I don’t think most people could do this stuff on their feet, never mind on a bike.
Okay, you will not learn how to do this on one of our exercise bikes, but they will keep you in shape!
Archives for August 2009
Improve Breathing Performance: Our PowerLung Experience and Review
Everyone knows the feeling of difficulty in breathing during exercise, competitive sports, or any intense effort. It stands to reason that if you could increase your breathing performance, thereby increasing oxygen intake, that you could dramatically increase performance in virtually everything you do.
For years I had looked for a product that would increase my endurance and lung capacity. I had tried several breathing exercises that helped somewhat, but I can’t really say that it was noticeable. Then I happened along a product called PowerLung. They claim that this device can increase lung capacity and oxygen intake by more than 25%. While I was somewhat doubtful, I gave it a try.
I found that PowerLung exercises your lung muscles. Just like any other muscle in your body, your lung muscles can be worked and strengthened. To do this, you have to work against resistance (just like weight lifting). PowerLung allows you to adjust resistance both in the inhale and exhale, which works all your lung muscles. Over time, I was able to increase the resistance, just like increasing weight when you are weight lifting. At the same time, I experienced a very noticeable improvement in my breathing. I really noticed improvement when playing basketball.
I’m an amateur athlete, but I put the bread on the table by managing an ecommerce company. So naturally, after launching PowerLung on our sites, I went looking for competing products to offer as well. What I found was that these products (Expand-a-Lung, SportsBreather, UltraBreather, etc) were like sucking/blowing through a straw. These were basically restrictive breathing devices (like a straw). My background is in engineering, and I realized that with these products you do not actually move anything except air. The formula for work is: Work = Force x Distance. If you are not moving anything, then there is no work. If there is no work, there is no muscle building! With a PowerLung, on the other hand, you are moving something a distance with the force from your lung muscles. That may not be the best technical explanation, but I know that the best way to build my biceps is by doing curls with a dumbbell or on a home gym: moving an object a distance (work). Same for building lung muscles, you must move something some distance. PowerLung is the only device I’ve seen that can do this.
In the past couple years we have sold PowerLung to professional athletes, asthma sufferers, pick-up basketball players, people looking to quite smoking, yoga professionals, musicians, people needing help getting around the house without getting out of breath, and more. PowerLung is truly a product that can benefit virtually anyone.
Let’s Talk about Stress
The title of this article made me suddenly want to breakout in song…â€let’s talk about stress…baby, let’s talk about you and me…let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things that can be.â€
Ok, right melody, wrong relaxation technique.
Maybe I am just trying to get you in the mood to talk about that dreaded S word…Stress. Do you know the American Institute of Stress and the Centers for Disease Control have reported that up to 90% of all illnesses are stress related? Yes, you heard me right, 90%. That means, to be perfectly blunt, that we are killing ourselves, worrying, obsessing and stressing ourselves into an early grave.
Sorry to be so morbid, but I have a dose of positive reality for you. Since we create our own stress–and yes, it’s true, our minds decide whether we will be calm or be stressed over circumstances and/or situations–we also have the power to remove stress. There are many ways to relieve stress, such as exercise, meditation, and yoga. But most of us don’t have the luxury of taking the time out from our busy lives to participate in these activities on a regular basis, and if you don’t use these methods regularly they really don’t do much good.
However, there is a solution, one that is convenient for those of you who have even the most hectic schedules. A small, handheld device, the emWave Personal Stress Reliever monitors your heart rhythms, confirming when you are in optimum psycho-physiological coherence mode. What does that mean in laymen’s terms? In just minutes, the emWave Personal Stress Reliever will teach you to breath correctly, returning your heart rate to its normal, healthy level, and your mind and body to its natural state of being–calm, content and relaxed.
Check it out today. emWave works in-the-moment and provides instant results. You can actually achieve better health, have more energy, improved emotional and mental clarity, and improve your performance and relationships.
Developed after years of research, the emwave from HeartMath provides a proven method to reduce stress.
Amazing Exercise Ball Trick!
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER from our law firm, Dewey, Cheatem & Howe: Do not try this at home!
Here is a great selection of exercise balls. Just don’t be flipping around like this guy!
Why we prefer Elliptical Machines over Treadmills
Yes, we prefer elliptical trainers, but rowing machines are awesome!