Treadmills
How's this for a stereotypical first day of the New Year post? Resolutions to do more exercise in 2005.
Well, my exercise and diet plans pretty much fell apart during the month of December, but I'm not going to let it bother me much in the grand scheme of things and I'm looking to get back on the points plan and regular exercise plan beginning at the end of my holiday tomorrow.
One of the things that has always stopped me from doing indoor exercise in this apartment has been the lack of room. John made a comment last week, though, that made a lot of sense. He was considering moving his office area from the corner of our living room into the dining room, observing that our dining room table had basically become a junk accumulator, a place where we never eat. He suggested taking down the table and putting the chairs in storage for the short-term to give ourselves more room. I immediately took interest because a spare apartment space meant maybe I could set up an exercise nook. Over the last two days we've been moving things about and John did move his office into the dining room, decided he didn't like it and moved it back to its original spot. Still, it did mean that the original dining room space is still there to turn into an exercise corner.
So tomorrow I'm going to go buy a rug for the floor, a small shelving unit to store weights, my various exercise books, videos and DVDs in the hopes I'll start to systematically start doing some more exercise, especially in the winter months when John and I aren't hiking.
Now, two years ago I tried winter walking for the first time and I found that I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, as the novelty has worn off slowly over the following two winters I've been slacking off and walking in the cold weather less and less. It somewhat frustrates me, because I do know that steady walking is an exercise I enjoy doing and is effective, I just find I don't like the cold. We don't have a walking track near us or a mall conducive to power walking, but I want to find a way to continue a walking program through the winter months and without a car I'm unlikely to stay with any gym I might join. So, for the first time I've been seriously looking at personal treadmills. My sister-in-law has been using one steadily this year and she's dropped 22 pounds in the last 4-5 months.
Initial research shows me that, whoa, treadmills are expensive. They start at about $300 and go sharply upward from there. There are two types, manual and electronic, with the latter, of course, being much more expensive. I figure I wouldn't need much in the way of bells and whistles, should I buy one, but it seems to me that a manual treadmill would be harder to work with than an electronic treadmill. Ideally, what I'd really like to do is rent a treadmill for the winter months, say a five month rental, to see if I like them, to see if I'd stick to a walking program on a treadmill, to see how well it fit into my lifestyle, but I'm not sure if such short-term rentals are possible. More research is needed.
QUESTION: Have you ever used a treadmill in your exercise program? What did you think of it? How do you find using a treadmill compared to outdoor walking?
Have you ever or do you now own a treadmill? Do you find having one at home convenient and do you use it? (an exercise article I read this week said that many a treadmill bought in January become lovely, expensive pant holders...) What type is it? What features do you think a useful treadmill must have?
Manual vs. electronic treadmills. Manual treadmills are -much- cheaper than electronic treadmills. Are they effective? Are they harder to use? If you're used to a walking program can a manual treadmill be as effective as an electronic treadmill? (Aside: I know from past experience you usually get what you pay for in exercise equipment. I bought a cheap ski machine once that ended up gathering dust mainly because it didn't operate smoothly. I fear having the same thing happen with a cheap treadmill, but really can't afford anything -too- expensive.)
Second-hand treadmills. Do the second-hand sports stores tend to sell things like this? Would it be worth investigating?
I'm in the early stages of thinking about this, in the early throes of New Year's resolutions and my new exercise space, frustration about sputtering motivation for my diet/exercise successes in 2004, so I'm by no means sold that buying a treadmill is the way to go. I know buying exercise machines in January is the worst type of stereotype :). Still, I know walking programs have been successful for me and that I tend to be more faithful to them in the warm weather which suggests that an indoor walking program on a treadmill might work for me, too.
Any comments, advice or life experiences would be very welcome.
In other news, John and I saw "The Aviator" today and it was very good. Leo should be up for an Oscar for his performance as Howard Hughes. Cate Blanchett was really wonderful as Katherine Hepburn, too.
And, lastly, Happy New Year to you all! May 2005 treat us all well.
Well, my exercise and diet plans pretty much fell apart during the month of December, but I'm not going to let it bother me much in the grand scheme of things and I'm looking to get back on the points plan and regular exercise plan beginning at the end of my holiday tomorrow.
One of the things that has always stopped me from doing indoor exercise in this apartment has been the lack of room. John made a comment last week, though, that made a lot of sense. He was considering moving his office area from the corner of our living room into the dining room, observing that our dining room table had basically become a junk accumulator, a place where we never eat. He suggested taking down the table and putting the chairs in storage for the short-term to give ourselves more room. I immediately took interest because a spare apartment space meant maybe I could set up an exercise nook. Over the last two days we've been moving things about and John did move his office into the dining room, decided he didn't like it and moved it back to its original spot. Still, it did mean that the original dining room space is still there to turn into an exercise corner.
So tomorrow I'm going to go buy a rug for the floor, a small shelving unit to store weights, my various exercise books, videos and DVDs in the hopes I'll start to systematically start doing some more exercise, especially in the winter months when John and I aren't hiking.
Now, two years ago I tried winter walking for the first time and I found that I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, as the novelty has worn off slowly over the following two winters I've been slacking off and walking in the cold weather less and less. It somewhat frustrates me, because I do know that steady walking is an exercise I enjoy doing and is effective, I just find I don't like the cold. We don't have a walking track near us or a mall conducive to power walking, but I want to find a way to continue a walking program through the winter months and without a car I'm unlikely to stay with any gym I might join. So, for the first time I've been seriously looking at personal treadmills. My sister-in-law has been using one steadily this year and she's dropped 22 pounds in the last 4-5 months.
Initial research shows me that, whoa, treadmills are expensive. They start at about $300 and go sharply upward from there. There are two types, manual and electronic, with the latter, of course, being much more expensive. I figure I wouldn't need much in the way of bells and whistles, should I buy one, but it seems to me that a manual treadmill would be harder to work with than an electronic treadmill. Ideally, what I'd really like to do is rent a treadmill for the winter months, say a five month rental, to see if I like them, to see if I'd stick to a walking program on a treadmill, to see how well it fit into my lifestyle, but I'm not sure if such short-term rentals are possible. More research is needed.
QUESTION: Have you ever used a treadmill in your exercise program? What did you think of it? How do you find using a treadmill compared to outdoor walking?
Have you ever or do you now own a treadmill? Do you find having one at home convenient and do you use it? (an exercise article I read this week said that many a treadmill bought in January become lovely, expensive pant holders...) What type is it? What features do you think a useful treadmill must have?
Manual vs. electronic treadmills. Manual treadmills are -much- cheaper than electronic treadmills. Are they effective? Are they harder to use? If you're used to a walking program can a manual treadmill be as effective as an electronic treadmill? (Aside: I know from past experience you usually get what you pay for in exercise equipment. I bought a cheap ski machine once that ended up gathering dust mainly because it didn't operate smoothly. I fear having the same thing happen with a cheap treadmill, but really can't afford anything -too- expensive.)
Second-hand treadmills. Do the second-hand sports stores tend to sell things like this? Would it be worth investigating?
I'm in the early stages of thinking about this, in the early throes of New Year's resolutions and my new exercise space, frustration about sputtering motivation for my diet/exercise successes in 2004, so I'm by no means sold that buying a treadmill is the way to go. I know buying exercise machines in January is the worst type of stereotype :). Still, I know walking programs have been successful for me and that I tend to be more faithful to them in the warm weather which suggests that an indoor walking program on a treadmill might work for me, too.
Any comments, advice or life experiences would be very welcome.
In other news, John and I saw "The Aviator" today and it was very good. Leo should be up for an Oscar for his performance as Howard Hughes. Cate Blanchett was really wonderful as Katherine Hepburn, too.
And, lastly, Happy New Year to you all! May 2005 treat us all well.