Elliptical cross-trainers

you could try a 'want ad' - you might well be deluged.

They take up a lot of space. Not super noisy - my wife has a York (forget the model), it's fine.

Are you sure your daughter is looking for a gym machine when she said "cross trainer"?

merry christmas!

We had a nordic track and I never liked it. We also have a Concept II rowing ergometer and have used it for almost 20 years. You can buy it new and keep it current as they bring out improvements, and it is in pretty good demand second hand. It is a great workout and a lot of fun. I can not recommend it highly enough if you want to burn a lot of calories in a short time. Be sure to get a heart monitor with whatever you get.

There is a lot of used equipment around that is a great buy, like my Nordic Track was. And there is a lot of junk. Good luck.

I have a reebok cross trainer and treadmill which have done gone service over the past couple of years - I had a problem with the treadmill which their service department took care of under guarantee very promptly.

I seem to remember the cross trainer was £2-300 so you'll quickly recoup gymn fees.

Re the Concept rower - these are without doubt fine machines but personally I find rowing machines a little too intense somehow - there is always a tendancy to want to beat your PB which can result in rolling off the machine at the end of a session and puking up. In my experience the ladies tend to favour weights and climber/cross machines.

A pulse rate monitor is a necessity for successful training.

I suspect most modern cross trainers will be equipped with a pulse monitor. However, I also suspect some monitors will work better than others.

If you test drive the machine don’t forget to test drive the monitor.

Thanks. The Reeboks are starting to appear in the Sales with big discounts. I have a good Polar monitor she can use.
I still suspect that it will be a coat rack within a week.

LOL - i've always found training at home never lasts - so i get to a gym instead... I am weak...

Seriously I use their cross-trainer every time, and wish they'd been out 20 years ago, then I would not have had to consider being careful with me knees like I do now!

I find with rowers you need to check back posture all the time as fatigue leads to poor technique (cue Fritz copy and paste, here :-))

I'd second the Concept II - it's big and expensive but if she is serious about home fitness it's the way to go.

However IMHO home training is almost always doomed to failure because with only one means of training it rapidly becomes boring and (for the same reason) it lacks the variety of movements that is really important in achieving fitness.

Personally I believe many machines that people 'like' are usually those which are actually not too taxing and are therefore of limited worth. Exercise requires effort and (moderate) stress - hence the usefulness of a good heart monitor.

I'd suggest keep the gym membership and get a personal trainer for a while to devise some new training programmes and shake things up.

Doug

Sadly, hairdressers can't afford personal trainers.
There's a whole world out there who would look on the very existence of a Naim forum as totally bewildering.

Has she considered going to classes to assist with fitness?

She is fit (as the line of boys outside our front door would attest), but can't manage classes due to; (a)the irregular hours of her trade and (b) a need to go clubbing at all other times. I think the elliptical trainer is for a quick endorphin buzz when she's run out of cash (frequent).

The Concept II Ergometer is a 'beast' (as my teenagers would put it) and, I recall from my rowing days, an exacting aid to fitness! It is still used extensively, from National Squads to Clubs - a tribute to its longevity and the fact that that it is the nearest thing you can get to the experience of rowing, on dry land.

(One modifcation I saw recently at Trinity College Boat Club, Dublin, is to mount the whole thing on a sliding gizmo to give a more accurate feel of the boat moving under one, rather than sliding backwards and forwards.)

Anyway, Concept II's are also installed extensively in gyms and sports centres (and some at home).

To get the best out of what they can do for you, it is best to have some instruction on technique (particularly the smooth sequential application of legs, back, body and arms on the stroke; and on the recovery the hands going right over the knees before sliding forwards).

A good technique will make the experience more enjoyable (if that is the right thing to say of the Ergos!) and more effective. It will also contribute to fewer strains and injuries.

(And, who knows, you might end up wanting to get into a real boat on real water! Enquire at your local Rowing Club...)

James

quote:

A pulse rate monitor is a necessity for successful training

Nonsense, most are inaccurate gizmos. Heart rate targets vary widely between individuals, certainly slavishly following one is daft. The best guide to training is common sense, the most important asset is persistence. I suspect Rockingdoc's daughter wants to lose some weight and tone her body, not become an elite athlete. Some sort of incentive (a distance travelled/calories burned) meter on your chosen machine is a good idea though.

We have a rower, runnning machine and a turbo trainer. My wife and I use them most in the winter when long dark evenings and unlit roads mean exercise outside is not really an option. The rower (a waterrower) is a lovely bit of kit, excellent all round exercise but you I totally agree with James that you do need to be a bit careful with technique. Used without care it can give you back ache for example. We also looked at a Concept rower when we bought this one and (apart from the pleasing aesthetics) chose the Waterrower as it is a fair bit smaller and can be stored upright which may be worth bearing in mind. It makes a lovely swishing noise too!

Bruce

quote:

Nonsense

STEADY ON

You may think the use of a heart rate monitor is “daft”. The fact is, starting any type of exercise regime without monitoring heart rate is not only “daft”, but could be dangerous.

What you are suggesting could result in an unfit but persistent 50 year old, who hasn’t exercised for years, jumping on a cross trainer and unknowingly raising his heart rate to 160 for 20 minutes. Not very clever.

The safer option is to raise the heart rate to 120 and keep it at 120.

Heart rate monitoring is not only useful to the elite athlete. A totally unfit person will gain fitness far more effectively by monitoring their heart rate. Far easier than relying on persistence

A distance travelled/calories burned) meter. Inaccurate gizmo springs to mind.


Fatcat

quote:

The fact is, starting any type of exercise regime without monitoring heart rate is not only “daft”, but could be dangerous.

Nope, I'd still say that is nonsense I'm afraid. Sorry. People have been taking regular exercise for several millenia without HRM's. Common sense is what is required, sensible advice, personally planned fitness regimes etc. HRM's can (and do) cause significant confusion and are not 'necessary' for someone wanting to get fitter. They may help some people of course but to suggest everyone should use them and it is unsafe to do otherwise is inaccurate and unhelpful-in fact puts people off.

I have a bit of experience on this topic BTW!

Bruce

quote:

People have been taking regular exercise for several millenia without HRM's.

LOL

People didn't "take" exercise. Exercise was necessary to stay alive.
I doubt ancient hunter gatherers spent their evenings maintaining their personally planned fitness regimes running up and down a mountain to improve their cardiovascular system. The hours chasing food would have been sufficient.

I believe you have the knowledge and experience to become fit without a heart rate monitor. However, the majority of people who purchase cross trainers don't have your knowledge or experience, plus they have no intention of wasting money on a personal fitness plan.

The common sense option for these people is to use heart rate based fitness regime (details available from most local books stores). Most people will understand it. Its not rocket science.

I've got a ConceptII as well and can only agree with the other owners in this post. The ConceptII forum is a very nice place for finding alternative trainingsessions you can do on the "erg". And I can only underline the importance of getting the right move on the machine. My brother used to row competitive and gave me a few valuable excersises.

A pulse rate monitor is a not a "necessity for successful training."

Useful but not essential.

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Woodhouse:
Sorry. People have been taking regular exercise for several millenia without HRM's. Common sense is what is required, sensible advice, personally planned fitness regimes etc. Bruce

I went on a mountain biking holiday last summer with an Austrian guide/trainer whose accent was exactly like Arnie. His forceful "advice" to me was that if I didn't throw up, or at the very least feel like it, at the end of each ride, then I wasn't really trying. I ended the fortnight feeling fitter than I ever had been before. No heart rate monitors were involved.

(p.s. this is not my advice)

quote:

I think the elliptical trainer is for a quick endorphin buzz when she's run out of cash (frequent).

Go for a run?

Or take up indoor climbing? Large endorphin buzz, typically £5-8 a go, no standing charges, and much more fun than lifting lumps of iron.

quote:

Originally posted by djc:
[Go for a run?

.

We live in leafy suburbia, but she is still too afraid to go out running alone.

quote:

A pulse rate monitor is a not a "necessity for successful training."

Useful but not essential.

well said, Cav. simple, sensible POV.

We have a Tunturi C60. They are about £700. It uses an electromagnet to provide the resistance and is therefore rather quieter than the TV I tend to watch whilst using it. It has various pre-set programmes and you can use a heart rate monitor... although I don't. Big and quite heavy, but it is very stable and feels like it is built to last.

Recommended, if you have the space.

Dunstan

I love the Tunturi, but not willing to risk that level of investment, in case she gives up quickly. If the cheaper one wears out through use, I'll consider spending more.

Too afraid to go running alone? It sounds like she needs the most useful piece of exercise equipment there is--a motivated partner.