Health, Lifestyle & Fitness

Someone in America spent this Black Friday braving cutthroat crowds to snag a deal on a treadmill. It wasn't me, but I did see quite a number of door buster ads featuring outstanding deals on popular home gym equipment.

If you weren't one of the brave fitness buffs who woke up at the crack of dawn to take advantage of deep discounts on treadmills, but you are still hoping one lands under your tree this Christmas, then this blog might be useful.

Recently, Consumer Reports rated some of the best moderately priced treadmills on the market. The following machines scored well with fitness experts in terms of performance and price:

(Secret Santas take note)

Best Fold-Up Treadmills

The Spirit XT 675 fold-up rated well for its solid structure and quiet ride. Despite weighing in at a hefty 265 pounds, this treadmill folds up easily. It features a 3.5-horsepower motor; 60-inch belt; instant-response elevation, easy-access remote controls on the handles; quality three-ply deck; six wheels for fast rollaway storage; iPod input jack with speakers; dual fans; nine programs, including heart-rate control; and a knee-level storage bin. It retails for: $2,400.

Fitness experts also gave high marks to the Lifespan TR 2000 fold-up. The compact treadmill is ideal for small spaces and lightweight runners. When folded the Lifespan measures just 32 inches. It includes a 2.5-horsepower engine with maximum speed and elevation of 10 mph and 10 degrees, with a 1% to 5% down slope. It also has nifty handlebar speed and incline control toggle buttons that let you adjust at full stride. It also comes with a child-safe belt, which pauses after 20 seconds of nonuse. Note: This particular treadmill is recommended for runners who weigh 165 pounds or less and walkers who weigh 350 pounds or less. It retails for: $1,400.

Related Articles:

How Treadmills are Helping Babies with Down Syndrome

Bad Things Happen When You Stop Going to the Gym

Getting Fit: No More Excuses

Exercise and Music

Why am I so Sore?

Creating a Challenging Workout Routine

Exercising on the Road: No Excuses

Exercise More Forget Less

Why You Want to Build Muscle as You Age

Creating a Fitness Routine that Works for You

Taking Advantage of Fall's Cool Weather

Getting Motivated to Move

Ways to Integrate Exercise into Your Life

How to Get Your Kids in Shape

Another Reason to Get Running

Sponsors (article continues below)

Jonathan Moreno writes another insightful piece, Intelligence on the Brain which discusses the need for a new dialogue on neuroresearch and national security.

Neuroscience is increasingly relevant to a number of professions and academic disciplines beyond its traditional medical applications. Indeed, for any field in which it is important to understand, predict or influence human behavior, neuroscience will play an increasing role. The Penn Neuroscience Boot Camp is designed to give participants a basic foundation in cognitive and affective neuroscience and to equip them to be informed consumers of neuroscience research. The Boot Camp faculty consists of leaders in the fields of cognitive and affective neuroscience who are committed to the goal of educating non-neuroscientists.

Lawyers, educators, economists and businesspeople, as well as scholars of sociology, philosophy, applied ethics and policy, are incorporating the concepts and methods of neuroscience into their work. Graduate and professional students, working professionals and college and university faculty are encouraged to apply. The only prerequisites are a grasp of basic statistics and at least a dim recollection of high school biology and physics. (A short set of readings will be made available prior to the Boot Camp to remind you about the essentials.) Participants will be housed on campus in air-conditioned apartment-style suites with private bedrooms.

Here are ten emerging areas of neuroscience that will impact the future of treatments for brain and nervous system which were published as a result of the cutting edge research being presented at the Society for Neuroscience Conference held in Washington DC last week. Top 10 Trends of 2009:

1. Epigenetics leading to new treatment targets: New research highlights the critical interactions of genes and the environment in brain health and development revealing new treatment strategies and potential therapeutic targets for obesity, memory loss, addiction and mental illness.

2. National Neurotechnology Initiative Act: Momentum for this recently introduced legislation which provides $200M a year for federal R&D aimed at accelerating translational neurotech innovation and improving the effectiveness of FDA review process for neuroscience drugs, devices and diagnostics grows.

3. New Sources of Stem Cells: The discovery of new sources of neural stem cells are opening up new avenues and potentially whole new treatment strategies for stroke, vision loss, hearing loss, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and ALS.

4. Deep Brain Stimulation: New clinical research into the use of deep brain stimulation devices for the treatment of neurological diseases and psychiatric illnesses continues to provide new hope to those suffering from drug treatment forms of these illnesses.

5. Addiction advances: New research that clarifies the role of impulsivity in treating cocaine addiction and synaptic plasticity in the control of inhibitory circuits could potentially lead to new treatment strategies for this epidemic impacting over 1.1 billion worldwide.

6. Stress prevention: New research shows that even a few hours of stress can reduce neural connectivity and that chronic stress, in particular early in life, can shrink critical areas of the brain. These findings may lead to new treatment strategies for PTSD and other anxiety-related disorders.

7. Traumatic brain injury advances: Early detection proves important for effective treatment while new research into inflammation may provide new treatments for people with brain injuries and stroke.

8. Get your sleep: More research points to the critical role that a proper night’s sleep plays in the memory consolidation, learning and mental illness further validating the need for effective therapeutics which engender healthy sleep patterns.

9. Discovery tools underpin innovation: New imaging techniques coupled with advances in neuroinformatics, image-based neural circuit analysis, and neural computation are accelerating the pace of neuroscientific discovery beyond what was imagined a decade ago.

10. Neuroscience infiltrates society: From neurofinance, neuroeconomics to neuroesthetics to neuroethics and neurolaw, the influence of neuroscience on society continues to grow.

The countdown to the holidays is on. Thanksgiving is less than a week away and we are now just a hair shy of being exactly one month away from Christmas. If you are a fitness fanatic this time of year likely provides motivation to workout, especially if you tend to overindulge during holiday eat-a-thons. Personally, extra-long workouts allow me to gorge without the guilt. For others the holidays mean taking a break from daily exercise routines.

Hopefully, you won't take a break from reading the FITNESS blog this holiday season. I'll still be here providing information on the latest and greatest happenings taking place in the world of exercise and nutrition.

If you missed any of what was covered during the past week here is your chance to catch up:

November 19th---Learning How to Walk Properly. Would you be insulted if someone told you that you didn't know how to walk correctly? What if that someone was your doctor and his perceived insult was actually a diagnosis? According to a new study, millions of people suffer back and foot pain because of the way they walk. Find out what experts are recommending these individuals do to alleviate their pain.

November 20th---How Your Cellphone Can Improve Your Fitness Routine. Even the most technologically challenged among us will soon be using mobile devices to keep track of their workouts. At least that's what researchers at the University of Washington maintain. Scientists there recently teamed up with brainiacs from Intel to create a new cellphone application that reportedly motivates people to move. Find out more details about the new program in this blog.

November 21st---How Often Do You Use Your Home Gym? Remember when you were shopping around for home exercise equipment and your spouse was trying to reason with you on the amount of pieces to purchase? You wanted a complete set of free weights, a squat machine and treadmill, all the while insisting that if you had the equipment at home you would use it everyday. How's that working out for you? If your treadmill is working harder to keep your clothes off the floor than it is to keep inches off your waist then you are not alone. Find out why in this blog.

Sponsors (article continues below)

November 22nd---How Treadmills are Helping Babies with Down Syndrome. Who knew a standard piece of exercise of equipment could do so much for children who face daily challenges the rest of us don't? Find out how treadmills are giving children with Down syndrome a jump-start on learning.