Home Cardio Machines

[Superbone]

Anybody have any suggestions for home cardio machines? I have put on more pounds than I care to mention since Covid hit. I used to play basketball 3 or 4 times a week at work during lunch time. I am still doing strength training at home but I need to figure out a cardio solution. I'm not big on jogging. Riding a stationary bicycle is boring but I admit I have not tried it with a video screen or on screen trainer. I like the idea of something that uses both my arms and legs. I'm wondering if a rowing machine might be what I'm looking for.

Anybody have any experience with these things or suggestions. I'm also worried about buying an expensive piece of equipment and then not using it. But I guess that's a self-motivation issue.

[Nodack]

We had a couple of stationary bikes. They take up a lot of space and seem to get used seldom. I like to swim and do a lot of that in the summer. We have an attached jacuzzi that I do a majority of exercise in, especially in the winter. I do sit ups, pushups, squats, breast stroke swimming in place and leg kicks almost every day. I went to rehab after fracturing my leg and messing up my foot and they were big on using those big sort of rubber bands around my feet and doing sideways crab walks to strengthen gluts.

They do seem to have a bunch of those riding bikes that have a video screen with someone on the other side trying to motivate you to try harder. You work in the video game industry. With the advances in small screen graphics lately and the virtual market like Oculas making a dent, we should be seeing fitness merged with virtual shouldn’t we? Strap on you VR suit and climb the Himalayas. Play wide receiver on your favorite football team.

[Superbone]

We had a couple of stationary bikes. They take up a lot of space and seem to get used seldom. I like to swim and do a lot of that in the summer. We have an attached jacuzzi that I do a majority of exercise in, especially in the winter. I do sit ups, pushups, squats, breast stroke swimming in place and leg kicks almost every day. I went to rehab after fracturing my leg and messing up my foot and they were big on using those big sort of rubber bands around my feet and doing sideways crab walks to strengthen gluts.

They do seem to have a bunch of those riding bikes that have a video screen with someone on the other side trying to motivate you to try harder. You work in the video game industry. With the advances in small screen graphics lately and the virtual market like Oculas making a dent, we should be seeing fitness merged with virtual shouldn’t we? Strap on you VR suit and climb the Himalayas. Play wide receiver on your favorite football team.

Oh, man. I hadn't thought of the VR possibilities. That's going to be huge. I think they are just now coming out with wireless VR which will be necessary for these types of applications.

[Indy]

We have owned treadmills, bikes, rowers and ellipticals. The rower and treadmill were nicest as far as space saving because they folded up really well. But I enjoyed using them the least. The bike was the most boring. As a result, the elliptical gets the most use.

And I am in the same boat. Put on 20 pounds during covid, and I need to get back on the elliptical. It is hard because I work with people mostly on the east coast (and Europe), so I usually start working around 5-6am, and don't really get a break until 2 or 3. So then I get to do my work, and by the time I am done, I am exhausted. And waking up at 3:30 or 4 to work out (especially when it is in our bedroom) is tough. I think I need to just start putting it in my calendar each day and decline meetings booked over it.

[Superbone]

Interesting, Indy, about liking the elliptical the most. I was leaning toward a rower. I’d be interested to hear why you prefer the elliptical over the rower. And for my edification, the elliptical works out your arms as well, right?

[Indy]

Interesting, Indy, about liking the elliptical the most. I was leaning toward a rower. I’d be interested to hear why you prefer the elliptical over the rower. And for my edification, the elliptical works out your arms as well, right?

You can get ellipticals that have arms, too. Mine doesn't, but I have some small weights I can carry while I run/walk/make ellipses with my feet.

I have hard time keeping a work out if I can't listen to something or watch something while I do it. Since I am stuck in the same spot while exercising, I actually prefer to watch something while doing that. Then I use my listen time (podcasts/news) while I am cooling down, showering, getting ready for my day. It just works well for me that way.

With that said, the rower has too much forward/back head motion for me to watch a show while doing it. It also seems like more muscle building than cardio, whereas the elliptical is more cardio than muscle building. Now I know most good rowers let you adjust the resistance so maybe it can be more cardio than muscle, though.

ymmv

[Indy]

I should add that I we 'invested' in our elliptical and rower. Which is what I say to justify the cost of buying some of the higher end ones. I have a precor elliptical, which is more of a professional brand. And I have a WaterRower. Which is really nice, well-built, and stands up in a corner easily. But we bought the precor over a decade ago and it has a ton of miles on it and is still working like we just bought it.

[Superbone]

Good stuff, Indy. Thanks! I've been missing my podcasts due to lack of a commute. This sounds like the perfect opportunity.

[Indy]

Good stuff, Indy. Thanks! I've been missing my podcasts due to lack of a commute. This sounds like the perfect opportunity.

Same here. I had a really busy first quarter, so I was already a bit behind. Now I am nearly a year behind in some. One is an episode-by-espisode tv show rewatch, so I have a ton of shows and podcasts to make up!

[Superbone]

Well, just ordered an elliptical based on your feedback, Indy. What you said about the back and forth made a lot of sense as far as watching something while working out. Thanks again!

[Indy]

Don't blame me if you don't use it as often as you hope.

I really need to get back on mine...

[Superbone]

Don't blame me if you don't use it as often as you hope.

I really need to get back on mine...

Nope. No blame. The cool thing is the one I got has a year subscription to iFit so I'll have a myriad of trainers and sessions to go through. Stuff like where you're climbing the hills of Machu Picchu.

[Indy]

nice!

[Mori Chu]

I recently bought a treadmill and then found out that it wouldn't start up unless you activated some stupid internet service called "iFitness" or something like that. You had to sign up for it, where they wanted to get you to pay a monthly fee, but the first N months are free, or some crap. I was furious, and I googled it and found that if you held down 3 buttons and then pressed Power or whatever, it would bypass the internet crap. So I did. Blech.

[Superbone]

I recently bought a treadmill and then found out that it wouldn't start up unless you activated some stupid internet service called "iFitness" or something like that. You had to sign up for it, where they wanted to get you to pay a monthly fee, but the first N months are free, or some crap. I was furious, and I googled it and found that if you held down 3 buttons and then pressed Power or whatever, it would bypass the internet crap. So I did. Blech.

That would be horrible if you were forced to use a particular subscription service. Shame on them for making it appear you had no other choice.

[In2ition]

I saw this and thought it was interesting alternative to the usual.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ clmbr-the-most-efficient-cardio-strength-machine

[Flagrant Fowl]

I suggest skipping some large piece of expensive equipment in favor of a heart rate monitor and high intensity interval training (HIIT). There isn't a rule that states cardio exercise must be limited to running, cycling, swimming, rowing, etc. The only goal is to sustain a target heart rate.

This is the simple cardio regimen that I usually follow for 5 days a week. I mix up the individual movements every few weeks, but still targeting the same general areas.

2 mile run with a goal of finishing under 16 minutes. I think my goal was under 18 minutes when I first started a couple of years ago.

HIIT with a 45/15 second active/rest split. Additional 20 second rest after each set.
Jump rope
Push-up variations
Sit-up variations
Hill climber variations
Dumbbell/light weight squats

I'll usually do 2-3 sets of that plan and then 2-3 more sets of something that targets a specific area, either upper body, lower body, or core.

That results in about 35-40 minutes of cardio. It's easy to mix in resistance training as you wish, or in my case, when my gym isn't closed due to COVID, I add in pull-up and hanging leg raise variations.

It took me some time to build up the endurance to get through this kind of regimen without keeling over, but the beauty of HIIT is that you can easily decrease the intensity as needed. Just keep that heart rate in the targeted zone.

[In2ition]

That's a good plan, FF.

[Superbone]

I suggest skipping some large piece of expensive equipment in favor of a heart rate monitor and high intensity interval training (HIIT). There isn't a rule that states cardio exercise must be limited to running, cycling, swimming, rowing, etc. The only goal is to sustain a target heart rate.

This is the simple cardio regimen that I usually follow for 5 days a week. I mix up the individual movements every few weeks, but still targeting the same general areas.

2 mile run with a goal of finishing under 16 minutes. I think my goal was under 18 minutes when I first started a couple of years ago.

HIIT with a 45/15 second active/rest split. Additional 20 second rest after each set.
Jump rope
Push-up variations
Sit-up variations
Hill climber variations
Dumbbell/light weight squats

I'll usually do 2-3 sets of that plan and then 2-3 more sets of something that targets a specific area, either upper body, lower body, or core.

That results in about 35-40 minutes of cardio. It's easy to mix in resistance training as you wish, or in my case, when my gym isn't closed due to COVID, I add in pull-up and hanging leg raise variations.

It took me some time to build up the endurance to get through this kind of regimen without keeling over, but the beauty of HIIT is that you can easily decrease the intensity as needed. Just keep that heart rate in the targeted zone.

Yeah... Not a fan. I did a year of personal, in-home HIIT training that ended just as the pandemic was starting here (early March). It just took too much out of me. I was legit sick at the end of every session. A few times close to passing out. I still do some of the upper body strength training and I have a set of Bowflex adjustable dumbbells that I use.

Maybe because she felt obligated to get me through the whole thing in my 45 minute session. Maybe it would have been better if I broke it into two days of half as much. I don't know. Anyway, looking for something more traditional. I'm looking forward getting on the elliptical and doing the video workouts or listening to podcasts or music. I was in the best shape of my life when I was doing traditional weight lifting plus running.

Oh, as Nodack mentioned, I also just ordered the new Oculus Quest 2 wireless VR headset. There are some boxing and music/dancing games that I believe will give me a legit cardio workout. Without my goto full court basketball, this will be the closest I'll come to having fun while improving my health.

Here's to a great 2021 of health and fitness!

[In2ition]

Don't you have to scale up with HIIT? You can't push yourself to their levels if you aren't ready for it. I had a similar experience.