SAN FRANCISCO, Ca., January 8 — Five or six weeks of binging and lounging later, here you are... all of you. Wondering how you’re going to fit into those new jeans and sweaters you got over the holidays. Wondering whether you should buy a new belt or cut a new notch in the old, straining-at-the-seams one. Thinking you might as well just bite the bullet and admit to moving up a size, right? Wrong.
How did ancient societies and modern marketers put the physique of your life within reach? In the Beginning. Weightlifting is as old as the ancient-Greek-and-Egyptian hills, but it got a whole lot of reinforcement in 1896, when it was one of the few events featured in the first Modern Olympic Games in Athens. The bodybuilding aspect took off in the 20th century behind familiar mentors like Charles Atlas and Jake Steinberg (of Body by Jake™ fame), and fitness companies started sniffing around the idea of blending free-weight versatility and commercial-gym comprehensiveness into models built to fit and work in a residential setting.
Innovations
The market’s most recognized name — Bowflex — is also its greatest pioneer. The brand’s aggressive marketing strategies brought home gyms to the fitness fore in the 1990s, and its development of the celebrated Power Rod® resistance system (and its no-time-limit warranty) diversified the product line beyond mammoth footprints and enormous weight stacks. So, that particular bar having been lifted, the rest of the industry rushed to catch up, with necessary emphases on durability, variety, and accessible pricing.
What’s In It For You?
Toning. Whether or not you have the genetic disposition to get ripped, you’ll be a lot more sleek and solid after a few dedicated weeks of strength training. You’ll lose fat, build muscle — which burns more calories than fat anyway — and maybe even subtly incorporate "Feel this!" into your vocabulary.
Total-body training. Even the most basic home gym models work all different parts of your body (arms, shoulders, chest, legs). We’ve got equipment to work specific muscle groups, sure, but if you’re looking to address everything in one credit-card swipe, flex a little ingenuity.
Time. Maybe you’re one of those folks who enjoys a commute to the gym (and common bathrooms and sweat marks from previous users), but if you’d prefer to exercise in your own space and allot your precious free time elsewhere, we salute you.
Meet your match:
Maybe you like traditional weight stacks; maybe you prefer the streamlined strength of resistance bands. Maybe you’re looking for solid total-body fitness; maybe you’ve got a whole commercial-gym-in-my-spare-room dream going. Maybe you just need a weight bench, or an ab machine, or a Smith machine — and we can do those too. But if you’re looking for all-in-one fitness, we’ll tell you about our favorites:
| | Save & Share |  10% off on $1,000!
Take 10% off any home gym over $1,000. Enter coupon code HMGYM at check out. Coupon valid through 1/18/2007 at | | |
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