strengths, or levels of resistance, giving more oomph to your exercises.

2. Resistance loop bands make for better pre-workout stretching sessions. Regardless of fitness level, everyone must stretch before exercise. Muscles warmed up by a good stretch are less prone to injury.

IMPROVING POSTURE WITH STARWOOD SPORTS EXERCISE RESISTANCE LOOP BANDS
If you would like to improve your posture at home with easy to use equipment, a good set of resistance bands are the Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands set. The set comes with four different bands of different strengths, light to extra heavy. This gives a full range of options for beginners, intermediate, advance and plateauing fitness routines. Starwood Sports Loop Bands can be useful in Crossfit, Pilates, Yoga, stretching and stability exercises.

Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands

A few things I particularly like about the Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands:

1) The bands have reinforced “handle” loops on each end. This makes it easy to grip the bands, secure a loop over a doorknob, or to slip over my foot or ankle for leg exercises. It also allows a more relaxed grip on the band so I can focus on the exercise itself. I got competitor brand resistance bands from my personal trainer and had to knot them at the end and grip the knot to use them; I like that I can do even open palm exercises with these bands.

2) The Starwood Sports Loop Bands are twelve inches long, and when stretched, they are about twice that length. Made with an eco-friendly natural latex that has inherent benefits including that the bands are snap and sweat resistant. I like knowing the band won’t snap, it allows me to confidently exert a full flexion.

3) The resistance bands come in a small bag that makes them portable enough to carry or pack in a suitcase when traveling to maintain a daily exercise program. I prefer to bring them to the gym instead of using the gym supplied bands.

4) The bands each offer a known quantity of resistance. The green band is the easiest level at a range of 6-16 pounds. To increase the “weight” of the resistance, loop the bands tighter by wrapping them around your hands, reducing the available band length between your hands to stretch during exercise.

Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands

The degrees of resistance for Starwood Sports Resistance Loop Bands are:

Green Band: (Light) 6-16 lbs (0.35 mm thick)
Blue Band: (Medium) 11-27 lbs (0.50 mm thick)
Red Band: (Heavy) 15-33 lbs (0.70 mm thick)
Black Band: (X-Heavy) 21-45 lbs (1.00 mm thick)

5) The Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands are “stackable,” so you can use more than one band at a time to increase the overall total resistance. To do so, stack the least resistant band on the outside, and the strongest resistance band on the inside.

RECOMMENDED POSTURE EXERCISE WITH RESISTANCE LOOP BANDS

One good posture exercise that works for everyone is a reverse fly modified for the resistance band. It strengthens the upper back muscles (trapezius and rhomboids) and tones the back of the shoulder (deltoids). This exercise eliminates rounded, slumping forward shoulders and pulls the shoulders back. This exercise works for almost everyone because you control how much resistance occurs (and how easy or difficult the exercise will be) based on how much band slack is allowed before you open your arms. If you can only do the very lightest of resistance, that still quickly improves your posture. Consult with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

THE EXERCISE
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1. Start with the Starwood Sports GREEN band, adjust to using a stronger band or even multiple bands if preferred. Hold one handle loop in each hand.
2. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, and slightly bend your knees.
3. With arms held straight and hands slightly lower than your shoulders, hold the band in front of you.
4. Relax elbows
5. Exhale and pull your abs into the spine to stabilize the torso.
6. Slowly open your arms out to the sides, focusing on the shoulder blades moving together.
6. Inhale as you slowly return your arms back to starting position.

TIP: Focus on the abs keeping the spine stable, don’t arch your back. Try to stand tall as you open your arms.

Do three sets of 12 reps.

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Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands

CONCLUSION: Good posture is attainable in a few weeks by using a quality set of resistance bands. The Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Band Set offers four easy to use bands in snap proof, sweat resistant eco-friendly latex. These bands are useful for exercising at home, the gym or during travel. The four Loop Bands offer a full spectrum of weight resistance to improve your posture in a simple home workout and enhance Crossfit, Yoga, Pilates or a regular home workout routine.

Find Starwood Sports Exercise Resistance Loop Bands at Amazon.

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I received this product for my unbiased review and received compensation for my time and effort. However, my experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.

Health: Naturalico Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager

August 10, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Naturalico Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager

I try to get a professional massage as often as I can, but there are times that a quick, at home massage will have to do. There are a lot of massage devices on the market, and it is a bit like Goldilocks – some are too hard, some are too soft. Finding a massager with just the right amount of pressure is hard, and even if it is the right amount of pressure, getting it in the right position is tough. This is why I love the Naturalico Shiatsu Neck & Shoulder Massager.

While Neck and Shoulder are in the name, it can be used on multiple parts of the body. My favorite spot in on my feet, after a long day in high heels. It massages all the soreness out of my insoles and even my ankles. And it can go all the way up the leg too for post-workout soreness.

One thing that differentiates this massager from others is that it has 3-D contouring to fit around your neck and shoulders better than other massagers. It fits the contours of your neck as opposed to being a flat surface that you have to lean into, which defeats the purpose of relaxing your muscles during a massage. This is a very nice feature.

I have a long commute home and frequently get stuck in traffic. One of the other big points in favor of this massager is that it comes with a car adapter. So if I’m feeling sore from a long day, being able to use this in the car is a great feature. I’m looking forward to using the soothing heat feature when the weather turns cold, as well.

I am very happy with this highly versatile massager. Find it at Amazon.com.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM0iYVdtF0s[/embedyt]

I received this product in exchange for testing and review purposes.

Friday Fitness: Sela Fitness Total Core Ab Workout Machine

June 24, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Sela Fitness Total Core Ab Workout Machine

OVERVIEW: This machine is sturdy but easy to lift. There are several exercises that are possible with this unit. Workout program videos available on the website and YouTube. The resistance level is adjustable. Easy to store. Good value.

WHY I NEED A HOME EXERCISE MACHINE
When I am in Grad School, I have ready access to my amazing college gym and keep up a good exercise schedule. When I am home on break, not so much. I have my share of home equipment and contraptions that I don’t use much because they are somewhat flimsy and limited in what I can do with them, so I lost interest in them over time. I also have a treadmill and stationary bike, but nothing for upper body except some hand weights.

ASSEMBLY
It comes mostly assembled except for screwing in the coil that controls the tension, adding a pin, and placing on the arm grip pieces. All the pieces are included. It does come with instructions, but I found the video on their website to be more helpful. I was confused at first with how to get the coil to fit into the slot. Move the handle forward to release the tension and it will be long enough to fit in easily. After that piece is in place, the rest is simple.

The second item that comes with this machine is a rotating disc that can be used with or without the machine. If you place it on the seat base of the machine, you can add a twisting dimension to your core workout.

USING THE MACHINE
A series of exercises video demonstrations and entire suggested 20 minute and quick workouts are available on the website that also give verbal instructions and tips about the machine exercise options. You can also find them on YouTube if you search “Sela Fitness.” Some example exercises are the assisted abdominal crunch (sit on the base of the machine, lean back into the two arm handles, do partial sit-ups with back support) and triceps workouts. The videos incorporate some non-machine based cardio with the machine exercises to get the most out of a home workout.

I like this Sela machine because it is sturdy, but it is easy to lift and move. It is useful for arm and leg exercises. When I did the leg exercises, I was sitting in a chair, which is very convenient. A few times the base tipped a bit which was not a big deal, I prefer that the machine is easy to lift and move than be heavier. For most exercises, one sits on the base of the machine for arm and ab exercises and lays in front of the machine for leg workouts.

STORAGE
The Sela machine can slide underneath a desk, bed, or couch for easy storage when not in use.

EFFECTIVENESS
This Sela machine is worthwhile for someone looking to add to their home workout equipment or someone who has some level of fitness but has not developed core strength. If you are a bodybuilder, you probably won’t get much use from this machine. But if you are getting more serious about fitness but are not ready to join a gym, this is a good starting machine. If you have just finished physical therapy and need to start a home exercise program, this will be a suitable machine. A semi-sedentary lifestyle person could benefit from this machine as it is easy to lift and move and does give some resistance while exercising but it is not too difficult. But it is a solid machine for stay at home Moms; college students home from school who want to keep up their workout, or for days you just can’t get to the gym, or you are short on time and want to find a way to work out at home while watching TV. It is suitable for several days a week use and is easy to use. I like using the machine for doing partial sit-ups because it provides some stability for my back, so I keep good form, and it also provides some resistance, so I get a better core workout. Keeping good form is something I find difficult to do with many of these home exercise machines, so I am happy to find a machine that helps to retain form on a basic core exercise.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend this machine, it is a great price for what you get and is easy to assemble and store. I wish I had watched the assembly video on their website before trying to figure out the written instructions; the video is much easier to follow. No complaints, happy to have a machine that is easy to use and a home workout that is easy to do daily.

Find this great machine at Amazon.com.

I received this item for testing and unbiased review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and Iâ€™ll do my best to answer it!