| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/11/2007 8:14:53 AM | First thing I do when getting on anything is strap the ipod in. The ipod for me is the difference between burning 700 calories in 45 mins, and being so bored after 5 minutes that I go home. If I forget my ipod, I'll either go home and get it, or skip my workout, that's how bad it is for me without it. If you're not listening to anything, then yeah I don't blame you getting bored so fast.
I also bring stuff to read, usually my Shape mags because they motivate me to work out while working out. Yeah, I'm a weirdo.
I find that the elliptical is the best workout if I want to burn a lot in a small amount of time; again I am a nut so I will do 50 mins on the ellipical and then cool off with a half hour on the treadmill, but for me elliptical is the way to go.
Good home ellipticals aren't cheap tho. Treadmills are good too, and if you can get one with an incline it's even better. If you are just starting to work out, a treadmill might be better...you can do 20-30 mins a day in the morning and get what you need out of it.
Another question, just curious if anyone knows how many calories one burns in an hour using the major cardio machines (treadmill, eliptical, bike, rowing machine)?
I bought a HRM to track this because I found the machines at the gym to be off...a lot of them aren't calibrated regularly.
What you burn depends on your weight, age, speed and level of intensity. I can give you my #s and you can skew em if you want. At present I am usually between 128-131 lbs.
Elliptical - I can burn 7-800 cals in an hour. I never drop below a 65 in speed, and most of my workout is a level 7 resistance or above. At the end I usually stay in the 75-85 speed for 10-15 mins and that's when I drop to a 5 or 6 in speed, and at the end I take all the resistance out to cool off. My heart rate starts at 150 and has hit 182 at times, but the "cruise" I get after the workout is well worth it. I have a friend who would get 1200 out of it when she went, but she weighed more.
Treadmill - I can burn anywhere from 3-400 calories on the treadmill in an hour by either running at 6mph flat, 4 mph at a 7 or 8 incline or 3 mph at a 10 incline. I never go below 3 mph. Heart rate's much lower unless I am walking backwards on an incline, and when I do that for some reason it does hit the mid 170s (I hate my butt, so I always throw in about 10 mins of 3.5 backwards 11 incline in for good measure). Again my boss uses her treadmill every morning and according to her she gets 390-400 done in a half hour without running (she's 62). I tried but can't do that...
I want to try a rowing machine, and that bowflex combo stepper/elliptical thing really looks interesting, tho I can't afford it.
I think all that matters is you buy something that will last, that you'll still like 6 months from now and that you can get a real good workout on. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/13/2007 10:48:31 PM | http://www.fastexercise.com/
That should work. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/13/2007 11:35:37 PM | | FYI the bowflex climber was a POS. It was virtually the same as walking on a treadmill at a 12% incline, which most treadmills come with. It had a top speed of 4mph, and a really tiny hp motor. Couldn't sell them to anyone with brains. A treadmill is way more versatile and could give you the equivalent work out. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/14/2007 8:13:09 AM |
FYI the bowflex climber was a POS. It was virtually the same as walking on a treadmill at a 12% incline, which most treadmills come with. It had a top speed of 4mph, and a really tiny hp motor. Couldn't sell them to anyone with brains. A treadmill is way more versatile and could give you the equivalent work out.
Interesting. Good to know...thanks! | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/17/2007 10:50:03 PM | The Nautilus TreadClimber is GOD. I don't care what you say.
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/18/2007 8:51:28 AM | if you determine the best in terms of effectiveness then the spin bike is the ultimate winner. Like any cardio equipment the best way to burn calories and build muscle (that should be the goal if you want to burn fat) is H.I.I.T High Intensity Interval Training.
It's short and intense and painful but works 100% of the time if you put in the effort and have a nutritionally supportive "diet" | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/18/2007 9:03:57 AM | | I want to take a spin class, but it looks brutal - I see people coming out of there looking near death. For those who do take spin, can I take a class cold or do I need to train up to it? Should I bring a health insurance card and keep an ambulance on my speed dial? | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/19/2007 10:02:25 AM | I had a rower for awhile but eventually got bored of it. Then had an exercise bike, constant hum was too noisy to watch TV with: after that I got a ski machine, good but took up space also noisy. In the end I used the "house" as my interval training routine. Used the bottom step of the stairs for step ups. The seat of a sturdy kitchen chair for press ups and dips. Squats and combination sit ups. And then a selection of weights, or tin cans/bottles of varying weights. Skipping/running/jogging on the spot for more intense cardio.
Worked for me and the constant changing from one exercise to another kept me from getting bored, as did varying the routine or incorporating differant exercises. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/19/2007 9:45:57 PM | I have 10 years of martial arts background so what i do is abut 10mins light cardio, jumping jacks, stretches, and about 20 mins of striking with hands and feet at medium to full power, then 2-3 sets of varying strength building exercises like bench presses, curls, shoulder presses, using both the barbell and dumbells.
i've upped the weight 3 times now and almost ready for my 4th tier (add another 5-10lbs) i think.
i cooldown for another 10mins with various cardio. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/21/2007 3:18:33 PM | Buy a jump rope.
Do burpees.
There are a lot of ways to do cardio in a shorter period of time that will burn fat. One drawback is that your heart will be beating in your throat, so you may not enjoy television. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 12/21/2007 4:52:18 PM | elliptical - calories per hour depend on incline and the speed you pedal at, but for me, for example, I get anywhere from 400-600 calories per hour on the eliptical depending on how tired I am :)
Jogging on a trampoline for 5-8 mins is the equivalent of 1 mile. That is so much fun AND really will wear you out.
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/6/2008 4:26:53 PM | ProForm Elliptical is probably the most reasonably priced home elliptical machines out there. The stride feels just like the expensive machines in the gym but is compact enough that I can fit it in my studio. I use it all the time. 1hr - 45mins goes by real fast when watching TV. If you do it for 1hr 5 times a week, you're guaranteed weight loss!
The machine I bought almost three years ago was around $400. I actually found a newer model on Craigslist for about half the price! So, I think you should be able to find something good at a decent price. Good luck! | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/6/2008 5:42:57 PM |
For those who do take spin, can I take a class cold or do I need to train up to it? Should I bring a health insurance card and keep an ambulance on my speed dial?
At my gym the spin classes I attend are very welcoming to newbies. The instructors are great helping you to settup the bike to fit you. After that its go at your own speed, follow the instructor as much as you can, after a few classes it gets easier and your butt won't be as sore...LOL
Try it, its a great cardio workout. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/7/2008 1:43:57 PM | | if you have no problems with your knees or feet, this is the best machine, otherwise an Arc or Elliptical trainer would be good choices. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/23/2008 1:54:49 PM | Just plain old bike is best. I ride my mountain bike all year round :P
You can ride the bike during the warm winter months then in the cold months. You just get this device that lifts the back wheel off the ground. Never get a bike from walmart get one from a bike shop. I bought one from walmart and handle bars came off that is pretty common.
Biking will give you the long lean look that women want :P | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/23/2008 6:39:14 PM | | actually, I've known a lot of women who have found that biking bulks up their thighs, and they don't like that look at all... | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/23/2008 7:10:48 PM |
actually, I've known a lot of women who have found that biking bulks up their thighs, and they don't like that look at all...
It's probably from lifting weights combined with biking, more than it is from the biking itself. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/23/2008 7:11:58 PM | ^^^
I have that happen even as a guy... I've got naturally big, muscular thighs... (think Earl Campbell) I can't do stair climbers, elipticals, or bikes... I can run on a treadmill on zero incline... and my Concept 2 rower does not bulk my legs too much.... although it does a bit
It is all genetics..... I can look at a piece of gym equipment and bulk up
DK | |
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Mr H2O
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Joined: 10/31/2006
Msg: 46 | |
| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/23/2008 7:35:33 PM | C'mon a woman with watermellon thighs doing century bike rides is sexy for some guy in the world :-)
It's all about balance , cross training, mixing it up a bit, the full package.
Perhaps the best machine is a filter a local pool :
In the water, drag is everything. Every motion is bought at a terrible cost in energy.
Resistance and power go up by squares and cubes.
To double speed in the water requires eight times the power output.
Just to increase your swimming speed by 10% calls for a 33% step-up in power.
The viscosity of water goes down about 12% for every 10 Fahrenheit degrees
A big heart is best: there have been studies as to the size of swimmers' hearts.
In nearly every case, the better type swimmer had a large heart.
The Science of the Summer Games
Vincent P. Mallette
ISBN: 1-886801-14-2 | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/24/2008 11:18:43 AM | | I am looking for some type of cardio machine I can fit and use in a Semi.I have room for something small but would also need to store after using. Tired of running around parking lots at truck stops and would like to find something I can use conviently. Any suggestions appreciated. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/24/2008 6:46:09 PM | I don't blme you re: the gym - I really got fed up myself, and decided to work out at home with TV -- which really eliminates boredom.
I have a Gazelle, a Health Rider, a Lateral Thigh Trainer, and a Total Gym for Cardio.
The Gazelle is most effective if you keep your body at a slant, so you are "running" up and down hill. Good for the legs, especially the calves. I use the Lateral Thigh Trainer on the same day, to tone my thighs. The motion is like skating.
The Health Rider is good for burning up a LOT of calories -- but expensive, and doesn't fold up. Buy ONLY the real one, the fakes are uncomfortable.
The Total Gym is good for a lot of excercises. Can be used as a rowing machine.
Tread mills are good for runners -- but not for me, as I am too slow.
I use free weights for strength training -- they are much more effective than the machines at the gym.
The main thing is finding something YOU like -- since you are the one who will have to do the work, might as well enjoy yourself! Good luck! | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/25/2008 5:56:23 PM | I'm into biking, I own a nordictrack but honestly I can't get into the habit of regularly using it and enjoying it like I can a bike. It's supposed to burn more calories than a treadmill. It's safe on the joints. I do like the whole speed computer which calculates calories burned and distance travelled but usually I just keep it on heartrate. I actually just wired my TV antenna system into the basement so I have a little TV in front of it but still I can't get into it. On a bike you're flying free with the wind in your hair and ones mind is engaged by the scenery and act of being alert for traffic.
Let's face it, indoor excercising sucks. Riding a mountainbike indoors I'd feel like a white rat in a cage.
I seriously doubt that above claim about the 4 minute cardio machine that costs 14k. If NASA astronauts are still using treadmills and bikes then chances are there is probably nothing a whole lot better.
The other option is to google "Circuit training" and with small weights you can get a decent workout in but you can't rest much between sets in order to keep your heartrate high. Somewhere I have some plans some doctors got together and made up but it wasn't for me -- flared up too many previous injuries. Biking doesn't. But I know a good circuit training routine can be a good workout all around, including core. This one used mostly dumbbells and a ball but a weight bench is easier to do some excercises on. But it seemed to target almost everything. Very whole body.
But if you are going to get a machine I've never heard anything bad about nordictrack cross country skiier. Best of all I picked up a used one for fifty bucks, they're around a grand new. I'm not big on workout machines, at all, beyond the bike, but the price was too good to pass up hoping I'd use it in the winter when I didn't bike. | |
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| Best cardio machine
Posted: 1/27/2008 2:01:08 PM | Hey Wpq,,how are you. I can tell you from experience that you will burn more calories on a treadmill than any of the other types,,,I will say it is good yto switch occaisionally, but when all said and done the treadmill is best for calorie burning and I don't mean running on it. Use the incline and speed that will get your heart rate to about 25-30 and try and do atleast 30-45 min,,should burn 400-500 calories,,other machines will not do that in that amount of time. Good luck
Jerry | |
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