Buying an elliptical trainer can be a daunting experience. With so many different brands to choose from it’s difficult to know which is the right one for you. However, if you follow a few guidelines then you should be able to narrow your choice and select a machine that’ll meet your needs.

Why do I want an elliptical trainer?
You may have already decide that you want to get fit and that you want an elliptical trainer, but, just pause for a second and write down your reasons.

Remember, the machine will occupy a reasonable amount of space and will remain in the garage, bedroom or lounge for a long time each day without it being used. Therefore, you want to make sure that you will use it, that it will fit in comfortably with your surroundings and you like the look of it. Getting the right machine could save you a gym membership.

How will I use the machine?
Depending on how you’re going to use the trainer will depend on the type you should buy. If you’re going to use the machine at a low intensity a few times a week then you could buy a cheaper machine with a less powerful motor. However, if you’re looking to do some rigorous workouts then you’ll need to spend at the higher end of the market.

How much do I want to spend?
The amount of money you have available to spend and how you’re going to use the machine will influence the type of elliptical you should buy. As a rule of thumb, the more you have to spend the better the build quality, the more functions you get and aftercare service. Read more »

Latest figures show over a fifth of UK men and women are obese and 2.9% of women and 1% of men are obese to the point that it threatens their health. However, it’s not just in the UK that overweight or obese people are causing concerns to their health.

Reuters reports that more than two-thirds of Australians living outside major cities are overweight or obese, and extremely obese corpses are creating a safety hazard at mortuaries.

Nearly three quarters of men and 64 percent of women were overweight in a study of people in rural areas. Just 30 percent of those studied recorded a healthy weight, said research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
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Buying a treadmill can be a daunting experience. With so many different brands and treadmills to choose from it’s difficult to know which is the right one for you. However, if you follow a few guidelines then you should be able to narrow your choice and select a treadmill that meets your needs.

How much do I want to spend?
The amount of money you have available to spend and how you’re going to use the treadmill will influence the type of treadmill you should buy. As a rule of thumb, the more you have to spend, the better the build quality, the more functions and aftercare service you get.

How much space have I got?
Treadmills occupy a reasonable amount of space. For safety reasons, you should also have an additional run off area at the back of the treadmill of around 3 meters. If space is an issue, then consider a folding treadmill. These have improved dramatically in recent years. The more reputable brands are of solid construction and have excellent functions. Read more »

Women in their 40s are more likely to drink potentially harmful amounts on a night out than younger people, researchers in Cardiff have found.

While men’s drinking peaked in their late 20s, women’s alcohol intake reached its heights among the over-40s.

In a year, 893 people were breathalysed late at night in the city centre for the Cardiff University study. It found 40% of men and 20% of women had drunk over a level which put them more at risk of injury and ill-health. Click here for full article

A survey of young people in their early thirties has found those in high-stress jobs run twice the risk of suffering serious depression or anxiety as those in lower-stress occupations.

Top of the stress league are men who are head chefs in big restaurants and construction workers under pressure to complete a building on time. They are six times more likely to buckle under stress, researchers report. Click here for full article