Talk to me about these machines

Howdy All,

Ok I will start by saying I KNOW you cannot target a particular area to work as exercise trims the entire body.

That said, we have a treadmill which does ok, I have bad knees and being over weight doesn't help. I loved dancing but that is out because of the knees injury. TReady is ok but I want to do something else so DH and I have been eyeing of some of those tele marketing ads.

One - the ab circle pro - has anyone used it, I would love to hear the pros and cons of this machine.

Two - that stepping type one that twists as well KWIM?? sorry I don't know the name of it.

Also thinking (but its just a thought at this stage) about Curves I just don't like the idea of a membership based thing as once DH goes back to work I don't know how much time I will have to drive over to the gym, work out and come home.

Any thoughts particularly about the machine things would be great.

P.S anyone done those Zumba workouts?

Nae x x

Do you mean a cross trainer because they are AWESOME! they are good for your tummy, legs, bum and arms. I lost 9kgs doing 30 mins a day on a cross trainer 3 times a week. I hate treadmills i refuse to use them.

Hi Nae :D A friend has a Wii and uses the games such as the tennis as a work out (think they have work out ones as well??). She also has the..oh I can't remember her name:wall: the Trainer from the Biggest Loser DVD's and says they are excellent! So maybe rather than a machine an excersie DVD that you can do at home. Pilates is excellent for targeting areas so if you have a physio in yoour area perhaps Pilates classes as that will get you out of the house and excercising :) Some of them do Mum's and Bubs classes.
I had an ab-trainer once and it ended up at the tip, have also tried an excerise bike and just find it hard to stick to machines if they are in the home.

Good luck

x Heather

:lol: i just saw the ad - the second machine is the cardio twister

Hi NaeNae, my sister has the twist and step thingy but only the cheap one from Deals direct. She uses it to try and get her already underweight body even skinnier. Does it work?... I will have to ask her for you if you are still interested.

Cheers

Allis

Nae - In order to lose your weight, you need to do more than just cardio.

Firstly, the cardio twister is the biggest waste of money - especially with your bad knees! It will cause you more knee damage. My mum bought one and I was excited to try it, then forced her immediately to return it! Treadmill can also be bad for the knees. You need to work the muscles in your legs before u start doing high impact exercise on those knees.

For cardio - swimming is amazing, or a seated cable row machine. Another great one is the exercise bike. That's much lower impact on the knees. If you work your leg muscles, you'll find the weight loss will be much easier to acheive as the quads group of muscles in your legs are the largest muscle group in the human body.

I recommend joining a fitness group with a fitness instructor. Or, join a good gym (i'm not a fan of curves) I have tried many and found Goodlife are amazing. They also have a ladies only gym in each of their gyms. Classes are free to attend with your membership.. i do the cycle class all the time and am looking at becoming an instructor myself as i already have my cert 3 and 4 in fitness and PT. If you can afford it, try a personal trainer to get the ball rolling. Usually you can get a few free sessions when you sign up into a membership.

I'd love to help you with this, but i'm in Brisbane... a bit far away from you??

It's really important that you get those leg muscles nice and strong again so that your knees don't suffer any more!!

Good luck on your journey, it's a tough one, but it can be so much fun too!!!

and in regards to the ab circle pro - unless you're a trained fitness instructor or PT, I'd steer clear of that. You need to use correct posture at all times while using it to prevent injury, and that's not easy!

I've lost over 60kgs myself... I train daily and run fitness groups in Brisbane... I refuse to buy these machines for myself. The only 'machine' i have in my home is an exercise bike

Ciara,

wow 60kgs is amazing! Whereabouts in Brisbane do you run groups, and also what exactly are fitness groups?

Jas - thanks so much! It was a big acheivement.

Fitness groups are groups of two to ten people that workout in a group with a fitness instructor training them. I run groups on the southside of brisbane. You might know of fitness groups as bootcamps or something similar. They're all much the same.

My clients just get a few friends together (cos it's more comfortable and encouraging to train with ppl you know) and start up a group. Where in QLD are you?