Home Exercise Equipment...Recommendations?

[Crock]

Dude- sex burns mad calories, it's fun and it's free. Run with that.

explain

[4matic]

There are some regular techie drones at my work that started doing PX90 workout and they are ripped now. Truly amazing..

[wcf3]

Some additional thoughts:

-If you have a road bike, you can get a stationary bike 'trainer' (stand that provides resistance to the rear wheel). The trainers usually are pretty small and not that expensive. Instant stationary bike (your own bike).

-If you have stairs in or around your dwelling, running stairs is a great cardio workout. All it takes is one flight, run up and back down repeatedly. Even going slow it is hard to 'dog it'. Also great as training for skiing, (running down the stairs is what does the most good as ski training).

-Find a low (coffee table hight) table and do step-ups on and off it. Do this for 10-20 minutes and you usually have a decent sweat going. Raise intensity by stepping on and off more quickly. Be careful though if your knees get unhappy with this one.

-Of all the stationary machines, rowers are probably the best for a full body work out, but most are pretty loud and take up a lot of space.

-It is possible to get a good cardio workout using weights, even a fairly light set of dumbbells and body weight exercises. Just choose lifts that use large groups of muscles with light enough weights so that you can do sets that last for 20-60 seconds and circuits that allow you to keep your rest intervals short (similar to the length of time spent on lifting sets). Get a cheap heart rate monitor and get your heart rate into an aerobic zone, then keep the rest intervals short enough so that you don't get out of the zone. Do ballistic stretches, rather than tension stretches to keep heart rate up while stretching.

[johngenx]

...I'd rather be in my living room with my girlfriend getting some...

I love getting some in the living room with your girlfriend.

[Dantheman]

I like separate cardio. Gets me outside. I like to run and ride. I live in California, so I can do it year round.

I run and ride plenty myself. If you have the time and live in a location conducive to it then definitely get out there. The OP doesn't have the time though. If your goal is maximum fitness gains per minute spent exercising, hours of low to moderate intensity cycling/running/elliptical is not the path you want to choose.

I can't conceive of working with weights fast enough to replace 1.5 hours on a mountain bike.

Then you haven't tried hard enough. Do 100 burpees for time, I guarantee that by #50 you will be sucking gas harder than you ever do on a bike. If you aren't, then you didn't go as fast as you could have. Tabata several bodyweight movements in a row and you will be crushed.


On P90X: It is a good program. Intensity is emphasized and minimal equipment is required. But, in the end it is a just a few DVDs and you will get bored with it.

[QuikR12]

the "Iron Gym," yeah that piece of shit looking door mount hangy thingy: $20.

Its actually really useful in a lot of ways, doesn't take up much space. good stretching tool, good pull-up bar w/ multiple grips, great push up bar. Get this and a standard set of solid free weights, long bar, curl bar, dumbell set, and some auxiliary equip (kettle bells, med balls, sit-up ball) and this workout regime http://www.crossfit.com/ and you will be set.

[Cono Este]

I am going to vote for a rowing machine for cardio. Like swimming, whenever your working out your lower and upper body at the same time, your doing double duty on your heart.

20 min a day on that, then a 10-15 minute perfect pushup workout is golden if you lack time. You can also do the pushups at night or at lunch. Yes, I own the perfect pushups, and by golly it works. I got up to about 250 a day and saw my waist size drop 3 inches a couple of yrs ago. With a rower, i think it would be a sweet workout.

[Phill]

2nd or 3rd a good quality rowing machine.

I row on the water 5x week and every time I get on one of those machines I get my ass handed to me. Its one hell of a work out.

[rather ripped]

^^^ For years, the only machine that you'd find in a Crossfit gym.^^^

I would like to suggest a set of olympic weights, if you have the skills to use them. You'' need a partner. That will give you broad reaching access to strength training.

Go on the Crossfit HQ and start following their WOD (workout of the day). They have all of the lifts and WODs as demo vids right there for you. BTW, row 2000 for time is a WOD. 7 min and you're done.

Remember, constantly varied - and lots of lifting. Strength is the toughest part to do right at home and it's important. Heaving lifting will give you the biggest bang for the buck.

[tex1230]

shakeweight, duh!

GIFSoup

[iceman]

I have a bike (recumbent Lifecycle, 15 years old, just had it rebuilt), a bunch of weights, an eliptical I never use but the wife does, and a C2. I rowed when I was in High school, it's cool getting back to it. we just bought a house by the ocean and I'm gonna buy one of these:

(Not me in pic, I swear)


It has a sliding seat and it's more or less unsinkable and very stable. I need high freeboard and stability because I'll have to go around this point to get to the river where there's about 8 miles of basically lat water. I am stoked. Rowing on the C2 will be even better than now. I'm at around 8:30 for 2000m, not too great but I started out over 10:00 and it hasn't even been three months yet

[Cono Este]

i bet that little thing rips.

[Phill]

more or less unsinkable

This maybe true but I have twice witnessed one of these not sink while remaining upside down with its former occupant flailing about in 40* water.

[Snow Dog]

I leave for work by 6:30 every morning and usually get home around 7-8pm, so time is limited and I'm sitting behind a comp all day. I also commute ~80 miles a day so just the 5 minute additional drive to the gym in typical denver traffic is like ripping teeth out of my skull.

80 miles is just dumb. You can get all the exercise you need with one of these:



Probably faster too.

(I thought there would be more enclosed commuter cycles but a Google search shows there's not much out there.)

[leroy jenkins]

Havent read the whole thread, but my suggestion is get a boxing (heavy) bag, a few dumbells ranging from 2-10lbs, to hold while hitting the bag and doing kicks, kicking a bag while holding weights in your hands works your legs and especially core, and of course hitting a bag with weights works your core and upper body.

Add a situp/crunch/pushup/etc routine using weights before working out on the bag,and mix in various plyometrics during your bag sessions, combined with a short run afterward, and that should be about as good as almost anything you can do at a gym.

Mix in a weekly hike and tri weekly mnt bike ride and you will be a beast. This was my plan this summer, and it has worked well.

[iceman]

This maybe true but I have twice witnessed one of these not sink while remaining upside down with its former occupant flailing about in 40* water.

Yeah, they'll flip all right. Gonna attempt to not do that. We'll see.

[iceman]

Okay, the lifecycle finally bit the dust and I hate the elliptical, it kills my knees. So what's a good exercise bike to get (and why did I get a recumbent last time and should I get another?)? I was thinking a spinning-type bike but I don't know any good ones.

I'm gonna sell the elliptical and replace it with a treadmill. What do we think of NordicTrack treadmills? They're not all that expensive and pretty compact is what I like about them (and it's also all I know about them).

Oh yeah - I bought the boat in the picture up there ^^^ (well not that exact one but the same kind), getting psyched for warmer weather to use it.

[Alaskan Rover]

I used to use something called a Trimax machine. It was a very professionally-made, health club-quality machine similar in utility to a Universal system but using all pneumatics (like a rower), instead of cabled weights. It had lats, pull-downs, chin bar, flies, leg extension/ bench press bench...a ton of stuff. An all-inclusive workout.

They were expensive new...like $2000...but used you can sometimes find them for $100-300. They are made with excellent, heavy-duty material...nearly same build quality as Cybex...but FAR less $$$$. Company that made them went broke and now they're cheap. Craigslist is best, as they're heavy as hell to ship anywhere.



I also highly recommend a used BowFlex...they DO work well and are easy to store.

Rowing: A used Aerodyne....$$$$ but worth it if you can find one.

Elliptical/step??: Just go to "Play it Again Sports"...TONS of used them out there....all pretty cheap.

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[shroom]

not sure how an elliptical could hurt your knee's ice. that's like, why they were developed. i was on one two days after i tore my mcl last year. that thing had me to 100% in about 6 weeks. godsend i tell you.


edit: i run on a treadmill every day 8 months out of the year. if you go that route, go with the belt type like you linked, vs the type that have a track made up of a series of pieces (like a tank track). they're marketed as "just like running outside" but are ridiculously stiff. absolutely destroys my joints, and im in my low twenties. precor treadmills are the softest IMO.

[Alaskan Rover]

shakeweight, duh!

GIFSoup

The Shake-Weight.....obviously excellent, muscle-specific exercise for porn stars!!

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[iceman]

not sure how an elliptical could hurt your knee's ice. that's like, why they were developed.

Yeah I dunno. Whenever I use that thing my knees are sore for a day or two afterwards. I think it has something to do with the way my legs are farther apart on it than they normally are when I walk - it's the inside of my knees that hurts, like I'm knockneed on it or something. I think (I guess at least) that it's the medial collateral that gets sore. I had all kinds of ankle and foot problems, bad ones, for years and now I wear funky custom orthotics all the time, I think there's something fucked up with the way my knee-ankle-hip geometry is to start with and the elliptical highlights it. Or maybe it's something else, all I know is it makes my knees sore after I use it.

Hey, not all of us have a wide stance.

[satori]

I've got a few kettlebells and am good to go. Did 56 mins tonight and was mixing it up aerobic/anaerobic and some dynamic stuff. I haven't been happier since quitting the gym (though I do miss swimming and cant drag my ass to the POS YMCA here), and have lost more weight since quitting the gym. Huge fan of KBs myself.

[rather ripped]

56 min. What did you do for all that time?

[irul&ublo]

4 pages and no requests for naked pics of the GF? Is this place getting civilized?

[couloirman]

Yeah I dunno. Whenever I use that thing my knees are sore for a day or two afterwards. I think it has something to do with the way my legs are farther apart on it than they normally are when I walk - it's the inside of my knees that hurts, like I'm knockneed on it or something. I think (I guess at least) that it's the medial collateral that gets sore. I had all kinds of ankle and foot problems, bad ones, for years and now I wear funky custom orthotics all the time, I think there's something fucked up with the way my knee-ankle-hip geometry is to start with and the elliptical highlights it. Or maybe it's something else, all I know is it makes my knees sore after I use it.

Hey, not all of us have a wide stance.

I HATE ellipticals. They aren't ergonomic at all and definitely hurt my knees. I am absolutely in love with the Cybex Arc Trainer. It feels so good on the knees and really mimics hiking uphill better than anything I've ever been on which is perfect for the backcountry skiers here. I highly recommend trying one out if you get the chance. The great thing about the arc trainer is that it keeps your knee perfectly lined up above your ankle the whole time so your tib/fib are perfectly vertical the entire movement which is great for those of us with bad knees. The only downside is the machines are expensive but hey, how much is the health of your knees worth?