Fitness

Check Out the Latest to Receive Awards

Buying a treadmill is both an investment financially as well as for your health. You will want to pick a treadmill that gets you the most for your buck, but don’t take our word for it. Recently, Treadmill Talk, a treadmill review site, honored the following treadmills with their Best Buys for 2017.   The Horizon […]

Dead Bug Exercise from Start to Finish
Fitness

Unusual Exercises that Make You Ask,"What in the World is That?"

When it comes to exercise, you would expect that the name of a particular exercise should automatically make sense.  Things like a bicep curl, overhead press, chest press, squat…all pretty much tell you what the exercise is. And then there are those exercises where the name might make you pause and think, “what in the […]

A woman doing velocity training at home.
Fitness

Quick, what is Velocity Training? Learn the Benefits and How-to

Do you think of strength training and speed training as two completely separate forms of fitness? What if there were a way to combine the best of each training method in one efficient workout? Velocity training combines both strength and speed with an emphasis on increased power. The benefits of velocity training are nearly countless […]

A boy and a girl biking on a sandy beach.
Fitness

Why Cycling Improves So Much More than Just your Muscles

You probably noticed on our recent Technical Tuesday that cycling has huge benefits for your muscles.  Cycling hits all of your major muscle groups, especially if you zero in on cycling hacks to improve your form.  However, there’s so much more to cycling than training your muscles. Let’s celebrate National Bike to Work Day by thinking […]

Build a Stronger Biking Body - Technical Tuesday
Fitness

Better Your Ride by Building a Stronger Biking Body

As we approach the outdoor biking season and the arrival of Ride Your Bike To Work Day (Friday, May 19) , it’s important to note that there are several great things you can do in the gym to better prepare your body for a great ride. While the legs are obviously an important part of […]

Beach with waves - Getting Shredded - Weeks 7 & 8
Fitness

How To Quickly Get Your Beach Body In 8 Weeks – Weeks 7 & 8

Awesome job getting to the last 2 weeks of the Beach Body Workout! The last few weeks have been a challenge, but hopefully you are feeling and seeing the effects. . . in a positive way of course! In weeks 7 & 8 we are adding in variety to make sure we avoid injury and […]

Man running on Horizon Treadmill in his home/office
Fitness

Why Treadmills Burn the Most Calories

Most of us appreciate that working out helps us to lose or maintain our weight.  If you’re looking to increase the calories you burn each day there’s no better workout than running on a treadmill. Burning calories during your workout comes from the amount of muscular effort you put into the movement.  Since running on […]

Woman doing Romanian Deadlifts, a bilateral exercise
Fitness

Unilateral Exercise or Bilateral Exercise…Which Is Better?

We all know there are different ways to do certain exercises. We can do unilateral exercise or bilateral exercise. For instance, we can do a 1 arm dumbbell shoulder press or 2 arm shoulder press.  A single leg straight leg dead lift or a double straight leg dead lift.  A single arm dumbbell bench press […]

Fitness

Active Mother’s Day Ideas for 2018

Thinking of the perfect Mother’s Day 2018?  Rather than gifts, Mother’s Day activities let you build memories with the special lady in your life.  Here’s our guide to the best Mother’s Day ideas for every level of fitness and adventure. Plant a Garden. This traditional activity remains popular each year.  Early May is the perfect […]

Mom riding bikes with child in a park.
Fitness

Mother's Day Gift Guide 2017 for Fitness Focused Moms

Does your mother live a healthy active lifestyle? Give her the perfect gift this year. Here are five ideas, some are less than $25!                                                               […]

Muscular man bench pressing in a gym.
Fitness

Are You A Gym Cheater?

We’ve all seen the guy in the gym who loads-up a barbell on the bench press, gets underneath it and as he lowers it to his chest and begins the push phase, he proceeds to arch his back and lift his butt off of the bench in an all-out battle to push that weight up […]

Body Building. A man lifting weights doing a snatch exercise.
Fitness

Are You Bodybuilding or Building a Better Body?

With all of the fitness information available to us today, it can be quite confusing when it comes to choosing the best way to train your body. While we all want to look good, just focusing on those “mirror muscles” can cause a lot of problems over time. A well rounded fitness routine should focus […]

No Excuses on a Rainy Day
Fitness

Running PRs Can Be Made Even When It's Rainy Outside

Spring is the best time to get back to running.  It’s easy to find road races and willing training partners.  Long days and cool conditions make running a breeze…at least until the rain starts. When spring rains and muddy days threaten your spring race training, stay on track with pre-planned indoor workouts. As a bonus, […]

Woman Rowing on a Matrix Fitness rowing machine.
Fitness

Why The Rowing Machine Is The Most Underrated Fitness Tool

Burn an average of 800 calories an hour rowing! Rowing is a full-body cardio and strength workout. Learn how to master proper rowing form to get maximum benefit.

Barefoot training - Strengthening your feet
Fitness

Why is Barefoot Training Important?

One of the more popular fitness trends today – especially when it comes to kettlebell training –  revolves around training barefoot.  While it may seem strange, barefoot training definitely has its benefits. Barefoot Training Benefits Training barefoot can strengthen the muscles of the foot and around the ankle joint. Shoes provide a lot of stability […]

Ab exercises - side plank, cat/camel, bird dog and more
Fitness

Are Your Ab Exercises Hurting Your Back?

For those of you who have experienced back pain, you know exactly how debilitating it can be. Even the most simple of daily tasks can bring you to your knees and make your life pretty miserable. Let’s take a look and see what ab exercises are helping and which are not. To help prevent the onset […]

Fitness

The Best Way to Reward Yourself for Working Out

Why is rewarding yourself for working out so important? The most successful exercise programs are built on creating a habit of working out. Working out becomes second nature, a thing you are more likely to do than skip. Like any good habit, work out habits rely on reinforcement (more on that here). If you want […]

How to do a Hip Hinge
Fitness

Awesome Exercises You Need To Be Doing: The Hip Hinge

Next up in my “Awesome Exercises You Need to be Doing” series is the Hip Hinge.   While the hip hinge is considered one of the more basic movement patterns, it’s also one of the most difficult for people to master.  But very few movements can offer as much as the hip hinge in terms of […]

Matrix Home Line - Treadmill, Ellipticals, Bikes, and More
Fitness

Matrix Fitness Launches New Commercial Quality Home Line

Is it really possible to get a professional gym workout at home? Commercial machines are built to meet the high demands of a health club setting. This includes more powerful motors, heavier gauge construction, and the ability to withstand abuse while adapting to a wide range of programming. Commercial equipment consoles are also highly adaptive […]

Plant Based Protein
Fitness

Powerful Plant Based Proteins That Pack A Punch

We all know that protein is one of the basic building blocks of life and plays a big role in your fitness and nutrition program.  But when most people think about protein, things like meat, eggs and powders are what usually pops into their minds first. What many people don’t know, however, is that plant-based […]

Want to lose weight by running on the treadmill? Horizon Treadmill
Fitness

Treadmill Workouts That Will Instantly Kick Start Your Metabolism

Want to lose weight by running on the treadmill? Throw these workouts into your training mix to keep your body guessing and rev up your metabolism. With the right workouts, you’ll burn calories during your workouts and for up to 48 hours afterwards, making it easier to lose weight through running. The key is varying […]

Quantified Self Can Help Us Reach Our Goals
Fitness

Make Your Lifestyle Deliver Results with Quantified Self

Looking back, the 1990s elicit a lot of nostalgia for people my age. For those of us who remember that time, we recall our astonishment with a new technology called “the internet” and all the possibilities it offered. Our collective excitement that we could send someone a message anywhere in the world and they would […]

Wellness

Make Your Heart Happy with a Heart Healthy Diet

In addition to regular cardiovascular exercise and quitting tobacco use, making heart healthy diet choices is an important action that will reduce your risk of heart disease.  Making your diet heart healthy doesn’t have to be overwhelming.  Here’s how you get started. While some superfoods specifically benefit your cardiovascular system, your overall approach to eating for […]

Fitness

How I Learned to Love the Elliptical (Hint: it has to do with a Heart Rate Monitor)

As a runner, I used to dread my off-days. I know running every day isn’t good over the long term. So once or twice a week, I’ll hop on an elliptical machine to supplement my running workouts. One of the reasons running appeals to me is that it has very concrete measurements that I’m familiar […]

heart rate monitor
Fitness

How to Use A Heart Rate Monitor To Increase Your Fitness (Part 2)

How to use a heart rate monitor to get push your fitness to new levels. Get the exact lactate threshold workouts personal trainers use.

heart rate monitor
Fitness

How to Use A Heart Rate Monitor To Increase Your Fitness (Part 1)

Work out smarter! How to use a heart rate monitor to determine your base heart rate. Take the max heart rate test and build personalized workouts.

Fitness

7 Ways To Stay Entertained on The Treadmill

Let’s face it, treadmill workouts can be a bit boring – especially this time of year when winter weather in many parts of the country can make outdoor walks/runs a dangerous adventure. So how do we beat this boredom? Thankfully, there are quite a few options out there that will keep you entertained and make […]

Warrior 3: Beginner Yoga Pose
Fitness

Feel at Ease with These Friendly Beginner Yoga Poses

You probably know that yoga can help make you more flexible, but did you know that it can also make you stronger? Whether yoga is your only exercise or you are looking to complement your other workouts, yoga will improve your flexibility, alignment, and core strength. This makes you less likely to get injured and […]

Bodyweight Exercises while You Are Traveling
Fitness

3 Powerful Bodyweight Workouts for Your Holiday Travel

With the heart of the holiday season in full gear, many of you will be hitting the road in the coming weeks to visit family or to take advantage of a little holiday get-a-way. While holiday travel can make your regular fitness routine a bit of a challenge, there still are plenty of great ways […]

How Hygge Can Help You Celebrate Winter this Year
Fitness

How Hygge Can Help You Celebrate Winter this Year

As the runner up for UK Word of the Year (right after Brexit) in the Collins English Dictionary, the Danish concept of hygge can help you to bring an extra celebration and warmth into your winter and holiday season.  Pronounced “hue-gah” (if you want to get fancy, make a “y” with your mouth and say […]

Cross Training using Weights and Bars
Fitness

Getting Started with Weightlifting: Choosing Bars and Plates for Home Workouts

Daily exercises are widely available for use at home and can be found online through generators and apps.  While many of these workouts can be completed using only bodyweight or minimal equipment, if you’re committed to training, eventually you’ll find yourself eyeing up the big weights.  Investing in weightlifting equipment will add variety to your […]

Shin Box Switch
Fitness

Exercises You Should Be Doing, But Probably Aren’t: Shin Box Switch

Next up in my “Exercises You Should Be Doing” series is the Shin Box Switch.  Despite the crazy name, you’re sure to make this one a staple in your training program once you see (and feel) what a difference it can make in your hip strength and mobility! The Shin Box Switch covers many bases, […]

Fitness

Why Resistance Bands are the Perfect Strength Training Tool

Resistance bands are portable and easy to store, making them ideal for home and travel workouts. Build strength with these 3 workouts (includes videos).

Lose Baby Weight
Wellness

6 Ways to Get Back in Shape Post-Baby

Feel good in your body post-pregnancy with some patience, self-love and these 6 tips for eating well and getting proper rest and exercise.

Goblet squat
Fitness

Two Daily Workouts for Doing Functional Training at Home

While the words functional training might bring to mind images of buff young athletes performing muscle-ups and throwing around heavy weight, many of the functional movements included in functional movement type workouts are a fantastic way for home gym athletes to increase range of motion, power, and strength without lifting heavy weights and completing complicated movements. […]

Loaded Carries
Fitness

How To Build Strength With Loaded Carries (Videos)

5 Loaded Carry Strength Exercises Next up in my “Exercises You Should Be Doing” series is the Loaded Carry. While this may be one of the simpler looking exercises you may ever do, don’t let it fool you into thinking it’s not very effective. When done right, this “simple” exercise can be a game-changer for those […]

workout nutrition
Nutrition

The Ultimate Guide To Pre- And Post-Workout Nutrition

Carbs, protein, liquids — there is so much to keep track of when you’re on a training schedule. Get these tips for pre- and post-workout nutrition and never be confused again.

Healthy School Lunches
Nutrition

5 Simple Tips For Healthy School Lunches and Snacks

Break away from baby carrots! Here are five super-practical tips to help keep school lunches healthy, tasty and fun for the whole school year.

Wheat-Free Flour
Nutrition

How To Bake Without Wheat Flour

Learn about the top wheat-free flours and their unique benefits and properties. Get tips for how to incorporate them into your cooking and baking.

9 exercises to do with kids
Fitness

9 Super-Fun Exercises To Do With Your Kid

Having a fit family is important. Try these 9 exercises for a great parent and child workout (videos included).