Things to Consider when Buying a Hot Tub or Jacuzzi Tub

We recently purchased a new Hot tub and Gazebo from Cal Spas in minnesota. The purchase was not something we planned, just something that caught our eye when visiting the minnesota State Fair. As a result we learned a few things that would have made our purchase smarter. In the end we're pleased with the decision but its easy to say now that all the work is done. In this article I'll outline the information I wish I had considered when making this purchase. I hope it helps you in your decision.

The tub

This isn't going to be a detailed rundown on what to look for in a good tub or who to buy it from. I'll leave that to the other articles out on the internet. There are two points I'll make of things I may have changed. We purchased the top of the line system, the only thing it lacked was an LCD monitor and DVD player.

So what would I change?

Well after using it for a season I find that the multitude of jets is irrelevant for me. I am more of a soaker and actually prefer that the jets aren't all blasting. Its too much noise and I don't like the splashing. So I would look for something at a better price point and give up some of the fancy jets in favor of more common ones.

A friend of mine paid 1/2 of my cost for a more basic unit and he couldn't be happier.

So where would I put this money?

I would ALWAYS splurge and get the stereo and speakers built into the tub. My wife insisted on this and it added quite a bit to the price but I wouldn't want it any other way. The tub uses a marine radio/CD player with water proof speakers and a remote controller on the top side of the tub. You can easily hear the music and I even ran a TV in through the Auxiliary so we can hear the TV through the tub speakers. My friend who didn't buy this feature is left with setting up elaborate wiring and remote control extenders to get his stereo to play outside.

Another feature I'd suggest is fiber optic lighting. There are a bunch of small lights around the top of the tub that change color. At first glance it looks like this would just be to make it fancy. Try the tub at night and you'll find they provide a great deal of light which makes the tub much easier to use. It also helps when messing around outside the tub with CD's Drinks Towels, Chemicals etc.

My friend again, is stringing rope lighting.

So in a nutshell on the tub, consider the stereo and fiber optics and if necessary go with less jets to cover the cost.

Gazebo Information

My wife insisted on a Gazebo surrounding the tub and for years I put off the purchase because I didn't want to spend another $7000.00 on a Gazebo. Once we took the plunge I'd say that for the minnesota winters I'd have it no other way. I have neighbors that freeze climbing in and out and maintaining their spa. Ours is like another room in the house and is quite warm in the winter due to the heat from the tub.

Now a word of advice.

My buddy purchased an 8x8 Gazebo that basically encloses the tub with no extra space. They climb up stairs and go through the windows of the gazebo to get in the tub. On a showroom this looks like a fine arrangement. Well this winter his wife climbs in, closes the windows to keep the cold out and finds herself trapped in the gazebo. They had to damage the windows getting it open due to the condensation that froze the window shut. My smart wife insisted we purchase a larger gazebo. We went with a 12x12 that had racks and storage for chemicals and towels. It also has built in lights which are a bonus.

The important thing to note about this decision is that I enter the gazebo through a sliding door, not the window. If anything freezes it will be the windows by the tub not the ones opposite the room and the sliding door. Additionally its just nice to have a new room on the house and the cost relative to the benefits isn't bad at all. Plus we have room for a bar and stools in there.

Preparation and Additional Costs

Here are a few things to consider in your decision they either provided additional cost or hard work on my part.

Electrical: You'll most likely need a dedicated 50 amp circuit with a breaker box in plain view of the tub. In our case this meant digging a 36 inch deep trench from the garage to the gazebo (50 feet) so the electrician could run the conduit. The cost of the electrical work was about $1000.00 and I had to dig the trench myself. My buddy did his own electrical and still spent $500.00 in parts so keep that in mind.

Cement: I also needed a new cement slab to accommodate my tub and gazebo. We put in a 14x15 slab to accomplish this. What I did not consider was that cement has gone way up in price since my last 10x10 slab. We spent almost $2000.00 for the labor and materials to have this poured. What I also did not consider was the work of removing the grass from that area. This took three days of exhausting work cutting strips of sod and hauling them to the disposal site.

Gazebo: What I did not consider and was not told by the sales rep was that immediately upon erecting the gazebo, we'd need to stain it to seal the wood from the weather. This is a 12x12 structure I hadn't considered staining. Let me just say it was a day of hard work which will need to be done at least every other year.

Additional Items to Consider

A few additional items you may want to consider purchasing.

Cover Helper: The covers of these hot tubs are not easy to move around by yourself. This is especially true in a Gazebo. They sell cover helpers which are lever type devices that life the cover mechanically and put it behind the tub. Unfortunately for me my wife wants the tub against the wall so we're stuck either using 1/2 the tub or man handling the heavy cover. This is my pet peeve about tubs. So if you have the room or consider making the room, this will make your spa much more enjoyable.

Portable Utility Pump: Tubs have a gravity drain at the bottom but these can take all day to drain a tub. My neighbor was smart and purchased a utility pump or sump pump at the local Home Depot or Menards. This drained the tub in about an hour and let us get to work cleaning and refilling fairly quick. After borrowing his I went right out and picked one up for about $70.00 For those of you who've drained a waterbed without a pump you'll know why this is a good investment.

Hose for adding water: Just like with my waterbeds, I prefer to purchase a special hose for adding water to the tub. I keep it inside so it stays clean and not frozen. Tubs evaporate water at a surprisingly fast rate so plan on adding water once a month or so.

In Home Jacuzzi Tubs

When we built our house we splurged and added one of those large two person Jacuzzi tubs with six jets. I thought we'd be in heaven and was reminiscing of nights spent in the Jacuzzi suites in a hotel. What I didn't consider is the following and because it these things, it functions more as an ornament to make the bathroom look grand.

Filling: These things take time to fill, by the time its filled do you still need or want that bath?

Hot Water: Filling these will drain your water heater down unless you've planned for extra capacity. I find that the water for my pre bath shower isn't very warm once I've filled the tub.

Cleaning: Ok so I'm lazy but just like a hot tub, you have to clean the tub and jets and the larger the tub the more work it is just to keep the dust out.

I hope my thoughts have given you something to consider and plan when making a large purchase such as a spa or gazebo. All things considered I'd do it again if I moved but I'd be a little smarter and save money and effort.

About The Author

John Gall is a full time IT Manager and IT Consultant in minnesota. He runs several websites as a hobby featuring content similar to that in this article.

http://www.gallconsulting.com

http://www.sandalspictures.com

http://www.napavalleypictures.com, http://www.winesilove.com

Kram Beginning Yoga Cl

The Best Cardio Workouts

The benefits of exercise are abundant and well documented, and the best cardio workouts can increase your quality of life. One can hardly read a magazine or watch the news without stumbling across a study or doctor claiming a new benefit from exercise.

The research into exercise is conclusive enough, but we all know people in our lives that have their own testimonies to the virtue of exercise and the benefits it creates. While everyone has their own preference of workouts, the best cardio workouts are the ones you enjoy because they are the workouts you will actually complete.

If you find it difficult to workout because you just don't enjoy what you are doing, chances are you won't workout faithfully for very long. The people who see the best results from their workouts are often the people who enjoy their workouts the most.

To help you in your search for the best workout for you, we have assembled a wide variety of the best home gym equipment. If you want a good all around machine that the whole family can use for workouts, a treadmill is the perfect choice.

If you are looking for the one piece of fitness equipment that gives you the best cardio workouts, elliptical cross trainers are an ideal choice. Elliptical cross trainers meet the overall need of any exercise program. They combine a weight bearing exercise that limits the impact on the body while optimizing the cardiovascular benefits creating a total body workout routine.

Home gym workout routines are convenient, easy and reduce the hassles of driving and spending time away from home. For mother and fathers who have young children, home gym workout routines sometimes provide the only way they receive exercise.

walking and running, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes can all provide a physical challenge enough to shake loose the cobwebs from your muscles and work out the stress of the day. No matter what physical shape you are in or what bodily conditions you are working with, there are great cardio routines that will benefit you and bring the glow of health back to your face.

Working out as an adult can have the same draw as playing outside did when we were children. If you are ready to get on the road to the best cardio workouts, choose a workout you actually enjoy and you'll be on your way to a much healthier life.

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This article is supplied by http://www.treadmill-info.com where you will find valuable information, ratings, reviews, articles and buying tips before you make the investment in quality fitness equipment. For more fitness related articles go to: http://www.treadmill-info.com/articles_1.html

Yoga Teacher Certification Philadelphia

What is Yoga Asana

Regardless of what particular school or type of yoga we practice, it is unlikely that many of us are really practicing yoga. Rather we are more likely to focus on only 1 of the 8 limbs of yoga - yoga asana.

yoga asana are the physical positions and postures of yoga that started were really only starting to develop in importance with the development of Hatha yoga. While exact dates are not well established, yoga has existed for a lot longer than the practice of modern asana.

These asana have been developed over more than 1500 years to promote physical health as part of a greater Hatha yoga practice. Each asana is carefully designed to focus on particular areas of the body. The specific effects of an asana include:

• Building strength in specific muscle groups
• Stretching specific soft tissues including muscles, ligament and tendons
• Opening specific joints
• Developing balance and concentration
• Massaging and stimulating internal organs

Individually these effects can have significant benefits, but by combining individual asana into a carefully developed and balanced routine the Hatha yoga practitioner can develop their entire physical body, internal organ function and mental clarity.

How do yoga asana work

Although yoga and asana are not considered to be scientific by western definitions, the practice of asana is considered by yoga masters to be very carefully developed and refined based on several well-developed underlying principles and health objectives.

Gravity One of the key principles of asana is that of gravity. Asana use gravity in a variety of ways, the most important being in developing strength. By resisting body weight on arms or legs the asana can develop upper body or leg strength and muscle tone in the same way a weightlifter would in a gym. With yoga asana the weight being resisted varies only with our own body weight, and each pose can only apply the same amount of body weight meaning that all muscles are developed proportionately so long as each pose is held for an equivalent amount of time. After we can easily hold our body weight in a particular pose, holding the pose for longer builds additional strength and stamina.

Blood flow and nutrients

Blood flow to specific areas of the body brings many health benefits. By working specific muscles, soft tissue and joints, the body brings additional blood flow providing the needed oxygen. This additional blood also brings needed nutrition to those areas, which is essential for general health as well as the speedy recovery from injury and damage. The key way to bring blood to these areas is through stretching. In addition to the increased blood flow, stretching loosens and relaxes soft tissue such as muscles, ligaments and tendons and opens joints, all of which helps to relieve tension and pressure on nerves in these areas.

Deep breathing

During the practice of asana, we are encouraged to control our breath with long deep inhalations and exhalations. In some poses it is even encouraged to still the breath with the lungs full or the lungs empty for periods of 20 seconds to 1 minute. The first benefit of this controlled breathing is to bring our focus and consciousness to the present, to our current actions. By being able to control this focus, we can improve our concentration. Secondly by breathing in this controlled way, we improve the efficiency of our respiratory system, bringing more oxygen to the body and to the organs, muscles and soft tissue being worked on.

Central nervous system and internal organs

Although yoga texts don't tend to describe yoga in the terms used by modern medicine, many of the concepts are analogous to medical structures. With nerves represented as Nadis or energy channels and the Chakras representing key glands. The purpose of asana is to rejuvenate the whole body by conditioning these individual systems to make sure they are working optimally.

One of the key focuses of asana is in on the central nervous system, which comprises the spine and brain. In yoga this could be referred to as the Nadis and crown Chakra. The Central Nervous System is one of the most critical structures in the human body, controlling all movement and thought and passing the control signals to all the nerves throughout the body. Clearly if the function of this core control channel is impeded, it can have an effect on the function of the whole body. One of the plainest examples of this is through back pain and sciatica. Through the misalignment of, or damage to, the spinal disks or vertebrae that protect the spinal cord and root nerves, those same nerves can be pinched or irritated which can lead to intense pain and numbness in the back, as well as referred pain and numbness in the legs or feet. While the causes of damage to the spine can be many and varied, poor posture is a key cause of back pain. Asana for the spine help to bring the fluids that contain the nutrient required to repair the damaged soft tissues and can b effective in healing back problems. However these asana are not always sufficient since poor posture and back pain can also be cause by other elements such as tight hamstring muscles in the back of the legs or gluteus and piriformis muscle groups in the buttocks. Therefore a holistic approach is required to correct the back injury.

Other key systems that asana are designed to address is the glandular and lymphatic systems, particularly the endocrine system. The endocrine glands, which include the thymus, thyroid, pituitary pineal, hypothalamus, adrenal and sex glands release their secretions directly into the blood stream. The secretions made by these glands have an enormously profound effect on the body's health function controlling everything from height and weight to metabolism and emotions. Asana are designed to stimulate these glands in a variety of ways from increasing blood flow to those in the brain (hypothalamus, pituitary and pineal) or thyroid in the neck to gently massage and stimulate through bends and twists of the abdomen.

The next key systems that asana stimulate are the internal organs and digestive systems. Both of these systems are critical to taking in nutrition and expelling waste and toxins from the body, and are particularly important for good health. Asana improve the functioning of these systems through stimulation and gentle massage provided by abdominal bends and twist as well as movement of the hips and legs.

about THE AUTHOR: Jez Heath is helping real people learn yoga online so they can make the commitment necessary to improve their yoga and their health - mind, body and soul. Learn how yoga streaming video can help you transform your life

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