Ultimate Body Press

Popular primal living blog Mark’s Daily Apple spent the entire month of August giving away some great stuff as part of his Primal Blueprint Health Challenge, but Mark saved the best prize for last.  We were happy to partner with Mark’s site and offer an Ultimate Body Press Full Package as the big grand prize for the event.  We think that Mark’s site is great, and if you’re committed to a healthy lifestyle, it’s an excellent resource to look at.

And if you haven’t seen our newest products yet - like the pull-up bar or our weighted, adjustable speed rope, take a look in our store and get acquainted.

If you are designing your new home gym, make sure that music is part of the equation. Listening to music while you workout adds a little extra entertainment and the great thing about working out at home is you get to pick what plays. Just make sure that something, anything is playing. You will work out longer and with more intensity if there is music playing.

According to recent study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine you may also want to turn the music up louder for even better results. The study compared the exercise output of individuals listening to music at various volumes. The individuals were tested during strength training and cardio exercise. The researchers found that when music was present at any volume the subjects performed better at cardio. The research also suggests that for strength training there is a distinct advantage to playing the music at a louder volume. The study found that the individuals listening to louder music could perform more repetitions than those listening at lower volumes. Those listening to louder music did an average of 29 leg presses while those listening at a lower volume only averaged 26.

Simply put, music is fun. When you’re having fun you will perform better. So next time you workout make sure you have some music playing. Put on your head phones. Drag the computer into your workout room. Crank up the satellite radio. Let the music take control and your workouts will improve because you will feel less fatigue and build more muscle without even knowing it. Sounds good doesn’t it?

We want Lorenz Sell to know that we are watching him. He has set some pretty big life goals for himself including climbing Mount Everest, competing in an Iron Man and a Body Building competition all before he turns 31. Did we mention Lorenz has all ready founded a run many successful businesses?  And the guy is fit, seriously fit. His blog is filled with personal and inspirational messages about life, fitness and reaching your goals as he pursues his own.

The Find Me Fit blog also contains a running series of very candid videos from Lorenz where he delivers unscripted but very well composed messages about achieving clarity and action. We encourage everyone to pursue their passions and experience life with great vigor so check the Find Me Fit blog because Lorenz is a great example of this kind of enthusiasm. He has set the bar pretty high for himself and he may inspire you to climb your own mountain. Good Luck Lorenz!

I just took my new goggles for a test swim in the open waters of Wrightsville Beach and I could not be happier with their performance.  I don’t think I’ll be using my old racing goggles for open water swimming again. I’ll probably never use normal goggles in the pool either. The Aqua Sphere goggles made my swim much more enjoyable for two reasons, but before I tell you why,  I’d like to say a little bit about open water swimming in general.

Aqua Sphere Goggles

For those of you who have never done any serious open water swimming, understand that swimming in a pool is much easier because the water is clear and there are lane lines to keep you going straight. You also get a little mini-break every time you turn at the wall. Swimming in open water is a whole different ball game. The murky water and lack of visual cues makes it more difficult to swim straight to your target. Combine that with the added burden of not having a wall to push off of every 25 yards and the occasioinal cusious thought about what little critters might be swimming underneath you and this can add up to more than a little anxiety in the water. On the other hand, open water swimming is fun and kind of adverterous so I am always lured back in.

The Aqua Spheres are a one piece mask that is like a hybrid between racing goggles and a snorkeling mask. They solve the visibility problem by increasing the distance between your eye and the murky water so you don’t have to lift your head nearly as far out of the water to see where you are going. With racing goggles your eye balls are encapsulated in a murky pod of water. The second any part of your eye goes below sea level all you see is inky water that might as well go on forever down there and who know what what else could be swimming in it, right? All kidding aside, it not cool. With the Aqua Spheres there is no water between your eyes or on your eye brows so your field of view is increased drastically. The second reason why they are better and why I’ll probably use them in the pool from now on is because the larger pocket of air around your eyes makes you head more buoyant. Image having little pillow to rest your head on while you swim… It’s nice.

My thanks goes out to TriathlonSports.com for their great selection of Triathlon gear and their great prices. “Them’s good peoples” www.triathletesports.com/

Les Paul, the guitar player and inventor passed away yesterday at the age of 94. As an inventor, entrepreneur and musician, I would like to express my great admiration for this man. He lived a life that can serve as an inspiration to us all.

Les Paul was passionate about music and pursued with great vigor his vision for how to make it better. He invented the electric guitar in 1941 and he continued to play music in a club in Manhattan well into his 90’s. Whatever your passion is, be it sports or fitness or music or your faith or your business,  I encourage you to be like Les Paul and pursue it with great vigor.  This can surely only make you and the world around you a better place.

According to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, exercise and a Mediterranean-style diet full of fruits and vegetables could help to reduce the chance of mental health decline as one ages. To measure these findings, researchers tracked the exercise and eating habits of more than 1,800 adults between 1992 and 2006, noting how strictly each participant stuck to a regular exercise routine and a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean fish, and olive oil. People who closely followed the diet reduced their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 40 percent, and those who exercised most reduced their risk by 33 percent, compared to adults who didn’t follow the diet or who did not exercise, the Wall Street Journal writes. As a result of these findings, more and more doctors and nutritionists are recommending that people with higher risks of cognitive degeneration focus on developing a regular exercise plan, as well as encouraging a diet that’s rich with specific foods like fish, olive oil, olives, polenta, whole grain pasta, grapes, spinach, tomatoes, nuts, yogurt, beans, garlic, and broccoli.

A new study covered in the New York Times concludes that athletes will sustain less injuries by improving their balance. The article sites a study initiated by the Harkness Center that studied dancers and compared their workouts to athletes in sports. The researchers concluded that dancers sustain fewer ACL injuries because they practice movement and balance more precisely during their workouts resulting in better biomechanics and less risk of injury.

Ultimate Body Press wants to help everyone lower their risk of injury by including Speed and Agility exercises in all our workouts. These exercises focus specifically on good biomechanics, posture and balance. Not only are they great for boosting the fat burning potential of all your workouts, Speed and Agility exercises also reduce your risk of injury and improve your overall well being and athletic performance. Give one of our workouts a try for just a few weeks and you will notice the difference. You will look different, move differently and feel great.

If you’re like most people, it can be easy to fall into a training rut, especially if you’ve kept up with it for so long. If you feel like you’ve hit a plateau and want to break free, there are things that you can do to get out. All it takes is just a little time, a little effort, and some help. To get started, first off, identify the type of problem you’ve run into during your strength training. Most plateaus tend to fall under three categories:

Infrequent Training: If you haven’t put yourself on a schedule or aren’t trying to strength train regularly, chances are that you’re not seeing results.

Inconsistent Training: If you’ve been all over the place in your routine, tried just about every system, and haven’t focused in on what exercises you need to do, how many reps you need to perform, and how many sets you need to complete, then you’re probably hitting a plateau for progress.

Static Training: If you’ve been doing the same thing for every single workout , you’re bound to hit a plateau for performance.

To fix these plateau problems, hone in on what really needs to be done. If you’re being irregular, put yourself on a strict schedule and stick to it. Be sure you’re making time to workout properly and to see results. If you’re being inconsistent, work with a trainer to develop a routine that can work for you. You don’t have to try every system to find the one that’s right for you. If you’re in a static routine, try to vary it up by upping your reps, changing what muscle groups you work out on a specific day, or by using varied weights or techniques. Try shaking things up!

At Ultimate Body Press our motto is that the ultimate body is “More Than Fit”. That means not only do we want to help you build a great looking body, we want you to have a body that works great too so you can run farther, play harder and have more fun. We want you to have strength and speed.

A perfect way to combine these two ideals into a simple workout is to take your favorite cardio activity like running and combine it with a quick strength training workout. This is a Quick Pump routine to get the blood flowing before your run. Simply breeze through a couple sets of dips, pull ups, ring pushups and one arm rows on your way out the door for a nice long run. The Quick Pump routine is also a great way to burn off the maximum number of calories from one workout. The strength training spikes your metabolism and a long run at a comfortable pace puts your body into fat burning autopilot.

If you’re already a master at strength training, you should know that you always have to keep changing your routine and your strategies in order to be the best at what you do. The same thing goes for UltimateBodyPress.com, which is why we’re introducing to you several new products that can help to make your workout routine, fast, easy, and effective – all without the gym membership.

The first product, Push Up Stands, are ideal for anyone that’s looking to improve form, increase your range of motion, or to reduce the strain on your wrists for longer and harder workouts. Using a simple, portable design that’s built to offer sturdy support, these push up stands are an essential in any home workout area.

Next up, we have our Doorway Pull Up Bar, which is a versatile and fun way to strength train without having to install any complicated pieces of equipment into your home. Simply assemble your bar and use your doorway as a support for your convenient and fast workout. Build strong muscles and have a place to work out anywhere in your home with this great new feature at UltimateBodyPress.com.

Finally, check out our Adjustable Speed Rope, which is perfect for building up your endurance as well as getting you a great cardio workout. Skipping rope can be a great exercise for anyone and it’s one that’s trusted by world class athletes from all types of sports. Not to mention, it’s one of the most versatile and affordable pieces of workout equipment you’ll ever buy. Get yours today at UltimateBodyPress.com.