Desperate for Exercise
Most everyone reading my blog should identify with this post: I need more exercise. I am so desperate to get in shape that I am seriously considering exercising in the morning before showering, something I have never accomplished even once in my whole life (ask my family, I’m not much for mornings).
Problem is, what kind of exercise can I do in the winter at 6:30am? Our livingroom isn’t arranged in a way conducive to my lovely step-aerobics DVD’s. Not to mention that I’m not sure how enthusiastic Tim would be waking up to my jumping up and down in the next room to aerobics DVD’s every morning.
I think I want to buy an exercise machine, not a treadmill but one of the other ones. I know, I know, I won’t use it more than a month and then we’ll be stuck with it. But the way I see it, it’s cheaper than a gym membership and I’d probably use it more often. Thoughts? Anyone have success sticking with a home fitness machine more than 6 months?
on October 15th, 2006 at 18:42
PIlates doesn’t take up much room. The piece of exercise “equipment” that I keep coming back to is my exercise/yoga ball; you get an ab workout just sitting on it watching tv!
on October 15th, 2006 at 19:33
I dunno, I’ve always done a bunch of excersises at home, but only small things that don’t really qualify as keeping in shape. Just basic push-ups, crunches and garbage… I have always stuck to those.
We’ve been relatively good with going to the gym about 3 times a week, but now with the job & working overtime I haven’t been to the gym once this week, and I can’t see that changing in the near future, so I’m kind of pissed off at the gym membership money disappearing from my pocket…
I guess the main thing with exercising is, it’s easiest / most fun when you have someone who has similar goals / fitness level to you to exercise with.
on October 16th, 2006 at 18:39
so true. i’ve got a gym in my building and membership came with employment, but i don’t use it. i’m not a morning person either so doing it before i shower is not going to work. i guess i could/should exercise after work and wait til rush hour ends to go home, but well, the thought in itself, tires me out. geez! :)
on October 17th, 2006 at 13:57
We bought an elliptical trainer a few years ago. Mike picked it out, but he didn’t use it the last couple years. I use it in the winter when it is too cold to walk. I read when I do it or sometimes watch TV. My main problems with it are, it is a little large for me. We don’t have a basement now to put it inand I get so warm I have to turn on fans. I think a machine works fine for aerobic exercise. I have the following advice. (1) Find a machine that fits you. (2) Put it by a TV. (3) If possible, get one used. (4) Consider space and weight. I’ve wondered about the fold-up ones. Ours is very heavy and difficult to move. You could still do weights in limited space, without disturbing Tim. I do my weights in the morning and aerobic later. The machine is great to warm me up on cold winter evenings.
on October 18th, 2006 at 15:27
The biggest things that I actually use at home are my fitball, a small yoga weight ball, resistance bands and a mat, since we have burber carpet. From experience, I used to take a piloga (pilates + yoga) class in the mornings and it was the best ever. It’s good for the morning because you don’t necessarily get all sweaty and nasty, the stretching wakes you up and it’s just a good way to start the day. There are several pilates dvds that I use that can be done in 10 min segments so you can do something even if you woke up late or don’t have a lot of time. I can’t bring myself to do cardio in the morning. Pilates is my favorite. Plus, once you’ve done the workout a few times, you can put it on mute and put on your own music so that Tim doesn’t hear “and one, and two, and three, and keep your back straight. Now point and flex…” every morning. =) Another good morning workout that doesn’t take a lot of room is abs. Select a certain number of ab moves and set the timer for 15 min. and do abs nonstop for 15 min. It’s good and quick.