Passport Media Player
Whether you want the simplicity of the Classic Console, the programming of the Elegant Console or the state of the art touchscreen of the Touch Console, the Passport Media Player is an option with all three. By connecting the Passport Player to any of the consoles and to your television, you can bring the compelling interactivity and the breathtaking footage of Virtual Active to life on your TV. There are two scenic locations included with the Passport Player and more can be added by visiting passportplayer.com. It’s a kick to see the scenery fly by (along with an occasional hiker or biker) faster and faster as you increase your workout level.

Here’s a preview of the new Passport virtual programming.

You really have to see these new consoles to understand and experience the difference they can make in the enjoyment and added motivation you will experience.

Vision Fitness has also made changes to the design and durability under the hood of all their exercise bikes, treadmills, and ellipticals that need to be experienced to be believed.

Take the time today to stop by a HealthStyles Exercise Equipment Store near you to experience the smooth, quiet, exciting and unique workout that is available to you, no matter what your price range or exercise equipment preference!

HealthStyles Exercise Equipment’s selection of the latest 2013 home fitness equipment once again earn top honors from leading consumer publications.

Top Rated Ellipticals

Octane Fitness earned top honors again this year. The Q47c Elliptical earned another Best Buy rating in the premium elliptical category for it’s quality construction, smooth performance, and advanced features. The Q47c had the smoothest movement among ellipticals with automatic stride adjustments. The upgraded Q47ci Elliptical with heart rate control programs also earned a Best Buy rating.

The Octane Q35c, Q37c, and Q37ci ellipticals were all ranked in the top 3 in their class.

Vision Fitness also earned a Best Buy rating for the new X10 Elliptical. The X10 was awarded a Best Buy as the smoothest and most stable elliptical under $1000. The Vision X10 Elliptical also offers contact heart rate and 7 programs which is typically found in much more expensive machines.

Other ellipticals that received top honors this year include:

• AFG 18.1AXT Elliptical
• AFG 3.1AE Elliptical
• AFG 4.1AE Elliptical
• Diamondback 1260ef Elliptical
• ElliptiGO 3C Outdoor Elliptical
• Landice E7 Pro Sports Elliptical
• Life Fitness X5 Go Elliptical
• Life Fitness X5 Track Elliptical
• Life Fitness X8 Go Elliptical

Top Rated Treadmills

Once again, the Landice L7 Cardio Trainer Treadmill was ranked 2nd in the premium non-folding treadmill category. Landice is the only treadmill that offers a lifetime home warranty on all parts and is the gold standard for quality and consistency. Landice treadmills have earned top awards from many consumer review publications and websites every year since 2004.

The Life Fitness T3 Treadmills earned a Best Buy rating in the mid-range treadmill category. The T3 Go Treadmill was noted for it’s convenient secondary control panel that allows you to adjust speed and incline closer to your natural hand position while running. The T3 Track Treadmill added advanced features with an iPod/iPhone dock, custom workouts, mobile applications, and online workout tracking.

Other treadmills that received top honors include:

• AFG 3.1AT Treadmill
• Horizon T101 Treadmill
• Horizon T202 Treadmill
• Life Fitness F1 Smart Treadmill
• Life Fitness F3 Go Treadmill
• Life Fitness F3 Track Treadmill
• LifeSpan TR4000i Treadmill
• LifeSpan TR5000i Treadmill
• LifeSpan Treadmill Desk Stations
• Vision T40 Classic Treadmill
• Vision TF40 Elegant Treadmill

Top Rated Home Gyms The new Torque Fitness H2 Hybrid Home Gym earned a Best Buy rating for it’s versatility. The H2 Home Gym offers traditional seated home gym exercises with a press arm and leg extension and leg curl. Dual mid pulleys, high and low pulleys, and extended cable travel offer an almost unlimited variety of free from functional cable exercises.

Contact your local HealthStyles fitness consultant today to learn more about any of these top rated ellipticals, treadmills, exercise bikes, and home gyms.

Landice, Octane Fitness, Vision Fitness, Lemond Fitness, Life Fitness, and Torque are on display and available to demo in stores.

AFG, Horizon, Lifespan, and Diamondback fitness equipment can be ordered direct online or from your local retail sales team.

HealthStyles Exercise Equipment was excited to be a part of Colorado & Company recently to present the exciting new 2013 Vision Fitness Equipment line-up.

Vision Fitness has long been a front runner in award winning equipment and innovative consoles. Now they have taken it to a whole new level with their Classic, Elegant and Touch Consoles added to their upgraded treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes.

All include the Sprint 8, a 20 minute interval program proven to get results, and some feature a touch screen and Virtual Active Programs that can take you to the mountains of Switzerland or the Canyonlands of Utah on your workout!

Click here to view our complete selection of Vision Fitness Equipment.

*The Colorado and Company delivery and assembly offer was valid from 11/9 through 11/11/2012 for this program recorded on 11/9/2012.

Based on the latest reviews from a leading consumer publication, Healthstyles Exercise Equipment’s selection of ellipticals and treadmills were well represented in the line up of 2012′s best home fitness equipment.

The Octane Q37ci was ranked as the best overall elliptical with high marks for it’s high quality, sturdy construction, safety, and interactive heart rate training programs. The Octane Q37c elliptical was also given high marks as a more affordable alternative to the Q37ci with the same quality construction and safety without the added heart rate training programs.

The Vision Fitness X30 Premier was the 2nd ranked elliptical trainer this year. The Vision X30 Premier was also given high marks for quality construction, ergonomics, user safety, and heart rate training. The Vision X30 Deluxe and X30 Simple were also well reviewed as more affordable alternatives to the X30 Premier with less programming options.

The top rated budget elliptical trainers under $1,000 were the Horizon EX-69 and Horizon EX-79 Elliptical trainers.

The Diamondback 1260ef Elliptical received an honorable mention as the top rated elliptical from 2011.

In the non-folding treadmill category, the Landice L7 Cardio Trainer Treadmill was ranked 2nd this year with the highest horsepower rating of all of the treadmills that were reviewed this year. The Vision T9500 Deluxe and Vision T9200 Simple treadmills made it to the top of the list. The Vision T9200 Simple was the top rated treadmill under $1500.

The top recommended folding treadmill was the LifeSpan TR4000i. Vision also made the top 10 folding treadmills with high marks for the T9250 Deluxe, T9250 Premier, and T9250 Simple treadmills.

In the budget treadmill category (under $1,000), the Horizon T203, T202, and T101 and the LifeSpan TR1200i folding treadmills all made the top ten.

Octane ellipticals and Vision Fitness ellipticals and treadmills are available to demo in HeathStyles’ Colorado retail stores.

Horizon, Lifespan, and Diamondback fitness equipment is available for order online or from your local retail store.

Contact your local HealthStyles fitness consultant today to learn more about any of these top rated ellipticals and treadmills.

Everyone knows how busy this time of year is. There are decorations to put up, gifts to purchase, parties and events to attend, along with the regular daily schedule of work and family responsibilities. For me, when life gets rushed and I can’t fit it all in, the first thing to go always seems to be my workout routine! The crazy thing is that this is the time when we really need the exercise routine, both to keep our life in balance, and to burn those extra calories that we may be taking in over the Holidays.

This is the time of year when remembering the Sprint 8 Workout really makes sense! If you have 20 minutes, 3 times per week, you can get a great workout in a short period of time, and experience some great benefits.

The Sprint 8 Workout, developed by exercise physiologist Phil Campbell, consists of a 3 minute warm-up followed by 8 segments of anaerobic exercise lasting 30 seconds followed by 90 seconds of active recovery, and then a cool down after the 8 segments. That 20 minutes is a short, but definitely not an easy workout! The 30 second sprints need to be so hard that you get really winded and want to stop after 10 or 15 seconds, but hang on for 30 seconds before ending the sprint.

Of course anyone beginning this type of high-intensity workout needs to do so with approval from a physician, and with a slow, progressive buildup period. Individuals beginning this workout may start out by doing only 2 or 3 sprint segments and gradually working up to the 8 segment, 20 minute workout.

At HealthStyles Exercise Equipment, we feature Vision treadmills, exercise bikes and ellipticals that have a pre-set Sprint 8 program built in to their programming, but Sprint 8 workouts can be also done on any other piece of cardiovascular equipment.

For more information on the benefits of the Sprint 8 Workout and the research behind it, take a look at the attached video featuring Phil Campbell.

So don’t give up your workout during this busy season, just abbreviate it to fit your life right now. A Sprint 8 workout is a great way to do this, and once you get back to a more normal workout schedule, you will want to incorporate the Sprint 8 workout as part of your overall routine as a way to add intensity and interval training to your cardio workout!

Jeanne Sheriff, owner

Healthstyles Exercise Equipment

Vision Fitness has hit the mark with an elliptical machine that feels like a club model at a $1,000 price. Up untill now, it has been a struggle to recommend a club quality elliptical trainer for less than $2,000.

A leading consumer products magazine has chosen the Vision X20 Elliptical as a Best Buy Elliptical for 2011. Their comments:

"The X20 is an incredible value. Its 20 inch stride length, 23 lb. flywheel and high gear ratio give this model the fluid feel of elliptical machines that cost $500 more."

Here are a few of the best features that we really like about the new Vision X20 and X30 Ellipticals.

• Much better balance and stride comfort
  Natural stride is a huge factor in increasing comfort and reducing injury potential when using an elliptical. The new X20 and X30 ellipticals have hit a home run with closer pedal spacing and a nice long 20 inch stride
• Arms work naturally to incorporate upper body muscles.
  Arm movements that work naturally with the lower body movement on an elliptical are crucial to comfort and a natural feel while exercising. By working the muscles of both the arms and the legs, an elliptical will raise the heart rate quicker and keep the heart rate elevated to provide the most efficient cardiovascular workout possible. We especially like the multi-grip positions on the X30 arms.
• Sturdy and stable
  Even at higher resistance levels and higher speeds, the X20 and X30 ellipticals were extremely stable. If the piece of equipment feels sturdy and durable, you are much more likely to use it and stay on it longer to get the best workout possible. The stability of the X20 and X30 ellipticals is much closer to significantly higher priced units that you would find in a health club.
• Very quiet
  These ellipticals are ideal for parents who want to work out while children are sleeping, or individuals who want to watch TV or listen to music which they workout.
• The Sprint 8 Workout
  Sprint 8 is a 20 minute workout which when done 3 times a week has shown great results for many of our clients. The Sprint 8 workout is included with the Deluxe or Premier console options on the X20 and X30 ellipticals. For users interested in value pricing and less interested in program variety, the Simple console provides 7 user programs and contact heart rate at a lower price.

When considering the 2 bases, the X30 has all of the features of the X20 with the addition of a large accessory tray, cushioned footpads for comfort while striding, and multi-position arms so you can find your perfect workout position!

The great thing about these 2 ellipticals is that with 2 bases and 3 consoles, you actually have 6 ellipticals to choose from based on your budget, desired feedback, and workout preferences.

While the X20 and X30 may not have quite the heavy duty commercial feel of the top of the line retail ellipticals, it also does not have the price tag of the higher priced units. The X20 and X30 Vision Fitness ellipticals are an excellent choice for people who want a value-priced elliptical without sacrificing features and benefits.

Stop in to demo a Vision Fitness X20 or X30 Elliptical Trainer at one of HealthStyles’ retail locations or call us at 800-829-9705 for more information.

Click here to shop online for Vision Fitness ellipticals.

Scott Laurent
has a BA in sports psychology. He is a certified personal trainer and was a semi-pro athlete. His consulting business, ReadyToExercise.com, helps people who are contemplating, just starting, or having difficulty remaining in an exercise program.

Visit Scott at the Healthstyles Exercise Equipment Colorado Blvd or Park Meadows Retail Stores Or email: scott@readytoexercise.com

Indoor cycling presents some great fitness opportunities for training, so the newest Vision Fitness V-series indoor cycle gave us a good reason to like it for its overall new design and lower price point without sacrificing the very comparable features of the higher end more expensive indoor cycles.

Fit and feel tends to be the most important thing that I look for when recommending an indoor cycle, and the V-Series bike makes great strides over their older model ES600 and 700, along with some nice perks with the paint color and sleek frame design. Finally adding a computer option to this newer model brings the opportunity for heart rate training as well as all the other training parameters of distance, cadence, time and calories to help people train more effectively. Here are some of the standout features and benefits that I list as being a great reason to look at this as an option for purchase.

• Great smoothness of the flywheel, even with it being several pounds lighter than the most expensive indoor cycles.
• Tension easily transitioned with the rubber grip handle was much better than others to quickly dial in the right feel.
• The straight bar horns on the front handle actually works better than some higher priced models for myself and clients when standing and climbing or in the time trial position.
• The computer is very easy to use and positioned nicely on the lower part of the handle bars.
• The ability to fit taller users definitely exists on this bike versus others in its price range.
• The seat extension bar actually helps make lifting the bike to get on its wheels easier without having to lean down and grab the lowest point of the bike.
• A better parts warranty than others in all the price ranges

Outside of it taking a little more time to assemble than the Lemond Cycles, there is nothing that would keep me from recommending the Vision Fitness V-Series Indoor cycle for an individual looking for a smooth, comfortable ride with all the perks of the most expensive indoor cycles but with a lower price point.

Stop in to demo a Vision Fitness V-Series Indoor Cycle at one of HealthStyles’ retail locations or call us at 800-829-9705 for more information.

Click here to shop online for Indoor Cycles.

Scott Laurent
has a BA in sports psychology. He is a certified personal trainer and was a semi-pro athlete. His consulting business, ReadyToExercise.com, helps people who are contemplating, just starting, or having difficulty remaining in an exercise program.

Visit Scott at the Healthstyles Exercise Equipment Colorado Blvd or Park Meadows Retail Stores Or email: scott@readytoexercise.com

Why are the associates and trainers at HealthStyles Exercise Equipment so excited about the Sprint 8 Workout? Because it works – and research has proven that it works! It is not a magic pill and should be incorporated into an overall routine that includes strength training and in some cases, endurance training, but it gives all of us a way to stay in shape by doing this 20 minute workout 3 times per week. It also gives us a workout that we can tell our customers and clients about that really works and is back by sound scientific research!

Phil Campbell, author of "Ready Set Go", explains the Sprint 8 program on Wargin’s Workout on 9News.

Click here to shop for Vision cardio equipment featuring the Sprint 8 program.

What’s Happening in the World of Fitness Equipment?

The 2010 Health and Fitness Business Trade Show was held in Las Vegas last month and the owners and regional managers of HealthStyles Exercise Equipment went to the show, eager to see what was new and innovative for the upcoming year.