The T-Bow Workout

By Carol J Bartram

What is a T-Bow? Well, put simply, a T-Bow is a complete home gym, although it is also perfect for gym classes. The T-Bow looks deceptively simple - it appears to be merely a piece of curved plastic with a mat on the curved side and foot grips on the other side. But do not let its demure appearance deceive you; the T-Bow is all you need to burn fat and tone lean, sculpted muscles. The experts tell us, that for optimum weight loss we must not only burn calories by cardio exercise, we must also build muscle so that our body's metabolism is increased, which means we burn more calories even when our body is at rest. The T-Bow can do all this and more!

The unique selling point of the T-Bow lies in the many ways it can be used for exercise. If you place it on the floor curve up, it is large enough to stand on safely. This means it can be used to step up and step down. Remember when step classes in the gyms were all the rage? Stepping is a first-class form of exercise which conditions the heart and lungs, burns up to 600 calories in an hour and works all the leg and bottom muscles, trimming and shaping a firm butt and shapely legs.

Stepping up and down on the T-Bow is just one of the exercises that can be carried out. You can also do aerobics steps around it and over it. Then by turning the T-Bow over so that the curved side is downward, a whole new world of exercises opens up! This way around, the T-Bow rocks when you step on it - just to balance on the T-Bow means you must engage all your core and internal muscles. This is very good for your balance, and helps train your brain to coordinate your arms and legs; this is called proprioception. Rocking on the T-Bow is another good way of burning a lot of calories, and is enjoyable into the bargain!

Using the T-Bow for stepping and rocking makes up the cardiovascular part of your workout. With most other pieces of home exercise equipment you would now have to use something totally different for the toning part of your workout. Not so with the T-Bow! If you purchase the complete T-Bow kit you also get some elastic exercise bands included. All you have to do is slip these through the gaps in the side of the T-Bow and you can add resistance to muscle toning exercises such as squats and lunges for the lower body, rowing exercises for the back, and arm curl exercises for the upper arms and shoulders to give you a sleek and toned outline. Remember, the more toned your muscles are, the more calories you burn even when you are sitting watching TV!

Another area where the T-Bow excels is Pilates matwork exercises. Many doctors and health professionals recommend Pilates as a wonderful stress-free method of toning and lengthening the muscles in the body, working the core muscles to flatten the stomach and strengthen the back and the postural muscles in the chest and shoulders so that we walk tall and move correctly, thus making spine problems in later life less likely to occur, as we are strong on the inside as well as the outside. If you finish your workout by performing your stretches using the T-Bow, your exercise session will be close to perfect! - 17269

About the Author:

Carol J Bartram is a Pilates Instructor with an interest in at home exercise equipment. A lot of equipment you see advertised in the press is worthless and won't help you with your weight loss goals. The T-Bow is different. It will give you a fantastic all round cardio and strength training workout in a very short space of time, meaning that you'll get results faster. The T-Bow rocks!