It looks cool, but there's a good chance I would mangle myself on it.

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elliptical-trainer.jpgWhew, I feel better after yesterday… So anyway. As I was saying.

Short of winning the lottery, I’m clearly years away from a life where I’m able to go to the gym again. (An aside: my ideal life would be to drop the kids at school and go work out. Fucking “job” keeps getting in my way.)

So. If you had to choose just one kind of exercise to do at home, what would it be? Our house is too full of kids and their crap for me to do any kind of “watch skinny bitches jump around on TV” kind of workout, and leaving the house to do something like jog would be such a hassle I would never do it.

I think I have it narrowed down to getting some sort of equipment. Any opinions out there on those fancy newfangled Elliptical Machines? Last time I hung in a gym on a regular basis, the Stair Master was all the rage, but I gather that now those are only for those who are, like, totally out of the loop.

So educate me.

Comments

  1. I covet the new Bow Flex tread climber myself. It’s a combination treadmill/stepper and it looks so easy to do. When we get our new house and get all settled in and I have this baby and feel like getting back into shape, that’s what I think I want to get.

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  2. The elliptical machines are good, but you have to be careful how many times a week you use it — especially if you have bad knees. My friend who was using it 3-4 times a week tore her miniscus (sp?) and is having surgery next month. But she has a history of knee problems …

    I personally used the elliptical quite a lot in college in combination with a treadmill or a running track and didn’t really have a problem. I would recommend some kind of combination — switch it up! Invest in a bike, too, maybe? It’s not healthy to use the same machine over and over because it could give you some kind of repetitive movement injury if you’re not careful. Strech before and after, too — very crucial!

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  3. Ahh, you should join me, THE IDIOT, and start the Couch to 5K program. It’s slowly killing me, wanna join in?

    Glad you’re feeling better after yesterday…I didn’t comment, cause I didn’t know what to say. Sorry.

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  6. When I was going to the gym (and really, it surprises me whenever I say that) the elliptical was my fave. Now I live miles away from a gym and the hubby keeps threatening to buy me an elliptical. Secretly I’m happy about that. :D (Hello? A half-hour to myself!)

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  8. I’m another person in the elliptical camp. If I weren’t becoming a vagabond in a month, I’d buy one right now. They’re my favorite machine at the gym and considerably easier on my knees than just about any other equipment. Also, I can watch TV while doing it. With other machines (treadmills) I tend to drift while watching TV and exercising. That isn’t a problem with the elliptical.

    For more info on a lot of machines, check out Tanya’s reveiws at In The Gym.

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  9. we love our elliptical here under the Big Top.

    we have had it for four years and it is well used.

    i try to get on it every day (4-5 days) for 20-30 minutes. with my iPod the time goes fast. my darling husband finds that it works well as a clothes hanger.

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  10. My Stepmom has a Total Gym, and it’s fun to use, but it takes up a lot of space, but not more space than a treadmill or elliptical trainer, so it’s another possibility for you.

    Or you could use my exercise plan-waving my arms at the kids to fetch things for me while I lay on the couch. It’s working really well, too!

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  11. Well, I had huge knee problems from overuse (running). I started the eliptical two months ago and seriously? I cannot say enough!!!!!!!! You have to try it to believe it. It is so much more low impact – nary a knee twinge for eight weeks. AND I have lost the remainder of my pregnancy weight since using it. You burn around 30%-40% more calories in the same amount of time if you use the correct settings. I can’t say enough about it. Our next house is going to have one of these in it. LOVE IT.

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  14. I have an elliptical, although I haven’t used it much since I got it. It is nice and small though so it doesn’t take up too much room while I don’t use it. :)

    It is the brand name Horizon and I like that it is very sturdy. Alot of the other brands I tried were a little too rocky.

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  15. I wish I had an elliptical. We have a bowflex (my husbands) but the thing I used the most is my good ole’ yoga mat.

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  16. I don’t own any exercize machine. We dropped our healthclub membership when baby #2 came along. I find that with resistance bands and an exercize ball, I get a really good workout (very cheap option)!

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  17. I like ellipticals – but some brands KILL (Like OMG I”M DYING ) my knees, and others are okay. Try out the brand before buying – the ones that HURT me I knew they hurt in less than 5 minutes.

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  19. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get in shape. I absolutely SWEAR by Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away The Pounds videos and I also love Gin Miller’s step series. I lost over 50lbs in 5 months in 2005 using a combination of WATP and Pilates home videos. I gained a lot back, but am back to working out and it is just as effective the second time around.

    You can watch clips and read user reviews here:

    http://www.collagevideo.com

    Good luck!

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  21. This sounds crazy, but…. For years, I watched morning news shows while stepping up and down on a plastic milk crate. Sometimes I lifted hand weights while stepping, sometimes I lifted them after or before. Now, I have a *real* plastic step-thingy. But a milk crate is taller, so I think it’s probably a better workout. Plus, it’s super cheap!

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  22. I’d love to say I know all about the new-fangled exercise equipment, but the most exercise I get in a day is running after my dog, and trying to beat the automatic drip coffee into my cup before it scalds on the hotplate.

    I hear treadmills are nice though. I’d probably end up using it for shoe storage.

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  23. Speaking as someone who’s come close to mangling themselves on equipment (and got trapped on a gravitron once :) I too love the eliptical trainers, better on the knees, for sure. Forgot about the orgasm comment – has she posted the “how to” yet? You can always join me at boot camp at the mom-friendly hour of 5:30am (aack!)

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  24. I have a NordicTrack Elliptical machine at home. I used to think it was awesome. Then I joined the gym. Yeah, it’s not so awesome. I think I’m selling it in the next garage sale!

    Workout at home…try yoga or pilates. My favorite pilates DVD is Pilates for Wimps. On the cover, it has a lady in her workout clothes with a donut and a cup of coffee. The cover says, “Total Fitness for the Partially Motivated.” It’s a good beginners one.

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  25. I love the elliptical machine, but I wouldn’t buy it for your home. It’s great and all but it doesn’t cut it for your only workout. If you’re going to work out at home with kids around go with Crunch Pick Your Spot Pilates. It sounds too good to be true but these three ten minute workouts can actually get you into good shape. It’s the only video workout that has ever worked for me. Minimal investment big return and if you end up not using it you can throw it in the back of the closet unlike a big bulky machine.

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  27. I used to LOVE this little stepper I had that I could just push under the bed when I was done. I bought it when I lived in South Africa and if I could find one here I would buy it again, it was awsome. It really got my butt in shape!! And took up no room at all.

    Reply

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