If you’re in the market for a new set of bathroom scales and you’ve got between $60-$300 to spend, read on.

For the past six months I’ve been testing the new Tanita BC100 Body Composition Scales. Now on the surface they appear to be your normal digital bathroom scale, and that is precisely what I used them for during the first two months. Well, that was until I RTFM’d them (Read The F-ing Manual!) and set them up for what they are designed to do – to be a complete body composition analyser.

How a Body Composition Analyser works

You stand on the scales and a low electrical signal is sent through the body (called a Bio Impedance Analysis or BIA). Your different tissues create a resistance based on the water levels, e.g. muscle carries a lot of fluid in it whereas fat does not. This nifty machine is able to differentiate your tissues based on this, namely, bone, muscle, fat, and water, and thus determining your body composition.

It all takes less than one minute, doesn’t hurt and is surprisingly accurate (+/- 1% accuracy if measuring conditions remain constant).

What the scales will tell you:
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Tagged As: BIA, body composition, Tanita BC1000, Weight loss

Recently I reviewed three completely separate gaming consoles for Ultra fit magazine (read article) and the Kerri-Anne Show. It’s a pretty exciting space to be in considering the technology is improving at such a rapid rate. Whilst these games wont get you fit to run a marathon they certainly bridge the gap from the couch potato to the fitness freak.

Tagged As: Fitness gaming, My Fitness Coach Club, PS3, Wii fit, wii fit plus., Xbox, Your Shape fitness evolved

There are literally thousands of workout DVDs on the market, so which give you the best workouts. In this video I review some of the most popular workout DVDs on the market. My top pick? Michelle Bridges 3 x workout DVDs. They will whip you into shape the fastest, most effective way possible!

Tagged As: ACA, best workout dvd, celebrity workout DVD, Michelle Bridges, Weight loss, Workout DVDs

As part of Mornings with Kerri-Anne’s four week challenge, I look at the latest fitness trends to hit our gyms. We have come a very long way…!

Here are some more weird and wacky trends. Don’t try these at home…!

Tagged As: fitness trends, gym trends, gymstick, Hula hooping, powerplate, Weight loss, Zumba

I am very fortunate to have been nominated AND voted through to the Finals of the Cosmo Mag, Fun Fearless Female awards. I am nominated in the Entrepreneur category but there are many other categories from Actors to bloggers, authors, rising stars just to name a few.

Check out some of the amazing Australian women and what they’re up to! Voting closes on 15th September so back your favourite chicks and vote for all your favourite fun fearless females!

Watch out for the finalists appearing in October edition of Cosmo Mag out in Early September 2010. Vote Now

Tagged As: Amelia Burton, Cosmo Fun Fearless Female

Recently I appeared on Mornings with Kerry-Anne to give her some tips on how to Hula Hoop. You can watch the clip here (use the tabs on the right of the video to locate the Hula segment).

Ever since October 2009 when Michelle Obama hula hooped 142 times without stopping, the world has gone hooping mad! Gyms and dance studios are including more and more hooping classes, and many celebrities are coming out of the woodwork saying it’s their workout of choice.

The History of Hula Hooping

Hula Hooping originated in ancient Greek times when it was invented as a form of exercise. Although the name ‘hula hooping’ came about in the early 1800’s when British soldiers witnessed Hawaiian women performing hooping as part of a dance. The 1950’s was when hula hooping really took off, and while it has always been popular amongst kids, it’s only been recently when the adult world has rediscovered their love of the hoop.

Nintendo Wii Fit has a lot to do with the sudden popularity of hula hooping as do celebrities such as Michelle Obama. Wii Fit’s hula hooping game is a really effective cardiovascular  workout. Whilst standing on the Wii you have to rotate your hips trying to keep your virtual hoop from falling. In the meantime more hoops are flung in your direction and you have to lean your body whilst rotating to catch them (or you get donked on the head). I was embarrassingly puffed the first time I tried this, luckily I wasn’t the only one!

What are the Benefits of Hula Hooping

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Tagged As: fitness, fun, Hula hooping, Weight loss

Since the creation of Wii fitness, there has been an explosion of fitness based products on the market. EA Sports active is one of them, and with a newly launched More Workouts addition, they are proving to be leaders in the development of fitness based Wii products.

Recently I have been trying out the new addition to EA Sports Active Franchise, More Workouts.  They have upgraded their fitness program to include the More Workouts addition with a 6-Week Challenge and this is what I have been trialling.

How it works

The six week challenge is entire workout program based around your level of fitness. It works both cardiovascular fitness, strength, and flexibility. It has a tracking system whereby you can monitor your progress and compare your results to previous weeks.  It is set up, exactly as it says, as a 6 week challenge, designed to push your  boundaries. The exercises are similar to the original EA sports active, but with the addition of new exercises and more of an emphasis on your abdominals, all wrapped up into the six week challenge.

The accessories you need is the leg strap and some elastic resistance bands (provided) and of course the Wii nunchucks. You can also use the balance board on certain exercises (not mandatory).

My Experience

Being a trainer I was really trialling this out from my clients perspective. I wanted to see if this program could be something I prescribed and could feel confident that my clients were getting a decent workout.

The verdict: Yes.

Unlike other Wii games, this program had you moving from one exercise to the next in quick succession and some of the exercises were quite challenging! The squats and lunges I had trouble initially getting the nunchuck to register, which I have decided is a clever ploy by EA to get you holding your position for longer (gotta love that burn!).

There is a large variety of exercises keeping the program interesting and always challenging. I particularly loved the boxing, with ducking and weaving getting my heart pumping. In one workout you can expect to be going from lunging, to waterskiing, to skipping, paddle surfing and negotiating an obstacle course. This is all performed at the Wii Sports resort, which leaves me torn between feeling like I’ve just been on a tropical island to desperately wanting to go to one.

The abdominal component is very thorough, there were some new exercises I hadn’t seen before as well as some variations on the classics. I was surprised that some of the curl ups used straight legs, as opposed to bent, but I feel very confident that a lot of research and testing has gone into the exercises chosen.

Having a virtual trainer there to motivate me was a novelty, being a trainer myself, it was nice not to be in the drivers seat. She (you can chose male or female) was a big help in demonstrating the exercises, and providing motivational comments.

I really enjoyed the cool down at the end of each workout. Some of my favourite stretches were incorporated here although I would have liked to see a bit more variety for next time.

The verdict

The More Workouts 6-Week challenge is a great program for people wanting to incorporate fitness into their life in a fun, convenient way. The program is easy to set up and use and is one where the whole family can get involved. The workout would be best suited to below average to average fitness levels. For above average users, you would need to supplement some other training in (such as a run prior) to get the full benefits.  Unlike other Wii games there is much less fiddling in between sets and this is definitely the ‘real deal’ when it comes to workout programs.

I am giving the 6-Week Challenge a big two thumbs up and recommend it to anyone wanting an effective workout at home, which will leave you smiling, sweaty and with some visible results.

You can order it here or for more information go to EA Sports Active

Have you done the 6-Week Challenge or used Wii Fit? I’d love to know your feedback.

Tagged As: EA Sports, More Workouts, Wii fit

Do you take a fish oil supplement? Me too. It’s my insurance policy for my joints and my brain function for that matter! Recently I had the opportunity to trial a new Krill Oil on the market called Omega Gen Neptune Krill Oil and here are my findings.

What is the Benefit of Taking a Krill Oil Supplement?

It is known that less than 10% of Australians have the daily recommended amount of Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) which is approx 1500-2000mg per day. Yet it has been scientifically proven that EFAs have the following benefits:

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Tagged As: Fish oil, Omega Gen Neptune Krill Oil, supplements

Editors Note: This post is written by blogger Mary Ward who writes about various health care career topics.

Many people attribute the onset of childhood obesity with too much video game playing. There is definite truth to that as kids have gone from playing outside all day long to sitting constantly in front of the screen and playing video games without taking a breather. There is however a new evolution of video games that are actually good for you and/or your children that can help you to burn calories and ultimately lose weight. Who would have thought it? Here we look at the top video games that can help you stay active, burn some calories, and ultimately shed the unwanted weight.
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Tagged As: exercise, fitness, product review, video games, Weight loss