Lets talk about excerise equipment

What do you have, the pros and cons, likes or dislikes? We want to get something to use at home that wouldn't be too high impact on the old joints, so what's available these days?  I have no idea what to look for.

I can't do any impact including a treadmill.  The eliptical is the way to go!

i have a treadmill, which i do really  like to use... but if i had the money, i would most certainly buy an elliptical.  my only word of caution, is you get what you pay for!  so if it is a cheap(er) model, then you will get a cheaper quality.  (this said i paid 500 for my last treadmill, but it was regular 1500.... there was a one day sale on them, so i was able to get a machine that i wanted, for the price i wanted to pay)  watch your sales, and get the best one you can possibly afford.  oh and also some of the bigger places have showrooms where you can actually try out the model.  that's also handy, since you can try out a couple and get the best fit to you... 

I highly recommend adding a treadmill to any house.  The flat platform easily accomodates storage boxes & the handlebar can hold quite a bit of mending or ironing that's waiting to be done.   

Hi LP~

Guess it's just a matter of personal choice and purchasing equipment for your particular level of limitations and making sure that it's comfortable to use and something that will work into your routin.  DH has a tread mill and I have a stationery bike.  I also have a couple of DVDs to move to.  Walking is excellent or anytime you are just moving.  Invest in an inexpensive pedometer and keep track of your steps.  It's suggested that we take far more steps in a day than I have ever been able to do!  Here is the deal, everything works if you make a commitment to use it or stick with a regiment.  The most wonderful expensive state of the ark equipment will not help if you use it for a clothes rack!  I learned this the hard way!  You may want to invest in a T-shirt to wear that says "Pain is just weakness leaving the body!" LOL

Good luck

Molly  

Hi, lindapearl,

My husband has very bad knees. We recently purchased a Nordic Track brand exercise bike from Sears, which we both use and are pleased with. I am looking at the Nordic Track website and I believe it is the second one pictured, the NordicTrack AudioRider 400. Sears has their exercise equipment set up so we could go and try it out. There were more expensive models, but $400 was all we wanted to spend (we bought it on sale).

The horizontal format makes the bike easy on the knees. It has a computer card and screen with various fitness programs to choose from, for example: there is a competition program which has six or seven different levels, from easy to hard. The monitor shows a series of steps which go up as the intensity increases. It is not boring at all, and you can get a decent workout in about 20 to 30 minutes. Cons: the bike has to be plugged in to work. It has a heart rate monitor, too, but it doesn't really work.

Here is a link. 

Besides this, I have a stair stepper. It is fun to work out on, especially while listening to music (I like something snappy, like the BeeGees). But DH can't use it, because of his knees.

I also have an old-fashioned barbell. Great for building strong arms and back, and helps prevent bone loss.

Good luck choosing something you like.

If you can, join a gym for a month or two and try out some different things. I have a treadmill at home and thought about buying something else, and was thinking a stationary bicycle or an elliptical.  But I join the local university fitness center for 4 months every winter and discovered that I don't get a good enough workout on the bicycle and I hate the elliptical, but I absolutely love a stairstepper.  I can get a great workout on the stairstepper with minimal impact (51 years old and failing knees) in as little as 20 minutes.

But if you're buying anything, consider:

Availability of levels to increase, decrease workout, and ease of changing those levels (you'll pay more for an electric treadmill incline changer, but it's a lot easier than manually doing it, which is what mine is.)

How important is a display?  I track my workouts - time, mileage and calories mostly, but I also like to check my heart rate occasionally, so I need something with an electronic display with at least those features. (If it weren't for this requirement, I would be tempted to buy the air stepper that I have seen on infomercials - small, and easy to use and store.)

Do you want to be able to multi-task?  Watch TV or read while working out? Think about a reading accessory or holder for the TV remote(s), and don't forget a cupholder for a water bottle.

I really have no advice here - I walk outside or at the local high school - but am laughing hysterically at Summer!

Summer74:

I highly recommend adding a treadmill to any house.  The flat platform easily accomodates storage boxes & the handlebar can hold quite a bit of mending or ironing that's waiting to be done.   

Hi Summer, I cannot believe it but I have that same exact model!  LOL

Seriously though, we do have a treadmill, stationary bike and a newly purchased gym type thing that promotes joint health.  The gym thing is mainly for shoulders and arms.  I have not tried it yet but my DH, who also has very bad knees, loves it.  My favorite is the treadmill.

Uh... um, s'plain 'eliptical'; its not one of those giant ball thingees they stuff you in and then roll you down the side of a hill is it?

 Summer74 -- you and I think a like... I can well imagine the thing morphing into a clotheshorse and one more piece of unused clutter. Its an hour round trip to a gym, and with our country dirt roads and desert temps that are 100+ at 7am., I'm hoping we can find something we both like and will get some use out of... and not have to shell out a fortune as well.

saw-whet -- looking at that link -- does the arm part move too, or are you just peddling?

I'm thinking a treadmill is out because the constant pounding would be too hard ou our joints. DH likes the idea of a rowing machine, but I think it world be hard on the back, and besides it looks too big to fit in the space I have. A stepper might work, but I'm still worrying about too much joint strain. Won't do us any good if we're so stove up we can't use it.

lindapearl:

saw-whet -- looking at that link -- does the arm part move too, or are you just peddling?

lindapearl, the arm part does not move. The handles are for gripping, and that is where the heart rate monitor is (which is not reliable). I use the handles near the seat for gripping. You just pedal.

LOL at Summer! I sometimes use my stair stepper for holding laundry.

The elliptical you stand on and the feet part go around in a circular motion while you hold on to upper handles that move back and forth with your feet so there is no impact.

Linda, FWIW, I had a great deal of success with the Walk Away The Pounds video series with Leslie Sansone.  I was still a cigarette smoker when I first started using her method & *not* in the best shape of my life.

It did help me and most of all...it was very inexpensive to do!

Good luck and I hope this is of some help to you~~~

Krissy  

The only machine I have, and have had for years, is the glider thing. It has some clothes on it, right now.

But, I liked it , when I was able to use it. It has different settings, though, and I would put it up too high. The lower would work for most people. Kind of wears on your butt, though. They might not even make them, now.

But, I have heard, and I have them, is the best thing without going into bigger machinery, are the elastic bands. I need to start using those.

we have a recumbent bike that hurts my but t and i can't use it. now we also have a nordic track treadmill that i do 2.3 miles on per day. it has the thing where you adjust the impact.