One note before we begin:
whenever starting an exercise program, it is imperative that you contact your
doctor and get medical clearance. I will
not even think about recommending exercise to a new client until I conduct a
medical history and contact their doctor for clearance. Safety first!
On to the questions:
Should I Use The Arms?
No. In fact, I recommend
unscrewing and removing the arms altogether.
I say this for 2 reasons: 1) I
want you to emphasize the large muscles of the lower body during your cardio,
not the arms. 2) Having the arms off the
machine will free up your hands to hold a phone, the remote control, your Ipad,
book, or newspaper.
How Can I Prevent The Gazelle From Sliding Around?
If you place the Gazelle
on a hardwood floor, you’ll notice that it moves around a bit during your workout. To prevent this, use the Gazelle on a carpet
if at all possible. If this isn’t
possible, a thin yoga mat underneath it will help a lot. I actually use a yoga mat on top of the
carpet to keep the Gazelle from leaving indentations on the carpet. This combination reduces movement completely.
Initially, I Feel Like I’m Not Working Out Hard
Enough, Am I Doing Something Wrong?
When you first start using
the machine, you are not entirely comfortable and balanced. This will slow down your pace. During this early phase, many feel that they
are not working hard enough. You’ll find
that if you keep at it, your balance will improve and you’ll be able to work
harder. Take long, fluid strides; kind
of like you are cross-country skiing on one of those Nordic Track’s from years
ago. Also swing your arms as if you were
running quickly. Before you know it,
you’ll be sweating and your heart rate will be up.
Can I Do Anything Else To Pick Up The Intensity?
For most people, just
following the above recommendations will get their intensity to the proper
level to improve fitness and lose weight.
However, if I have a client that is a bit younger and healthy, I’ll
recommend interval training to ramp up the intensity. I’ll have them start out their cardio at the
normal intensity for 4½ minutes, and then sprint for 30 seconds. I’ll have them repeat this 4 or 5 times
during their workout. This is a great
way to increase intensity and calories burned.
The sprint does not have to be a maximal effort; simply increase your
pace for 30 seconds. If a client is very
overweight or has risk factors for heart disease (high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, etc), I don’t recommend intervals, as the increased intensity can
spike heart rate and blood pressure.
My Gazelle Is Starting To Squeak, How Can I Fix
This?
You may notice after some
time that your Gazelle squeaks a bit. I normally have headphones on when I use
it, so I don’t even really notice, but some of my clients have found this
annoying. Here’s how to fix this
straight from the user manual:
“If squeaks or other noises develop over
time, we recommend lubricating all
moving parts as
follows:a) Apply clear household grease (i.e. petroleum jelly) to axle tube.
b) Spray cable holders (top & bottom) with WD40 or equivalent.”
