Archive for January, 2013


Tread on High Blood Pressure

 [Written by Peter Nielsen].
 
Blood pressure worries? You might want to make a beeline for the nearest treadmill. Striding on the treadmill may be the most effective exercise for lowering blood pressure.
 
We’ve known for years that high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke, heart, and kidney diseases. Blood pressure increases during physical activity but your overall blood pressure drops when the exercise is over. It’s what’s known as post exercise hypo-tension. Until recently we didn’t know how long the effect lasted.
 
A new study shows that 45-minutes on a treadmill reduces high blood pressure for a full 24-hours. That’s an excellent reason to set aside a little treadmill time every day. Your heart will thank you for it!
 
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Taking on the Great Outdoors

While some outdoor sports are relaxing, others are invigorating. Tramping through the woods, hunting wild game, paddling upstream — they’re all activities that not only entertain but get your heart rate up as well. Let’s take a look at some activities geared toward the more adventurous outdoor types among us, along with some tailor-made gift ideas. 
 
Dashing Through the Snow
 
Snowshoeing is America’s fastest growing winter sport. That’s not surprising, since this odd and ancient footgear, which can resemble an oversized tennis racket, is a great way to venture forth into places where others don’t dare tread. That means getting away from the crowd and enjoying nature at its most pristine.
 
Snowshoes are as old as recorded history itself, going back all the way to about 4000 B.C. or earlier, and first coming to this continent with Asian adventurers who crossed the Bering Strait and settled in Alaska — long before Europeans got the bug to travel.
 
So how difficult is snowshoeing? Can you walk? If the answer is yes, then you can snowshoe. At its most basic, the sport involves nothing more than putting one foot in front of the other with snowshoes on your feet. But in truth, efficient snowshoeing does require a technique that is somewhat different than walking in ordinary shoes. When walking in snowshoes, it’s best to lift each shoe a bit and slide the inner edge over the inner edge of the other shoe. If the shoes don’t overlap a bit when you stride, you’ll be forced to walk with a bowlegged gate that can be taxing.
 
While ancient snowshoes were made from wood and leather, most of today’s snowshoes are made with aluminum, plastic and various synthetic materials. But the idea is the same: the snowshoe gives walkers a big footprint, so they won’t quickly sink into the snow. Because snowshoes distribute body weight over a large area, even soft snow can provide adequate support for walking.
 
The health benefits of snowshoeing are multiple. First, it’s good aerobic exercise that can keep your heart rate up for an extended period of time. What’s more, it improves leg muscle tone, and if trekking poles are used, it can improve upper body fitness as well.
 
Bill LaPierre of Yukon Charlie’s, a major supplier of high quality snowshoe equipment, recommends using poles, since they can help you remain stable and upright on challenging terrain, while reducing the burden on your knees. Dunham’s carries a wide range of Yukon Charlie’s snowshoe gear.
 
Snowshoes are available in a variety of lengths and widths. The larger snowshoes are for bigger people and more difficult conditions. Children’s sizes are also available. In addition to various sizes, snowshoes come in a range of styles, each designed for a particular type of hiking. Aerobic or running snowshoes are small and light and are not meant for wilderness hiking. Recreational snowshoes are larger than the aerobic models, and are great for moderate walks. Mountaineering snowshoes are the largest. They usually have a long tail and are meant for long-distance trips and serious hill climbing.  A Dunham’s sales consultant can help you choose the size and type of snowshoe that’s right for you and every member of your family. 
 
Hoofing It
 
Most winter sports require some heavy-duty foot protection. And while some, such as skiing, call for purpose-built footwear, for many activities a pair of high-quality insulated boots can keep you warm and on the move. In fact, for those whose idea of great winter sport is a hike through the woods on a snowy day, boots and warm clothing are all the equipment that’s necessary. Of course a good boot is essential gear for hunters as well.
 
Winter hikes are an activity that the entire family can enjoy. Because only minimal gear is needed, it won’t break the bank. Hunting has also become more of a family activity in recent years, as parents strive to teach their offspring the value of self-sufficiency, while experiencing the joys of outdoor activity and skill development.
 
While a variety of boots that claim to be waterproof and insulated are available, not all are created equal. Nothing ruins a nice afternoon hike or a winter hunting trip faster than cold feet. Dunham’s carries several types of heavy-duty insulated boots that can keep your tootsies warm in the most severe conditions.
 
For men, the Rocky Jasper Trac Insulated Pac Boot is a superb choice. With a polar-trac outsole for great grip, a removable three-ply liner, 200 grams of Thinsulate insulation, and guaranteed waterproof construction, this boot is ready to take on old-man winter.
 
The Itasca Snowbird Boot is a popular choice for the ladies. This heavy-duty insulated boot is great for hunting and other winter activities. Dunham’s also carries boots for the kids. Ask your sales representative to help you find the winter footwear that’s right for your outdoor activities. 
 
Safe, Not Sorry
 
While most hunters think of gear in terms of what they’ll be taking out to the field, a good gun safe is a critical piece of equipment for every hunter.
 
Gun ownership carries with it a measure of responsibility. In the home, the only safe weapon is one that is stored in such a way that it can’t be accessed by an intruder or curious child. And the best way to ensure that your guns are secure is to lock them in a safe. Of course, a good safe has other uses as well, such as the storage of precious metals, jewelry, cash, and important documents.
 
A small safe is okay for cash and handguns, but for long-gun hunting weapons, a fairly large safe is necessary. However, many modern safes are designed to economize space by allowing for alternate rows of barrel up and barrel down storage.
 
Plan carefully before choosing a safe. Consider possible future needs as well as current requirements. Fire and water protection should also enter into your decision. ETL ratings are an assurance of fire protection, but waterproofing can be important as well, particularly if you live in a flood zone. Your Dunham’s representative can help you decide what kind of safe best meets your requirements.
 
Among Dunham’s most popular safes is the Stack-On Elite Gun Convertible Fire Safe. With storage for up to 24 long guns, the safe features reinforced steel doors and five large live-action locking bolts. An additional three solid-steel dead bolts secure the hinge side of the door. It’s a safe that will protect your weapons and provide peace of mind.
 
 Paddle the Day Away
 
Kayaking is a water sport the entire family can enjoy. Few outdoor sports offer as big a return in fun for as small an investment. And because kayaks are light and compact, they’re easy to store and transport.  
 
While kayaks are well suited to hunting and fishing, they’re now used primarily for recreational boating. And in comparison to other watercraft, kayaks are a bargain. For example, KL Industries eight- and ten-foot Water Quest Kayaks are very stable and come with padded seats and storage. And they’re available at Dunham’s.
 
Other very affordable choices are the Pelican Ultimate 100 and Escape 100 kayaks. These boats turn and track with the best of them, yet they’re stable and easy to paddle. Ask your Dunham’s sales representative to help you choose the kayak that’s best matched to your needs.
 
-Deer Abby
 
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Home, Sweat Home

Whether you’re looking to create a stricter workout schedule to tone your glutes for that winter getaway to the beach, or a surefire way to cut down on the belly fat the holidays are bound to pack on, working out consistently is crucial to staying healthy. And working out at home can be a great way to stay in shape — now and throughout the year.
 
As a self proclaimed exercise fanatic, and frankly, someone who doesn’t usually need that extra push to work out, I have to be honest… winter is a challenging time of year, even for me, when it comes to sticking to my normal exercise routine.
 
It gets dark early, so at 4 p.m. it feels like bedtime — not time for a workout. Snow and ice are less than motivating when it comes to hitting the streets for a run. And constant holiday parties with hors d’ oeuvres by the tray full put a real cramp in my workout schedule — not to mention a few extra pounds on my scale.
 
Let’s face it: gym memberships can be pricey — especially if you join as a family — and in the immortal words of my less-than-workout-motivated husband, “Unfortunately, money is tight, my abs are not!”
 
Fortunately, there are some really great home gym options that can make working out year round convenient, affordable, and hopefully, a habit that sticks with the whole family.
 
But before I start rattling on about all of the cool equipment on the market — and all of the benefits a home gym has to offer — let me point out one important fact: the hardest part about setting up a home gym isn’t picking the right equipment, it’s actually using it. We all know that it’s easy to get complacent (especially when you don’t have to hold yourself accountable to a monthly membership fee at a gym), so there are some important things to keep in mind before you run out to purchase your own workout equipment.
 
 First, be realistic.
 
What is it you are hoping to accomplish with your workouts? Are you training to qualify for the Boston Marathon? Is your husband hoping to become the next Ironman champion? Or do you just want to be fit enough so that you don’t get winded trying to keep up with your 4 year-old at the park? These aren’t trick questions, but your answers are important with regards to choosing the best home gym equipment for you and your family.
 
Think about it: if you’re the most athletic one in the family, and that equates to working out only 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week, chances are, you don’t need the
ultimate of all
equipment. However, if you or someone in your family is really serious about physical fitness, and that means working out for an hour or more 5 or 6 days a week, you probably want to consider some of the higher end equipment.
 
Take treadmills for example. One of the more popular home gym staples, treadmills come in a variety of different models. Some are perfect for beginners, some are more suited to top-level athletes (and come with a more top-dollar price tag), and some give you more bang for your buck regardless of your fitness level.
 
According to Todd Boerboom at Johnson Health Tech — the company that manufactures both Horizon and Merit Fitness at Dunham’s — the Horizon T101 is a great mid-level treadmill that offers a good size running platform, a quiet motor, low RPMs (something that is important with regards to the life span of the motor), and neat little extras like MP3 and iPod ports.
 
“This treadmill is a combination of everything,” says Boerboom. “It’s a good value, really durable, and it has great features that the whole family can use.”
 
When it comes to a true “runners’ treadmill,” however, Craig Bailey of Icon Health and Fitness likes the ProForm 790T.
 
“The 790T has lots of bells and whistles,” says Bailey. “It has an extra large 20”x 55” treadbelt, and digital quickspeed to 12 MPH. The 2.5 Continuous horse power motor has a life time warranty. And best of all it is WiFi compatible which lets you run different virtual trails from the comfort of home, thanks to Google maps.”
 
Another popular piece of home equipment — the elliptical trainer  — offers a great way to get an upper and lower body, non-impact, cardio workout.
 
“Elliptical trainers are really about feel, function and ergonomics,” says Boerboom. “You can get a really functional, durable machine like the EX59, for about $600, but you really have to try different machines to make sure the stride is comfortable for you — and anyone else in the family who will be using it.”
 
 Next, be practical.
 
Think about how much space you really have to devote to a home gym. Are you setting up shop in a 4000 square foot basement or a tiny studio apartment?
 
The bottom line is this: If your equipment overwhelms your space or is not easily accessible, you won’t use it. And nothing is more depressing than a piece of gym equipment that turns into an expensive coat hanger.
 
That’s why John Guilbert, at  Impex Inc., likes the Marcy MWM 980 stack home gym.
 
“This gym is compact, but it offers a wide variety of exercises for toning and strength,” says Guilbert. “It has a 150 lb stack, and is a good system for the recreational/family user as you can train every part of your body with it.”
 
Guilbert, whose company also sells weight benches, says that it is important to consider stability, as well as the right fit for your body size and weight capacity when purchasing a bench. According to him, unless you have a teenager — or someone who is into extreme bodybuilding — chances are, you won’t need a bench that holds more than 400 lbs of weight.
 
“I like the mid-size MD859P,” says Guilbert. “It’s a versatile, multi-purpose workout bench that adjusts to flat, incline, decline and military positions. It lets you work every part of your body.”
 
In addition to the “big stuff” that we all think of for a gym, there are also some accessories that can help take your workout to the next level.
 
Chuck Last, with EB Sports, sells items like jump ropes, stability balls, exercise tubes, foam rollers, exercise mats, toning bands, and kettle bells, to name a few.
 
“If I had to pick three accessories to include in a home gym,” says Last, “it would be a mat, a body ball, and resistance tubes, because you can work all parts of your body with these three items alone.”
 
Still not sold on the home gym versus the gym membership? Well, think about this: it currently costs about $35 a month for a single membership. That’s $420 a year for just you! Family memberships are usually closer to $50, so you’re really looking at about $600 a year. For that money, you could start a really nice home gym, only have to pay a one-time start up fee, and reap the rewards from a fitness center that is open 24 hours!
 
Look, if you’re into bad techno remixes or working out on a machine already soaked with someone else’s sweat, the gym may be for you. But, if you’d rather workout without an audience, in comfy clothes (that don’t have to match, by the way!), there are some really great equipment options that can help you get in shape now — and throughout the year — right in the comfort of your own home.
 
-Fitness Fanatic
 

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Spring is Right Around The Corner

A winter fitness routine can ensure you’ll be ready to get in the game come spring.
 
We all look forward to spring and another season of outdoor sports. Whether you’ll be wielding a golf club, swinging a baseball bat, pedaling a bicycle or running a marathon, maintaining good muscle tone and cardio fitness during the winter is a sure way to get the most out of your sport. The benefits are improved performance and good health, and the cost to you is a minimal amount of time and a small investment in equipment.
 
Of course exercise and fitness should be a year round pursuit, but for those of us who may have developed a habit of taking to the couch as the weather turns colder, a seasonal wake-up call is invaluable.
 
A Double-barreled Approach
 
The best exercise routines combine cardio work and resistance training. Peter Nielsen, a nationally acclaimed fitness expert, points out that after the age of 30 we lose muscle tissue. Resistance training compensates for that loss. He adds that since your heart is the most important muscle in your body, taking care of it with cardio work is essential.
 
Cardio work is any activity that is constant and taxing enough to raise your heart rate and keep it there for an extended period. Running and walking are classic examples, but they’re not the only roads to cardio fitness. Any activity that is continuous and gets your heart beating faster can get the job done. Peter recommends 45 to 60 minutes a day of cardio work, five times a week. To get maximum benefit you should work hard enough to increase your heart rate to 70% of maximum. To arrive at that number, subtract your age from 220 and then multiply the result by .7. For example, for age 40, the formula (220 – 40) x .7 yields a train-ing heart rate of 126.
 
Resistance training involves putting muscles to work. When muscle tissue is taxed, it grows, and strength increases. In addi-tion, adding lean mass causes your body to burn more calories, so it’s easier to limit the size of that spare tire. Lifting free weights or working with machines that resist arm and leg motion is the common ways to tax muscles, but again, there are alterna-tives.
 
You don’t have to worry about developing excessive mass through a normal fitness routine. A noticeable increase in the size and appearance of muscles requires extensive resistance training, and it comes about gradually. No one who exercises moderately – or even heavily – will go to bed looking like Woody Allen and wake up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 
Feeling it with Fuel
 
New this year are some relatively inexpensive yet effective exercise aids from Fuel Pureformance. These products cut the cost of a good workout, yet they are fun to use, portable and easy to store. Peter points out that because many of these exercise tools can be used to provide both resistance training and a cardio workout, those activities can be combined. By mixing up the routine and moving from one exercise to another in rapid succession, you will be doing what is known as interval training, an effective way to exercise.
 
One of the most popular Fuel products is the Adjustable Height Plyometrics Box. Essentially a step built tough to withstand heavy-duty workouts, the Plyometrics Box can increase the benefits of a cardio workout. Stepping on and off the box, with left and right legs alternately, not only raises the heart rate quickly, it provides an extra workload for glute and leg muscles, shaping and strengthening them. To make those muscles work even harder, the height of the box can be raised. To work other lower-body muscles, try stepping on and off sideways.
 
While the step is great for lower body toning and cardio work, it can also be used to do incline pushups. With arms placed on the step and feet on the floor, pushups are easier than when done on a flat floor and the bulk of the load is transferred to other muscle groups. With feet on the step and hands on the floor, the amount of weight you lift with each pushup is magnified and, again, different muscles come into play.
 
The Battle Rope looks like something you might use to rope a steer, but it’s a very effective exercise device that can provide an excellent cardio workout and resistance training. To feel the burn, you simply wrap it around a pole, grasp one end in each hand, and saw back and forth by alternately pulling each hand in toward your body, while resisting that motion with your other hand. How hard you resist determines the workload for the opposite arm’s muscles. How rapidly you perform the exercise dic-tates how effective it will be at increasing heart rate.
 
Fuel Products’ 80-lb. Sandbag Training Set is a fun and practical alternative to free weights. The sandbags can be used to per-form curl and press exercises, just as one would with free weights. Additionally, they can be used to perform arm-extension and toss-and-catch exercises like one might do with a medicine ball.
 
A good arm-extension exercise, known as big circles, is performed while standing with feet apart and knees slightly bent. Pick up a sandbag that can be gripped with two hands, extend your arms above your head, and without bending your elbows, rotate your arms counterclockwise, making large circles in front of your body. After you’ve completed ten circles, reverse direc-tion and do another ten. You can find other great exercises that can be performed with a sandbag by searching for “sand bag ex-ercises” on the Internet.
 
Yet another use for the sandbags is to increase intensity when doing crunches or leg lifts. Simply rest the bag on your chest or legs and perform the exercise with that additional weight in place. The additional resistance increases the value of the workout.
 
The Dip Station from Fuel is like an abbreviated set of parallel bars that provide a means to perform those muscle-building dips without having to make a trip to the gym. Dips are performed by raising your body above the bars with arms extended. While bending your elbows, you dip down as low as you can while maintaining control. Then, you use your arm muscles, partic-ularly the triceps, to raise your body back up to the arms-extended position. There are few better ways to replace that underarm flab with attractive, sculpted muscle.
 
The 20-lb. Performance Body Kit is an easy way to increase the intensity of cardio exercises like walking or running. Essen-tially a comfortable vest that accommodates weights, the kit adds a bit more workload when you get up and go. The result is a bigger benefit derived from time spent doing cardio.
 
Ready, Set, Go!
 
In addition to the Fuel equipment, Dunham’s carries numerous types of exercise aids and machines, including treadmills, cross trainers, ellipticals, spin bikes, recumbent bikes, home gyms, free weights and more. Our sales assistants are trained to help you select the gear that’s best for your workouts.
 
Plan a winter exercise routine today. Every day you put it off is a lost opportunity for improved fitness. If you set aside time for exercise now, come spring, you’ll be driving that golf ball 20 yards further than you did last year or knocking that baseball over the outfield fence.
 
-Fitness Fanatic
 

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A Frozen Treat

It’s time to play nice on the ice.
 
We’ll take our winter on ice. There’s no better way to enjoy the cold months than by taking up a winter sport, a winter sport played on ice. Whether it be hockey, figure skating or just a pleasant afternoon spent tracing circles on a neighborhood pond, ice makes winter a special time of year.
 
While ice sports have always been part of northern winters, the proliferation of indoor skating rinks has made sports on skates a favorite of those who live in places where ponds never freeze. But the indoor trend has reversed a bit in colder parts of the country, as skaters and head back outdoors to play on the ponds.
 
Pond Hockey
 
Those of us approaching senior-citizen status undoubtedly played our first hockey on a frozen pond or lake. I ventured onto the ice at the age of five on Chicago’s Midway Plaisance, a remnant of a long-ago world’s fair that the city fathers would flood for skating. In later years, my friends and I played hockey on ponds in city parks. There was something about one’s breath turn-ing into ice crystals and the tingle of single-digit temperatures that invigorated. My kids, who grew up in the eighties, missed out on that, as indoor rinks became the skating venues of choice.
 
Today, pond hockey and outdoor skating are coming back in a big way. Like the pond hockey we played as kids, today’s games are usually held on a rink that is smaller than an NHL rink. A barrier of snow is often the only thing that serves to keep the puck on the ice, although organized pond-hockey competitions – of which there are more every year – are played on natural rinks ringed with minimal wooden boards.
 
Dunham’s can provide the equipment you’ll need to play pond hockey. Of course, you need a good pair of skates, a hockey stick, gloves and a puck. For most venues, helmets aren’t mandatory but are highly recommended. Shin guards are a good idea as well, since a flying puck can leave an ugly bruise. But since hard physical contact isn’t part of pond hockey, the armor worn for organized indoor hockey is often not worn.
 
Although pick-up pond hockey can be played with a makeshift net, Dunham’s carries the Mylec 810 and EZ Goal nets that can be quickly set up on the ice.
 
Figure Skating
 
Figure skating experienced a surge in popularity when the friends of one prominent lady skater tried to break the kneecaps of another prominent lady skater. Why it took an unseemly event to draw attention to figure skating is a mystery to devotees of the sport, but today nearly every little girl and quite a few little boys dream of becoming Olympic skating stars.
 
Of course reaching the upper echelons of any Olympic sport is a one in a million shot, but there’s plenty of fun to be had at less competitive levels. Figure skating demands coordination, good muscle tone and a certain amount of grace, so benefits de-rived from making the effort are multitudinous. And because most skating schools conclude the season with a public perfor-mance, students get a chance to show off their skills.
 
While the majority of figure-skating students are youngsters, many schools have classes just for adults. If you’ve always wanted to learn to do a double axle, you can do so at any age, and you don’t have to worry about being shown up by a five year old.
 
At the beginners level, all that is need to learn figure skating is a decent pair of skates. As a student progresses, more ad-vanced skates with special toe points are required to perform the jumps and spins taught at higher levels. Dunham’s carries a full selection of figure skates. Ask one of our sales assistants to help you choose the right equipment.
 
Recreational Skating and Ice Games
 
While hockey and figure skating offer competition along with the joy of skating, just making figure eights on a frozen pond can be lots of fun. And if that’s not enough to keep the youngsters interested, there are many games that can be played on the ice.
 
At the pond where I hung out as a teen we played “crack the whip.” To play, a line of half a dozen or more skaters is formed, each holding the hips of the skater in front or linking hands. The lead skater pulls the line with those behind assisting. As speed builds, the skater at the head of the line executes a sharp turn, which cracks the whip and causes the last couple of skaters in the line to accelerate rapidly towards the snow banks at the edge of the rink.
 
Informal races can be fun on ice. And while these can just pit each skater against the others, they can also involve complexi-ties, like skating backwards and pulling a second skater or towing a sled and rider. An obstacle course made up of sticks, rocks, boots, and whatever else is available can also add a different dimension to on-ice races.
 
-Ski Bum
 
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