New Weight Loss Products

Sunny Indoor Cycling Bike - How nice would it be to have your own indoor bicycle?  Pedal away the pounds with this fully loaded workout machine.  Fully adjustable seat and handlebars. 26 lb flywheel. Magnetic resistance guarantees smooth and quiet workout .

Magnetic Elliptical Trainer – This deluxe elliptical trainer is the ultimate value in home gym equipment with high-quality features such as large anti-slip platforms, a hand pulse monitoring system and high quality magnetic resistance with 8 levels of workout.   You’ll even get an elliptical training monitor to monitor your heartbeat and keep tabs on your time, speed, distance, calories, pulse, IPM and body fat!

See all Sunny Fitness Products

Designer Whey – The Biggest Loser Protein Powder - As used by Al Vincent on “The Biggest Loser”.  Packed with vital B Vitamins and Protein, this powder will keep you feeling satisfied and away from fatty snacks.

Optygen HP - This revolutionary formula is the result of human clinical trials and the latest scientific research on increasing endurance and performance. New features include Beta-Alanine as well the most potent Rhodiola available.

Get in shape on the disc!  It’s all the rage at gyms across the country.  Choose from the Fun Disc, Fit Disc, Trim Disc and Sport Disc and you’ll increase your balance, flexibility and core strength in no time.   If you play sports, disc workouts can make a huge improvement in your performance.   

Inversion Table - After a stressful day or to relieve sore muscles and back pain, nothing works like an inversion table.  Supports up to 300lbs. 

Let us help you build an affordable home gym.  Shop all Home Fitness Equipment for more ideas.  And for all your dietary supplements and weight loss/weight gain products, see our Dietary Products Category.  Have a healthy day!  And, as always, thanks for your business.

Whatever gets you moving . . . congratulations!  Seriously.   Any exercise is beneficial as long as you are working to your fitness level and doing it ’right’. 

Alas, nobody’s perfect and we sometimes hurt ourselves.  Here are some products designed specifically for the prevention and treatment of sports injuries. 

Injury Prevention Products

Stretching.  The most common sports injuries are caused by not stretching  your muscles before exercise.  The ProStretch and ProStretch Doubleare among our most popular products, and for good reason.  They reduce your risk of injury, improve lower extremity strength, balance, proprioception and flexibility.  Plus they make your legs look and feel fantastic.

See all ProStretch and Stretch-Rite

 Agility.  This 101 Agility Drills book will guide you through the routines to help you stop, start and change direction of the body rapidly and in a controlled manner.  Coaches and athletes, listen up.  It’s not too early to prepare for fall sports.  Agility training will prevent injuries and give you a leg up on the competition.  Some agility products include the Dot Drill Mat, Agility Dots, Agility Rings, Agility Ladder, Running Parachute and Stackable Steps.

Flexibility.  Get on the Ball!  I promise that flexibility will be yours if you consistently work out on the ball.  We have many brands and sizes to fit every budget and every exercise goal.   Get a FitBall Exercise DVD for overall fitness, the  Strength Training on the Ball Book to get even stronger, or how about a Pilates on the Ball DVD for a great workout and (for me) a lot of laughs.

Balance.  Shop our huge selection of balance products.  I can’t stress enough how good balance will change your life.  No matter how old you are, you can improve your balance.  Read 21 Reasons to Improve your Balance.

See all Exercise/Fitness Products

Injury Treatment Products

Cold Packs. Keep one in your freezer at all times for aches, pains, sports injuries and muscle pulls (or to wrap around something in the cooler on the way to the picnic).  Always put a layer of dry terry towels between you and the ColPac! 

Not sure when to use heat or ice?  Read Arthritis Pain – Which is Best, Heat or Ice?

See all Hot/Cold Therapy

Spa Therapy.  Bubble your troubles away.  Yes, it’s true.  You can have a portable whirlpool spa right in your house, or on your patio, or in your backyard – at a fraction of the cost of a traditional hot tub.

Treat all your sore muscle aches & pains with products from Allegro’s Muscle Pain Category.

Wound Care.  Hey booboos happen, even to adults.   Be prepared for cuts and scrapes with first aid kits, bandages, dressings, gauze & prep pads.  We have it all in our Wound Care Category. 

Therapeutic Bands and Braces.  These brilliant little gizmos absorb shock and support your tendons so you can relieve your pain and still live your life.  See our popular products for knee injuries and elbow/forearm support.

Shin Supports.  These wraps alleviate shin splints and relieve calf & muscle pain.  Too bad we didn’t have these around when we were running concrete stairs and bleachers in high school.  Good times.

Ankle Supports.  Ankle and foot injuries happen all the time.  Check out our Ankle/Foot Orthotics products if you are having ankle pain, weak ankles or just need support for your feet.  We have lots of specialized insoles and heel cups,  ankle braces, splints and supports and products to relieve the pain of plantar fasciitis.

Back Supports.  These are used for both prevention and treatment of back pain and injury.  Choose from traditional back supports, abdominal binders, posture aids, hernia splints and more.

See all Orthopedic Products and sort by popularity, price or product name.

If you’ve been reading my blogs you know that I try to stay fit without a gym membership.  I like the freedom and it saves me money.  I hike and walk, mostly, but I also do Yoga and Pilates indoors, along with some weight lifting and balance training.  Here are a few of my favorite exercise products for the home gym or back yard. 

Summer Fitness Products

 Bongo Board Balance Board – Our #1 most popular fitness product.  Used by snow boarders, skateboarders and anyone who just wants to get strong and have fun!  Read 21 Reasons to Improve your Balance. 

See All Balance Products

 Sunny Elite Eliptical Trainer – A full-on, brand new eliptical trainer in your home for only $365?  I’m totally serious.  Check it out.

See All Elipticals

 Door Gym Upper Body Toner – If you don’t have much money, space or time, this is for you.  Oh, and you can’t be more than 200 lbs.   With this one low-cost product you can do perfect push-ups, pull-ups, sit ups, dips and crunches.

 Fitball Hop Balls – You might think that we only sell these for kids.  Not true!  If you weigh under 600 lb. then grab a rubber handle and bounce off those love handles.  Fun for the whole family.

See All Exercise Rolls & Balls

 Thera-Band Resistance Bands – Buy these stretchy fat-melting arm-toning magic tubes by the yard and make them whatever length you want.  Each color provides a different resistance level.  There are hundreds of exercises you can do.  Very popular in gyms.  Also available as  FitBall Pre-Cut Bands.

See all Exercise Bands & Tubes

 ProStretch – Unilateral Calf Stretcher.  For stretching your calves (no, not the farm animal kind).  This is one of our most popular products.  Has been for years.   All workouts begin with a stretch.  Might as well make it a good one.

See all Stretching Products

Lex Loops Exercise Band –  I’ve never used these but they must be good because they’ve been profiled on The View and in Good Housekeeping magazine as a great tool for helping you shed pounds and tone up. 

 Pedal Exerciser Stationary Bike – It’s only $29.95. Such a great bargain for something that does so much.  Must be why it has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars! You can pedal with your arms or legs, in a seated position.  A good workout  for all fitness levels ages and abilities.   Tension can be controlled to adjust pedaling resistance.

See All Pedlars & Exercisers

 AquaBell Travel Weights –  Take your dumbbells with you on vacation.  That didn’t sound right.  Anyway…these hand weights collapse to fit in your suitcase and then you just fill them with water, to whatever level you want, and you have hand weights!  Get the Aqua Bell Combo Set complete with ankle weights.

See all Wrist, Ankle & Free Weights

Order today! There’s still time to work off the winter jiggle.

See all Exercise & Fitness Products

Ahhh, the brain. 

As I am quoted in the May 5, 2009 issue of Woman’s Day Magazine (pg. 118), “I keep losing and gaining the same 10 lbs.”  And after recently eating my way through Cabo, New Orleans and New York, I am sitting squarely on top of that 10 lbs. 

So, here’s my plan.  I’ll focus on ‘not gaining weight’ instead of…dare i say it… losing weight, by June 19th.  I’ll use little tricks to get my brain to think I’m just being a good girl, not really trying to lose weight, and I’ll TRICK it into doing my bidding. Diabolical, or merely pathetic?  Either way, if I get started not gaining weight now, I should be right where I want to be in  65 days.

My NO GAIN Plan:

• Continue the daily walks, but go faster so… so… I can get to work earlier.  Yeah!  Jog, walk, jog, walk.  I’ll imagine I’m being chased by someone who wants to tickle me.  It will improve bladder control.  Maybe I’ll take a longer walk too.  For my dog’s sake, not mine.

• When I get home from work I’ll relax with “Pilates for Weight Loss”.  Only I won’t call it Pilates for Weight Loss.  I’ll call it Pilates for People Who Don’t Want to Gain Weight, or  better yet Pilates for Calm, Flexible, Happy People.  Or something shorter.  Todd will do it with me and I’ll pretend it is all for him.  That I’m teaching him to relax.  Yeah.  If I end up looking all lean and cool, so be it.

• Our hikes will become ‘nature hikes’ but they’ll be FAST nature hikes.  And I won’t call them hikes. I’ll call them ‘quick walks up and down steep hills’… or maybe something shorter.  I’ll concentrate on the flora and fauna of the beautiful desert as I whisk by, calling out each cactus and snake by name.

• I’ll say no to white food.  It’s gauche to eat white before memorial day.  Vegetables and fruits will be my friend and everything else,  merely acquaintances.  An apple a day will keep the doctor away.  And my Slim Fast lunches?  I imbibe strictly for the great taste, efficiency, daily fiber and joys of regularity.  

• I’ll take my balance training products outside so I’ll have something to do while becoming one with nature.   Who cares if I get a strong core and killer abs in the process?  The important thing is that I will be grounded, free of stress and I won’t wobble like a weeble when I’m old.  For inspiration I’ll re-read my article 21 Reasons to Improve Your Balance.  Break it down, Val… you’re on a roll.

• I’ll hold my hand weights high in the air as I cheer the contestants on American Idol and The Biggest Loser.  All in the name of good will and for the sake of the nation.  I may even stand up and jump up and down – or perhaps I will fall on the floor into an impromptu push-up.

• I’ll be environmentally friendly and ride my bike to the store.  Okay, I probably won’t do this.  I’m just saying it is possible… if I had a basket to hold my stuff in.

• Vodka will be the devil, except on weekends when its horns magically vanish and it becomes a garnish for my soda water & limes.  And wine, well,  wine…. um… hmmm…my beautiful, bountiful wine…  I love wine.  I’ll drink only one glass of red wine (at a time) and it will be strictly for the heart healthy flavinoids and support of the wine growers.

I seriously think that’s about the best I can do.  Too much self-deception can’t be good for the soul right?  So, wish me luck and I’ll let you know how it goes.  If this doesn’t work I may need to convince myself to GAIN weight before the reunion.   A little reverse psychology. 

See All Weight Loss Help and Exercise/Fitness Products, sorted by popularity.

Thanks for being an Allegro customer.  Don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook!  And if you’re reading this, tell me so.  I wonder sometimes.

-v

1.  Break ‘em down; and

2.  Make a plan. 

Here’s an example:  Let’s say you resolve to be a better athlete, have a better body, or “get stronger” this year.  Those alone are not resolutions that will bear fruit.  Besides being too vague, they are “results” rather than “actions”.  So, let’s break it down and make a plan.

Improving the strength of your “core” – your abdomen and back – will make you stronger and more toned (and make those back problems disappear).  Breaking it down even further, if you improve your balance, you’ll strengthen your core and add speed and agility to the equation.  So, improving your balance = strengthening your core = having a better, more toned, athletically superior body.  See?  Now you just need to get a plan.  Read up on balance, check out some balance products.  Get them.  Set aside some time everyday to use them.  Believe me, you’ll know when you are improving.  You’ll stop falling off the dang balance trainer when you try to stand on it.  Before you know it, you’re stronger, you’ve maybe lost some weight, you’re faster and you feel better.  If you play sports, you’ll notice a distinct edge over your opponents when it comes to flexibility, agility and speed.

Moving on.  Here are some other examples of resolutions that work:

• Lose Weight.  If you want the end game to be weight loss, then think about what is causing you to keep the weight on.  Break it down and get a plan.  Drink a lot of soda pop?  Cut it out and replace it with a flavored, unsweetened water.  Can’t control your portions?  Go on a plan that measures them for you – Jenny Craig or NutriSystem for example.  Can’t stop eating sugar?  Go without any carbs/sugar for 48 hours and your cravings will be pretty much gone.  Then follow a low sugar plan.  Research, prepare, plan and do.  And one more thing about weight loss…  go slow.  Lose the first 2 lbs. and go from there.  Don’t say “I need to lose 20 lbs, or 50 lbs., or even 10″.  Say, “I need to lose 2″… and then 2 more, and then 5 more, etc. 

• Get in Shape.  Many of you will go out and buy a gym membership in the next couple weeks, thinking that is going to make you get in shape.  Not so.  Think about who you are and where you are and how you like to spend your time.  If there’s a good chance that you won’t get to the gym because of proximity or time constraints, then you’re already doomed.  Start simple instead.  My gym closed a few years ago and I decided to just work out the old fashioned way at home.  I got some hand weights (I use them while watching TV) and some Therabands, a Fitball, some Yoga, Cardio and Pilates gear, along some good walking and hiking shoes and now I can do my routines without worrying about getting to the gym.  There are all kinds of exercise/fitness products to use at home.  You can even put together your own home gym.  The thing is, you have to have a plan.  I do a quick 15 minute Yoga routine morning and night and I always take a walk.  That is the very least every day.  Other than that, I like to do the Pilates mat routines on the weekends along with hiking (or cardio if it’s too cold out).   Get a friend or significant other to walk with you.  Todd is a great inspiration to me.  He pushes me to hike and bike, and I push him to stretch and meditate.  What a team.

• Get a Life.  If you’re watching too much TV, not expanding your mind or learning, or maybe you’re not socializing enough then you probably should get a life.  Break it down.  What do you love?  What do you watch on TV?  These will give you hints as to how you can get a life.  If you love to travel then you should plan a trip, learn a language, take classes to prepare for an adventure (SCUBA certification, sailing, trekking).  If you love the cooking channel then get your bottom to a cooking class, or take a course online and be a gourmet chef at home.  Anything you enjoy thinking about or dreaming of can become part of your world.  Want to join a rock band?  Get a Wii!  Then besides playing the guitar you can fish, drive race cars, play tennis, improve your memory, work out… a million things.  Do you love pets?  Become a foster parent to your favorite breed or volunteer at an aminal shelter.  Love kids?  Become a scout leader, a Big Brother or Big Sister, read to kids at the library, rock babies at a local nursery.  Want to learn to sew?  Check out local classes and get going.  Just do it.  It’s addictive.  I’ve taken classes on caligraphy, stamp making,  SCUBA, painting, scrapbooking, sewing, Spanish, Italian, Yoga and more.   This year we’re going to take sailing lessons.  In Phoenix there are classes and groups for absoultely every interest.  If your town doesn’t have a group that you’d like to belong to…start one!

What ever it is that you resolve to do this year, you can do it!!  Did you know that spending only an hour per day on something, anything, will make you an “expert” within 2 years?  Think what you can get done in just one year.

I hope you have an excellent New Year.  Thanks, as always, for being an Allegro customer. 

If you have a resolution to share, along with a breakdown and a plan, please leave a comment!   Good luck.

-v

My first thought was that people were buying balance products because they associate them with the ever popular quest for core strength. But when researching the balance products themselves, and after talking to some of our customers, I started seeing that better balance is actually an end goal. The perk is a dramatic improvement in your core strength (back, abs & surrounding muscles); better muscle tone; a greater range of motion; and stronger muscles, tendons and ligaments. Improved balance and a better body? They go hand in hand.

Still, I wasn’t convinced that I needed to add another level of complexity and awkwardness to my workouts, so I put together a general list of balance benefits:

I felt like I was getting somewhere, but I wasn’t there yet. So I drilled down further to come up with some super practical reasons to start a balance program. Finally, i discovered the motivation I needed. Reason Number 7. Ha! Made you look. But seriously, there are compelling reasons for everyone, at every age, to get started.

With Better Balance You Can:

1. Develop a killer golf swing
2. Avoid a broken hip
3. Look taller and slimmer
4. Reduce incontinence
5. Walk straighter and more gracefully
6. Ski the blue and black diamonds instead of the green
7. Improve your sex life
8. Have the guts to try something new
9. Greatly improve performance in ALL sports
10. Prevent sports injuries, especially sprains and strains
11. Hold that yoga pose as long as you need to
12. Stay on the mountain when you’re hiking
13. Avoid accidents because you’ll react faster
14. Stop wobbling
15. Pick up your kids without straining your back
16. Look cool when you’re carving on your skateboard, snowboard, long board, surf board
17. Say goodbye to chiropractic visits
18. Be agile
19. Enhance your quality of life
20. Increase your independence
21. Raise your overall level of health

How do Balance Products work?

Balance improvement products are designed with an element of instability to intentionally throw you off balance.

For example, just sitting on a FitBall
improves your balance because you use so many muscles to stay seated on the dang thing. You don’t even have to “work out” on it to see results. Sit on it while you’re at your desk at work, or at the dinner table, or watching TV, or scrapbooking, or at your sewing machine. An option to the FitBall is the FitBall Seating Disc, which mimics the FitBall exercise ball, but sits on top of your chair. You can also use it as a balance disc.

Balance Discs
sit on the floor, right under your feet or hands while you do squats, lunges or push-ups. They are flat on one side and round, slightly “puffed up” on the other. When you are doing your regular exercises with your hands or feet on the puffy side, you are forced to concentrate on keeping your balance.

The Power Wheel
can be used with either your hands or your feet, but it basically challenges your whole body to stabilize while the 14” wheel rolls along the ground.

Balance Pads
are square blocks of specialty foam (latex free, anti-fungal, non-absorbing, non-scuff, no-slip) that you stand on while exercising. They are used in mobility training, lower extremity rehab and motor skill training.

Indo Boards
. These nifty gizmos are skateboard-shaped wooden boards that you stand on while balancing on top of a roller. I know… Wooohoooo! There are different sizes for different skill levels. The Original Indo Balance Board is super popular with board sport enthusiasts – skateboarders, snowboarders, wakeboarders, kiteboarders and surfers. Indo Boarding is a fun, inexpensive way to get into shape and increase your agility. Recommended for riders ages 4 and up. Totally rad. Makes a great gift.

Don’t like to work out? Well here’s one for you. Stand on a wobble board
while talking on the phone. In no time you’ll have stronger ankles and better balance.

We sell a ton of foam rollers
. They are cylindrical pieces of high density foam consisting of millions of tiny cells that bounce back when you press on them, or lay on them. Rollers are super popular and are used mainly for balance training, Pilates and self-massage. There are books and videos full of foam roller uses, but basically you sit or stand on them while doing a variety of exercises. They come in all shapes and sizes, including “half rounds” for starting your balance program. You can even get kits with various sizes included.

We also have Rocker Boards, a Core Board, Twist Boards, Balance Trainers, Balance Beams, Balance Domes, Rotational Flexors and Multi-Balance Boards and more in our Shop by Condition: Balance/Core Stability
area of the site.

Okay, so why buy a special product to improve your balance when you could just stand on one leg with your eyes closed? Why not just walk along the backs of park benches or hop across fence posts or slide down a banister in your socks? Wellll, you could get really hurt for one thing. Okay, then, just stand on one leg with your eyes closed! Go for it. But if you invest in one or two simple balance tools, you can do a full range of exercises, have fun and get balanced at the same time.

Balance and Sports

Improving your balance and stability will directly impact all of your daily activities, especially sports. Athletes incorporate balance and agility training into their daily workouts.

Kids benefit from better balance too. Throw a few fun balance routines into your children’s daily activities and they will quickly get a leg up in their sports performance and confidence, from a very early age. For example, have them play a game of catch while balancing on one foot. Or have them close their eyes, stand on one foot and bend down to touch the ground with one finger. Or you could always get them an Indo Board.

Balance is the basic skill needed for practically every sport. Athletes often do balance training when they are recovering from injuries, but as every good coach knows, balance training is just as effective in preventing injuries.

Why is balance in sports so important? From soccer to snowboarding to tennis, changing your center of gravity to match your moves is the key to efficiency. Better balance improves agility, which allows you to move gracefully, wasting little motion. No matter what activity you are into – dancing, hiking, football, sailing, gymnastics, kayaking, skateboarding, rowing, martial arts, yoga or ballet – you are better off balanced.

Do’s & Don’ts

Will great balance make you richer? More beautiful? Happier? Perhaps it will! Will you live longer? Have faster texting times? Hey, you never know. Whatever your reason for starting a balance program, I can’t think of a single reason not to. It’s all good.