Exercise Equipment

I'll admit it, I have a problem with procrastination. I've been putting off possibly the most important part of becoming a RLSH: Getting in shape. Gyms are expensive, and I don't want to go far from my house to work out just in case I wear myself out so bad I don't want to make the trek back. So I've decided I need to buy an exercise machine of some kind. Key point is it needs to be cheap, and for cardio. I have weights, so gaining muscle isn't a problem. It's burning all this fat that I need to worry about. I have a bad back so its just not helping.

My question is this: What is the best type of exercise machine for cardio? And what is the cheapest exercise machine for cardio? I was thinking of a stationary bike but I have no idea. I'd rather hear from people with experience.

I'd just jog around the block. Not too far away when you do get tired.

Alternately, jog away from home anyways. If you find that you don't "want" to make the jog back, then it means you're getting the exercise you need on that jog back.

Buy a jump rope.

For cardio nothing beats running... except that if you specifically want the cardio endurance to perform a particular activity, then your best bet is to get it by performing that activity. (For instance, if your goal is good cardio for swimming, then swim a lot).

Exercise machines are over hyped. There are probably stairs somewhere near you -- there you go -- a free stair climber.

I must strongly agree that running/jogging is the best way. I've started jogging again about a month ago and have definitely noticed changes (less shortness of breathe, higher endurance, etc.) I just hope to keep up with it once school starts up again...
The greates upside - it's completely free (unless you need new running shoes).

I'm with the others, jogging would be best to burning off the fat and also you want to eat foods that will help keep up your metabolism. There are lots of good foods out there and the best thing I can suggest is googling clean eating and finding all you can on that. Also, to keep your metabolism going, I would also suggest eating smaller portions at each meal and actually eating 4 to 5 smaller meals a day. That will keep your engine running and keep you from being hungry through the day and eating larger portions at lunch and dinner time.

The best thing I can suggest is finding all the information you can about clean eating and working that into your daily diet and following some of what I have suggested and what you can find in books and online. The other thing I will suggest is checking with your doctor before you overhaul your eating and exercise habits.

When I say daily diet, I mean what you will eat for the rest of your life and not something that you do to lose weight. Over time, you will need to evaluate your diet and change things in order to maintain your weight, or to gain muscle and keep off the body fat. There is a lot involved with losing body fat.

As for weight training, I highly suggest that you do that while you are losing the body fat and continue on afterwards. The reason is, as you lose body fat you will also be losing some muscle with the fat loss unless you are also doing something in the way of weight training in order to maintain what you have now in the way of muscle.

Actually, jumping rope burns more kcals than jogging. and it builds agility too.

IT IS EASY to get hurt


WALK for cardio for a YEAR.
Then, walk/jog for two years

I AM NOT KIDDING

Buy a Bowflex.

Use the bow flex twice a week and walk three days a week.
rest two days.
do not shrink food for the first two years.

we cannot speed healing

PM me ANY time for exercise info, please

more:

walk for fifteen minutes, M W F, for the first six weeks

add five minutes when ever you are in the mood.

I HIGHLY recommend the Bow Flex!

but, again, we cannot speed up healing.


Weight lifting must be done twice per week - like -
M-TH or F-M or W - S

but not M - W because it is too long from W to M

Ok I have absolutly no idea what that was with the M W F and what the hell is a bowflex?

My gym is outside often used as a children's playground but has stuff that is big enough to handle my body wheight on it After I move ALL the big rocks and boulders out of the playgrounds and schoolyards I do a couple of laps on the monkeybars then a few chin ups on the high bar Climb up to the top of the swingset and bring down the swing for the other kids to use if they are there otherwise I might indulge myself on the swings and see how high I can go as well as how far I can fly off the swing If the kids are there we play tag and its all free style go whereever I like and do whatever I wish during the tag games

PolarMan,

you do good stuff!


M = monday

T = tuesday
etc.

Bowflex is a lifting thing for at home that doesn't have heavy plates

Here's the website for bowflex. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

every piece of equipment has something to offer. . .but you need to do something. . .before you buy anything. . .get in the habbit of doing something. . .if you can take walks everyday for whatever time you decide. . .then you'll begin to have the commitment that will justify a machine. . .jogging. . .anything that gets you moving. . .but get into a routine first. . .otherwise the machine will become a hatrack. . .

dc

Visitant wrote:

Here's the website for bowflex. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thank yoU!

You're welcome! I thought it might help!

Walk for a YEAR?

Mega-Rad wrote:

Walk for a YEAR?

walk for 15 minutes three times a week for a year.

sorry for the unhelpful brevity

Visitant wrote:

You're welcome! I thought it might help!

me so non-techy!

That just seems overly cautious to me. I realize your expertise in this area, but every day for decades and decades all branches of the military have had tons of people basically start running immediately (with some minor build up in intensity)... there's a level of run-related injuries, to be sure, but they're not the norm. The average person makes it through this process with improved cardiorespiratory endurance and health.

I know that if you're a civilian with the luxury of doing so, a walking period is recommended to warm up to running if you've never done it.

But a YEAR?

The human body can't be that fragile.

:/

The heart and lung of most people who have NO exercise
are quite fragile.


In the military, you have the luxury of a CONTRACT.


You can order people through pain and tears and you have their signature
and you give them a pay check and medical care.


I have people who REALLY can get hurt and/or walk away and not comply.

A Bearman, who is NOT exercising, who starts out with jumprope

CAN bear feet bones right away.
Does he have health care?
We dont' know.

If his feet bones break and he doens't have health care
( and even if he does )

the path of healing INCLUDES rest rest rest.

All that rest further weakens the heart and lungs.

here is the over view of what ends up happening to most people:


*feeble or harsh exercise when young

* feeble or harsh exercise in college
OR no college and off to work leaving no time for exercise

* adult hood invades and lower fitness level in JUST a few months

* excuses get made

* frantic attempts at getting "in shape" ensue.
MANY excuses are made and stories of what WILL be done when the bod is in shape
abound

* work and children smash most workouts.
even those with gym member ships
get good at excuses.

MANY who can afford it, take lunch classes because home gives no time.

* single people exercise until they find steady sex
at which point the alcohol used for sex and the sex itself
wipe the workout off the map


* a person in the 30s is created
who is full of stories about What Would Have Been
and then they come to me.

i make them a tiny workout that will fit with children and I pray


* then, a person in the 40s is created who is FULL of problems
mostly from a high fat diet, lack of sleep and lack of weightlifting and lack of cardio

This person wil lick a doctor's feet clean but will whine if I tell them to JUST WALK 15 MINTUES EVERY OTHER DAY AND GET YORU HEART STRONG ENOUGH TO LIFT WEIGHTS!!!


sigh.



If we take ANYone who hasn't been exercising and give them somethign that WILL NOT
hurt, we can get the heart and lungs strong enough to add stuff every year.

By this method, we get COMPLIANCE, Low-injury level, long-term compliance,
and a person who gets a LOT stronger with low injury level LONG-TERM

NOT exercising - into exercising is a REAL spot to get a person so winded
that they feel like pure crap for three days
and start to fera exercise

In the past, people would just retreat from coversations and/or move away.

Now, in the tech-age, people stay behind the screen unseen

suffering while I worry

Those are good points.

In all honesty I have been known to shrug and say "What the hell, guys... I have free medical" before quite a few activities.

So I have to acknowledge that you're talking sense here.

There are faster ways to get in shape. It's true that they risk injury more than what you described and that if you aren't commited to a goal they could be easy to rationalize quitting.

Personally I would get quite bored with a year of only walking. But I fit into a lot of the bad categories you described (sleep, fat in diet, virtually no weightlifting [i do bodyweight driven exercises regularly, though])...

I also kind of take it for granted that anyone I make exercise suggestions to is to some degree already in basicly okay shape -- a false assumption based on my experiences, I guess.

Sorry to butt in.

The injury part takes out a LOT of people.

It is my job and job ONE to make sure that people do not get hurt
or LOSE BREATH

The fight of boredom my professional challenge


If at home, I put people up in a room with windows and a TV
and map out the food so that they do exercise with their favorite show.

If outside, I FIRMLY recommend radio or audio books or friends.

Think of how many people have not shown up due to injury.

I can't have those numbers and still, I do




Today in class i had: A woman who used to work for me in scarf
because of chemo, four feircely fit people, a woman with parkinson's and
a woman with MS who's left side barely works.

I have to serve them the same lunch and tell no one any one's probs
and it can't show who has what except for who goes airborn and who doesn't.



WE ROCKED!!!!!!!

I have this thing:

<img src="https://2img.net/h/i35.photobucket.com/albums/d196/another_david/wts/pt.jpg">

I dunno how much they go for. mine was a gift.

but ellipticals are really good for cardio. they provide nonimpact workouts. check out a local thrift store like the salvation army, they generally have exercise equipment for really cheap.

I've had four different gym memberships over the last 6 years. and I only really used the last one cuz I worked in the same facility it was located in, so I used it almost daily, and I was freakin ripped as a result, but since I don't work there anymore,I don't go there anymore.and I've suffered as a result.

I HATE the gym usually. I have kind of a weird phobia about working out in front of other people. I tend to only do my excersizing in the small gym at my apartment complex, and only in the early hours when people aren't around.

I mostly stick to free weights, and occaisionally use the press machine there and low-intensity workouts on the elipticals and treadmills. I have a bad knee, so doing too much weight training with the legs or high-intensity cardio work is very difficult for me without causing myself severe pain. I still do them when I can, but not nearly as much as I should.