Cross trainer

Newuser12345

Hello
28 yr. Male

For the last six months I have been going to the gym 3 times a week.
I havent changed my diet and have gone from 17st to 14st

My gym routine consists of
40 mins cross trainer
15 reps on about six machines

I work the cross trainer on the calorie count i.e 700 calories per visit

I find it mind numbingly boring and would like to mix it up but the bikes/ treadmills etc cannot match it for calories, any ideas please

Genghis

Are you restricted in either the number of times a week you can go to the gym, or the length of time available to you at each session?

I would add in some treadmill work - begin walking, building up to a 20/25 minute session where you spend 15 minutes or so at a 'challenging' speed. Also the rower is high intensity and would match the cross trainer for calories, I'd guess.

If I were you I would aim to visit the gym at least once more a week, and try to stay on the cardio vascular machines for between 60 minutes and 90 minutes. You wouldn't need to do the weights every visit, you could do these on the days when you do shorter CV sessions.

But remember, build up slowly. You could add an extra session a week straight away. However, being able to handle the cross-trainer does not mean you will be able to immediately train with the same intensity on either the treadmill or the rower. And don't jump from a 60 minute session to a 90 minute session immediately, instead work up to this over 4-6 weeks.

Good luck!

Newuser12345

Yes I think the rower is an alternative.
I am restricted to 3 days a week as the weekends are not an option.

Strangely I always fill the bike to be more exhausting than cross trainer but the calories loss indicator is always significantly lower.

In New Year, I will change the routine. Thanks for your advice

tunney

The reason that thge bike f*&ks you up much more than the cross trainer but burns less calroies is that going hard on the bike really only works the quads while the cross trainer will use a much more varied selection of muscles. You're feeling the pain of working one muscle group to the limits. (IMHO)

Guv

1st what gym are you in?
Is there a pool?

The cross trainers by and large are crap machines.


You have gotten great results and that is very commendable in such a short space of time.

The bike and or treadmill are the best machines for the average punter as no technique is required to master them. The rower is very technical really and unless one has the correct technique you are wasting your time on the machine and developing a hate for it as well!

30min sessions are plenty. I love the pool at the minute, just getting back into it and only doing 1k after my weights or 1.5k on a weight free day and am doing about 30seconds per 25m, working harder than I would on the bike or rower but it does not feel it, plus you are focusing on your turns, avoiding the lane ropes, other people that the 30mins flies by.

If you have no pool just change machine and see how that goes. Keep it fresh.

tunney

The cross trainers by and large are crap machines.

Some cross trainers can give an amazing aerobic, and even anaerobic, workout without any of the impact of running on threadmills and without the ITB worries from bikes that can plague some people.

treadmill are the best machines for the average punter as no technique is required to master them

Improper technique while running will not only result in goals not being reached, improper technique while running can result in serious injury.

Guv

Don't make me laugh. X Trainers good machines for aerobic fitness, you must be dreaming.

tunney

Its quite easy to maintain 80% of MHR on a cross trainer if you actually put some effort in.

Guv

Do you want a shovel?

Easy
Effort
80%

How deep is your hole now?

tunney

Effort, 80% and easy. Yes I don't see any problem with using those words in the same sentence.

80% is roughly the aerobic zone for most people. To get and stay in that zone of course requires effort. But x-trainers all that level of exercise to be maintained easily once reached.

Guv

This bit of banter is fun and all that.

80% is in zone 4 out of 5 hr zones.

Zone 4 is 80-90% and known as the AT Zone [anaerobic threshold zone]

People would class 55-70% and in some cases as high as 80% the aerobic zone.

80% is anaerobic for most people not aerobic.

80% being easy? No way, you give me 10 people and I'll strap hr monitors on them and tell them right lads we want at least 160bpm from you and we want you to maintain that for 30-40mins on the x-trainer.

Seriously mate you try it yourself accurately and tell me it is easy. I would find that on an x-trainer almost impossible. My max vo2 though I suppose was only closer to 7litres than 6litres and my wattage on a vo2 test bike needed to be recalibrated up to accommodate the 650+ watts I was outputing at the end of the 20mins in the saddle. Even for this test I don't think I averaged 160bpm more like 150!

tunney

So your max power output is higher than that of Lance Armstrong?

Guv

Obviously. I was 217lbs doing that test IIRC.
Lance is only about 154 or maybe 160 but his absolute vo2 would probably be higher than mine or similar anyway and he'd be able as a result of training to work much closer to his max limit for far longer than I could.

Max output on a stationary bike over an 18-20minute test means nothing when you take it onto the road on a real bike. Plenty of big guys would hit higher wattages than Lance but still be aerobically challenged.

I can also out lift lance in the gym and beat him at arm wrestling! He could run a marathon in the morning easily as could Boardman.

Guv

Originally posted by tunney
So your max power output is higher than that of Lance Armstrong?

You are of course dodging the questions I rasied.

My max power output would be higher now than it was then as I am 270lbs atm.

tunney

What questions am I dodging?

Doing 80% of mhr on a cross trainer, *reaches for training diary*, May 26th 2003, injured so couldn't run, LifeFitness X-Trainer: Time 20:08, MXHR 190, AGHR 164. Would you the rest of the entry?

Whats your problem? Right so your a big lad, a Clydesdale athlete if you want. Some things that you find difficult other leaner atheletes will find easy, and vice versa.

Guv

Now you are talking sh1te again. You assume you have lower bf than me because you are lighter? You think you can output more wattage / distance over 20-30mins than me on a x-trainer, rower, bike?

How did you measure heart rate? If the x-trainer is easy why only 20mins, why not 40mins, could you have done more than 20mins? What is your RHR? What is your MHR?

Even better on your life fitness x-trainer - give me the details of the level you used, distance achieved, cals burned etc. were you on manual or some sissy setting?

The fact that you think me finding it hard or impossible maintaining 80% mhr for 40mins or so on a x-trainer indicates that I am not that fit or that you would be better on this machine than me highlights the limitations of your knowledge. Pinsent would not do it on a x-trainer but he'd still beat you on the machine despite a lower average heart rate.

You obviously focus too much on hr and not enough on what you get for the energy you put out.

You train in what gym?

For the record at 217lbs my BF was 6.9%

You still think 80% is aerobic and easy for most people, and easier to maintain on an x-trainer than say a bike or rower or treadmill?

tunney

If the x-trainer is easy why only 20mins, why not 40mins, could you have done more than 20mins?

May 26th 2003, injured so couldn't run,

That answer that?

What is your RHR? What is your MHR?

MHR >203
RHR <40 (as of last week, been out of serious training since september due to injury)

You obviously focus too much on hr and not enough on what you get for the energy you put out.

When running or cycling I focus on speed, distance and HR and how they correlate. I use the Timex Bodylink system to record and graph my results. Unfornatly I cannot afford proper power measurement equipment for my bike at the moment but long time its an investment I plan to make. As for using the power output, or calories burned I don't know what you meant by energy in the previous setence, that the gym machines display I wouldn't trust that at all.

You train in what gym?

I rarely train in a gym as I have little time for resistance training when doing over 4 hours of running/cycling/swimming a day and working full time. When I do train in gyms I either use DCUs gym or my clubs gym. Like I said I have little time for a gym at present.

You still think 80% is aerobic and easy for most people, and easier to maintain on an x-trainer than say a bike or rower or treadmill?

Is it easier to maintain 80% on a x-trainer than on a bike/rower/treadmill for the average person? Without a doubt. Personally I prefer to cycle and run but I think that the non impact nature of x-trainers makes it more appealing to the average joe, and the fact that the effort comes from mulitple muscle groups makes it easier than cycling for the average joe.

For the record at 217lbs my BF was 6.9%

Impressive, you must be quite musclar.

Guv

Being injured does not answer the question. You could do 20m08secs but couldn't do anymore than this? If you were injured and the injury started playing up after 20m08secs why do it at all, especially at such a demanding pace and averaging above your AT most likely as well.

If you noted down your cals burned or distance or wattage average over the 20m08 secs then I could use the same machine for the same duration and see how I compare at a lower heart rate and all that. The readout will be consistent so we can easily compare.

C2 uses far more muscle groups than the x-trainer. HR will rise higher on tmill than on x-trainer as weight is not supported. For fitness x-trainers are sh1te.

At 6ft3 217lbs is not big or muscular and is in fact quite slim.

Do you as a 'leaner' athlete feel you could beat me in terms of distance etc. on say:

Bike
X-Trainer
C2
Stepper
Basically any machine except the tmill?

Sangre

How big is your penis Guv?
It must be bigger then tunneys.

Now lets all have a pissing contest.

Guv, heres some advice, stop taking everything as an insult/challenge, its makes you look sad.

tunney

If you were injured and the injury started playing up after 20m08secs why do it at all,

Guilt, terrible feeling marking days as "Not done" in the training diary.

Do you as a 'leaner' athlete feel you could beat me in terms of distance etc. on say:

Bike and treadmill without a doubt. XT who knows, you'd beat me on the C2 though.

Guv

I agree with you on the treadmill but you are dreaming if you think you could take me on the bike.

Sangre, if I require your advice I'll ask for it.

tunney

On pure distance you think you'd beat me? That was your question wasn't it? Perhaps you would as I'm only capable of doing 60-70 miles in one session.

Guv

No. I was also looking at the time/speed factor, 45mins on the lifecycle in the gym for distance etc.

tunney

45 mins on a bike? You could still beat me I dunno, I could only do about 16-18 miles in that time.

Genghis

Well if you did it in my gym (15 month old Lifecycle machines, iirc) then you would both finish in exactly the same time. No matter how fast you pedal, or which level you select, if you are in 'manual mode' each km takes 2 mins, 47.667 seconds - I have proved this over distances ranging from 3km to 20km, at levels ranging from 1 to 10 and at RPM averaging between 80 and 120.

I thought it was just me, or just one of the bikes, but I have found that I can predict anyones time to the second for any distance. Can be impressive to 'magically' predict to within a couple of seconds how long someone took when they tell you they have done a certain distance!

By the way, in 45 minutes you would both do 16.2 km.

<can anyone explain this, has anyone else notice, is it just in manual mode?>

Guv

Some exercise bikes have preset MAX speeds for the various levels irrespective of cadence. However on most of these bikes when at level 20 max speed is about 49.5km / h BUT if you drop cadence below say 90rpm then the speed drops as well.

I'm using the lifecycle bikes now (total fitness) as an adjunct to my weights and in a leisurely 20mins 2 nights ago I did 17.14kms = 38.565km in the 45mins, I could have kept going. It does not give wattage but cals per hour are in the 1100-1200 range. Not sure of max level but I was up around 15-16 out of what must be 20 and the higher level does equate to higher speed and cadence does also play a part. My cadence is usually 103 or so.

tunney

You're talking distances covered on stationary bikes? I'd be interested to see what I'd cover on one of them. No wind resistance, pot holes or cars.

Guv

It was always stationary bikes. We were talking of equipment used in a health club. Even on a proper road bike maintaining 20mph is not hard. 30 would be hard.

tunney

en on a proper road bike maintaining 20mph is not hard.

It was bloody hard yesterday in the terrible winds and pissing rain!!!

Anyways lets stop comparing cock size and lets all be friends!!