Fitness

kmulryan

Hi,

I am looking to get fit, and I am not sure which would be the best machine to buy, a Cross Trainer or a Treadmill, I cannot go to the gym as I don't have the time, I commute 84 miles a day to work and also have a farm which keeps me busy most evenings and weekends.

What are the average prices I should expect to pay also?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

t-ha

At this point I'ld recommend....

...neither.

Get a skipping rope. Estimated cost: EUR 4.99

or just get some rope (you live on a farm!)

If you think that paying out big money for equipment helps motivation - that kind of motivation unfortunately doesn't last the course. Once you've got the rope, get back to me and I'll give you a routine you can do with it.

kmulryan

Hi,

I have a skipping rope but only place I can use it is outside as have laminate flooring everywhere in the house and I'd imagine skipping would ruin the floor.
Also, couldn't imagine skipping for an hour would find this very boring, at least with a treadmill or cross trainer you can watch tv which distracts you from the amount of time you are spending on it.

Maybe I am just trying to find excuses, so what kind of routines could I use with a skipping rope.

Thanks a million,

t-ha

You can watch tv and skip rope too - you just won't get to see much because you have to pay more attention when jumping rope.

If you wanted to skip for an hour I'ld say your biggest problem would be the immense difficulty of doing that rather than how boring it is, and on a personal note, if your watching tv and not noticing your efforts on a treadmill then you're going too slow - but anyways, lets see what we can do.

1] Some different types of skipping drills to help stave off the boredom;
http://springseil.com/jumprope_springseil/jump_rope_how-to.shtml

2] Actual routines - now alot of people don't do this for jump rope, and that's the main reason that they get bored or don't do it or whatever. The key is to have a programme of skipping that your going to do for a given length of time, just the same as you would do with any other exercise programme. Also, skip to some music - you'll subconciously try and keep to the tempo (so some hardcore trance should do nicely ). Seriously though, if the routine starts getting easier and you want to make it more difficult, just find some faster paced music.

You could try something like this;
Day 1 - Cardiovascular fitness
warm-up: do some star jumps or mountain climbers or something like that just to get the heart going and put some blood through the joints.
skipping: normal jog-step for five minutes,
hip-twist for five minutes,
can-can for five minutes,
normal jog-step for five minutes.
shake out & stretch
Notes: Intensity can be quite high on the first three and then slow it up a bit for the final five minutes. If you find the going tough initially then consider each 5 minute block a 'set', and allow yourself one minutes rest between sets.

Day 2 - High Intensity Intervals
warm-up: same as before
skipping: normal jog-step for two minutes,
double stroke for 20 seconds then normal jog-step for 30 seconds = 1 interval,
do 6 - 8 intervals,
normal jog-step for two minutes,
shake out and stretch
Notes: Intensity during the double stroke periods should be very high, but much lower during the normal jog-step periods to allow some recovery

Do two sessions of each type (4 all together) each week. That is just a sample idea of what you could do - obviously you can do whatever you want but I think the key thing when working out at home is that you have to have some programme written out so that you know what you're supposed to do and you do it. Jump ropes aren't really suited to low intensity exercise, but you can do anything for that - bring in a small box or a concrete block and do step ups for an hour. Personally I wouldn't bother. The jump rope will get you very fit - and in conjunction with (and only in conjunction with) a clean diet can get you nice and lean too (I know you didn't include that as a goal but, if it can be done, then why not?).

Anyway good luck with it, and if you decide that it ain't for you, well at least you didn't blow any cash on it.