Just thinking about buying the exercise machine, maybe exercise bike. I am looking to get exercise machine for heart pulse or stamina. What do you guys recommend? Which have you bought and what was your overall experience using it? Thank you for the feedback
I bought a Precor treadmill and elliptical, and a Cybex Total Body 'Arc' trainer. They weren't cheap, however I've had no problems with them for my home gym. Much better than the cheap POS Reebok brand which I bought a few years back. That thing broke down after a few months. Hard to repair, expensive parts, and terrible customer service. For cardio machines, I think you get what you pay for. The most economical choice is to buy a $500 bicycle and ride that 20 miles around your house.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/rc337vb05jU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Still cheaper than buying a treadmill for which he'd also need running shoes. I started running at the beginning of the year. I've lost 40 lbs and got off my blood pressure meds. I run about 40 miles per week now and have improved my stamina to where I can run continuously for 2.5 hours (around 15 miles for me). My resting HR is around 45. If someone wants to use a machine to get in shape, great. But you don't have to get one. Running is a relatively cheap way to get in better shape and there are lots of training plans and advice on the internet about how start and build up your stamina.
1st priority: Set of free weights (dumbbells). You can do so many different things with dumbbells. For a beginner, you can start out with 2x15lbs, 2x25lbs & 2x35lbs and get a great workout with just these three weights. Then, as you get more serious, you can can add to your collection. I now have a complete set from 5 lbs to 50 lbs that I collected over 3-4 years. 2nd priority: An exercise program! The original P90x is still the best one overall, but is a huge time commitment. There are tons of others out there, and they are all great in their own way. I.e. Insanity is awesome for cardio, Body Beast will help you bulk up, Rushfit is tremendous for core work, etc. But like I said, P90x will give you the best overall results if you put in the time. 3rd priority: A good adjustable bench. I have this one and it is amazing. However, I'm sure you can get a more affordable one. 4th priority: Squat rack and/or pull up station. You might be able to get away with one of those pull up bars that fit in the doorway. I used that exclusively at the old basement apartment and it was great. However, after moving into my new house there was no good spot for it, so I ended up getting a full squat rack. This is the one I have and it works great. I don't feel that I need anything else aside from these items, although other miscellaneous things that might be useful are: - weight gloves - push up bars - resistance bands (can help to supplement your dumbbell collection if you don't want to buy a full set all at once) - yoga mat Also, remember, doing the workouts is only half the battle. You have to eat good too if you want to see any results (that's the challenging part for me ).
