ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 3, 1996 TAG: 9601030038
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Marketplace
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
Today's the Wednesday after New Year's Day, and you just can't ignore those resolutions any longer.
You've decided (again?) that this is the year you're going to get into shape. But the people in those health clubs all look so fit already; there's no way you're going to embarrass yourself in front of those aerobics pros.
If you don't want to give up on your resolution, consider working out at home with personal exercise equipment or videos.
If you opt for the equipment, you can spend thousands of dollars on a home gym, or buy just one or two integral pieces. Your best bet, if you want to spend $300 or less, might be a flat utility bench and a set of dumbbells, says John Morrison, a former bodybuilder and power lifter. Morrison and his wife, Mary, own IFS Inc., a Roanoke company that manufactures and sells fitness equipment.
What? No pulleys? No levers? No motors?
``It's not very glamorous,'' acknowledges Morrison. ``In this high-tech age, people want gee-whiz-bang, Buck Rogers types of things.''
But sometimes simple is more effective. The best ab-toning exercise, after all, is still sit-ups, he says.
``Unfortunately, people want the $400-to-$500 gym station that does everything,'' he says. ``But it doesn't exist. When it comes to fitness, there really is no magic bullet.''
If you're trying to decide what kind of workout you need, Morrison suggests checking the sports or fitness section of your bookstore or library for guide books. Fitness magazines also are a good source of advice, he says.
Unless you're a hard-core bodybuilder, stick with such titles as ``Men's Fitness'' or ``Self,'' rather than muscle mags. The former cater to overall health and fitness, he says, the latter to building bulk.
The more out of shape or the older you are, the more important it is for you to get good, sound advice, Morrison says. That could mean checking with your doctor before beginning a strenuous regimen.
Businesses that specialize in selling fitness equipment often employ trainers who can help you decide what to buy and then teach you how to use it. But Morrison says it's never a bad idea to get another opinion from an uninvolved third party.
Ask for trainer referrals through local health clubs, or get recommendations from people you trust. As Morrison says, just because someone has big muscles and works out in a gym doesn't necessarily mean that he would make a good trainer.
If you don't want to invest several hundred dollars in home equipment - or if you're looking to supplement your workout - consider buying an exercise video or two. There are hundreds of these tapes on the market, and they usually run from about $12 to $20.
Stick with the video instructors who have been around a while, Morrison says. Celebrity videos don't necessarily contain bad information, he says, but the workouts they provide may not be worth your time or money.
``It's kind of become fashionable for everybody and their brother and sister to do fitness videos,'' he says. ``A lot of what's out there is just warmed-over, rehashed and repackaged.''
Some magazines - including ``Shape,'' ``Consumers Digest'' and ``Self'' - rate workout videos. Many of these ratings are compiled in a catalog/guide to exercise videos that's published five times a year by Collage Video of Minneapolis.
Each of the 200 to 300 videos in the guide is paired with a description of the workout that includes length, intensity, toning type and equipment needed. If the video has been reviewed by any magazines, then ratings and comments will be included. And every video in the guide has been selected and tested by the Collage staff of fitness experts.
``We pay them to go home and do videos,'' says Jill Ross, the company's director of customer service. ``We probably have seen more exercise videos than any other group of people on Earth.''
You can order directly from the guide, or use it as a reference when you're out shopping for videos. The guide also features audio cassettes for walking workouts and videos for people with special exercise needs, including children, pregnant women or people with arthritis or back pain.
Or people with New Year's resolutions to keep.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: color.by CNB