Inversion tables are designed to hold a person upside down and counteract gravity's attempt to pull your head down around your feet. Using a gravity inversion machine, the weight of the body decompresses the spine; gravity makes the blood flow change slightly and helps the lymphatic system pull toxins from the system. Many other potentially positive changes take place in the body. Inversion therapy is a sports and fitness program that began with Hippocrates 24 centuries ago and, today, is used by pro sports teams, professional gyms and medical facilities as well as home gym machines. This inversion table buying guide will help you figure out how to buy inversion machines that will best meet your needs.
If you are new to a fitness program, you should get a check-up before you begin. Most exercise is good for you, but if you have certain health conditions, some exercises can make them worse, not better. After a thorough exam, your doctor can discuss your individual fitness situation and may recommend home gyms or exercises to address your specific needs.
Many people find inversion tables to be a great workout machine because they don't have to invert completely--60 degrees is often as good as 90 degrees--and for some, 5 to 15 minutes twice a day is time enough to obtain positive effects. When users follow the advice of their medical professional and athletic trainers, an inversion table is almost certain to benefit anyone.
Inversion therapy tables are considered weight machines, even though they have no weights--the user's body weight provides the traction needed to stretch the back and joints. (After all, if you have a whole planet tugging on you, you might as well make good use of it.) Since you will be hanging from your ankles, you want an inversion table that will support your full weight so that your fitness equipment will last for many years.
Frame
Make sure the degree of inversion is controllable. You should start by using your with shallow inversion table use, then work your way up to 60 or 90 degrees. Inversion tables would be prohibitively expensive to ship in one giant box, so look for one that's easy to assemble. Beyond those basics, the best frame is the frame that fits your individual needs:
Platform and clamps
How you hold your body in position will vary by model. Generally, you'll stand on a platform, snug a clamp around your ankles and you're good to go. Feet are not, of course, the same size, so an adjustable platform is a must. For those who can't or prefer not to hang by the ankles, a padded knee bar provides a great alternative.
Back pads
Thick pads are more comfortable than thin pads, obviously, but bulkier isn't necessarily better. Look for quality, rather than quantity. Some pads have a notch at the top (or the bottom, when in use) allowing users to rest face down as well as face up. Some inversion table models have removable pads to allow greater freedom for exercise routines. Alternatively, a molded bed in a mesh or honeycomb design with little or no padding is an attractive option. The bed isn't the only thing that should be padded; the platform and clamps need padding; the arm rests and other parts may be more comfortable when covered in foam. A deluxe inversion table with a padded headrest or lumbar support could be worth a little extra money.
Motor
In economy model fitness inversion tables, the user rotates the bed. Premium models are power inversion tables; you can move up or down with the flick of a switch.
Table
Among inversion machines, the inversion table is the most common style; it provides full-length support for the body while inverted.
Seat
The basic inversion table has a straight back, and the user lies flat. A seated inversion machine is shaped like a chair; the upper body bends at the hip to straighten the lower spine bend. Seated inversion machines produce less stress on hips, knees and ankles than inversion tables and many are adjustable to serve persons of different heights. If you go this route, be sure to get an inversion machine with a seat belt!
Roman chair
An almost completely different machine compared to the standard inversion table, it has a rest for the hips and a padded bar for the ankles or knees, but no back support. Stretch out face down on the chair and lean forward to invert the upper body only. Depending on the model, your lower legs point straight behind, at an angle or straight up while your upper legs are level or at an angle. Your upper body is unsupported; you can invert or try some reverse ab crunches. These inversion table exercises may be right for people with ankle or knee issues or those who want more workout than stretch, but a Roman chair does not involve the whole body as well as the original design.
Mini
This model is short enough that you cannot full invert. Many people find great relief with less than full inversion, and if space is tight, these models will take up less.
Vibration pads attach to the inversion table bed for muscle relaxing work over, a marvelous add-on for inversion bed users who can't afford an in-house massage therapist.
A hand brake can hold the inversion exercise table steady while you mount and dismount.
Who should not use inversion therapy?
No fitness program is right for everyone--all exercise regimens include some risk--and no one should start a new program without a doctor's advice. Persons with any serious health condition should have a serious, detailed discussion with their primary health care provider regarding all inversion table benefits and risks, just like any other program.
No pain, no gain?
No way! Your body is well-designed for being upside down, but how many people over age 10 do the Dracula regularly? Like yoga and Pilates, elliptical trainers or other exercise routines, ease into inversion table exercise--begin slowly, perhaps 5 minutes with a 20-degree tilt, then increase your routine as your body gets used to it. You'll enjoy it more, which means you'll get more out of it.
Do I just hang there?
You can. However, you may get more benefit from exercise fitness routines designed to be performed inverted. Before your physician consult, visit the Overstock.com entertainment store for some great fitness how-to books or inversion table DVDs and talk them over with your doctor.
Make inversion part of a plan
Inversion therapy is good, but it isn't everything. Make it part of a long-term, comprehensive exercise fitness plan and you'll get more out of your inversion therapy and the rest of your fitness program. Check out all of Overstock.com's home gym equipment and you'll find the exercise machines that fit your specific needs.
Make fitness fun
Don't just walk around the neighborhood or the mall; walk around a museum or art gallery and learn something. Walk among the hills and mountains and enjoy the grandeur of nature. Overstock.com's book store has plenty of city guides, artist bios or nature guides to tell you what's what.
Don't just lift weights; swing an ax and chop some wood, and then cozy up with someone special in front of the fireplace from the Overstock.com home store. Many activities can be total fitness activities. If exercise machine time is hard for you, breaking the routine will make it much easier.
