Health and Fitness February 2011

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Thanks, that was fun!

[Dove]

Thank you so much for your responses!

Harriet, it was a post long ago by Kathryn (thanks, Kathryn! ) about her customized treadmill shelf that planted this seed of using a treadmill again. Besides a laptop, I immediately thought about catching up on all my reading while I walked, too! I have some of Leslie's walking videos -- she is wonderful. I get bored so easily with them, though, & with the repetitive conversations between the exercisers.

Thoughts on ski machines -- more than 15 years ago we bought a Nordik Track one that dh really wanted. You push your tummy against a padded square to help with balance. You can move as fast or slow as you like, and extend your arms & legs a lot or a little. We both kept losing our balance on it. More than once I almost fell off the darn thing which scared me enough to stopped using it.

A few weeks ago we had originally talked about getting an elliptical, & while in a WMart recently that had some on display we tried one out. I was surprised that it hurt my knees, since they are supposed to be easy on your joints. The foot pedals were angled down, not flat, so when my weight would shift to the foot that was down, my foot was in a "pointing down" position rather than flat and I felt twinges at the bottom front part of my knees (maybe that was my shins?). When dh tried it felt fine to him. But because of the height of the machine dh would not be able to use one at home, since we would be putting it in the basement & there would not be enough headroom for him. If we had still been contemplating one I would have looked at others to see if those foot pedals are adjustable, & tried one that lets your feet remain flat rather than pointed.

Lurky, I'm hoping to watch TV, too, to pass the time. Thanks for the incline tip! I would like to work up to jogging during commercials. I'll stop at a Sears store and check out the NordikTrac.

Kathryn, thanks for telling me about the duty cycle. Love the features listed on the Silver, especially that it is quiet, has easy speed changes & good cushioning. Not sure dh would go for the 3x higher price tag, although it makes so much sense in the long run. Lots of really good sales on equipment this time of year so maybe ...
I just read an article about how good those crossover walks are for balance! And much safer to do that when holding a rail on a treadmill than while walking outside. It also said one of the best exercises to help prevent falls is to practice balancing on one leg for as long as you can. Keep increasing the time, and alternate your legs.

Sunny, I had forgotten that some have arm levers. I like that, & also that you don't have to use them for the days I want to swing my arms. The distance & calorie features sound great; I'd want to know how many miles I was walking. And it has the shelf already built in ! I will look for this model too, when I go to Sears.

OK, we belong to Sam's so I will look for your model, too. That ironing board trick of yours is inspired! Good to know that you like the one you have. There are so many out there that I appreciate everyone's input. I would much rather buy one that is recommended than spend the money on an unknown & get a dud.

Loved the video, Harriet! Toe tappin' & funny

Thanks again, everyone for all your help! I'll let you know what we get

[Dove]

In honor of this treadmill discussion & inspired by Harriet's video, I just had to post this fun treadmill video. Maybe we could put together a SHE dance troupe & put together our own treadmill routine -- wearing aprons, of course!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA

[Nancy]

Today I'm counting sweeping and mopping for my exercise.
With the cold weather I'll take what I can get.

[Twins' Mom]

Nancy, in very cold weather, inside chores may be as good as it gets!

I've been on the treadmill (ta-da!) twice now in two days - yesterday for 20 min and this morning for 20 minutes. I've been at 3 - 3.5 mph most the time, which is a very comfortable speed for me - I'm figuring I'm working the habit right now and I'm not going to push too hard yet. My goal is to be on the treadmill every day in Feb at least 20 min except for the first of Feb, which I missed - or to take ddogs for a walk instead.

Macs found me putting on my shoes this morning and was excited - whined at me once I was on the treadmill - "Let's go!" and finally laid down beside me, dejected. Poor baby.

Also continuing to journal WW points successfully. I'm good with the process as long as I don't have to eat out! I remember, tho, that when I was losing a couple of years ago, at times, I had to tell dh that I just didn't want the pressure of eating out.

Macs is still hanging about me in case I take off outside.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Dove On your ski machine, you can do just legs only by hanging onto the supports. Have your tried that? We had to start off that way on ours. And then we had to hold the arm straps 'wrong.' We shortened the strap up, looped the cord around our wrists, bent our elbows at a 90 degree angle and held the handle portion of the strap as you would a lever. We then moved our arms back and forth as if we were walking with them bent at a 90 degree angle instead of the sweeping arm motion that ends up behind you. That gave us more support and balance.

When we first bought it, I hated it because I couldn't watch tv. I was distracted, praying for the exercise time to be over, couldn't concentrate on the tv (which had to be on loud to be heard over the machine) and hated every second I was on the machine. After 2 weeks I phoned to invoke the money-back if not happy warranty (we bought directly from Nordic Trak at a mall display) and the adviser there suggested I try working out to music. That's when I began my love affair with Meatloaf (and it is still my workout music 15 years later.)

Twins when you want to increase the intensity of the workout (without switching to jogging) increasing the incline is a dramatic increase in the energy required. At least it is for me!

A few years later we happened to go to Minnesota and stay at a resort down the street from Nordic Trak and I went in and bought myself a t-shirt and backup straps for the tension. By then, I absolutely loved the workout it provided. They have since gone out of business and only the name was bought. The new equipment seems to be far less quality than the original (and the exercise bike we returned to Sears was from the new company and we bought that brand specifically because we liked the ski machine so much.)

We still have the ski machine but I stopped using it as it irritated my back. It is actually in the tv room in the basement now (moved out from the storage room) and I need to try it out once more to see if works for me now. Obviously, I couldn't use a laptop (or read or watch tv) while using it but it might be good for doing more upper body stuff since there's no upper body workout apart of the workout on my treadmill or bike.

[Harmony]

I really wanted a treadmill, but this eliptical was given to us, so that was that. It's supposed to be easier on joints. I don't have any knee/hip pain unless I overdo and push past my limit. My feet stay flat and there are swingng arm poles. It has all the features of calories used, 1-10 resistance levels, etc. but I don't think it measures heart rate. It has a litte fan up front that helps cool us. It's also a pro-form. I don't know the model. DH had to replace the axel. I wish I had a treadmill instead, it would have been easier I think and I'd have used it more - or found another excuse not to. I watch TV while I'm on it.

I don't like any exercise. Except bike riding outside. My soul protests when I exercise, and I don't seem to get that endorphine rush others get. It's always pure discipline for me and it never changes no matter how often I do it. I envy those of you who do enjoy it.

[Harriet]

Dove, I thoroughly enjoyed that video! HRH said it would have been even more entertaining with not-so-fit guys, but I pointed out that it took some athleticism to accomplish.

Repetitive conversation (or music) is absent on the T-Tapp DVDs in favor of constant form reminders. Dd31 and I seem to do well with that, but Harmony has mentioned that she would get bored with it. (I'm quoting her from ages ago.) She needs to bike and have less structure, where perhaps I need more.

My late dh had a Nordic Trac and it was so long ago that I'm sure it was made by the original company. Somehow I never made it "mine", and after his father's death even ds stopped using it, stored it away in favor of his Soloflex, then sold it at a friend's garage sale. Sure would like to have that back to see if it would fit into one of the family's exercise plans now, but we can't hold on to everything. I remember it was really very attractive - beautiful wood. Ds's entire home workout equipment is just his PX90 DVDs now, since he has the calisthenics at work, plus weight room there. He is storing as little as I am! (Dd31 also has a treadmill, but doesn't like theirs enough to recommend, btw.)

I'm actually down 1/2 pound after stopping Atkins, something I was checking, to make sure I didn't suddenly hop up in weight. I think my body is just more in tune with a fruit/veg/bean-based way of eating, although I now know more about the science that tells us dietary fat is a friend to health. Dr. Wiseman, whom I quoted last month about his Atkins book, says that someday each hopeful dieter could just be genetically tested to quickly and efficiently determine which type of diet would be best for them personally. From what I've learned, the fact that I am not insulin resistant might be one reason I don't do as well with Atkins. But also, I seem to have a specific digestive predisposition to do better with more fruit. (Something "Fit For Life" showed me in the '70s.)

This makes me think further about Harmony's post above, and those things our "soul protests" on a personal level, and how we learn what is endorphic for us and what is drudgery. Some things "seem right".

[Dove]

Kathryn I printed out your ski machine post & will tape it to ours for future reference. It has been folded up in storage in our basement for years since we stopped using it. I'm willing to give it another chance and try your tips.

There is only one support on ours --the square pad you push your tummy against. I would get a good motion going, then either start to slip down because I was leaning too far forward (causing my feet to go too far behind me), or I would pop the front of one of the skis out of the track. Either way, all I had to hold on to for dear life was that square pad, as the arm poles were not poles but rope with handles attached. It didn't happen every time, and I got a good workout from it, but I got unnerved by the near falling episodes because they happened so fast & took me by surprise each time.

[Nancy]

Vacuuming was my exercise today.