A longtime fitness buff, I've bought a few things over the years, but mostly I don't like to use a lot of equipment because I like to be able to take my workouts with me wherever I go. I do,however, keep ankle weights and ten pound dumbbells around even though my preference is for use of body weight instead. At one time or another, too, I have had a few larger fitness items around. Namely, an easy-rider, an easy-glider, a Bowflex and a recumbent exercise bike. All of the larger things, though, tend to fall by the wayside as I always go back to a less complicated and--to me--more natural way of keeping fit. I love my own routine mixing pilates and yoga moves sometimes with old school calisthenics. I love jogging, walking, swimming, riding a real bike, anything to do with my horses--all Just Natural and mostly fun ways to keep fit. I will say this about the recumbent exercise bike. It is a really good thing to consider if you are looking at knee surgery. My husband has had two knee replacements (on the same knee) and the recumbent bike was a major help getting him back to his own active self again.
Nah. My home's not big enough to handle the larger fitness equipment and I'm not really into extreme exercises. Daily morning walks and half an hour to an hour on my dumbbells is enough for me. I would like to practice martial arts though. And I'm thinking of practicing those that doesn't require as much space and I prefer if I can do it alone since I'm not that keen on going to classes.
I really don't. This past year, I invested in going to the gym a lot more as a different method of working out and it's been far better for me to actually get out of the house and dedicate an hour to going to the gym. I tried all the home equipment and P90X and all those programs and I was never able to stick with them because I got too distracted at home, which is all too easy to do. Getting out of the house gets away from those distractions and lets me focus on the workout. If I do workout at home, I'll just do some push-ups/sit-ups or go for run. That's enough to at least maintain if I can't get to the gym for a little while.
Yeah. I've never been one to go to any kind of classes, either. No gyms or anything of that nature. I just like doing my thing at home. Always have. I would imagine you can learn enough online to at least begin to practice martial arts alone. An amazing thing, the internet. I don't think there's anything you can't find an answer to or a way to do online.
I used to walk several miles every day, at least when the weather was co-operative, and I usually rode my horse several times aweek when I had a horse. Now, I live in a city, andIcan't walk likeI usedto do; but I do have a glider-type thing called a Gazelle. I like it because it works myarms and legs, anddoesn't hurt my bad knees, and it is right there in the house, which means that I can just stop andrest when I need to. I am also getting one of those three-wheeled bikes and hope to be able toride that outside once spring arrives. I have it on layaway at the pawn shop, and should have it paid for next month. I am not very good at just doing exercises. I much prefer to be doing something REAL, like working in the yardor gardening. Weedeating is one of my favorites. I look forward to that each year, and also to the digging and planting of our little garden. However a person does it, exercise is good for us, as long as we don't over-do our abilities.
Since I was a child, there has been workout and gym equipment lying around our house. Not to mention that some of my aunties and uncles have given us some of their unwanted workout equipment over the years too. We've got dumb bells, and exercise bikes, and even equipment where I am not certain what they are actually called. So I have those and I have also made some of my own equipment, through following tutorials on Youtube. When money is tight, you must get creative.
I hope you have a good place to ride you're three wheeled bike because I think you're going to love it; and I wish I could say I looked forward to weedeating. That sure would come in handy around here, as there is certainly a lot of it to be done. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't like it much better than I do. We still get it done but we'd both rather use the mower. There is so much yard here that Ken bought one of those zero turn mowers several years ago, so he'd have something substantial enough to do both our yard and the church yard next door, which is even larger than ours. That thing is crazy fun to use, even if I can't get the seat to move far enough up for me to be really comfortable.
Thank you for this thread! I've been looking to ask this question as I have recently decided (well before the new years) that I should start losing weight and exercising. From what I can tell, it seems like a lot of people have fitness equipment they're not using, so I guess it might be better to ask around rather than buying. I've also been looking on online posting websites such as CL, and they seem to have fitness equipment at decent prices and conditions. I'll have to see it for myself.
I prefer to be outside walking in the fresh air when the weather permits. It is cold right now so I will use my one piece of workout equipment a stair climber. I try to get most of my workout in a dance routine when I can not take long walks.
Of the the larger pieces of fitness equipment I've had, not one of them was purchased new. The bowflex was the only one I purchased at all, and I got it used for something like 150 dollars (CL). The other items were just given to me to get them out of someone else's way, which is kind of how they left as well. Right now I still have the bowflex in my basement. It's in great working condition, though the back of the seat is a little worn and picked from the previous owner's kitty. Anyway, I have no doubt you can find any piece of equipment you might want used and in fine shape. You may even know some people who want rid of some of their stuff. And the things are great. I mean, they work well if you use them, it's just that most people probably don't end up using them like they think they will when they buy them. Often the things get used for awhile and then the person decides to go with another kind of workout completely. Some tend to not workout at all. Since you want to lose weight, I hope you find something you like doing and keep to it. Or keep finding new things that you like to do so that you are always doing something. And remember, you can't beat just getting out and taking a walk and maybe mixing it up with a little jogging. Swimming too, is an excellent fat burner. As is cycling, but for some reason not so much as jogging or swimming. Good luck finding your thing and staying on track with it.
I don't buy equipment at all. Most of it is just a stress to the body,, so I prefer more natural ways of staying fit, like hiking, swimming, biking with the kids.. things I do for fun, not things I do to force myself to look a certain way. I do it for fun and health, not looks. Stress is stress.. putting ourselves through any sort of pain just reduces your days, not adds to them.
Going to the gym five times pee week and going for some runs on weekends means that I'm a fitness junkie so buying fitness equipament would be a necessity at the beginnig, but I noticed that I have bought a lot of clothing equipament that I rarely use and I don't like this at all. Sure, it's nice to have a large collection of clothes to chose from when I go to the gym or when I go to play some soccer with my friends. But as I said I ended up with clothes that I don't use, because at the gym I wear an outfit that I like and I don't want to change it because I feel good in it. Of course that I change this outfit every day, but when the new week comes, I wear the same clothes again.
Like the rest of my life, I keep things as simple as possible. I find most home workout gyms too bulky and a waste of precious space. So for my home workouts all I have is a yoga mat, push up stands, and 5 different weighted bands. They all fit perfectly into my travel bag for quick workouts on the road Maybe one day I will invest in a multi-weight dumbbell set, but I am still quite content with what I already have.
I don't buy fitness equipment because they are too expensive and for now I don't have yet the money to buy them and a spacious place to put them. But if I will, I'm going to buy a TRX and some weights that I could just put into carry.
