Home Gym Systems

You know, I never even thought to ask for them to train me on free weights. The docs always recommended machines but maybe I could get them to reevaluate that avenue. I know the VA hosp has a training center and going there, even if it was everyday for a month or so, would cost less than a gym membership. And after being trained I could get the bench and weights.

All of your input has been very helpful and I do appreciate it. I knew this was the place to put ideas together...........now if someone could come up with a fool proof method of getting a reluctant teen to enjoy working out, that would really be a miracle!! Her idea of a workout is reading 5 books at the same time......LOL
 
Sounds like a good plan to me, Gin:) Propper training is key when it comes to any physical exercise. Like martial arts, focus and breathing is going to get you the best results without injury. I think once you start, you'll be hooked:)
As for your daughter, what kinds of physical things does she like to do? Cardio-kickboxing is fun, burns cals, and doesn't take a long time to really whip you into shape. Raquetball is a lot of fun too. You don't even need to know how to play it to go in and hit the ball around. I love the sport, myself. However, every so often i like to go into the room alone and just wail on the ball. Of course, there is always the MP3 player and treadmill. Doctors say that you get the same benefits from walking a mile as you do from running a mile without the joint injury...it just takes a lot longer;)

Jake
 
mamav said:
...........now if someone could come up with a fool proof method of getting a reluctant teen to enjoy working out, that would really be a miracle!! Her idea of a workout is reading 5 books at the same time......LOL
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Sounds like my daughter. As I've said before here on the forum, what changed it for my daughter was rowing. Getting onto the water with a bunch of other girls, and suffering together, was what it took. And by God, they suffered ... rowing works most of the major muscle groups hard, as well as your cardiovascular system.

The first year was relatively gentle, 'till they developed some technique and camaraderie. But the second season, the girls were training 2 hours/day four days/week. Quickly lost her baby fat, toned up her muscles, and all of a sudden she's a lithe, 15 year old hardbody, attracting a bit more masculine attention than she's had before. That's been a pretty good motivator!
 
TomFetter said:
Sounds like my daughter. As I've said before here on the forum, what changed it for my daughter was rowing. Getting onto the water with a bunch of other girls, and suffering together, was what it took. And by God, they suffered ... rowing works most of the major muscle groups hard, as well as your cardiovascular system.

The first year was relatively gentle, 'till they developed some technique and camaraderie. But the second season, the girls were training 2 hours/day four days/week. Quickly lost her baby fat, toned up her muscles, and all of a sudden she's a lithe, 15 year old hardbody, attracting a bit more masculine attention than she's had before. That's been a pretty good motivator!
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I forgot your daughter rowed, Tom:) You're absolutely right about it being one of the most physically demanding activities that you can do. For those of you that have never seen rowing up close, it is NOT just your arms and back. Actually, the work out is 60% legs, 20% back, and 20% arms. The movement required is hard to explain, but you are on a seat that slides. Basically you are doing a seated squat-thurst (my football coach used to call them Burpies) so that by the time you finish a 2000m race not only are you forearms screaming from "feathering" the oar, but you literally feel like you are going to vomit:barf: from reaching down and putting your face on your knees. On top of that, you have to keep your head in the game. One goof up, and the boat is going to check. Think about the oars as pistons, now imagine if your car had a piston that was firing our of sequence. You get the idea;) Persoanlly, i liked rowing in the 4 man instead of 8. It required a lot more work, but it was easier to keep all the guys together. Ahhhh those were the days. I remember the day that we were rowing in Cinci on the filthy Ohio river....when we were almost hit by a barge:eek: Exciting day to say the least:D
I will NEVER be in as good of shape as I was when I was 19 or 20 and on the rowing crew. If you told me to run 5 miles now, I'd get winded from laughing at the idea:o One workout that will whip you into shape fast is using the the cable rowing machines that they train rowers on. They are found in a lot of gyms. My dear Lord, I wouldn't wish a stint on the ERG on my worst enemy. All the horrible pain of rowing...with none of the natural landscape of the lake or river. Plus it tracks just how far you have gone. No slackin off allowed;) I've tried to get back on the ERG a couple times since my rowing days...I can't do it. Just no fun at all.

Jake
 
You like the 4s? My daughter's more into the coxed 8s. Says it makes her feel like a Viking. With a blonde braid down her back, it's not so far off... but so far I haven't broken down and bought her a seax.
 
We still had a coxswain in the 4. Trust me, our group needed it;) We had a great girl named Jen that was firm but drove us on. It's been about 6 years but I remember the line up. Todd the farmboy from Missouri sat stern. A real technician with great form as all Sterns should be. We called him Dudley for some reason. Eric, the kind of dense powerhouse of the team. We called him Starchie because of all the starches and carbs he would load up on. That boy was always eating bread. Tom sat next seat. Another form man. Brilliant guy. He would have fit in here at the Cantina just fine. Eagle Scout. I think he ended up getting his phd in physics. He didn't have a nickname. Finally, I sat bow. I was another power rower. I have no idea why they stacked Starchie and me on starboard, but it always worked out. I guess Tom and Todd's technique trumped our strong pull. My nickname was Maverick, but that's a story for another day:D

sorry to get off topic, Gin. Just taking a row down memory lane;)

Jake
 
I guess there's never going to be a bench in my house, unless someone visits and leaves it here. I never understood running around in circles or lifting dead weights. But my old buddy, martial artist and auto crash survivor, uses a Bow Flex, amongst other things. I mention this because his neck had surgery and he's very attuned to the physical world and any further impact upon his neck.


munk
 
TomFetter said:
Sounds like my daughter. As I've said before here on the forum, what changed it for my daughter was rowing. Getting onto the water with a bunch of other girls, and suffering together, was what it took. And by God, they suffered ... rowing works most of the major muscle groups hard, as well as your cardiovascular system.

The first year was relatively gentle, 'till they developed some technique and camaraderie. But the second season, the girls were training 2 hours/day four days/week. Quickly lost her baby fat, toned up her muscles, and all of a sudden she's a lithe, 15 year old hardbody, attracting a bit more masculine attention than she's had before. That's been a pretty good motivator!
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i have a concept 2 ergometer - that's fancy talk for olympic class rowing trainer. my god, it's hard. i haven't used it in SEVERAL years. however, it's coming out and getting used, it's why my livinging room is clean now :> so put it there. fantastic workout.

and while i don't like the cheap ones, and i'm not thrilled completely with the ergos on the medium units even, but the "total gym" (chuck norris) machines have promise. if you can find the $3000 machine for $300, it might be worth it. i want one for the graduated pull ups and "swimming" exercises, among a few other things.

bowflex? spending, the bows can/do wear out, and er, scary to my brain. still, if one showed up, i wouldn't say no, but it's not going to happen.

free weights, a swiss therapy ball, and a sledge hammer? good times. pushusp, crunches, old skool. get a good pilates video (the dummies one is nice), or a yoga routine you like. that power/ashtanga yoga will get you sweating in 10 minutes, i guarantee.

as nike says, "just DO it" (and don't eat like a pig) - my favoritest commercial of theirs EVAH.

bladite
 
Rowing, eh? Karen has a friend who is on the Tempe rowing team. The cost is $700 to just sign up and $100 amonth after that to participate. Just a little out of my reach. The bad thing with her is that she's a bean pole and so doesn't have the motivation to need to exercise although i told her it was good for her heart and lungs.........but since everyone in the family lives to be 90-110, no motivation there either............:rolleyes: And as for the male attention.........boys really have guts these days...........flirting with my daughter with me right there........although I do appreciate the good service we always get.......:rolleyes: :D

Maybe I should get her a book that she really likes on tape or cd and tell her she can only listen to it if she works out with me................hmmmmmm......have to think about that.
 
Buy a Dipping and Chin up frame combo,stick in a few different pressups as well and you will get a good all round upper body workout !!!
 
700 bucks plus 100 a month!:eek: I don't blame you in the least for not taking that deal. When I rowed in college (and this was only about 6 years ago) the men's team was a club sport, and we paid $25 a person in dues a season (50 bucks a year). This covered our uniform cost. The school gave us $2000 a season for a coach's salary. However, since we elected a coach among our ranks, we used the 2k for the entry fees to the meets as well as hotel costs. We car pooled to each regatta and split the gas cost. A fun cost effective sport for poor college kids.
Gin, I think if you can get your daughter to at least try a little something, she'll probably keep with it at least for awhile. Runner's high is a nice healthy legal little buzz:D

Jake
 
Gin,

I'll echo the folks who have mentioned you may want to consider bodyweight and self resistance type exercises. Many older weightlifters have injuries they attribute to weightlifting.

If you do want to buy equipment, consider buying it second hand. Most people who buy that stuff use it for a month or less and then try to get rid of it.

If you really want to spend some money, Wendy Pett's book book on bodyweight and self resistance exercises for ladies is a good one. Get the spiral bound one though, as if you use it a lot the perfect bound one will fall apart.

I have links to lots of free informaion on these types of exercises, as well as descriptions of the routine I use, on my exercise page at http://www.aolisi.net/ExerciseLinks.htm . You may find some things of interest there.

Namaste,
 
if i may, i don't recommend bowflex or any other spring/leaf/tension machines. The resistance increases on the outside, far end of the rep and is much softer on the inside. you're not working the muscle fibers on the inside as hard as the outside. plates, pulleys, and other uniform resistance machines are better in this respect. Weider makes a version of the total gym that's only $100 if you want a lower impact machine cheap. If you want lower impact, though, i recommend just skipping the machines and start swimming. Above all, i recommend a few light dumbells. Slow reps, controlled form, you'll be in great shape. If you can convince your daughter to work out with you, then an olympic barbell. Don't use it without someone to spot you. Tell her she can build up a nice firm bubble butt and hips look great on a tiny waist.
 
Just do body weight exercises at home. Those home gyms are garbage. Get you one of those dip bar/pull-up bar/leg lift stations and some push up bars. Buy a weighted vest and do hill sprints, lunges, etc.
 
bubble butts must be in high demand.


I knew a guy who only did pushups and pullups and became strong as hell.
Willingness to do it is 99 percent of it, isn't it?


munk
 
I hate to exercise, but I'm trying to do deadlifts gradually. I've only been at it for about 2 months. All I can notice is that my shoulders have hardened up a little (from the shoulder-press portion of the exercise). I figure since I'm less likely to stick with a long routine of multiple exercises, picking just one that works out some of the more important muscles (legs, back) would be the best use of my time).

I also figured I needed something to counter this sedentary computer-based job.

Of you could be like Coach McGuirk instead and just work out your pecs. ;-)
 
A lot of good suggestions in this thread. I agree with the good bench and dumbells and stay away from things like bowflex and expensive machines like that.

I haven't used the Total Gym myself but a good friend whose opinion I respect loves his and says it can be used to work out just about any body part effectively. He is in good shape.

If you like rowing there are some great machines. If you can get a Concept II ERG for a good price I would recommend it. At one point they were used by many crew teams. I used one in the gyms I went to for years and was able to find a nice used one for $200.

Essentially, you have two types of equipment. Cardio such as tread mills, bikes, rowing machine etc., and resistance for building strength and muscle. Machines are fine but expensive for the good ones. Joining a gym/fitness club is one option and if you want home equipment, a good bench and weights is probably best from the cost perspective.

Peter
 
munk said:
bubble butts must be in high demand.


I knew a guy who only did pushups and pullups and became strong as hell.
Willingness to do it is 99 percent of it, isn't it?


munk
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I read once that the guy who had the world record for push ups was some guy in prison doing life.
He was too mean to be let out expt for showers so all he ever did was push-ups and more push ups until he turned from a weedy guy into some giant monster so the guards wouldnt even let him out for showers....
Dont know if its true, but a good story.
 
Ask and you shall recieve...........I've been wishing that a gym would have a membership sale so I could do that instead of trying to pinch hit at home. Well, i was sitting in the car waiting for my daughter to come out of the book store when a young man approached the car. My first thought was panic as this IS Mesa, but he stood back and introduced himself and was wearing a uniform from LA Fitness and proceeded to tell me about the sale. Their usual fees are $250 to join and $50 a month unless you sign up for 2 years, then it's only $40 a month. It's now $99 to join and $25 a month for both Karen and me. We will be taking advantage of this opportunity especially since LA Fitness is the premier gym on my side of the valley.

I'm thrilled.........can you tell.:rolleyes:

Of course my reason for joining, since they always ask that, will be to tell them I need to strengthen my heart so I don't go into cardiac arrest when a young male approaches my car in the middle of a parking lot:rolleyes:
 
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