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"Fitness Freaks?"

:) Having just insulted you I'm now hoping you'll be helpful :P

Anyone who has seen my pic on Special Observe will probably notice I'm what you'd call "overweight" and probably bordering on obese actually. Before the "who ate all the pies" etc joke replies start I'd point out that it's not all from overeating but something else as well, but that's not relevant.

Going off tracks...

If I wanted a piece of exercise equipment what would be best out of:

treadmill
exercise bike

From what little I have read I know that rowing machines are supposed to be quite good, as are these eliptical trainer things...but I want to start gentle.

The only gym in town is £35 a month so I figure that I may as well just buy my own stuff....swimming is also no good to me because without my glasses on I'm as shortsighted as...erm a very shortsighted person. With my glasses on I can't go underwater or wear goggles so my eyes soon end up hurting like hell...

Also if anyone knows any good online stores for the stuff, 'cause only Argos sells it where I live, though they seem to have a lot of stuff available.

Anyone?

VenomByte wrote:
> So much conradictory advice posted in this thread. Where opinions
> collide, just listen to what Mojo and EB have said ;)

Yeah, but he's a skinny wimp!

:D

Ranma wrote:
> Of course English Bloke is only giving his opinion.

Very true, just going with what works for me.

If you live anywhere near the countryside, get a proper bike as excercise bikes aren't half as effective at getting fit. My brother got a treadmill and that was pretty useless, although it wasn't an electric one.

When I've recovered from buying pc bits and pool junk, I just might...
Nay, probably will.

Thanks

The old exercise bike I use to use was incredibly heavy, you could only hold it above the ground for about 4 seconds before your arms give way. That would discourage any wouldbe stealers. However the newer bikes are a lot lighter.

You can get decent exercise bikes for about 80 pounds now, probably less if you shop around. Okay that's about two months worth of gym membership but then you can use it whenever you want, preferably infront of a tv. 30 minutes a day would be great, perhaps during the Simpsons.

Ranma wrote:
> For me the best option has always been an exercise bike (dont bother
> with those other machines) it's instantly available, cheap, you can
> watch TV while you're on it and of course free weights to help
> maintain your upper body. Although I would trade all that in for a
> gym membership or a beach ^^


How much do you think you need to spend on an exercise bike to get something decent?

Maybe one of these would be harder for people to steal than my old bike. (still bitter)

So much conradictory advice posted in this thread. Where opinions collide, just listen to what Mojo and EB have said ;)

For my two cents, here's what I'll add:

Someone mentioned a few things about rowing machines. Well...
Rowing machines and cycling machines will not build up your muscle, they are cardiovascular activities, unless you opt for very high intensity. Additionally, the rowing machine works your legs as much as if not more than your arms. Whoever said otherwise clearly doesn't know how to use one.

As for treadmill Vs Bike, I'd strongly recommend the bike. I don't think anyone's mentioned that treadmills can be bad for your knees yet (as is running, so get some proper shoes if you're going to do that), so I'd best point that out. Personally though, if I were to choose one fitness machine it would be the cross-trainer. These start of at around £400 though, which is a bit of a downer. You'll burn off calories faster in a cross trainer than using either of the other two since it works your entire body at once.

Walking's great if you have the spare time, but it's not worth trying too hard to fit it into your schedule. You need to do an awful lot of it to lose weight.

I'd also recommend you buy a mag like mens health, too. Unlike many of the others it's not full of crap like adverts for protein pills. It contains useful info on nutrition, general health and fitness, as well as weight loss and muscle gain. Most other mags concentrate only on the latter, interspersed with the aforementioned adverts.

Exercise in the morning if possible. It (allegedly) raises your metabolism for several hourse after the workout itself, so it's much more effective than working out in the evening when you'll be going to sleep shortly afterwards. It's also a much easier routine to stick to - nothing can come up and disrupt it as it common with evenings. Working out in the evening will also affect your sleep.

Of course English Bloke is only giving his opinion. Having bought and used a home exercise bike over the last 2 years I have had amazing results. In the first week I started using my bike I lost almost a stone. Although I'm sure a lot of water went with it, but as the weeks went by I was losing a pound every other day. Of course I was dieting and I did quite a few other exercises other than the exercise bike but the majority of my fat burning was done on it.

Although walking is great it really isnt an option for everyone, you either dont have the time, no where of interest to walk or the only time you have is when it starts to get dark. If I lived near a beach then I would be out there walking for hours but where I live you really wont get much of a view. Wow a blue car!

Going to the gym would be great but then membership isnt cheap and you have to find the time for it.

For me the best option has always been an exercise bike (dont bother with those other machines) it's instantly available, cheap, you can watch TV while you're on it and of course free weights to help maintain your upper body. Although I would trade all that in for a gym membership or a beach ^^

Hello. I haven’t read all the replies, because well, let’s face it, I’m a lazy man, which is kind of nice and ironic for this thread.

I used to be quite overweight myself, but after 4 years now of steady exercise and a balanced diet I’m a lean mean…um...ticket-writing machine…

Best advice you could really receive was given to you by the very first person to reply. You want to start off slowly? Well there’s a nice big world out there with all the free pavement you want.

Walking is surprisingly good exercise. Just half an hour a day during your lunch break and you’ll start to notice the difference. The flab won’t be falling off you, but you should notice the difference in how you feel. After you’ve been doing that for a while why not build up to going jogging? Just for a mile to start with? Give yourself a time to aim for and try and finish it without stopping for a rest. Go slow and get slower but just don’t stop. E.g. 15 minutes for a mile. Then next time, just try and beat your time rather then going further.

Once you become happier with it go for longer distances, but I would suggest still throwing in a “quick” mile run every now-and-then.

Don’t purchase home gym stuff. The machines are a waste of money and if you’re not easily motivated you’ll find yourself just going through the motions, not actually having a proper work out.

Once you’re happy you’re fitness is going in the direction you want it to, join a gym. Upon joining you should be given an “induction”. Tell the instructor what you want to achieve from your exercising and he will develop a plan for you.

Mix up CV with weights, make your CV varied with endurance and interval training, don’t expect miracles, work hard and good luck.

I started 4 years ago going to the gym once a week. I have slowly built myself up slowly, now go 4 times a week and am only now just starting to get into the kind of shape I want to.

Forgot to even mention diet. Bah! Too early. Will do that later.

I would say go running outside, although this is not always an option if you live in an urban area. Circuit training is good (weights and stuff), but I'd still go for running if weightloss is the main aim.