We are planning to get at least one piece of equipment soon, but can’t decide on which one.
We have looked at everything from a simple treadmill or bike to Smith machines with all sorts of goodies. It will be going in the garage.
Does anyone have any advice? I want to lose weight and tone up, husband too although he also wants to add muscle (I guess you know who’s voting for the Smith machine).
Do treadmills work any “better” than bikes? Does one burn more calories, tone legs & butt better, etc?
From my experience, look for one that can hold the most clothes.
Try to find one second-hand. Most people buy them, use them for a week, hang clothes on them, then get rid of them. You can pick up great ones for a song!
I had better luck with a personal trainer. You can go about 55 times for the $2000, and they teach you things you can do without machinery. It all depends on your motivation (I wasn’t).
Here’s how I’m going to equip my home gym once I have a house:[ul][li]Power rack (I don’t like the constraints the smith puts on my ability to move around)[/li][li]Barbell[/li][li]Dumbbell handles[/li][li]About twice my weight in 45 lb plates, and enough smaller plates to hit anything between multiples of 45[/li][li]A bench[/li][li]A floor mat[/li][li]A jump rope[/li]An inflatable exercise ball (good for ab stretches)[/ul]
Running is the fastest way to burn calories while exercising. I believe that you have to ride a bike for 3 times the distance to get the same benefit. I personally love our treadmill, and it has worked wonders for my wife and myself. I’ve lost 40lbs in the past year, although that’s been through diet and exercise. You have to do both. Also, seeing how long you have to run to burn 200 calories will make those Oreos easier to resist.
And while it’s true that a lot of people don’t ever actually use it, I found that the best way for me was to get on it as soon as I got home. Walk in the door, change, and get on the treadmill. If you’re looking to also tone your muscles, you can always pick up a few dumb bells to work bicept/tricept. Do push-ups and pull ups and crunches. This is good for just general improvement in tone, but won’t “bulk” you up the way a good weight set will.
The biggest thing to consider is whether or not you will really use it.
If yes, then my one bit of advice is: get a good one.
Treadmill is working pretty well for us, but we really have to make an effort to come back to it, and we keep it in a pretty inconvenient place so as not to forget it exists. We both also have specific goals toward which we work. Otherwise, it’s just too easy to get comfortable when at home.
My real advice is: join a gym unless you’re REALLY the type of person that will work out at home. I know they exist, it’s just that most of us aren’t them.
If you really are that type of person, then get the most versatile piece of equipment you can, or more than one, and buy quality.
Hi, EJsGirl. I did a similar poll on a different board and asked people specifically about treadmills vs. exercise bikes.
People came out very strongly on the side of treadmills (in terms of them giving a better workout), which surprised me. On this advice, we bought a new one on sale, and I started to get into the habit of it…but then my semester just got crazy. I keep telling myself I’ll go back to it after the first week in May. My husband uses it more frequently right now.
I can’t speak to other exercise machines, however.
I had a similar thread a while ago and ended up with an ellipical machine. Mine was only around $500, and is quite nice (but doesn’t have lots of features, like programmable workouts or IFit technology.) You could get a really nice one for less than $2000. It kind of combines a treadmill and a bike, in that you get a standing workout without joint stress. Mine also gives an upper body workout b/c it has those arm levers you move along with moving your feet. The resistance is easily adjustable, and I know some have adjustable inclines as well. It is supposed to compare to a treadmill workout in calories burned and cardio benefits.
Try them out, they take a little getting used to but I love mine. If it’s between a bike and a treadmill though, I personally would prefer a treadmill (but I’m not fond of bikes - I find you have to use them twice as long to get the same benefits).
Cybex and some of the other brands are good quality but VERY expensive.
We don’t need a lot of motivation (ie personal trainer) and we belong to a great gym (no aerobics, a few cardio machines & lots of iron). It’s just that with two small children, it’s hard to get out of the house! Covenience is the key.
I run and bike. I wear a heart rate monitor while doing both. The calories burned per hour running vs. biking are almost exactly the same. Running is slightly more, but not by much. Maybe 100 calories more over an hour.
As far as indoor machines, I’d go for a spin bike. These are stationary bikes with a very heavy fly wheel. They duplicate outdoor riding closer than any other stationary bike I’ve used, and they work you much harder. I never could get much of a workout using a standard stationary bike; the spin bike kicks my ass. They run $750-$1000, depending on which one you get.
I’d LOVE a Smith machine. If you can afford it, get one AND a cardio machine (like the spin bike). Get a set of handweights and weight bench, and you’re set. I’d guess you can do all that for close to $2K.
In re-reading Atrael’s quote, I see now what she’s saying. You do probably need to ride a bike for 3 times the distance you run to get the same benefit. But most people easily bike 3 times as fast as they run, so time-wise, it’s around the same. Cal/hour are around the same. But yes, if you run 6 miles in an hour and burn 600 calories, you’d probably bike close to 18 miles in that same hour and burn around the same calories.
I would personall go for a treadmill. As stated earlier, they burn a lot of calories in a shorter period of time than most exercises. Also, most good treadmills have hill programs or the option to use an incline, which is a great way to tone up your hips and butt, plus you burn more calories walking or running on an incline.
I’d also suggest getting a balance ball or 3-4 sets of dumbbells (5, 10, 12 and 15 if you’re a beginner) and yoga mat. I don’t have the cash to get a treadmill yet (or the room), but my arms, legs and butt look so much better since I got my balance ball and weights. If I don’t have time to go to the gym or the park to run, I can usually fit in 2-3 sets of 12 reps of a variety of exercises with a balance ball or my weights. Even 1 set is extremely beneficial. Push ups and lunges are great toners, too! Also, lifting weights really improves my running, and since I’ve got them at home right in front of my TV, they’re in my line of vision, so I often just lift or play on my balance ball in front of the tube.
The really cool thing about the balance ball is that, once you’ve seen a tape or gotten a magazine with some good exercises in it, it feels more like playing while you’re rolling around on the floor on this enormous ball. It’s great for stretching, too.
That Smith machinbe I linked to would be in addition to what we already have- an incline/decline bench with a preacher curl attachment and a shitload of free weights, bars, dumbbells, etc.
I would like to have both the Smith and a treadmill, but I don’t want a cheap treadmill, so I don’t know if it’ll fit in the budget.
Speaking of “fitting in”, I am kinda depressed that we won’t be able to fit both cars in the garage, since 1/2 of it will be a gym! But our spare bedroom/office is too small, and already contains two desks, two computers and a futon couch!
Here’s my very biased advice: get a real bicycle, and an indoor trainer for the bicycle. You can get both for $600. If you prefer a recumbent position, you can buy a real recumbent bike (the kind you can ride outdoors) for $600, and another $200 for a trainer. I can understand that sometimes you want to excercise in the comfort of your own home, but when the weather is good it’s much more pleasent to be outside.
I have a mountain bike but not much opportunity to ride it around our house. My mom lives at the beach so I ride there occasionally.
Now that my son has his first bike, we might ride more, but again my main issue is time and convenience. If I am only able to excercise outside work hours when the kids are asleep or busy, it makes it hard to get outside much!
An indoor bike trainer? Is that a frame that will let me ride my regular bike like a stationary? How cool!
There are trainers, such as this guy which work by lifting the back tire and turning your bike into an exercise machine. The big problem is that we cyclists are used to the wind keeping us coo. Use fan.
There are also rollers which give a much more ridelike experience. A fan can be added to increase friction and circulation.
I had both, nice machines both, but the rollers were more of an experience.
We got our treadmill over a year ago for $700. We bought one like this and it’s worked great for us. With both of us running just about ever day on it, it’s held up remarkably well. Especially when I first started, I liked the pre-programed workout routines built into it, and you can hook up online to get more at www.ifit.com or download .mp3 files from there that will work with your treadmill (have to pay for those) or use the I2Workout program to create your own workouts. The good thing about those was that I didn’t have to think about what to do, or increasing any of the settings. I just had to try and get through the workout. And if I had to slow down, then I made it my goal to run that program until I didn’t have to slow it down. Good Luck.
I wanted to add that regular bikes on a trainer can actually be more pleasent than a stationary bike. For one thing, excercise bikes have very wide spacing between the pedals, forcing you to spread your legs apart. Many people find this uncomfortable. Also in my experience, real bicycles are better built and stronger than stationary bikes. Upright stationary bikes tend not to incorporate the latest advances in saddle design. Recumbent stationary bike seats are even worse - theiy are built to be durable and easy to clean, so comfort is a secondary concern. Seat/pedal adjustment is often coarse and not very secure. Real recumbent bikes (outdoor bikes) tend to have much better seats - usually a thick padded seat bottom and a mesh seatback, or a full mesh seat.
