Why Hydraulic Circuit Training

Okay so you haven't touched a weight in years. You want to get back into the gym but you'd have to deal with all those 20 something bodies running around, and your a little self conscious right now.
On top of that you don't think you can handle the equipment anymore and you can never get help at those places anyway unless you want to pay for a personal trainer on top of your gym fees.
Well Hydraulic Circuit Training Fitness may be your way back into the fitness game. Whether you join a gender specific, age specific, sport specific or full fledged club, the hottest moving trend is the 30 minute circuit training workout.
Easier to understand and use,while being less stressful on the joints and body, hydraulics are built around the enthusiasm of a group of people with similar motivations and goals. Whether your looking for a way to get back into working out, a workout for someone you love - parents - children - brother - sister- grandma of grandpa, or just a fun change of pace, take a look at hydraulics as your next stop.
The following article was originally wrote as a technical guide to purchasing hydraulic equipment but has good information for all those using the equipment too.

Why Hydraulics over Conventional Gyms
Hydraulic circuit training is a form of full body conditioning working on toning muscle and cardiovascular conditioning. While some muscle growth is accomplished it is not excessive or give a person a proportionally improper physique. Additionally programs will slim down those who are overweight and tone up those who are a little jiggly where they don't want to be jiggly.

Programs can be targeted for troubled areas and provide a long list of health benefits as an extra bonus. Some of these benefits include increased strength, lean body mass, improved posture and muscle balance,increased bone density, endurance, cardiovascular conditioning, improved energy levels, lower blood pressure, increased HDL (good cholesterol) levels, reduced risk of heart disease, burns more calories than traditional strength training programs, raises metabolic rate (more calories burned throughout the day) , some studies show decreased arthritic pain, and many more benefits.

The bottom line is you have better body composition, muscular endurance, muscular strength, cardiovascular fitness and an overall higher level of general conditioning.

Beyond the physical benefits hydraulic equipment is simple, safe and easy, making it ideal for everyone of all ages. Even the newest members with limited workout knowledge can perform at a high level.

Hydraulic Circuit training gives you a full body workout, alternating movements between the core (abdominal and lower back area), the upper and lower bodies and various cardio stations.

When looking for a club with a hydraulic system potential members should be looking for a club that features dual resistance cylinders with adjustable workout levels. This is dual function work and basically falls into the old push - pull method of training, working the opposite muscles simultaneously through a workout for balance and evenness of growth(commonly known as symmetry).

The recovery stations or cardio stations serve as a maintenance and resting point between machines. Keeping your heart level at the proper elevation, to trigger maximum cardio conditioning and weight burning capabilities, between machines additionally giving the muscles time to recover before the next machine.

Operational Concerns in a Hydraulic Fitness Facility
When purchasing equipment for your facility make sure you choose equipment that is current and in line with the latest information on hydraulics. Buying older outdated or used equipment can come back to haunt you by losing customers to newer equipment which outperforms the old or inheriting equipment that is no longer under warranty and about to have some major problems.

Many times older equipment was produced by a company no longer around and repairs become harder to deal with. Look for companies that have been around for awhile, producing equipment for the fitness industry for a number of years. There are some that have been producing exercise equipment for a number of years and also produce hydraulics. These companies are a good bet because you know they will still be around producing equipment no matter what the changes in the industry are.

Also look for a company that is constantly improving and evolving their equipment. Make sure those changes however are improvements rather than attempts to increase profit margin by trading off cheaper materials or operation systems which actually lower the overall quality and resale value.

It's often the selection of parts that a piece of equipment is made from, rather than the overall piece, that determines the true value of equipment after the initial sale. Parts not made to endure the test of time devalue the equipment at a faster curve.

Other than personnel issues the most important eternal control issue you have for your business is the equipment. Excellent Equipment is the number one selling tool you have other than your salesperson.

When a customer tries your equipment their half way to signing up with excellent equipment and a good closer. Looks, ease of operation, and presentation of your equipment all add up to sales.

What Do I Look For in Hydraulics Circuit Equipment?
The Hydraulics First and foremost the machines you choose should be a high end hydraulic that has been engineered and adapted for the fitness field. Most companies have redirected their hydraulics from another use, most do not have their hydraulics re-engineered.

It is not bad to adopt a hydraulic from another source but to not have it re-engineered to human fitness is one of the fatal flaws of many manufacturers. This causes what we call slip or activation pause in the machines. This is the time between the initial push to the activation of the hydraulic. Severe activation pause times cause more trauma to the joint areas and defeat part of the purpose of a hydraulic in the first place.

The less the amount of activation pause or slip, creates the greatest smoothness of operation and control of the equipment throughout the range of motion. Hydraulics not re-engineered to humans need considerably more force applied on the initial push to cause activation of the hydraulic. This force translates into slip which is not good for the person working out.

Secondly one of the largest reasons for people leaving their hydraulic facility is the reason of plateauing. Many companies would like you to believe a hydraulic cylinder and resistance variations aren't as critical to your workout as they really are.

Some, including some of the leaders in the field, continue to insist that a single setting hydraulic cylinder is all that is needed to accomplish as much work as you need. Just work a little faster to increase the resistance.

As sighted in the April Issue of Club Industry's Fitness Business Pro Magazine "pulsating is a problem in many hydraulic fitness facilities" and "equipment at some hydraulic clubs doesn't allow for a true change in resistance.

Instead members are encouraged to go faster on the equipment to get in more repetitions during the allotted time". This may sound like a logical solution but,as further sited in the above mentioned article "When people want to increase the intensity of their workout, nobody thinks of adjusting speed; they think of resistance", and "Just being able to do more sets and repetitions does not qualify as "adjustable. Further there comes a time when you can only go so fast. You only have a certain time to do reps".

Finally " When you do resistance exercise at fast speeds you have a much greater rate of overuse injuries". So with all these concerns, what is the answer to these problems?

Genesiscircuits.com offers on its equipment adjustable hydraulic cylinders which have 12 levels of adjustment, the highest available on the market today. Each level of adjustment is a true new level of resistance, unlike others on the market which overlap from one range to the next, basically giving you less true resistance levels. Genesis Hydraulics are manufactured and assembled for the fitness industry per their specifications and assembled after your order is placed. You are guaranteed a fresh cylinder, ready to go without having been on someones shelf for long periods of time.

Whoever your manufacturer demand this quality and ability to take your customer to the next level.

Moving Parts

Most hydraulics have one of two options of moving parts. The old use of bushings or the more efficient and durable use of bearings preferably pillow block or flange bearings (sometimes called pillow block).

Look for machines that use pillow block or flange bearings as their main source of motion. As in most high end commercial grade equipment pillow block and flange bearings are the choice of the educated consumer.

They are easy to repair, if ever damaged, and can be changed out by people with a limited knowledge of fitness equipment, saving you large repair bills. It is however rare that a pillar block or flange bearing goes out while the failure rate in bushings is considerably higher.

Repair on a bushing should not be tried by anyone other than a professional. When a bushing starts to go wrong it can be quite awhile before it is apparent and can actually cause much more extensive damage to the equipment. More bills!! For ease of operation, safety issues, maintenance issues and repair; choose pillar block bearings.

Padding for Comfort and Support

One of the most overlooked part of the equipment is the upholstery. As long as it looks good and comes in the right color its all the same, right! WRONG!!!

Your upholstery is just as important as the rest of the parts of the equipment and should not only look good, but should add both comfort and support to the movement being performed.

Look for padding about 2" thick, with a high density, high memory foam, which comes back as fast as it is depressed. Many companies choose low density foams (because they are considerably cheaper) which gradually loose their memory and results in loose upholstery over the padded parts, in sometimes very short time. This looks terrible and makes your equipment look old before it's time. The last thing you need to be doing is replacing upholstery on relatively new equipment or finally winding up with equipment that feels more like the support board than padded support.

The upholstery itself should be a high grade marine vinyl that has water, sweat and mold resistance, keeping it from cracking and aging prematurely and healthier for your customer. Look for seats and pads that have been double stitched to insure durability and a nice clean presentation.

All seats should have a wide base to accommodate all sizes of clients and will give added comfort to the user.

Configuration

The standard configuration of a hydraulic circuit is the circle. Some of the more popular initial clubs made this standard early on. It promotes interaction, team building and group participation. The drawback is it is an absolute waste of productive space.

Try configurations such as the square, oval, rectangle and stacked which all give you more space for stretching, cardio and other complimentary equipment while leaving plenty of instructor room. These configuration still promote interaction, team building and group participation but also give the shy unsure client a little more privacy if they choose.

Using these guidelines you should have a strong enough education to make a good decision for your club. Success is in your hands. Go get it.