advice on tredamill/crosstrainer home gym equipment!

Nodferatu

(to the mods) sorry maybe there is already a thread on this, but im too lazy to sift through 28 pages of threads to find an appropriate similar thread. sorry.


i want to buy a home gym equipment mainly for to tone up particularly the thigh/butt area. im looking to lose fat and tone more so than rather put on muscle in them areas, just looking to lose some weight and tone and tighten up my body.
which would be better a treadmill or cross trainer bike?


if you could give me advice on which is best and less of the what i should be doing instead of buying a treadmill or bike i'd appreciate thanks

Lantus

in terms of exercise read the stickies.

1/ Nutrition needs to be on the ball to reduce your body fat percentage.
2/ Use resistence training to build lean muscle mass AND burn fat.
3/ Use cardio to help burn fat and for overall health and fitness

Contrary to the all the lies being spread the word 'tone' has virtually no real meaning in the exercise world. Muscle can do one of two things: - grow or atrophy (shrink.) If your a women then getting large muscles is vitually impossible due the fact your lacking testosterone and unless your willing to take male hormones for a decade or so wont ever end up looking like whatever scary image you have in your head.

Resistance training will give you a firm lean looking body that is strong and doesn't sag (in combo with the nutrition and cardio.) The most dilligent may expect to lose around 0.5% to 1% of Body fat per month. Building muscle is an even slower process but you can notice improvements in form in 6 to 8 weeks with a good program and go on from there.

For a goog example of a women who uses weights a lot look up Mindi Smith to see what REALLY happens when a women works out. Also check out stumptuous website which is a great resource and myth buster.

There is an industrial scale fear of resistance training throughout most women and it's a misplaced myth that will hold them back from achieveing the look they really want.


In terms of exercise equipment a bike is good if you have joint issues are are very overweight and dont want to stress kness and ankles. I bought a bike from Argos which I still use as it's easy to hop on and store away when not in use. read up and check the saddle for confort if you can.

Treadmills are good for walking and running if your up for it but they take up more room, need power and domestic versions have lower speeds so if you ae a runner you may find the machine is limiting your growth. Personally I think they are very expensive compared to a gym membership. you can get an allright bike for 150ish and sometimes cheaper. a reasonable treadmill may set you back 500-1000 easily which can be 3 years of gym membership where you'd get professional equipment and no worries about breaking down. You also get all the other machines, weights etc.

Nodferatu

thank you for the reply, im a man by the way, im looking to basically reduce flabby fat skin, im 9 stone but i am unfit and not shaped well, i want to tone the waist down basically there is no definition or muscle, i don't exercise or never have or had as i had asthma throughout school years so sports were never part of my life and never will be. fed up with my body and being self conscious so i want to do something about it.

yeah thinking about the treadmill and i have ruled that out. i do have a problem with my knee i damaged it in work a few years ago it still pains me most days, so would a bicycle help i know you mentioned it would be less stressful to joints and ankles etc would a bicycle be ideal for me do you think!

Lantus

If you have underlying medical conditions you would be wise to get checked out by your doctor before embarking on a major lifestyle change.

bikes, cross trainers and swimming is all reduced leg stress exercise so dont be afriad to use all three. Add in resistance training good nutrition and some motivational goal setting and your off. Read the stickies.

PS - apologies for wrongly assuming you were a woman!

Nodferatu

i dont have any underlying medical conditions, im healthy just unfit, as i said im 9 stone so im not obese or nowhere near it, just want to be more toned if you will. i have decided after looking at some exercise bikes to go with an exercise bike. thanks for your advice.