Planet Fitness: Torrance

The Best Upper Body Workout Routines for Quick Results Getting bigger and stronger isn't a speedy process and you have to be prepared for improvements to take time. That being said, certain tried and tested routines can help you break through plateaus, build muscle and gain strength, provided you put the intensity in. None of these routines are necessarily better than any other, though they're all highly effective in their own right. Try each to see what your upper body respo...Continue reading

Things to Do While Walking on a Treadmill Walking on a treadmill is good for your health, but all that time spent strolling can be the bane of your to-do list. The good news: Since your eyes, ears and mind aren't all that occupied while you're on a treadmill, you can kill two birds with one stone by turning your workout time into an opportunity for multitasking. Watch Television... If you're fond of television, you might as well sneak in a guilt-free show or two while you're on the treadmill. Not only does watching television as you walk make your workout go quickly, it also lets you feel good about screen time that might otherwise have felt like a waste of a potentially productive evening or afternoon. Listen to the Radio Listening to the radio is another way of doubling up on your productivity, catching a favorite program that occupies your ears while your legs are busy helping you break a sweat. Even if your workout time doesn't sync up with your favorite radio programs, you can often stream them or download them as podcasts. Read If you're walking on a gym treadmill, it probably already has a reading rack installed. You can purchase a similar accessory for your home treadmill to hold your book open to the right page. If you find walking and reading at the same time to be a dizzying experience -- or feel that reading slows you down -- you can "read" by listening to an audiobook instead. Work This one's a stretch for a gym treadmill, but relatively easy to pull off at home. You can either purchase a ready-made desk that fits over your treadmill belt or look for an accessory shelf just large enough to hold a laptop. Plenty of DIY alternatives exist, too; the simplest is to place a board across your treadmill's side handlebars -- if it has them -- then rest your laptop on top of that. Of course, you probably won't be walking very quickly as you type or mouse around, but with a little practice, you should be able to maintain a reasonable pace. Work Out Since you already have exercise on your mind, why not go whole hog and intensify your walking workout with a little upper-body activity? Try shadowboxing or lifting light weights as you walk. Just about anything goes, as long as it's not so distracting or difficult that it might cause you to stumble.