Fitness Equipment Guide
Not sure what equipment will work for you? Check out our fitness equipment guide to help you decide which piece will suit you best and will help you achieve your fitness goals and aspirations.
We created our comprehensive gym equipment guide, which gives you advice and tips on all our fitness equipment, which is available for hire see what suits your personal requirements.
Treadmill Hire
Treadmills are great for beginners to the more advanced athlete, as you are in control you can choose from walking to running and even programme to have a hill incline. With varied workout exercises to choose from both the upper and lower muscle groups can be used at the same time so a good aerobic workout can be achieved at your own pace. Treadmills can compliment outdoor running due to weather conditions, as is less stressful on your joints than running on the roads, and from being much safer all from the comfort of your own home, or office.
Our good quality treadmills have extra cushioned decks to help protect such knee joints, long belts to provide such space and comfort to set to your own level of fitness, adjusting varying speeds from walking, jogging or to run freely, our good treadmills allow you to set the incline at a wide range of heights to simulate hill walking/running and to make your work out more challenging and satisfying. Our treadmills have massive inclines if required so you can push yourself to the limits in order to achieve your own personal fitness goals and motivation.
How to use a Treadmill
If you’re a beginner to treadmills, it’s essential that you take your time and find your pace at ease by starting slowly.
You need you to stand on the deck with your feet at a comfortable space apart, attach the safety clip to your shorts or top so that if you move too far away from the console, the belt will immediately cut out and the treadmill which will stop to avoid injury to yourself. Set the belt speed very low at about 2 miles per hour; you can always turn it up once you're used to the movement.
You can hold on to the hand rail, until you’re comfortable with the speed and motion, if you want to work out your upper body then once comfortable feel free to walk without the support.
focused straight ahead of you to help maintain your balance and stand up straight with your shoulders back, If you choose to work out upper body walk or run as you would naturally allowing you to swing your arms freely.
Exercise Bike Hire
Exercise bikes offer a low impact exercise resulting in little or no stress on your knees and joints. They're good for warming up and cooling down before sport and are very easy to use. Unlike regular road bikes, exercise bikes are very stable and don't require any expertise in balance. You can adjust resistance levels to make your workout more challenging and there is a range of programmes you can choose from on the console to help you reach your individual fitness goals.
Exercise bikes are great for beginners and suitable for those suffering from aching joints such as the elderly and pregnant woman. It’s important to choose the correct exercise bike for your requirements; we can advise if you need some help choosing which one to hire:
Regular upright bikes Are perfect for beginners as they're designed to be very similar to road bikes apart from being static. Padded gel seats provide extra comfort.
Recumbent bikes Have back rests where you sit on the seat with your back supported which is particularly useful if you are hoping to cover extreme distances in your workout or importantly if you're not able to sit up for long periods of time.
Race/spin bikes Are very simple to use and are excellent in competitive sport or classes. They are mechanically linked to pedals via the flywheel which means that you're in complete control of the speed of the race bike; the faster you pedal, the further distance you cover.
How to Use an Exercise Bike
Always remember to start slowly with ease then slowly building your speed and distance to your personal comfort zone.
Position yourself as you would on a normal push bike; make sure your feet reach the floor (but not completely flat on the floor). Place your feet on the pedals and ensure the foot straps are fitted snugly around your trainers, look straight ahead and begin pedalling. Start slowly and increase resistance as you become comfortable with the action.
The bikes have built in programmes i.e. timed, race or hill incline so you can choose one to alter your workout and help maintain your motivation.
You can choose one of the built in exercise programmes to alter your workout and help maintain your motivation.
Elliptical Cross Trainer Hire
An elliptical cross trainer is a good all rounder as it simulates stair climbing, walking and running. They offer a non-impact all over body workout which burns calories fast. They can be used by beginners right up to professional people wanting to maintain their fitness.
How to Use an Elliptical Cross Trainer
The Cross trainer can take a little more getting used to than a treadmill or exercise bike but they're certainly not difficult to use as you will learn.
They have two sets of handles - one set remains static and the other set moves allowing you to exercise your upper body, which ever exercise you feel comfortable with.
As you mount make sure your feet are aligned with your hips and stand up straight. Keep a small bend in your knees and begin pedalling slowly forwards/backwards, Hold onto the static handle bars and make sure the resistance level is on a low setting to begin with; you can increase this to your comfort level. When you're ready to start using the moving handlebars, make sure you keep your arms very slightly bent at all times - even when extended away from you. To make your workout more challenging you can choose one of the built in programmes to help maintain your motivation levels.
ROWING MACHINES
Rowing machines are a good low impact way to improve or maintain your cardio-vascular fitness levels. If you hire a rowing machine from us you'll quickly see that rowers simulate the action of being on a rowing boat on a river and most of the key muscle groups are worked during this type of exercise. Using a rowing machine is particularly great for toning up and strengthening thighs, bottoms and biceps. Rowing is often referred to as strength endurance exercise and is an intense calorie burning form of exercise which makes it a great choice if you're embarking on a weight loss programme. Rowing machines can be used by beginners or professional athletes and are easy to use. Some models fold in half for storage purposes so they're perfect for use at home when space is at a premium.
How to Use a Rowing Machine
If you're a beginner with the rower, sit on the seat, strap your feet into the foot pedals and take the handlebars with your palms facing downwards. Keeping your wrists flat, extend your arms out in front of you towards the flywheel then slide forward in the seat until your lower legs are completely vertical and 90 degrees to the floor. When in this position, lean forward slightly from the hips.
Extend your legs and push off against the foot pedals keeping your arms straight and your back firm. As your legs straighten, slowly bend your arms whilst leaning back from the seat, finishing this part with a very slight backwards lean.
Then bend your elbows and pull the handlebars in towards your stomach whilst extending your legs. Lean back slightly.
Extend your arms thereby returning the handlebars back towards the flywheel - lean your upper body forward and gradually bend your knees sliding forward in the seat back to where you started.
Tips: don't lean too far back or too far forward at each stage of the row and don't pull hard on the handlebars - maintain a smooth action with both your arms and your legs.
VIBRATION PLATES
Vibration plates are often misunderstood and the misconception is that you can get fit by standing on a vibration plate. That is not the case and all the usual floor exercises you do on a mat can and should be done on a vibration plate. The reason the vibration plate is such a revolutionary piece of fitness equipment is that the machine vibrates which means that while you're exercising your muscles will contract so much more quickly than your body can achieve naturally if you were exercising without one, thereby making your muscles work harder. That's why a full body workout can be achieved in just 15 minutes on a vibration plate which is why they're the perfect choice if you don't have much time to devote to a fitness regime. Hire a vibration plate from us and you'll be able to work out at home whenever you have a spare 15 minutes!
Vibration plates were originally prescribed to astronauts prior to going into space. After considerable research, it was found that after using vibration plates, astronauts' muscles were much stronger and they had more stamina and so were able to sustain longer periods in space.
The research found that vibration plates promote endless health benefits including the obvious weight loss, toning, cellulite reduction etc. In addition, they're a great way to strengthen muscles, increase bone density, increase metabolic rates and increase circulation.
How to Use a Vibration Plate
There are lots of exercises you can perform on a vibration plate such as squats. Begin by standing in the centre of the plate with your legs slightly apart and your feet flat on the plate. Perform the squat as you would on a mat although you may wish to hold on as the vibrations may make you lose your balance a little. If the vibrations are too intense either reduce the power level/frequency or keep your knees slightly bent at all times to avoid the vibrations travelling upwards.
Push ups are fantastic on the vibration plate. Start with either your knees or feet on the ground and place your hands on the plate. To make the exercise harder, do the opposite by having your knees or feet on the plate and your hands on the ground. Lunges are another good example of exercises on a vibration plate. Perform lunges facing the control panel and as you would on an exercise mat.
If you hire a vibration plate from us you'll receive a poster which details lots of exercises that can be done on the plate. You'll also receive attached arm/leg straps and handles for bicep and tricep curls.