Some of the latest fitness products that will help you get the best out of your workouts and exercise routines as well as keeping you motivated!
Resistance bands
Don’t be seen in the gym without one of these miracle bands – Resistance bands are a great addition to any strength training routine and come in a variety of sizes, lengths, and strengths. The great news is that they are light and easily stored in your gym bag so ideal for using at home, parks or even hotel work-outs if you’re away for work or holiday. The bands come in a range of resistance levels from highly stretchable to heavy-duty strength.
Just like free weights or weight machines, resistance bands provide a force against which your muscles must work. This action causes your muscles to contract, which stimulates bone as well as muscle growth.
Fitness trackers
Fitness trackers are a wrist-worn device that can detect some combination of walking steps, running distance, heart rate, sleep patterns and swimming laps. The trackers interact via Bluetooth with an app in a mobile device that configures the device and downloads the wearer’s activity data.
Most smart watches support some number of physical actions via a health app; however, dedicated trackers such as FitBi tend to monitor more functions. Investing in one of these will really support you in getting to your fitness or weight loss goals by monitoring you every step of the way even when you’re sleeping!
Core strengthening balance boards
Balance boards are used by fitness enthusiasts, athletes and generally those who are looking to improve coordination and balance. The boards come in a variety of styles; the most common style features a circular board with a domed side. They are great compact so quite easy to store at home or use in the gym. They exercise numerous muscles to keep you aligned, not just the major muscle groups you target with exercise. The effort to stay balanced improves proprioception, your awareness of movement, posture, shifts in equilibrium and the orientation of your body.
Balance may not be something you give much thought to when it comes to your health and overall fitness, but it is surprisingly important to your everyday life – using a balance board is a great way to work on and improve your balance.
There are so many different exercises you can do on a balance board for literally every part of the body – you can use it to do squats, planks and push-ups, you name it!
TRX Trainer
You have probably noticed the black and yellow straps hanging from your gym – These are TRX, a full-body strength workout that utilize a person’s own body weight instead of relying on machines or weights. TRX are good for endurance for all kinds of fitness levels from power lifters to fitness newbies alike. A TRX workout can be compared to a simple version of reformer Pilates or antigravity yoga offering a total-body workout, centered on the core and relying on your body weight.
TRX is an effective way to build muscle while combining cardio with strength training. Although it’s a fairly simple concept, training on a TRX is something that you need to get the hang of before you start using it yourself, so it’s probably best to try it in the gym with a trainer first.
The good thing is that the straps are light, easy to assemble and you can use them almost anywhere. You need to have a bit of space so they are great for outdoor use in the park or garden or even at home if you have a spacious room to exercise.
