How the DP Exercise Bike Stacks Up Against Better Known Brands

The name DP exercise bike might not be as recognizable as other brands like Schwinn, Nautilus and ProForm, but this brand has been around for quite some time and is one of the most respected names in the physical fitness business. Currently, DP is better known for selling exercise bike parts and exercise equipment supplies.

Most DP indoor bikes are old models and are quite difficult to get hold of except in online stores and secondhand retailers. One of the models of DP that became quite popular was the DP Fit for Life Airgometer upright bike. This model costs around $1,000 to $1,200 and carries the basic features of an upright indoor bike.

Another model from the DP fitness brand is the Vita Master MBP2. It features various program settings and tension controls. It also has a heart-rate monitor and features battery operated controls. Aside from the Vita Master and the Airgometer, DP also offers DP Air Advantage, DP AirCisor, DP Prime Fit 6100, DP Sit for Life Aircizer and DP Vitamaster MD193.

DP has been overshadowed by more recognizable brands like Schwinn and ProForm. Schwinn, for one, has multiple models out in the market, including the 230 recumbent bike, the 130 upright and the Airdyne exercise bike. Scwhinn's products can cost from $350 to over $1,000. One of the brand's more expensive model, the Evolution, sells at more than $1,000 and has been highly rated by product reviewers. It features an inertia drive system, adjustable resistance and direct drive gearing.

ProForm, another brand competing with DP in the indoor bike market, offers machines that cost $150 to $1,200. One of its low end models is the SR30. The features of this machine are very basic and the model is geared at entry level market. It features magnetic resistance, pulse sensors and an LCD console. Other ProForm models targeting the low end and middle markets are the SR80, GL 35 and GL 105.

The DP brand might not be at the top of the market, but its machines still serve the basic operating functions of exercise bikes. They offer users the ability to tone and strengthen leg and thigh muscles and provide an effective cardiovascular exercise routine. Limited availability aside, DP exercise machines, including the secondhand models being sold in online auction sites, might still be worth consumers' time and investment.

The DP exercise bike is not exactly hogging the physical fitness equipment limelight, but there are still those who like the brand. For these loyal customers, auction sites and online stores are their best options of finding one these products.

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What is Creatine Loading, and is it a Better Way to Build Muscle?

If you are a serious bodybuilder, you have more than likely heard of the term, creatine loading. If you have heard of the term, but you are not quite certain exactly what it means, this article will give you a little more insight into a practice that a lot of bodybuilders swear by.

Creatine is a substance that occurs naturally in some of the high protein foods that we eat and is also manufactured by our bodies. When our muscles need energy to perform work they get this energy from ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Creatine plays an important role in regenerating a depleted ATP supply in our muscles. Many bodybuilders think that if a little creatine is good then more is certainly better and this leads a lot of people to experiment with taking various dosages of the supplement.

Many athletes and bodybuilders believe that they can optimize their muscle growth and strength gain by cycling their creatine dosages, taking a larger than usual dose for a period of time and then taking the regular, recommended dose for a period of time. The larger doses in the beginning of the cycle would be the creatine loading phase and the smaller doses are a maintenance phase.

Creatine can definitely help you have more effective workouts, gain muscle mass, and even reduce recovery time after a workout but there is some disagreement over whether creatine loading is beneficial or if you're just wasting your money on extra supplements. The recommended dosage of 5 grams is perfect for most people. For hard-core bodybuilders and elite athletes a loading and maintenance cycle may have some benefits. While just about anybody that works out can benefit from creatine supplementation, studies have shown that some people respond to loading and cycling and others do not.

For the people whose bodies do not respond to loading and cycling, extra supplementation is excreted from the body so there is really no point in taking more than the recommended dosage. For people that do respond positively to creatine loading other studies have shown that the effect is greatest during the first 48 hours so the loading phase should be no more than two or three days before you go into the maintenance phase of the cycle. The only way to be certain whether you will respond to creatine loading is to try it for yourself and monitor the results.

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