Links that lead to off-site pages about health.
In addition to notes about the site, I will also make notes of my shopping experiences with them (syntax: "Shopping Experience:"), and I will include notes by trusted sources. For common items: Find the make and model you like, then Google/Amazon it to find the seller with the best price. For uncommon items: Good luck!
See Plate Weights for barbells and plates.
Chicago
- Chicago Home Fitness [chicagohomefitness.com].
- 'Your complete source for treadmills, ellipticals, exercise bikes, spinners, rowers, steppers, home gyms, weight machines, free weights, accessories, and other home exercise equipment.'
- 2000 N. Clybourn Ave. Chicago, IL 60614. 773-770-0162.
- 1555 N. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60622. 312-943-2300.
- ericsgym.com. Supposedly in Chicago, but they don't give an address.
- Fitness Factory [fitnessfactory.com].
- Shopping Experience: It's nice to not have to pay shipping for heavy things. I've bought a few things from them in 2008 and 2009: Olympic barbell, a few metal plates, collars (Muscle Clamps brand), some kettlebells, and a few knick knacks. Too bad they don't sell bumper plates.
- 2228 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, IL 60614. (773) 395-4100.
- Play It Again Sports [playitagainsportswrigleyville.com]. New and used sports equipment.
- Shopping Experience: 2009. I've bought several used things there: A 15 Kg women's Olympic barbell bar. A 3-tier dumbell rack. A few dumbells.
- 3939 North Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60613. (773)305-9900.
Bands
Aka resistance bands, exercise bands, fitness bands, strength bands. Good for assisted pull ups (41", hitch it on the bar and step on), assisted hand stands (see http://crossfitednavalley.com/?p=25#comments), and all sorts of other goodies. Bands are also available at the more general sites such as MuscleDriver USA.
Bumpers and Barbells
- These folks have stuff meeting International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) [iwf.net] competition standards as well as training stuff:
- Major brands with stuff for training.
- Bigger Faster Stronger. Their non-Hampton and non-Ivanko stuff bumpers seem like the same bumpers as sold at Iron Comapny?
- Hampton. As sold at Iron Company.
- Hitechplate. Makes a tough technique plate. As sold at Again Faster and Pendlay.
- Hi-Temp. Recycled rubber. Stainless steel inserts instead of brass. As sold at Garage Gym, Pendlay, and Rogue Fitness. Good idea but diameter is 440 mm instead of the IWF standard of 450 mm.
- Ivanko [ivankobarbell.com]. Including calibrated stuff. As sold at Iron Company and Sorinex.
- Kraiburg. As sold at Again Faster, Garage Gym, Pendlay, and The Rubber Man.
- Mavrik [mavrikbarbell.com]. Plates and bars in Kg.
- Pendlay Barbell [pendlaybarbell.com]. They make their own bars. As far as bumpers, they sell Hi-Temp, Kraiburg, WFW, and Hitechplate. They sell other weight lifting gear. A division of MuscleDriver USA. Glenn Pendlay. As sold at Rogue Fitness.
- Shopping Experience: 2009-01-05: I ordered a pair of 45# bumper plates (Hi-Temp brand) and a pair of 5# technique bumper plates (Hitech brand). The arrived lightning fast via FedEx. I like how they include shipping with the price of the plates. After doing my comparison shopping for bumper plates (different sites, brands, prices, shipping prices), I think the best choice is to get Hi-Temp at Pendlay.
- Shopping Experience: 2009-10-01: I thought the diameter looked smaller but I finally confirmed it. The H8i-Temp diameter is 440 mm instead of the IWF standard of 450 mm. So now I like Kraiburg with their stainless steel inserts.
- Shopping Experience: 2010-08: I've been wanting to get 55# bumper plates for a while, so when I saw that they had a new version of their Pendlay Econ Bumper Plates and that they were reducing the price on their old version, I jumped on it. I got a pair of the old plates for $151.99. They arrived in a timely fashion. The plates chipped off at a few spots so I'll have to see how they hold up.
- Powermax. Recycled rubber. Stainless steel inserts instead of brass. As sold at Garage Gym.
- TDS. As sold at New York Barbell.
- WFW. Chinese. As sold at Pendlay.
- Wright. American. Jason Hughes. As sold at Again Faster and Garage Gym.
- York [yorkfitness.com]. British. As sold at Iron Mind and Rogue Fitness. Its US site is York Barbell [yorkbarbell.com].
Gymnastic Rings
The standard distance between rings is 50 cm = 19.69", the cables are standardized at 300 cm = 9.84'.
Medicine Balls
Specialty Dumbbells
Miscellany
- AbMat [abmat.net]. Maker of the AbMat.
- Again Faster Equipment [againfaster.com]. Exercise gear, especially gear for CrossFit.
- All Pro Exercise Products [allproweights.com]. Mostly wearable weights.
- Shopping Experience: 2009-03: I bought their Weight Adjustable Exercise Vest, the 40# model with 80 individual 0.5# weights. A fair enough vest. I like the adjustable weights and the placement. I'm fine with the somewhat dated look. My one actual complaint is that it needs a 2nd strap higher up because the vest is loose on me and thus I have to run while holding it down with 2 hands, otherwise it bangs against me.
- Bigger Faster Stronger [biggerfasterstronger.com]. Exercise gear.
- Shopping Experience: 2008-12-05: I ordered a pair of 25# bumper plates (no identifiable brand) and a 15# technique Olympic bar (Aluma Lite). The bumper plates arrived in a timely manner but the bar did not. After a few days (on 2008-12-22), I called and they didn't know that it had been shipped back to them. They said they'd resend it. After the holidays, I called back and they thought they had sent it but actually they had not, so they said they said they would send it for sure this time. I finally got the bar on 2009-01-12, more than a month later. I saw on the receipt that it was originally sent back because of damage.
- buyjumpropes.net. Jump ropes for double dutch, fitness, speed, double unders, school, etc.
- Concept2 CTS [concept2cts.com]. Maker of the Concept2 row machines.
- Dick's Sporting Goods [dickssportinggoods.com]. Exercise and sports gear. Mainstream.
- FitStrength [fitstrength.com]. Exercise gear.
- IronCompany.com. Exercise gear. Shipping included on stuff like barbells and bumper plates!
- Iron Mind [ironmind.com]. Exercise gear and information. Including the Vulcan Racks.
- Ironw Woody Fitness Equipment [ironwoodyfitness.com]. Exercise gear, CrossFit orientation.
- MuscleDriver USA [muscledriverusa.com]. Exercise gear, CrossFit orientation. Shipping included on bumper plates!
- Shopping Experience: 2010-05. I ordered and promptly received 4 mats: 3/4" x 4' x 6'. It turns out that inspite of the shipping costs, it's still cheaper to order these large sheets at $40 a shot than to get individual tiles 16" x 16" or 24" x 24" mats at the hardware store. The 4' x 6' mats don't move as much and are less likely to have gaps between tiles.
- Nautilus [nautilus.com]. Exercise gear like the Stairmaster.
- New York Barbells [newyorkbarbells.com]. Exercise gear. Not to be confused with York [yorkfitness.com] the British maker and its US site at York Barbell [yorkbarbell.com].
- Nortbert's Atheletic Products [nortberts.com]. Gymnastics gear.
- Power Systems [power-systems.com]. Exercise gear. Widest selection of collars: http://www.power-systems.com/s-53-bar-collars-accessories.aspx.
- Rogue Fitness [roguefitness.com]. Exercise gear, especially gear for CrossFit.
- Shopping Experience: 2009-01-05: I ordered a 20# medicine ball (Dynamax brand). It arrived in a timely manner. With the free shipping offer, it was cheaper than getting the ball direct from Dynamax [medicineballs.com].
- Shopping Experience: 2009-02-11: I ordered a pair of Rogue rings and a pair of Ultra Speed Cable Jump Ropes. See my review of the rings in my section on rings. The cable jump rope is fast and light, however since the cable comes out at 90 degrees to the handle, you may have a harder time time doing some maneuvers like cross overs.
- Sorinex Exercise Equipment [http://store.sorinex.com/]. Exercise gear.
- ShapeUpShop.com. Exercise and sports gear.
- The Garage Gym Store [theg2scart.com]. Exercise gear, especially gear for CrossFit.
- The Rubber Man [http://www.therubberman.com/fitness.asp]. Exercise gear. Especially flooring.
Anatomy
Body Fat Percentage Calculators
There are many ways to calculate body fat percentage [W].
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Related: Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Official
- CDC.gov. Centere for Disease Control and Prevention.
- DHHS.gov. US Dept. of Health & Human Services.
- NIH.gov. National Institute of Health.
- Red Cross
- World Health Organization (WHO) [WHO.int]. 'the United Nations specialized agency for health, was established on 7 April 1948. WHO's objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined in WHO's Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.'
Wikipedia
Miscellany
- Cure Zone [CureZone.com]. 'Educating instead of medicating'
- DEBRA (Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association of America) [DebRAa.org].
- I saw the Channel 4 documentary The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, which chronicled the life and death of English EB sufferer Jonny Kennedy. It was very moving.
- 'This Web site is your entry point to the only national non-profit organization dedicated to both promoting research to find new treatments and a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa and providing information and support for people with EB and their families.'
- GodServer.com. 'Web's Largest Alternative Health and Spiritual Directory'
- Good sleep, good learning, good life [SuperMemo.com/articles/sleep.htm]
- HealthNewsDigest.com. 'Current and breaking news on health, science & technology, medicine and the environment'
- Kilgore International [kilgoreinternational.com]. Medical and dental models and such.
- KidsHealth.org. 'the largest and most-visited site on the Web providing doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence.'
- Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health [mum.org]. A wee bit more fun then looking up the Menstrual cycle on Wikipedia.
- Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma (NISMAT) [nismat.org]
- 'the first hospital-based facility dedicated to the study of sports medicine in the country—was established at Lenox Hill Hospital in 1973. Since its founding as a research, teaching and clinical center, NlSMAT's approach to the treatment of athletic injuries has brought a new perspective to the relationship between exercise and fitness in all age groups. Its ongoing work provides information relevant to everyone who participates in exercise or sports, whether it is a child at play or an elderly person exercising to keep fit, a weekend athlete or a marathon runner.'
- Lots of nifty stuff such as these:
- PDRHealth.com. 'part of Thomson Healthcare [thompsonhealthcare.com], which offers a wide range of e-solutions, publications, drug databases, and communications vehicles to pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers, and managed-care organizations.'
- Tennessee Craniofacial Center [craniofacialcenter.com]
- 'The Tennessee Craniofacial Center, part of the Erlanger Health System, is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Center, led Larry A. Sargent, M.D., specializes in the evaluation and treatment of patients of all ages with craniofacial deformities.'
- Amazing before and after photos.
- "The Anatomy of a Head Injury" [http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~cahr/headfall.html]
- trusera.com. A social site for health issues. "Trusera is an online health network where you can find and share real-world experiences. Come experience the Power of Been There.™"
- WebMD.com. 'the leader in providing services that help physicians, consumers, providers and health plans navigate the complexity of the healthcare system. Our products and services streamline administrative and clinical processes, promote efficiency and reduce costs by facilitating information exchange, communication and electronic transactions between healthcare participants.'
- Medscape.com. 'Medscape offers specialists, primary care physicians, and other health professionals the Web's most robust and integrated medical information and education tools.'
Health Clubs, Fitness Centers, and Gyms. Workout in a gym whether big or small. Workout at home or anywhere as well. Don't forget your local parks too. I'm mostly listing clubs that have locations local to Chicago and I'm familiar with.
Lists
National Chains of Clubs
Oddly no official Gold's Gyms or Powerhouse Gyms in Chicago.
Chicago Clubs