Excersise Equipment? (1 Viewer)

I never realize just how big I am, until two things happen. I wear a smaller shirt my parents bought me for Chrismas, or I get ready for the shower.

Obviously the treadmill alone isn't doing it...so I've been thinking about getting a modeslty priced exercise equipment set for the basement or outside porch.. when we redoo it.

I'd join the local Gym that just opened up down the shore here this year, but I'd be embarassed at only doing each weight exercise only ten times before I got tired/used to doing more...And treadmill for 30 minutes compared to what everyone else does...I'd rather work out of my own home untill I got up to speed..

Can I get a good system for under $500's, and what's the easiest/or most effective workout to look for? I'm mostly looking to trim down the stomach....by about 70 pounds .

Thanks

I would not be concerned about what people think about your exercise regiment. Chances are they are probably not even paying much attention to what you are lifting or how many reps you are doing. As far as 30 minutes on the treadmill. Like you I am battling my weight and I am down 18lbs in my 80lb goal. I go to the gym and do my plan and at first the weights were embarrassingly low and I struggled to do 20 minutes on the treadmill but I don't think anyone ever really cared or if they did they never let me know.

I would also like to share something else I have been learning and that is don't take anything personally. Understand that nothing others do is because of you. What others say and think and do is a projection of their own perception of reality. It is something that I think about and has really helped me not to care so much about others opinions.

Back on track, I will say if you do join a gym make sure it is convenient. I have been a member of many gyms and the only ones that I have used regularly are the ones that are at my work or the one I could walk to within 5 minutes.

As far as exercise equipment goes I would get a bench and some free weights. The new selectable dumbbells from bowflex really intrigue me because you can exercise every part of your body with a good set of dumbbells and these would not take up much space and would be easy to move around.

Sorry for the length of this post and I hope I have been of some help. Good luck and stick to it.

Actually, it's within a good ten minute walk from here, all on flat land, so it's not too bad. I won't be tired by the time I get there .

What I was looknig at was something from BoFlex. The price is about 800... a bit higher than I was looking to spend...but it seems to do all the major areas..

The main question would be where to set it up...

I'd start by looking at your diet. Cut all fast food, all sugary drinks, and eat salad regularly. Quizno's has some kickass choices When you get the munchies eat cereal or fruit. When you go to the market replace your snack choices with apples, grapes, pears, oranges, etc.

Another recommendation for a small collection of free weights & a bench before you plunge into some huge, expensive contraption.

Space can be a factor and I do not know if you ever plan on moving trying to large piece of equipment can be a pain.

The Bowflex dumbbells can be found here for $399.99 and you could store them just about anywhere
http://www.bowflexselecttech.com/cat...=1143683415946

And here is a weight bench for $60
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...rt&dcaid=17379

I don't mean to come across as a dumbbell salesman but I have run the gamut with home gym equipment and if I were to do it again I would go the dumbbell route. Right now the company i work for has a top notch gym so I just use it. So I can't speak personally for the dumbells. I would try the gym for a month or two and see which type of equipment you like using.

You could also put your HT to use and get some exercise videos. I use the "Biggest Loser" DVD on days I don't make it to the gym and it is quite good. It offer several different types of workouts and is geared towards beginners and people of other than perfect body types.

You could also use the seal workout which consists of pushups, pullups, situps, running, and swimming or biking.

First, I agree with ToddS, don't be concerned about everyone else in the gym looking at you. You have to start somewhere. 30 minutes on a treadmill is not a bad stretch of time even if you are just walking. It certainly beats no time on the treadmill. My story, I joined the gym on March 5, 2005 and started with 5 minutes on the tread mill jogging, weight training with 25 pound dumbells for arm curls bench press of 130pds with 7 reps with all weight training aspects in the same area low weights. With diligence and committment, (I went 4 times a week sometimes 5) everything improved drastically with in 3 months.
I use to weight train years ago, infact the last workout I had with weights was about 8 or 9 years ago. It didn't matter, I knew I had to start somewhere. Though I still have a weight problem, but I was far better off now than I was when I started.
As of today (3/30/2006)
Alternating Arm curls now are at 55 pounds each arm
Tricep pushdowns was at 80 pounds now I can pushdown the full rack
Shoulder presses was at 50 pounds now 130 pounds
Roman chair situps before 10 reps and almost dying now 20 reps each set for three sets
Treadmill I can only do 30 minutes because the gym has time limits.
Bench press (my weakest strength) is upto 225lbs four reps but I can do 205 in about 6 to 7 reps as a max out.
Big difference, I mention this because I think you should join the gym. Home gyms and weights are good and excellent for filling in before you go out or for those days when you can't go to the gym but the gym has so much more to offer including advice from others about various exercises. Working out at home get's old since you are by yourself and the bed or couch is conveniently with a few feet of the basement. In fact I find that people notice progress far more frequently than the lack there of. Go to the gym, glad I did, my arms are bigger than they ever been and I don't huff and puff like I used to when going up stairs.

Get a set of plate weights, straight bar, and a barbell. This will allow you to perform most exercises. Get an exercise ball (good for weights or separate exercises) and a bench. This will get you started... down the road you may want to consider a power rack.

I am going to go against the grain on this one. I will also preface by saying I used to be a bigtime gym-rat and was a health nut. I ONLY used free weights and no matter what anyone says it is still the best........that was then though...this is now....

I put on some weight after getting married and stopped going to the gym. I got sucked into that stupid infomercial with the Chuck Norris and the Total Gym. I saw that Sears and Dicks carried a cheaper version of it (still Total Gym) for $300 dollars and I bought it. I have not looked back since. I have tried the Bowflex and all the other things and the Total Gym is by far my favorite. It is fun and easy to use and it works. You get the full stretch you would with free weights as well. Ultimately free weights are of course "better" but there is NOTHING I can't do with the Total Gym than I can do with free weights. The big reason too why I would avoid free weights is the safetly factor. If you are working out alone and do not have a spotter when doing bench and other excersises you can seriously hurt yourself. This is NEVER a problem with a TG. I am only 5'8" but weighed about 180lbs in January (I know it does not sound like a lot but for my frame it is) I now weigh 165 lbs and actually have muscles now. Another must is the excercise ball. Nothing beats one of those when working out your core. Best of luck to you.

and by the way.......so far this is the best advice you have gotten so far......



Excersice without changing your diet is almost pointless if you want to get in shape. Also do not call it a "diet". there is no such thing as a diet and all of those stupid diet fads are useless. Your diet is a lifetime decision.....not a 4 month decision. Ultimately weight loss comes down to one simple thing.....you have to burn more calories then the amount of calories coming in. Simple as that.......

The big reason too why I would avoid free weights is the safetly factor. If you are working out alone and do not have a spotter when doing bench and other excersises you can seriously hurt yourself.>>>

One of the things I was worried about. I'm looking for something easy I can do on my own time. I'll look into the Total Gym. Do they let you try it in store? They did with the treadmill I bought...

Not entirely true. I work out alone and have a power rack with safety bars. The safety bars have come into play many times when I couldn't finish out a rep and didn't have enough left to re-rack the bar. I'm in the other camp...I love working with free weights. I recently used a fitness facility at a resort while on vacation. They had state-of-the-art equipment too...no cheap stuff...lots of machines and what not, and afterwards, I still prefer using free weights. I do like using an exercise ball. I'm exhausted after doing ab workouts on that thing.

http://www.sportsauthority.com/produ...entPage=family

I'm assuming you're talking about something like this exercise ball... How does rolling around on this thing make you loose stomach weight?

I'd recommend visiting http://www.johnstonefitness.com - John Stone is an HTF member who is extremely dedicated to fitness. His site has a ton of amazing information about living a healthy lifestyle.

Bob

Already did . Had it bookmarked a while ago.... but nothing beats getting instant advice from this board ...

I'll take another peak again .

My neighbor has a Total Gym (well, an imported copy of a total gym that he got at Sears) and really likes it. I still think (used) free weights have the best resale value.

Neil, you can do all sorts of exercises with the ball... they sell books filled with options! Make sure you get the right size. A few popular ones:
- sit on the ball and do sit ups
- Lie on the floor on your back and lift the ball with your ankles
- Pushups (feet on ball, the further out you go the harder it gets)
- reverse crunches. Start in a push up position and pull your knees to your chest (ball rolls along the front of your legs)

You should get a good book or buy a few training sessions at the local gym. Bad technique will cause injuries and then you'll stop exercising...

The exercise balls are to help stretch and tone muscles. And they really are very good at it too.

Also, if you use the ball as your chair when doing arm exercises with dumbells, the effort of maintaining your balance actually works your stomach and back.

I totaly agree with you in that free weights ultimately is the best. I HATE those machines in the gym.....too restrictive and do not allow you to use stabalizing muscles. I do sisagree with the safety bars though. For someone experienced with lifting and knowing their limits they are great to have and a MUST to have. For someone first getting into lifting and inexperienced there is still a risk factor involved. I know too many people who were not experienced and wound up hurting themselves with free weights to endorse them to someone for a home gym who already has said he thought about the safety issue with free weights.

Imo, you shouldn't be afraid to do both. No reason why you can't do 3 sets of arm curls on a bench, then later in your workout on a machine.

I agree Scott, maybe "hate" was a bit strong on my last post. They definatley serve a great purpose in a Gym. Obviously they are not an option for home though. I just always loved free-weights....especially for tri's and bi's. My favorite tri's workout was "skull crushers" and "preacher curls" for bi's.

I've lifted weights for 20 plus years and I'm a big fan of the resistance ball. Done correctly they can give you one hell of a workout. Here's a link to some examples. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/co...SM00047&slide=1

I'm not talking about pilates...the kind of work that you would want to look into hits your core muscles. Some of the fittest triathletes around use this kind of workout as part of their regimen. For $30 to $40 bucks you can use this one item to hit your entire body. It's an excellent way to get your entire torso strengthened which will help avoid injuries if and when you move up to more resistance. I.e. weights.

Free weights vs. machines is mostly a matter of preference. Free weights really necessitate good form and technique to 1. be effective and 2. safe. When not used cautiously, any exercise equipment can be hazardous.

Maybe you could check your gym for "introductory" trial memberships. 24hr does a 10 free workouts bit now and then...heavily stipulated, of course, but something like that might give you a free shot to see how you feel in the gym atmosphere. In addition, you can have the chance to compare different machines and free weights to add to our input and to get an idea of what kind of equipment you might want should you go that route.

It's easier said than done for certain personalities, but I'm all for a cone of silence attitude in the gym. Do what you do and forget who might be watching. IMO, 99% of the people at the gym are really just focused on their workout or possibly the person they're trying to pick up. Of those, at least 25% are thinking the same thing you are..."are people looking down at me and my workout?" The 1% that might ligitimatly be looking at you in the wrong way don't deserve your attention anyway. All of that being said, it is very important for you to be comfortable working out, and environment is a big part of it.

ooo those sound fun, can you elaborate?