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From the GNC Medical Advisory Board: Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston released their long awaited results on a Vitamin D levels in U.S. children. Initiated in 2001, they studied over 4,500 children ages 1 to 11 years and found 20% of those tested had Vitamin D blood levels below required levels. That could mean over 300,000 U.S. children are deficient in Vitamin D. The authors of this recent study, published in Pediatrics, also reported that certain populations such as African American and Hispanic children were at even greater risk for deficiency. These results mirror many of the recent studies done in U.S. adults which reported low levels of Vitamin D were very common and that conditions such as heart disease, cancer, bone fractures and Alzheimer’s disease were more common in those with the greatest deficiencies of Vitamin D.

GNC / General Nutrition Centers

Why is Vitamin D so important? In both children and adults Vitamin D is critical for bone health. Vitamin D can also act as a hormone and is critical for blood vessel health and even brain function. We can obtain vitamin through skin exposure to sunlight, through our diet, and by taking Vitamin D3 supplements. Because of limited sunlight exposure in most of the U.S. during winter and the wide spread use of UV-protective sun block, very few people can obtain adequate Vitamin D levels with sun exposure. This recent study did report that those children taking Vitamin D supplements were found to have higher levels of Vitamin D in their blood. In an editorial in the same issue of Pediatrics, the editor noted that The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least 400 IUs of Vitamin D daily in order to obtain the level of 50 nmol/L. They also recognized that this is not a general rule since many ethnic populations may require higher dosing due to variability in absorption and metabolism of Vitamin D.At GNC, they are committed to provide you both finest quality vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements, and the latest scientific reports you can use to make informed decisions.

GNC / General Nutrition Centers

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The Schwinn’s 860 Treadmill is Ideal for toning up, managing your weight, and improving your cardiovascular health, but if you haven’t run consistently all winter, start your spring training with short, easy runs. Do not run for more than 3 or 4 miles at a time, don’t run two days in a row and don’t bump up your mileage by more than 10 percent per week. One of the easiest ways to get injured is to increase your mileage too soon, before you’ve established a good running base. Be patient with your treadmill running, it could take as long as 4-6 weeks to re-build your running base. Even with all the great features on this Schwinn Treadmill, don’t introduce hill running or speed training until you have a solid base and make sure you give yourself enough recovery time in between hard workouts.

When training on the Schwinn 860 Treadmill and you decide to train for a late spring or summer race, find a training schedule that works for your race distance and running level. Following a training schedule will help keep you on track and prevent you from doing too much too soon. As you’re building (or re-building) up your fitness, it’s helpful to keep a training log. You’ll be able to see your progress at a glance, which will help boost your motivation. If you took some time off from running, you may be frustrated thinking about your previous fitness level. Don’t beat yourself up and put pressure on yourself to get back into shape quickly. Having a Schwinn Treadmill in your home will allow you to be very flexible with scheduling.

Weight training with  Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells can often help if you are losing strength or have low energy. Strength training has been called “The Fountain of Youth,” and it certainly lives up to that reputation. With just the turn of a dial you can automatically change your resistance from 5 lbs all the way up to 52.5 lbs of weight. No more picking up 30 different dumbbells to give you the results you want! All you need are two Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells to transform your body for good. A very basic strength routine will enable you to maintain many activities that contribute to your quality of life, even small things you take for granted such as lifting grocery bags or gardening.

Working out with a set of Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells will help you as you age, because strengthening your muscles has a number of primary and secondary benefits. For one thing, it helps to maintain bone mass. Thinner bones in both men and women can mean osteoporosis, or the weak bone disease that causes debilitating hip, spine, ankle, and other common fractures in the elderly.The loss of muscle and its corresponding strength with aging inhibits your competitive edge and performance level. Proper weight training requires you move muscles and joints through a full range of motion, much broader than required in many sports. This gives your body a supportive, flexible overall muscle tone. Weight training also works to boost your metabolic rate and calorie burning efficiency, because muscle tissue uses more calories than body fat. And finally, with strong muscles, tendons and ligaments, you are less likely to twist or sprain something.

Also available at Dick’s Sporting Goods

Also available at Fogdog Sports

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When beginning the KettleWorx Program,you don’t have to abandon working out with dumbbells, they can be used as a complementary tools rather than competitive ones. By combining a complete cardio, core and resistance workout in each training session, KettleWorx delivers three times the benefit in one-third the time. Just 20 minutes, three times a week delivers a whole body workout - for whole body fitness in a fraction of the time, and at a fraction of the cost, of any other program. Dumbbells are tried and true, and if you’re inventive enough there are hundreds of exercises you can do with dumbbells.

Through the KettleWorx Program, using kettlebells allows easier training across body planes. The ability to swing kettlebells provides training for muscle groups across planes other than the vertical and horizontal planes. However, similar training can be done with dumbbells. With kettlebells a twenty minute workout seems short because we’re used to thinking about fitness machines or exercises that work only a few muscles at a time. Doing it that way, spending even ten minutes toning and firming each of your 400 muscles could easily take two hours a day! The power of KettleWorx is that every exercise is simultaneously working multiple sets of muscles. Kettlebells improve “functional strength”, which usually means strength that is applicable in every-day life situations. Kettlebells + Dumbbells = SUCCESS!

The Bowflex PR3000 Home Gym is a great way to strengthen your muscles with over 50 strength exercises and a built-in rowing station. This machine provides a wide range of exercises that enable you to work almost all of the muscle groups. The PR3000 utilizes Bowflex’s patented Power Rods, which provide resistance, or weight, that feels as good as or better than free weights, but without the inertia or risk of joint pain usually associated with free weights. It doesn’t take much floor space and it’s very quiet. You won’t have to worry about waking anybody up if you choose to do an early workout.

Working out with the Bowflex PR3000 Home Gym at least twice a week, even more if you can manage it. Three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions of around 10 exercises is a good all-round program. Also it’s a good idea not to do long weights sessions on an empty stomach. Eat a little before and perhaps some during a workout if you go beyond 60 minutes or exercise at very high intensity. Your muscle is a nice source of glucose, and to maintain blood glucose your body will break down muscle. Eat some protein and carbohydrate after you workout. This helps the anabolic (muscle building) process and prevents muscle breakdown.

Also available at Dick’s Sporting Goods

Also available at Fogdog Sports

Sole Treadmills are built to satisfy and feature only the finest components. From the motors to the roller, from the belts to the steel, Sole Treadmills are built to perform. Having been proven in the daily rigorous hotel environment, Sole Treadmills have the quality and feel you are looking for in a treadmill for your home. Did you know that more than 37 million people use a treadmill? Treadmills are great because they mimic an exercise that is both familiar and comfortable. After all, most of us know how to walk or run, right? Using a treadmill in a gym is one thing, but buying one for your home is a serious matter.

Sole Treadmills are backed with a lifetime warranty on the motor and frame, and at least a 3 year deck warranty to give you complete confidence in your purchase. Also rated as a “Best Buy”, the F85 treadmill is reviewed by the Treadmill Dr. as “The Best Folding Treadmill”. The top model in the folding series and SOLE’s number one seller, the F85 treadmill incorporates all the specs of the F83 plus features the longest stride running surface (60 in.), a six-window club-style display with message board and a truly impressive 3.5 Cont. Duty HP motor with output and performance second to none.

Also available at Dick’s Sporting Goods

Also available at Fogdog Sports

Maximize your home workouts with the Schwinn 460 Elliptical Trainer, which features Schwinn’s exclusive V-Stride Technology that allows you to change stride lengths without manual adjustments or machine modifications. The 460 provides a complete lower-body workout: step to target calves and quads; walk to work your thighs and glutes, and run to lengthen your strides and engage all muscle groups. If you’re trying to lose weight, cardio exercise is just one of the things you need. You already know that you lose weight when you burn more calories than you eat.

The best way to do that is with a combination of cardio,with a Schwinn Elliptical Trainer and it low-impact workout, along with strength training and a healthy diet. But, the cornerstone of most weight loss programs is still cardio, cardio, cardio. Using a Schwinn 460 Elliptical Trainer gives you many healthy reasons to set up a weekly workout routine. It helps you burn more calories in one sitting. Getting your heart rate up means your blood is pumping, you’re breathing hard, you’re sweating and burning calories. Burning calories with exercise means you don’t have to cut as many calories from your diet. You can do cardio exercise on a Schwinn Elliptical any day of the week without worrying about injury or overtraining.

Using Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells will help people with diabetes, because strength training or weight training offers a host of benefits. Strength training with Bowflex dumbbells involves a series of movements that focus on a particular muscle group, with the goal of improving the abilities of those muscles. How Does Strength Training Work for People With Diabetes? Strength training exercises make muscles work harder than usual in resistance to something else, such as hand-held weights, resistance bands or even the body’s own weight against gravity.Strength training builds muscles by first damaging the muscle fibers. This happens as the muscles get tired and begin to struggle with repetition. The body then makes new proteins to help repair the muscle. In order for this repair to happen, though, the exercised muscle group needs a day of rest. As the cycle of exercise and rest continues, the new proteins make the muscle stronger.

Strength training with a set of Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells can increase the active movement of glucose in to the muscles and help the body store glucose as glycogen, aiding available energy. Strength training with Bowflex Dumbbells can also reduce insulin resistance, making it easier to use insulin more effectively and Increase metabolism, even after the exercise. This, in turn, helps burn more calories. Other benefits are it will decrease total fat and intra-abdominal fat and help replace muscle mass that has been lost over time. The American Diabetes Association and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend that strength training be done at least two times per week using light weights and a high number of repetitions.

The Schwinn 460 Elliptical Trainer is Schwinn’s higher end machine that offers a different approach to elliptical training. The elliptical industry has been evolving with a variety of new machines that do more than provide a standard elliptical motion. The problem with ellipticals with a stationary stride, is that they limit your ability to tone different lower muscles. When you can change up the motion either by an incline feature or variable stride, you can target different muscle groups like calves, quads, thighs and glutes. You can reap the slimming, health-boosting benefits of cardio, with minimal impact on your knees and on your ankles.

The Schwinn 460 Elliptical Trainer allows you to change the stride from 2″-26″. This feature is called the Schwinn V-Stride Technology. By varying the stride length you can get many benefits. A Short stride targets calves and quads. A Medium stride works your thighs and glutes and a Long stride engages all muscle groups. If you are looking to maximize your workout and tone more muscles groups, this feature will help you achieve that goal. It also is ideal for accommodating users of various heights. The stride length changes with with amount of effort and resistance you apply.

Lifting with Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells can be a terrific way to workout, but lifting dumbbell can be dangerous if not done properly.The bottom line is that most forms of physical activity involving substantial movement or resistance can result in injury. And if you work out long enough and hard enough, no matter what you do, you will get injured. When lifting with dumbbells there are two regions of the body that are especially susceptible to injury in weight training: the back, especially the lower back, and the shoulders, mainly the complex of muscles called the rotator cuff.

When lifting with a set of Bowflex SelectTect 552 Dumbbells here are some basic rules for lifting that should go some way toward protecting you from injury. Warm up aerobically at the beginning of a workout and then with a few light lifts of any chosen exercise. Don’t lift when you’re excessively muscle sore or have pain in any joint. Keep the back straight and prevent the spinal column from arching over under load or with excessive flexion Try not to isolate the rotator cuff (shoulder) with excessive weight that you could load up with heavy dumbbell weights. If you suspect something is not right, go to a doctor or sports medicine specialist if any pain in a joint or muscle persists.