There are two kinds of body fat:  essential and storage.  Essential body fat is necessary for the normal functioning of the body for healthy living and reproduction.  Storage body fat accumulates in adipose tissue to meet our energy needs.  Its secondary functions are to protect our vital organs, joints, and nerves in addition to providing us with thermal insulation from the heat and cold.  Too little fat is just as bad for us as too much fat.  Less than 3% in men and less than 10% in women is unhealthy.  A certain amount of body fat is actually good for us.

So how much is too much?  The American College of Sports Medicine generally considers 4-22% in males and 16-35% in females to be within the healthy range for adults under 40.  (Acceptable levels of body fat increase slightly beyond age 40.)  Going beyond these levels is often regarded as risky.  Too much belly fat – called central obesity – in apple-shaped physiques increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and osteoarthritis.  Too much lower body fat in the buttocks, thighs, and hips of pear-shaped individuals can decrease the efficiency of brain memory functions.

Many of us want to burn excess fat both to improve our health and our looks.  High-intensity exercise will effectively do this.  It is, therefore, important to do the right kinds of exercises.  You may have tried going to a gym but found it inconvenient for many reasons.  The most sensible solution is to buy your own exercise equipment.  The right kind of fitness equipment will burn fat all over your body and replace it with lean muscle.  The best machine for this purpose is a home gym that targets all your problem areas and gives you a great cardiovascular workout in the process.  After all, a firm body and a fit heart go together.  Improved blood circulation also increases the efficiency of our vital organs, including the brain.

The Bowflex Blaze is an awesome home gym for burning calories at a blazing rate.  On this machine, you can perform sixty gym-level exercises that work all your muscle groups.  That’s more than you’ll ever need for fat burning, strength training, muscle building, and cardiovascular efficiency!  You can do all these without the use of free weights or cumbersome weight plates.  Proprietary Power Rod technology provides all the resistance you’ll need to quickly switch from one routine to another and burn fat at a faster rate.  Up to 210 lbs. of resistance is built into this home gym, which is enough to give you a noticeably trim and firm body that is strong and well-defined.  You can easily upgrade to 310 and 410 lbs. for building big, rock-hard muscles.  Each power rod comes with a lifetime warranty, so this home gym will see you through many years of use.

The Bowflex Blaze package includes a sliding seat rail for performing aerobic rowing exercises as well as leg presses.  It also comes with attachments for leg curls and leg extensions in addition to a lat bar.  Other features are ankle cuffs and triple-function handgrips.  All of these serve to increase the amount and variety of your exercises.  An owner’s fitness manual and 20-minute workout placard will guide you through a program that will give you the results you need.  Twenty minutes a day, three days a week are all you need on the Bowflex Blaze to burn excess fat and get the fit, sexy body you’ve always wanted.