I used to have a really craptacular non-motorized treadmill I got from Dick’s for $75. About as basic as you can get. The kind you get if you repeatedly ask “do you have anything cheaper than this one?”.
I lost ~40 pounds with its help, then got rid of it. I also had a jump rope and some weights (I still have the weights, somewhere). I’m very proud of my dollars-per-pounds-lost ratio. Now I’m working on my dollars-per-pound-gained!
My mom got me a gym membership for Xmas one year (subtle woman, eh) and I went twice: once with her, once on my own. I see no need for weights, and can excersize just fine at home. I don’t, but I can.
Treadmill that’s approximately 18yrs old and still going strong. Lost 30# just before my 30th walking 5mi/nt and eating right. Gained it back w pregnancy so now it’s time to do it again. I’ve got this!
When my mom worked for a company that sold professional equipment to gyms, I bought a gym-quality bicycle at a really great price. Initially I used it religiously and lose quite a bit of weight. Eventually I found an even better use for it hanging laundry on the handlebars to dry.
Old-school NordicTrack skier I bought it off Craigslist and used it for about 4 months to jump start running regularly (I now run about 100 miles a month). Also have a bike and a magnetic resistance trainer which I use when I’m recovering or just want to get some light cardio work in without the pounding on my joints. If we actually got bad weather in SoCal, I’d probably use the NordicTrack on days I couldn’t run outside because the bike and trainer just don’t get my heart rate up enough.
There is an elliptical machine in our house but it’s my wife’s. She used it a lot last winter but once the weather got better she went on walks and hikes with the dogs so the battery in the elliptical died. We charged the battery a month or so ago but now she goes on walks and hikes with the dogs in the rain so the battery is still dead.
I am realistic about the fact that I will never exercise (thanks a lot fucking junior high P.E. teachers) so I keep my weight in check by limiting my caloric intake. Unfortunately that does nothing for my cardiovascular system so I’ll probably die of a heart attack anyway.
@SSteve I swear I read your post and thought maybe I had written it. I went back and checked. Nope. Eerily similar sorry though. Maybe we can get a group rate on a pair of bypass surgeries!
We have a treadmill and elliptical. They are used 3 to 4 times a week. I try to do 45 minutes every 2 days, alternating between them. The key for me seems to be to turn up the resistance/incline, which definitely increases exertion and calories burned!
@sligett My 165lb notMutt and I used to walk 4 miles a day but he’s gotten old and once around the park is all he can handle. Going walking without him is too sad so I have gotten lazy in his old age. Every time I see a wagon on sale I wonder if he’d fit and stay in it and we could get back to walking together.
Exercise for the sake of exercise is very difficult. And boring. I walk a few miles a day: To work, at work, to the store, walk the dog, etc. I was given an very cheap old stationary bike that I use maybe four times a year when it too snowy/icy for long periods to walk.
My goal is to get back to doing five minutes of floor exercise a day.
The back patio of this apt building has several ancient exercise bicycles. Covered in many years of dust/dirt. The three year old decided one of them would work great as a motorcycle. So he sat on the frame, held the bars that went back and forth and made motorcycle noises (and now that bike is clean, he is not). Does that count?
One old elliptical that’s in the middle of disassembly while my brand new one is boxed in the garage waiting to be put together. Trying to get to it this weekend as I’d like to get back to working out. I’ve lost 40 lbs in the last 10 weeks, aiming for about 14 more. Plus it helps get my legs in shape for ski season which would be nice with four trips coming up.
I spent so much time experimenting with treadmill and steppers.
I was very surprised when I found myself working really well on an elliptical machine. I use this http://jonsguide.org/best-proform-elliptical-reviews/
For most people it will take 2-3 sessions on an elliptical machine to find their balance and rhythm. But once you find it, it is actually very smooth (if you find the right elliptical machine that fits your stride length, I think).
So I’ve joined an exercise study and we do machines, floor work and free weights on a strict curriculum supervised by college staff. We are each assigned a physical sciences student to make sure we’re doing the exercises correctly and safely and to record study results. It was a bargain, $130 for three months of gym use and private instruction. I understand it’s about half that for each 3 month block going forward. The study isn’t about weight loss, it’s about improvements in strength, balance, and agility.
I own one. My wife uses it almost every day. About once a week, i consider using it, but haven’t yet
Own and use. I can hang over 20 shirts on it!
/s
I use my crappy exercise bike like once every other week. I can’t imagine it’s changed my health in any meaningful way.
I used to have a really craptacular non-motorized treadmill I got from Dick’s for $75. About as basic as you can get. The kind you get if you repeatedly ask “do you have anything cheaper than this one?”.
I lost ~40 pounds with its help, then got rid of it. I also had a jump rope and some weights (I still have the weights, somewhere). I’m very proud of my dollars-per-pounds-lost ratio. Now I’m working on my dollars-per-pound-gained!
@awk Great job on the weight loss!!
My mom got me a gym membership for Xmas one year (subtle woman, eh) and I went twice: once with her, once on my own. I see no need for weights, and can excersize just fine at home. I don’t, but I can.
Concept 2 rowing machine here. Best investment we ever made. I has muscles everywhere!
Treadmill that’s approximately 18yrs old and still going strong. Lost 30# just before my 30th walking 5mi/nt and eating right. Gained it back w pregnancy so now it’s time to do it again. I’ve got this!
I have a really nice Life Fitness Elliptical. I got sick a few years ago & stopped. I never started again. It’s waiting for me.
I’ve got 2 big feet and 1 big ass.
I use them every day (usually the ass more than the feet.)
Hasn’t done me a bit of good yet.
Best coat rack Nordic Trak ever made…
No. And @Snapster, please don’t get any creative ideas about what might or might not sell here.
When my mom worked for a company that sold professional equipment to gyms, I bought a gym-quality bicycle at a really great price. Initially I used it religiously and lose quite a bit of weight. Eventually I found an even better use for it hanging laundry on the handlebars to dry.
Old-school NordicTrack skier I bought it off Craigslist and used it for about 4 months to jump start running regularly (I now run about 100 miles a month). Also have a bike and a magnetic resistance trainer which I use when I’m recovering or just want to get some light cardio work in without the pounding on my joints. If we actually got bad weather in SoCal, I’d probably use the NordicTrack on days I couldn’t run outside because the bike and trainer just don’t get my heart rate up enough.
Does a road bike attached to a fluid trainer count as “big”? It’s usually only attached there in the winter, in the summer I just go outside with it.
I have an old Healthrider that I use off and on. I’m thinking of getting an Erg.
There is an elliptical machine in our house but it’s my wife’s. She used it a lot last winter but once the weather got better she went on walks and hikes with the dogs so the battery in the elliptical died. We charged the battery a month or so ago but now she goes on walks and hikes with the dogs in the rain so the battery is still dead.
I am realistic about the fact that I will never exercise (thanks a lot fucking junior high P.E. teachers) so I keep my weight in check by limiting my caloric intake. Unfortunately that does nothing for my cardiovascular system so I’ll probably die of a heart attack anyway.
@SSteve I swear I read your post and thought maybe I had written it. I went back and checked. Nope. Eerily similar sorry though. Maybe we can get a group rate on a pair of bypass surgeries!
I am still scouring the stores for the TUG TONER!
We have a treadmill and elliptical. They are used 3 to 4 times a week. I try to do 45 minutes every 2 days, alternating between them. The key for me seems to be to turn up the resistance/incline, which definitely increases exertion and calories burned!
I have a regular bicycle that i haven’t ridden in a couple years… does that count?
I have a 65lb Mutt
. He would walk until he’s lame, and we walk most every day.
@sligett I have 2 100-lb dogs that I walk twice a day during the week and 4 times on days off. I don’t need to walk anymore.
@sligett My 165lb notMutt and I used to walk 4 miles a day but he’s gotten old and once around the park is all he can handle. Going walking without him is too sad so I have gotten lazy in his old age. Every time I see a wagon on sale I wonder if he’d fit and stay in it and we could get back to walking together.
Exercise for the sake of exercise is very difficult. And boring. I walk a few miles a day: To work, at work, to the store, walk the dog, etc. I was given an very cheap old stationary bike that I use maybe four times a year when it too snowy/icy for long periods to walk.
My goal is to get back to doing five minutes of floor exercise a day.
@callow I only run when something’s chasing me or I am chasing something.
@moondrake Ditto! I can walk for days but bare run across the street if getting run over is imminent.
(Ugh) guilt-trip much?
The back patio of this apt building has several ancient exercise bicycles. Covered in many years of dust/dirt. The three year old decided one of them would work great as a motorcycle. So he sat on the frame, held the bars that went back and forth and made motorcycle noises (and now that bike is clean, he is not). Does that count?
One old elliptical that’s in the middle of disassembly while my brand new one is boxed in the garage waiting to be put together. Trying to get to it this weekend as I’d like to get back to working out. I’ve lost 40 lbs in the last 10 weeks, aiming for about 14 more. Plus it helps get my legs in shape for ski season which would be nice with four trips coming up.
I spent so much time experimenting with treadmill and steppers.
I was very surprised when I found myself working really well on an elliptical machine. I use this http://jonsguide.org/best-proform-elliptical-reviews/
For most people it will take 2-3 sessions on an elliptical machine to find their balance and rhythm. But once you find it, it is actually very smooth (if you find the right elliptical machine that fits your stride length, I think).
The Earth. I use it daily.
Fyi this thread has inspired me to walk my treadmill more
@CaptAmehrican
If you can take your treadmill for a walk, you deserve a mehdal. Those things weigh a decent amount.
@PlacidPenguin mine had wheels but it didn’t balance very well.
Ready to work out:
Very informative thread.
Great necropost.
So I’ve joined an exercise study and we do machines, floor work and free weights on a strict curriculum supervised by college staff. We are each assigned a physical sciences student to make sure we’re doing the exercises correctly and safely and to record study results. It was a bargain, $130 for three months of gym use and private instruction. I understand it’s about half that for each 3 month block going forward. The study isn’t about weight loss, it’s about improvements in strength, balance, and agility.