The Firm Wave Workout

There is a great new piece of equipment for exercising at home that's recently come on the market. It is called The Firm Wave and it's taking the home exercise market by storm. It is not complicated and bulky like many pieces of home exercise equipment but carefully designed and easy to use with a curved side that is stable and the flat side that is unstable - it looks like a small humpback bridge!

The Firm Wave is uncomplicated and fun to use. Choose from curve-up which makes the Firm Wave stable and suitable for use for stepping exercises and as a platform for seated and floor exercises such as Pilates. And that's only half of what you can do with the Wave - turn it over (curve-side down) and the Wave provides a rocking platform on which you can rock from side to side Surfing the Wave; forward and back - Carving the Wave" or for pressup exercises at floor level which is called Trimming the Wave.

At less than $100 the Firm Wave is not expensive and works out at good value for money. You also get several extras with the Wave; a rubber mat to rest it on, an illustrated and useful chart of exercises, a booklet to help you make sensible food choices and several workouts on 4 DVDs, including a bonus abdominal workout.

The Firm Wave Workout is fun - why not rock yourself fit!

The Firm Wave - Fat Burning and You

I've looked for more The Firm Wave Reviews and found this article I wrote. I hope you like it.

Whether you are 20 years old or 50 years young, the way your body burns fat is the same. At 20, it is just much easier! But however old you are, The Firm Wave will help you burn fat.

Fat-burning within the human body happens in more ways than one. Your body uses calories and burns fat every time you move, or do a crossword - even when you are asleep in bed. When you are young, your metabolism (the engine of your body) runs quickly; you have loads of energy, can work all day and party all night (and still get up for work the next morning!). Even without doing very much exercise, you burn off fat.

As you get older, your metabolism slows down; it's a fact of life. You have to work harder and exercise more to burn the same amount of fat as you used to, because the body simply uses fewer calories on a daily basis. How many people have you heard say that they eat less than they used to, but have put on weight? Me for one! I used to eat like a starving grizzly bear, and never weighed more than 120 lbs until I got over 35. Then, slowly but surely, I began to gain weight.

With women especially, you begin to lose muscle from about the age of 30 - unless you specifically exercise to keep it. Lean muscle is essential for burning fat. Radical dieting is NOT the answer to losing fat and keeping it off - sensible eating and the right type of exercise is.

And this is where The Firm Wave will help you. It is incredibly versatile and can be used for muscle-toning, cardio fat-burning, core strengthening to firm up that wobbly mid-section, and stretching. This last is often missed out from exercise programs, but is absolutely essential for keeping muscles firm and flexible and far less prone to painful injuries.

The Firm Wave burns fat in several ways; "surfing" on the Wave is cardio exercise, which works lungs and heart and burns calories. Using the other side of the Wave for Step tones the leg muscles as well as counting as cardio, and burns calories. Attaching resistance bands to the Wave and squatting, lunging and doing exercises like Arm Curls works specific muscles, which tones and shapes them and burns calories; and lying or leaning on the Wave for Pilates exercises works the core, sculpting waist and tummy muscles, and burns calories!

I count that as 4 ways to burn full-body calories, with just 1 great piece of equipment! And the Firm Wave comes with several inspirational DVDs to supercharge your workout, plus its own mat, wallchart and healthy eating guide.

Good luck.

Carol J Bartram
(Personal Trainer)

Which is Best, a Treadmill Or the Firm Wave?

Whichever piece of home exercise equipment you choose, there are several factors to take into consideration.

• How much available space do you have?
• How much are you willing to pay?
• Do you want something that can be hidden away in a closet, or left out all the time?
• Do you want something to tone and shape muscles as well as give you a cardio workout?

It's really worth sitting down and having a good think about these points - there's nothing worse than buying a home exercise machine and realizing it's not what you wanted!

The Firm Wave is a cleverly designed, curved exercise system that can be used in several ways:

• Curve-side down it works your legs and core, burning calories and toning your mid-section as well as improving your balance and co-ordination.
• Curve-side up it is more stable and can be used for Step exercises.
• Add exercise bands to create a full-body muscle toning system.
• Can also be used for Pilates exercises to create long, lean muscles and flat abs.

The WAVE can be used in a small space and put away in a closet when not in use, making it the ideal piece of equipment for a small spare room or apartment. Cost-wise, the WAVE represents great value for money and comes complete with several DVDs and a useful wall chart.

A treadmill, on the other hand, represents a much larger investment, costing from $200 for a manual system, up to several $1000 for a state-of-the-art motorized model with varied speeds, programs and inclines.

My experience is that spending around $2000 will get you a first-class home treadmill with a lifetime guarantee on the frame, a smoothly-running motorized belt that is wide enough to be comfortable and long enough to take large strides, and enough programs to ensure you reach your training goals and never become bored! Oh, and don't forget the heart-rate monitor and calorie-burn counter that are also included on these models.

Most companies will deliver and install your treadmill at that price. All you have to do is step on and press a button. Treadmills are permanently set up and take up a lot of space, although there are several folding models if space is a premium.

As an exercise professional, I rate both the treadmill and the Wave. However, a treadmill is much larger and more expensive, and cannot be used for toning the arms and shoulders - and I don't recommend trying Pilates on a moving treadmill!

It doesn't actually matter which piece of equipment you go for, just as long as you actually use it. My personal choice for convenience and value would be the Wave - there are not many pieces of equipment that work your heart and lungs, tone muscle, burn calories and strengthen your core, all in one small value-for-money package!

Carol J Bartram is a qualified Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor and Sports Therapist who has looked at many pieces of home fitness equipment. She thinks The Firm Wave, an inexpensive Personal Gym is a fabulous piece of home exercise equipment, which will help you to lose fat, get stronger and look great.