Hydraulic Fitness Equipment Revolution!

Hydraulic cylinders were first attached to exercise machines back in the late 70’s when a high school football coach saw their value for rehabilitation of his injured high school athletes. At that time, no one could have envisioned the fitness revolution taking place now with these little jewels. Over the years there has been much misinformation regarding hydraulic resistance cylinders and this article will set the record straight! console.

The first hydraulic interval circuit training programs were introduced in the mid 80’s by Henley Medical Corp.  The programs were marketed to the health club industry with limited success by a sales team that included Gary Heavin, founder of Curves® for women. After several years of lackluster sales results in the mainstream fitness industry, Heavin tested a new fitness center model using the interval circuit training program targeting de-conditioned women in search of weight loss.  Today Curves® has achieved over 10,000 locations in just 10 years breaking records almost every year.  This feat could not have been achieved without the hydraulic pistons on every Curves® exercise machine.

Where weight training equipment has failed to reach the entry level fitness consumer hydraulic resistance has opened the door to 6 million new exercisers and fueled the growth of an estimated 15,000 circuit training gyms worldwide. Companies like Contours Express® make a claim that weights are superior to hydraulics but fail to acknowledge the undisputed fact that hydraulic resistance is the number one reason for this phenomenal growth. Their analysis is flawed to begin with since hydraulic resistance has never been presented as a muscle building fitness program. The majority of women have summarily rejected weights even used in a conventional sense but using weights in a circuit training program is fundamentally inefficient due to the way circuit training is done in a continuous movement through a series of stations.

Hydraulic fitness equipment is the only choice for circuit training gyms.

Hydraulic resistance equipment is used in 99.99% of all circuit gyms for one very important reason; hydraulic resistance is fully adaptive resistance. When the muscles fatigue, hydraulic resistance decreases in exact proportion to the force exerted by the user.  In laymen’s terms when your muscle gives out and you slow your movement, the resistance decreases proportionately allowing you to recover without stopping cold.  YOU CANNOT DO THIS WITH WEIGHT BASED EQUIPMENT.
Companies like Contours Express® tout the use of conventional weight training machines in their circuit as a major point of differentiation and the sound-bites sound enticing on the surface.  Weight based equipment has its place in a comprehensive fitness program but not for circuit training. Weight based equipment produces a “negative/positive” resistance.  This means you push the weight up or out (positive) and then you resist the weight coming back or down (negative). 
When your muscles fatigue, you have one option: STOP COLD! The only way around this is to have a “spotter” standing by at each station to help you lower the weight or change the resistance while in motion, which you CAN’T DO with “pin-selector” weight stacks. Weight based equipment, especially used in the markets served by the vast majority of circuit gyms, cannot match the benefits of hydraulic resistance equipment in any way, shape or form. 

Additional benefits of hydraulic exercise equipment:

Due the adaptive nature of hydraulic resistance you can service an entire group of participants; each with differing levels of personal fitness:  Grandmothers, Mothers, Daughters, Husbands, Wives, Olympic athletes and couch potatoes can all exercise together.

  1. Hydraulic resistance accommodates the least physical to the most physical and results are awarded indiscriminately to both.  A person who is 100 pounds overweight can complete a 30 minute program using hydraulic resistance equipment but forget it with weight based equipment. The overweight person stands to receive a bounty of weight loss results as they begin to move through the circuit at a more advanced pace and as their personal fitness improves, and their confidence soars!
  2. Psychological benefits are noteworthy. Where can a person go who does not possess a successful history with structured exercise programs?  They can’t and won’t go to the local gym.  They turn to the interval circuit training program where they can succeed from DAY ONE and follow through month after month.
  3. Aerobic fitness is the biggest attraction to the entry level exerciser and those who favor more aerobic type exercise (90% of all women). Calorie expenditure is the hallmark measurement of the interval circuit training program yields calories burns of 200-700 calories in just 20-30 minutes depending on your pace, heart rate zone and body weight. 
  4. Strength benefits are accomplished in the interval circuit training program. 
  5. Perhaps the greatest benefit of interval circuit training is its cross training benefits of aerobic and strength gains in one 30 minute program. Traditional aerobic training, such as swimming, cycling, low impact aerobics, step aerobics, treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, etc, raise the heart rate, yes, but they do not engage all of the muscle groups and individual muscles as does interval circuit training.

And there you have it! Just a sampling of the significant benefits of hydraulic resistance equipment used in the interval circuit training program which, remember, is first, an aerobic exercise that impacts heart and lung health and secondarily a muscle growth program.  Healthy heart and lungs equate to a healthy and attractive body and healthy weight!
For more research or questions about the benefits of hydraulic exercise equipment and to see the industry’s premium hydraulic fitness line designed for independent fitness entrepreneurs visit www.hydracise.com 


Click here to compare costs and benefits of the hydracise independent startup kit with fitness franchises www.hydracise.com/compare.htm
HYDRACISE® INTERNATIONAL, CORP.
1-417-833-1-4770

 

 

 

 

5 components of physical fitness

1) Cardio-Respiratory Endurance

Cardio-respiratory endurance refers to your body’s ability to supply its tissues with nutrients and oxygen and remove their wastes over sustained periods of time.  A common test of cardio-respiratory endurance is walking or running up an incline.  This fitness dimension uses the measurement known as “maximal oxygen uptake” (VO2 max), which indicates the maximum amount of oxygen a person can use.  Also called oxygen intake, this measurement is expressed in liters per minute, or milliliters per kilograms of body weight per minute.  The greater your cardio-respiratory fitness level, the higher your VO2 max value, and vice versa.  However, after the age of 25, the VO2 max value declines steadily.

Circuit Training with Hydraulic Resistance for Cardio Respiratory Fitness

A circuit training class is primarily aerobic in nature, and secondarily a resistance or muscle training exercise.  Your VO2 maximal measurement will improve tremendously as a result of using our system and your heart and lungs will get the movement and exercise they need.

2) Muscular Endurance

Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle, or group of muscles, to sustain repeated contractions, like push-ups.  For athletes who use a lot of muscle groups simultaneously and everyday folks who enjoy physical activities like hiking, biking, skiing, or just playing in the park with their children, muscular endurance plays a primary role in fitness.
Although elite performers need to distinguish between strength and endurance, mainstream people striving for health and fitness goals can group them together.  Individuals need modest levels of strength and endurance to be able to perform everyday routines that include lifting, moving, carrying, etc.  Furthermore, abdominal endurance factors importantly into the prevention of low back problems, and resistance activities that maintain muscle mass are particularly valuable for individuals who are restricting their calorie intake.

Circuit Training with Hydraulic Resistance for Muscular Endurance

Because it engages the body’s “fast twitch” muscle fibers, circuit training is highly effective at developing and increasing muscular endurance.  As your speed intensifies and your cardio-respiratory fitness improves, you will notice a new ease when performing everyday movements; enhanced muscular fitness allows you to move and work more effortlessly each day, without tiring, as well as augments your chosen sports and activities if you are an athlete.  The benefits of good muscular endurance are innumerable, as you’ll soon discover.

3) Muscular Strength

Muscular strength is the amount of force a muscle can exert in a brief period of time.  Various weight lifting exercises, such as the bench press, are often used to measure upper body strength, for example.  Muscular strength is often represented as the maximum amount of weight a muscle, or muscle group, can lift for a single repetition, exhausting it to the point it can do no more repetitions without rest.  Because muscle utilizes more calories than fat, increasing your body’s muscle mass will also increases its ability to burn fuel (your metabolism), which is an essential aspect of a good fat loss program.  Obviously, becoming stronger generates numerous benefits, so increasing muscular strength should be a target for any well-balanced fitness plan.

Circuit Training with Hydraulic Resistance for Muscular Strength

Although you will gain strength by using the circuit, its primary focus is muscular endurance.  Women particularly tend to be more concerned with muscular and aerobic endurance as evidenced by the current popularity of aerobic conditioning classes.  Women prefer this type of training, with the motivation provided by group participation, music, and a clock, by a 9 to 1 ratio over men.

4) Flexibility Fitness

Flexibility fitness enables people to move their joints and muscles through their full range of motion (ROM) without hindrance or pain.  Not only does flexibility fitness play an enormous role in many daily tasks, in the abdomen and trunk area it contributes tremendously to good lower back health.  Most fitness experts recommend a daily routine of 2-3 static stretches (moving a joint to its extreme position and holding it for 10-30 sec) for each joint.  Many times, exercisers include these flexibility activities as part of their warm-up and cool-down.  Improving flexibility helps prevent injuries and allows you to successfully enjoy all of the activities you undertake.

Circuit Training with Hydraulic Resistance for Flexibility Fitness

Using your arms, legs, back, stomach and other muscle groups during a circuit training class warms your body up and enables you to improve your range of motion and overall flexibility.  To achieve maximum results, you can incorporate an effective stretching session after completing a circuit training class.

5) Body Composition

Body Composition, the fifth aspect of fitness, refers to the makeup of the body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, tissue and organs) and fat mass.  An optimal ratio of fat mass to lean mass is a clear indicator of good fitness.  Doing the right types of exercises will help you decrease body fat and increase, or maintain, muscle mass. Since muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue, your bathroom scale won’t necessarily tell you whether or not you’re “fat.”  If you’re doing a regular program of strength training, your muscle mass will steadily grow, raising your overall weight temporarily while your “metabolic thermostat” resets higher.  Body composition is a better indicator of your overall fitness condition than body weight.  The amount of exercise necessary to improve your body composition depends on what you do, how often you do it, and how much you eat.  Aerobic exercise rapidly burns body fat and increases muscles mass, thereby significantly progressing your body composition.

Circuit Training with Hydraulic Resistance for Body Composition

Because the standard measure of an effective exercise program is how many calories it burns, you need to pick an exercise program that maximizes your calorie expenditure. Circuit training is the perfect choice because each class forces various muscle groups, your heart and your lungs to work simultaneously, which creates a higher demand for energy.  As all five dimensions of your fitness steadily improve, you will burn more and more calories.  Initially, you will probably expend 200-300 calories per exercise session, but after moving for 90 days of circuit training, depending on the frequency, time and intensity of your program, you could be burning in excess of 600-900 calories per session.

By attacking fat and preserving muscle, thereby improving your body composition, circuit training “revs up” your “metabolic engine”.  The key to lasting weight loss, this “engine” is one of the primary reasons dieting alone isn’t sufficient.

There you have it.  All five dimensions of fitness profit mightily from circuit training and this comprehensive return is one of the reasons for its burgeoning popularity.  However, another key reason more and more people are choosing circuit training is its efficiency.  As a primary exercise option, circuit training allows you to value your time, returning extensive, life-altering fitness health for a minimal time investment.

 

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