Anyone have any recommendations for some good at home work out equipment??
Something that would help tone the tummy mostly.
Would a treadmill be a good investment??? Or any other suggestions??
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Anyone have any recommendations for some good at home work out equipment??
Something that would help tone the tummy mostly.
Would a treadmill be a good investment??? Or any other suggestions??
Treadmills are nice, I have one but they don't really do anything for toning. I would get soe good workout videos this is what I do when I don't want to go to the gym. Get some 5 pound weights and some good videos are anything from the firm series. They are hard but you'll get results because the include cardio with weight training. They have total body workouts and ab ones and abs, but and thighs. I also like gunther petersons core secrets which you use a workout ball for. Anyways those will all give you a good workout.
Pilates ring. you could be sitting on the sofa and squeezing it. Great for making your ass a bit tighter and also good for the kegel muscles. Or even use a yoga block, when you're standing in the kitchen cooking, put it between legs, and squeeze squeeze. If i'm lazy, just lay on bed, do a bridge hip lift with pilates ring between legs, and squeeze. great for ass and back and crotch muscles
If you can find the old, old, old Cindy Crawford workout video, buy it. It was my moms and I found it when I was like 12 and it is seriously amazing. All you need are a few of those hand weights, and you're good to go. It doesn't sound like it's that great but it really is. She was in serious shape. The video is great for toning. If you want a machine though, ellipticals are much easier on your joints and lungs and you get a really awesome workout.
One 12 or 15 lb weight and a mat or preferably an elevated bench. There's so many different exercises you can do to tone each muscle in your stomach! I recommend checking out the Barry's Bootcamp videos. I haven't done them but I go to the actual bootcamp and those people kick my ass. It's also really easy to do all the exercises at home. If I went 5 days a week I'd be a beast.
Ellipticals are basically 100% cardio. I never lost weight on treadmills because they engage muscles in a different way (just my experience). Yet I lost a noticeable amount of weight on my elliptical--mostly from my stomach area (+ good diet). Plus, if you have bad knees from dancing, then ellipticals' no-impact workout can't be beat!
If you have space for it, jumping rope is a great workout. If you want something that's no-impact, the NordicTrack ski machine is very good.
http://www.nordictrack.com/webapp/wc..._12401_19554_Y
If you want to tone the tummy, you should do something that burns up a lot of calories, in addition to doing specific exercises for the abs.
Maybe it's just me and my 5' tall body... but ellipticals DESTROY the tendons in my knees... treadmills are a million times easier on me.
When i'd do elliptical more than 20 minutes then an old injured knee would start hurting again. This definitely happens if I try to make the elliptical strength hard enough to get a good amount of resistance. Same happens if i'm on a low resistance setting for around 40 minutes. I think it's the repetitive motion that ends up doing damage. Just like with cycling. I'm fine with just 20 minutes...but then after that I start to get pains acting up that then end up hurting me at random times during the day when i'm sitting in a chair! I think it's probably just best to avoid exercises that do the same repetition over and over, like cycling or elliptical, unless you don't have any knee injuries and can handle it.
It is said that ellipticals and bike machines are low resistance, but I think they can do some damage or cause old things to act up if you're on them for a bit.
That's why nowadays I try to stick to just pilates and yoga and some variety cardio classes. I just make sure to not do any deep knee bends (like forward lunges where i'm lunging anywhere below the level of my knees). Also definitely dont do any crazy leaping lunges. Those are total knee killers. And no squatting below 90 degrees. We only have one pair of knees. Once you mess up your knees, it rarely returns back to normal. It's not like a normal cut on your hand. It's a tear or mini tear in your cartilage and tendons...and that stuff generally doesn't heal back very well. It's like cracking a piece of plastic and hoping that the plastic will grow back to be the same. Nope.
If you're looking for an affordable, at-home cardio machine, give a Gazelle a chance. Best hundred dollars I EVER spent. I set it up in front of the TV and watched a movie or a couple of hours of TV everyday while Gazelle-ing. I went from 160 to 120 in two months, with a decrease of consumed calories. It's amazing for fat-burning, because it's difficult to get to the cardio heart speed and maintain it. The fat-burning heart speed, under 120 bpm, is very natural. Plus it's an easy motion with no impact on the joints (hence why it's touted for old people :-p ). Plus, the repetitive arm motion toned my upped arms amazingly, and my ass tightened and lifted too. Love the Gazelle!!
It also helped my tummy, but more so in the upper abs and obliques. I've still never found a good way to tone the lower abs :-(
When I lost 40 lbs. a while back, all I did was put on the TV or some music and walk around the house. LOL Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred is a good workout DVD. Resistance bands you can get for about $10 at Walmart and they're good for toning. Treadmills and ellipticals are both great if you'll use them enough for it to be worth it-I know lots of people who have bought them and just use them as clothes hangers. LOL
omg your post just made me super happy !!!!!!
if that was your moms....how old are you???? you MUST be young. i'm 33 and i bought it when it came out in 1992.... ;))))) it's awesome on soooo many levels...her trainer RADU...is no joke! i also love how it's mixed with modeling shots of her..very 90's. love!;D
Side note: I bought my elliptical on craigslist. If you hold out for a good one, people post some pretty incredible deals. Mine was originally around $2-3,000, had been used a couple of times, and I bought it from this rich couple for $700. Make sure you try it out before you walk out with it (to listen for clanking, watch out for ellipticals that aren't balanced correctly). And they can be bitches to move. I had to completely take mine apart and put it back together in my apartment...they aren't easy to assemble. You'll need help from a strong male to do it.
Almost every jillian michaels video, they're better than p90x! If you get like 3 or more you got a good variety and it's cheaper than a machine
A pole! Hands down! I have had a few and it is fun motivating and fast results! The only work out equipment I have that I can actually say I did not waste money on and does not have dust on it! Lol
brazil butt lift! :D
treadmill, TotalGym, and free weights.
Try CHAlean Extreme, thats why im doing right now and love it so far!
I just got a Kinect lol
Got the Just Dance game, Rise of Nightmares..and OMG..I'm sore as hell today!!
I was reading the Zumba game burns like 1000 calories for an hour of play time, so that's the next game on my list. :D
What a fun workout!! :D
A yoga mat, Pilates flexy bands, and an X-box 360; either with the kinect, with youtube, or netflix...and a pole, like Caramel Delight mentioned.
Oh yeah! Zumba for the Wii is a great workout too!