The basic motion of an elliptical trainer is a smooth, flowing…well…elliptical motion. The low impact nature of these machines greatly reduces stress on the joints of the lower body (ankles, knees, and hips).

Since it is a weight-bearing exercise, elliptical training promotes cell growth in the bones of the lower body and spine thus helping ward off the debilitating effects of osteoporosis. This is a distinct advantage that elliptical trainers have over other exercise devices that are not weight-bearing such as rowing machines and stationary bikes.

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Cardio is important for both weight loss and good cardiovascular health. Some body builders forget the importance of cardio, because they don’t want to lose muscle mass as a result. Unless you are an ectomorph, part of your exercise regime should focus on aerobics. Contrary to what some people believe, cardio will not reduce you’re muscle mass, and it will help you build up endurance and gain more definition.

Below is a list of reasons why you should keep up to date with your cardio workouts.

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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain illness. It is characterized by long-term, body-wide pain and tender points in joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. It is also called is Central Nervous System-myalgia. In FMS, there is a generalized disturbance of the way pain is processed by the body. Fibromyalgia can develop on its own or along with other musculoskeletal conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. The most common sites of pain include the neck, back, shoulders, pelvic girdle, and hands, but any body part can be affected. Fibromyalgia patients experience a range of symptoms of varying intensities that wax and wane over time. Most patients with fibromyalgia say that they ache all over. Their muscles may

feel like they were pulled or overworked. Sometimes fibromyalgia symptoms include muscle twitches and burning sensations. More women than men are afflicted with fibromyalgia, and it shows up in people of all ages. A conservative estimate of its prevalence is 2% of the general population, but it may be as high as 3-5%. It is estimated that approximately 5-7% of the U.S. population has FM. Although a higher percentage of women of all ages and races are affected, it does strike men and children. Because of its debilitating nature, fibromyalgia has a serious impact on patients’ families, friends and employers, as well as society at large.

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Cardiovascular endurance is one of the five health-related components of physical fitness. It refers to the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. In simple terms, someone with great cardiovascular endurance has a strong heart one that actually grows in size and pumps more blood with every beat, resulting in a lower heart rate.

As you can imagine, this can only happen when an individual regularly exercises. Typically, it s aerobic exercise that improves cardiovascular fitness but, where children are concerned, we can t think of aerobics in the same way that we do for adults.

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If your goal is to improve your fitness or lose weight but you need to do something more exciting than jogging on a treadmill to keep you motivated, perhaps you should consider doing a martial art like boxing, kickboxing, karate, or judo.

In this article we list the top 10 reasons to consider doing a martial art for fitness and weight loss to help you decide if doing one is right for you.

1. Doing martial arts for weight loss

It’s no coincidence that gyms, personal trainers and producers of exercise videos and DVD’s are now heavily incorporating training techniques and exercises from a wide variety of martial arts in their workouts.

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