Exercise Machine advice?

Thank you for replying.

I will give it a go. Now I am off to walk the dogs at the park. They really are good at making me get of my bottom and doing something.

Good luck with your journey.

J

http://exercise.about.com/od/strengthtrainingworkouts/Upper_Body_Workouts.htm

check these out. to start with just use some tin cans or water bottles. water bottles would be good as you can add water to make them heavier. look at a yoga mat to do core/tummy work, they are cheap. don't bother buying weights until you are ready. Some of these you can do sitting down. don't waste money buying machines at this stage. I brought a treadmill 2nd hand and it has some weights. I have only used it a few times, I brought it for the times it is either too hot or cold and I haven't been able to walk or go to the swimming centre.

My surgeon told me it is very important for me to do plenty of upper body weight training for the first year. i have about another 80 kgs to lose and the concern is losing too much muscle.
I do plenty of walking at park and pool but need some ideas for upper body work. I used a treadmill years ago and loved it but it is the upper body muscles that need work. I have looked at something called the "HUMAN TRAINER" but not sure how to make the exercises work for me as my knees are too dodgy to do most of the standing up excercises.
Home gyms seem to be a bit dodgy unless you pay a fortune and then they take up half a room.

Anyone have some good ideas and suggestions?

JAYMAR

Ginks, how do you find the vibration platform? What do use it for?

Invest in a gym membership..

Variety over something you can just fob off.

LOVE my treadmill. I'm quite time poor, so for me it was a good solution - darkness, rain, cold etc are no longer valid excuses! Speed / incline / programs can be adjusted to suit my level of tiredness / keen-ness. (Is that a word?)

I also bought some yogalates DVDs - I do an hour on the weekends, I figure that's equal to going to a class once a week.



W.

Healthcare and fitness experts recommend that we do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Research also indicates that people that maintained their weightloss had high levels of physical activity >30 mins three times a week, up to 1 hr / day of moderate-intensity activity.

As for a recommendation on an exercise machine, it depends what you want it for. If you want to burn fat/loose weight with cardio & moderate toning and you are time poor (why you want to do it from home), then an elliptical trainer (cross trainer) or treadmill would be best. Although a bike is good it does not increase your heart rate as well.

I am time poor and with little kids and work find it hard to leave the house. I had a bike and elliptical trainer a while back and ended up getting rid of the bike (heart rate was hard to get up as high and found it boring). I recently purchased a treadmill. Although I love the elliptical trainer my weight has made an impact on my knees and I cannot do any more than 15 minutes on it anymore without my knees hurting for a few days after. So now I do 30 minutes on the treadmill and sometimes extend my workout to 40 minutes doing extra ten minutes on the elliptical. Now I have a exercise/study room (also have a vibration platform)!

I am in love with my treadmill as you can do so many different variety of workouts; walking, jogging and using the incline and a mixture of all. You can also increase your workout with your increased fitness level too.

I was going to rent a treadmill for 3 months which is the minimum time however with a middle range treadmill found it would cost around $400. The rent to purchase plans were expensive and their treadmills were overpriced. I then decided to purchase a second hand one, did some research and got one for $500 (2 years old, hardly used, new price was $1,500) as I thought that I could always sell it if I did not use it and I would at least still be in a better position than if I had rented one.

So based on my experience, if you got the room get a second hand treadmill (make sure it has auto incline).

Sorry about this long post!

I have my bike and a crosstrainer and i am thinking about buying a treadmill as at the gym i love the treadmill,i also think if you listen to your music on your ipod makes it easier,each to their own i say.

I use a treadmill about 5 times a week, and have done since coming home from hospital, I started out at 10 mins morning and night then built up time and speed gradually over time, I now use different programs for going up and down hills and running as well. I have found this fits in with my lifestyle as I can do it whilst my son is watching TV and am not reliant on weather or opening hours, can just exercise when I feel like it. I usually watch a movie on my iPad at the same time. I also attribute the treadmill with my thinner thighs as I have lost 16cm off each thigh and a friend of mine who did her measurements at the same time as me had not lost any weight but had lost cm of her thighs.

I agree with the suggestion to try and hire first to see if you like it and are going to use it. Most hire places will take your hire cost off the purchase price.

Cheers
Melissa

I bought a treadmill a while back and have only used it less than ten times :/ It is now packed up as I live with my mother and her husband and he wont allow it to be set up. I am actually trying to sell it if you are interested PM me :) As kayt83 says, you can do things like treadmill/bike in front of the telly and not feel guilty :D.

I have tried a cross trainer at the gym, and it absolutely tired the crap out of me, could only do about 10 mins. Of course if I was consitant with my gym visits it would get easier and I would spend longer on there, but I think anyone would get more use out of a bike/treadmill at first.

Kayla

I'd just purchased the aeropilates xp, got the message that will be delievered tomorrow!!! hoohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will let you know if it's as good as shown on the infotainment :)

Ishtar wrote:

Another option could be to pay for a single session at a local gym and they usually offer a personal trainer for the first session. You can then get shown how to use the equipment and have a go on them all. You may even like the gym and join instead of buying one machine. Good luck with the exercise. I hate it too but just joined the gym and had my first big work out today. Actually enjoyed it once I was there and it was nice to see a half and half ratio of fat and skinny people there. Lol.

Thanks everyone ... 'food' for thought - Jo

Another option could be to pay for a single session at a local gym and they usually offer a personal trainer for the first session. You can then get shown how to use the equipment and have a go on them all. You may even like the gym and join instead of buying one machine. Good luck with the exercise. I hate it too but just joined the gym and had my first big work out today. Actually enjoyed it once I was there and it was nice to see a half and half ratio of fat and skinny people there. Lol.

I concur, hire one for a few months and see if you will use it and it is what you want :)

I am completely addicted to my exercise bike, I ride 2 x 30 mins a day. For me at least walking simply isn't enough exercise now, and my bike allows me to exercise at any time of day and to sit in front of the TV and not feel guilty!

Hi

In my experience exercise machines make very good clothes hangers, gather dust and rarely get used. Keep up your walking and maybe add swimming when the weather warms up. Personally I don't do any exercise except walking to the bus stop and back each day for work. If you really think you want a machine - hire one for a couple of months to make sure that you use it regularly and it doeswhat you want.

G