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Best Exercise Machine

Which exercise machine do you consider to be the best for a complete, full body workout? I recently bought a Gazelle (haven't put it together yet) but was wondering what the consensus was in terms of exercise machines, either from published results or personal experience. Do you own a workout machine? Do you believe in using them or would you rather exercise naturally, eg running, walking, etc?

Machine Exercise Best

I believe you can get a good workout from a machine, but you will not build the kind of strength that comes from using free weights. I used to lift very heavy weights - both in and out of the gym - and nothing can compare with dead weight. Machines are for injuries or pushing yourself beyond the mark if you do not have a spotter. I think if you want the best of both worlds then you should try a Smith Machine or something similar.

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A Smith machine? I am not familiar with it. Is it a weight machine like a Bowflex? I am looking mainly for cardio, and toning, once I get this I can focus on strength training.

Machine Exercise Best

A smith machine basically allows you to do very heavy weight training without having to worry about some to assist. There are various types; some lean towards free weight and others towards mechanical. The kind I like best is where you are standing in what seems to be a metal box (open, not closed) that is used for support. The weight and you are in the middle supported by this 'box' and you perform any kind of free weight exercise knowing that if you get stuck the 'box' will take the weight for you. As you can see my interest in machines is helping me perform the exercise without worry of risk rather than taking away free movement which is what most of them do.

Machine Exercise Best

Thanks for the explanation and image JB. I think that is something I would like to get into at a later stage. Right now I am so out of shape that I just want to work on my cardio and once I feel comfortable with that, I can start strength training. I tell you that is one thing that I miss about the islands is all the walking I used to do. I was in great shape when I lived in Trinidad because I would walk from home to the main street to catch a taxi, then walk from downtown to my school every day. You really dont realize how much that helps you until you get to the States and drive everywhere and eat lots of junk food. Then I get a job where I sit on my butt all day and stare at a computer screen. I love my job but the lack of physical activity is killing me. Looks like somebody needs a blog to vent

Best Exercise Machine

I understand exactly what you mean. I am in the same situation and in Trinidad, and yes, I walk to go everywhere, but it sometimes is not enough and I have grown sadly out of shape and lost most of my strength. You can pick up the practise again by going places without the car. The further you walk, the further you will have to walk back. If you must buy a machine I can recommend one of those home gyms, but your best bet is consistency, as it really does not matter what you get, so long as you use it, and use it often

Offtopic but, You can actually buy a blog from the shop

Best Exercise Machine

I've tried a treadmill, but the angle on the one I had was so bad that it made my Achilles heel hurt really bad. Regular walking is better for you, but I have a hard time deciding whether I want to walk early in the morning or later in the evening? Anyway, I love the thing, whatever it's called, that is just a rubber tube with handles on each end. Stretch, curl, toning with resistance -- very cool. And my dad has a little wheel with handles coming through the center -- from your knees, you roll the wheel with your hands on each side of it, and roll to several different angles -- yep, it hurts But what a great ab workout!!

Roz

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My family also just got a Gazelle. I had been using a treadmill before. There are three things I have liked a lot better about the Gazelle so far-

1. It is almost silent. This was big for me because I find that if I can watch a movie or one of my favorite television shows while I exercise, I can go a lot longer because I am not thinking about how tired or sore I am. With the treadmill, I had to turn the volume up really high in order to hear anything.

2. It works your arms also (this is a little optional though. When you use a Gazelle you can lean forward or backward to work you arms more, or even just relaxing your legs a bit and exerting your arm-muscles).

3. The Gazelle allows you to stretch your legs while you exercise, to a degree. I have recently heard some things indicating that stretching before you exercise is fine, but that you can actually stretch better after you exercise because your muscles are "warmed-up" and become more flexible- like toffee. I don't know if that is true- but it works for me.

But, I have also recognized at least one thing that was better about the treadmill- the treadmill forces you to keep whatever pace you set. You can't really unconsciously slow down. With the Gazelle, I have to remember to keep going at the same speed or else I will slow down without thinking about it or just as I get tired.

I see that it has been quite a while since you started this thread though, Malexander- did you ever put your Gazelle together, and if you did, how did you like it? Were there any other benefits/problems with it that you noticed?


Farseer said-

I have heard that walking early in the morning is better because it speeds up your metabolism for the rest of the day. Has anyone else heard this and do they know if it is true?