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As,

Health

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Variable Resistance
Has Its Limitations

efore choosing a health plan, make
sure it includes the first choice in health care.

JACK WILLIAMS

Special to The Jewish News

And, we're open on Saturdays and offer

When comparing health plans, here's

extended hours at our Novi and Livonia

insurances including SelectCare, DMC

CARE, and Health Alliance Plan (HAP).

Of course, this isn't the only advantage

For more information, call any of our

locations. You'll see how easy it is to

we provide. As a part of The Detroit

Medical Center-Wayne State University

system, our physicians are able to treat

patients with some of the most advanced

• Livonia DMC Health Care Center

17940 Farmington Road (313) 523-6800

• Novi DMC Health Care Center

41935 W. 12 Mile Road (248) 34-7-8000

Care Centers offer primary and urgent care

as well as more than 30 medical specialties.

• Northwest Detroit DMC Health Care Center

22341 W. 8 Mile Road (313) 592-3500

• Southfield DMC Health Care Center

27207 Lahser Road (24-8) 827-2160

quipped with their hype
detectors, the exercise police
are cracking down again on
fitness products that aren't
what they're cracked up to be.
Among the latest offenders: the
Airofit and the Fitness Flyer, two pricey
aerobic apparatus designed to work the
arms and feet against variable resis-
tance.
Researchers at California State
University Northridge took the
machines to task, performing laborato-
ry studies for the consumer-oriented
American Council on Exercise,
While the machines simulate the
motion of cross-country skiing, they're
no NordicTrack, the pioneering
paragon of the genre, the investigators
concluded.
"These devices may help someone
get started (on exercise), but serious
exercisers should spend their time and
money elsewhere," said Richard
Cotton, an exercise physiologist who
edits the American Council on Exercise
journal, ACE FitnessMatters.
Beginners, on the other hand, may
find such equipment useful in starting
from ground zero.
Lynn Allen, a consultant for the
Atlanta-based Fitness Products Council,
says items such as the Skywalker - a
device similar to those tested - "can be a
step in the right direction for a decondi-
tioned individual."
Notes Allen: "Some pieces of equip-
\S\- ment are built to withstand more use
than others. There are certain weight
limits for these items, and one should
investigate that."
In the university study, moderately
fit 23-to-29-year-olds were unable to
reach peak performance levels while
working out on the devices tested.
They peaked at 155 heartbeats per
• minute, equal to a quick walk or slow
jog for a person of their age.
Said Cotton: "The market is being
overwhelmed by these air-glider
machines, but they're not adaptable to
all fitness levels and will not produce
the promised results to an everyday
exerciser."
The Airofit and Fitness Flyer are
both designed to retail for $199.80, not
including shipping and handling.
When asked to choose between the two
machines, all seven test participants
picked the Fitness Flyer.
After repeated use, however,
researchers noted that several of the
flyer's bolts came loose and the digital
display wobbled so much that it had to

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