Of all the exercise equipment found in your local sporting goods store, the best bargain of all may be the smallest and least expensive. The lowly pedometer is often overlooked in the quest to find the perfect piece of exercise equipment to take off those excess pounds. But, the pedometer may have more calorie burning power than you might think. Here are some of the healthy, fat blasting benefits of owning a pedometer:

1. It helps you burn more calories

Numerous studies have shown that people who wear a pedometer on a daily basis take extra steps, in some cases up to 10,000 steps per day! And it only takes a few extra steps each day to add up to weight loss over time. It seems just by strapping on this handy little device, you become more aware of the need to move.

2. It serves as a constant motivator

The simple act of strapping on a pedometer can be a strong motivating force for movement. Knowing that every step is being monitored and recorded gives you the incentive to take a few extra steps here and there throughout the day. A pedometer serves as your own personal step trainer, reminding you to walk a little faster and a little farther.

3. It can cause you to change the way you do things

By giving you an objective record of how many steps you use to perform a particular task, it can allow you to make adjustments that will burn more calories. For example, if you find you’re taking too few steps during work hours, you can adjust your schedule to allow you to walk during lunch, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or take the long way through the building. These small changes can result in significant weight loss over time.

4. It’s portable

If you travel for business a pedometer is one piece of exercise equipment that will easily fit in your suitcase. Once you reach your destination there’s no need to find a gym. Simply take several brisk walks around your hotel each day using your pedometer to monitor your progress. It’s exercise at its simplest and most enjoyable.

5. They’re inexpensive!

We all know why it’s important to exercise. We know that obesity is a growing problem in the western world and our lifestyles do little to help us get adequate exercise. That makes us fat and unhealthy. But with so much emphasis on how one looks nowadays, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of exercising to be slim, rather than exercising to be healthy. And if you’re depriving your body of certain foods in an attempt to keep your weight down, you may never achieve the results you want through exercise.

Anyone with an interest in what they put into their bodies will have a basic understanding of food nutrition. They’ll know the foods that make them fat and the foods that help them avoid catching colds. But if you’re following an exercise regimen then you may need to pay a little more attention to the foods you’re eating. Because while we all know that weight loss is achieved through restricting calorie consumption, this has to be done sensibly. Without the proper nutrients, the body can become lethargic, and when this happens, you’re at risk of losing motivation and skipping your work-outs. Then before long, you’re back to your old habits, and the weight you initially lost has crept back on -- with a few additional pounds.

Daily exercise is important because as well as burning calories it increases the flow of oxygen to all parts of the body and strengthens muscles, including the heart. It can also help reduce the risk of contracting some diseases including diabetes and high blood pressure. But in order for the body to be able to exercise efficiently it needs to be fed the proper fuel -- and that includes carbohydrates. Carbohydrates have attracted bad press in the last few years. But no matter how many diets claim rapid weight loss by eliminating carbohydrates, they are an important food group, especially for those who exercise on a regular basis.

If your body’s stock of carbohydrate is low then it will start depleting its liver and muscle glucose stores, and when these are empty the body will start using up its fat stores. This in turn leads the body to believe it is being starved and, as a result, it lowers its metabolic rate. As soon as carbohydrates are introduced back into the diet, the body re-stocks all its depleted stores just in case the same happens again, which means that weight gain is inevitable.

Regardless of what type of exercise you do, your body will always need glucose for energy. Glucose, formed from the breakdown of carbohydrates, is stored as glycogen, and needs to be regularly topped up as the body can store only a limited amount. If you don’t consume enough carbohydrates and you continue to exercise, you will soon become fatigued: this is when motivation disappears and goals are abandoned.

It’s a simple equation: the more physical activity you engage in the more glucose your body uses so the more carbohydrates you need to consume.

Carbohydrates also have a role to play in post-exercise: consuming carbohydrates within 15 minutes of your work-out will help restore glycogen. And eating 100 – 200 grams of carbohydrate within two hours of endurance exercise will help build an adequate store of glycogen for continued training. Stick to complex carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, fruits, and vegetables; these are usually more nutritious than simple carbohydrates which are often accompanied with high levels of fat (e.g. chocolate).

Cutting carbohydrates from your diet isn’t a short-cut to weight loss. In the long run, these foods will help you get the most from your exercise program and keep you on the right track to continued health.

There was once a time when women were afraid of weight training. Back in those days, they were also afraid of looking strong. After all, June Cleaver and Donna Reed didn’t have muscles, did they? Times have changed. Women now know that just as strong women are desirable, strong muscles are beautiful. As such, they have embraced the power of the mighty weight. And such a power it is! Here are some of the reasons why fitness-savvy women are adding weight training to their workout programs.

A Question of Balance

Whoever it was that created us made us almost perfect. Unfortunately, there were a couple of glitches. One of them is called muscular imbalance. Women are naturally stronger in their quadriceps than their hamstrings. This makes us more susceptible to injuries such as ACL tears. This injury is common amongst female athletes. One of the reasons this happens is because during the some movements, the legs decide to extend when flexion would have been the protective response. Why would your legs do such a silly thing? Simple answer: They had no choice. While your hamstrings control flexion, your quads control extension. Since your quads are your stronger muscle group, they will often respond to tasks that should have been performed by the hamstrings. As a result, the hamstrings might atrophy.

Your office might provide a good example of this scenario. If one person does all of the work, the other employees are under worked, and therefore might “atrophy.” Taking this idea out of the office and into the weight room, women can perform extra hamstring exercises to correct this muscular imbalance.

Another common muscular imbalance happens between the chest and the upper back. The pectorals, which are the muscles of the chest, are stronger than the back muscles. However, since these are our “beach muscles,” for vanity’s sake, we tend to work them harder. However, when we perform more chest than back exercises, we created a hunched posture, which can lead to back and neck pain.

It’s All Done with Muscles

Speaking of muscular imbalances, correcting them can also make you look slimmer. For most women, the hip bone is wider than the collarbone. This is why many women appear to have big hips. Most try to mask the issue by wearing shoulder pads. What if we told you that you can create your own, natural shoulder pads? By exercising your deltoids, which are your shoulder muscles, you can make your upper body look wider, which can make your hips look smaller.

It gets better. If you perform exercises for your lats, such as the lat pull down, you create a beautiful, V-shaped torso. This can actually make your waist look smaller. You can also create the appearance of having major cleavage by performing the chest-fly exercise. But remember, as mentioned above; do not do more chest exercises than back exercises.