Elliptical machine

jumping rope

FYI, for those of you fit enough to handle it, I highly recommend jumping rope. I dismissed it at first since I'm a halfway avid cyclist, but it can really kick your butt. Apparently it's about the same effect as running for twice as long, at least according to several fitness websites. It has helped me lose 4 pounds in the past month, and I don't have too much to lose. It is motivational too. I went from barely being able to do 100 reps with my weighted jump rope, to 800 in a fairly short amount of time. Trust me, that heart rate will go through the roof if you do it right.
 
hey thats what I saw on tv as well
like 5 mins a day means 30mins of jogging or something

right now I average 300 skips in 3mins a day.
Might build up slowly to 5mins or more..
 
Wayneous said:
hey thats what I saw on tv as well
like 5 mins a day means 30mins of jogging or something
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I have no way of confirming any of it, but from what I have seen, most sources say more like 15 minutes equals 30 minutes of running. All I know is that when you first start out, it's alot harder than it would seem, your heart rate goes through the roof, as you probably already know. I've also seen advice saying that since it's so intense, that really shouldn't be your only cardio workout on a daily basis. I've been trying to mix up biking and skipping rope.
 
corndogggy said:
I have no way of confirming any of it, but from what I have seen, most sources say more like 15 minutes equals 30 minutes of running. All I know is that when you first start out, it's alot harder than it would seem, your heart rate goes through the roof, as you probably already know. I've also seen advice saying that since it's so intense, that really shouldn't be your only cardio workout on a daily basis. I've been trying to mix up biking and skipping rope.
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Yep, I play basketball for 1hr a day on top of skipping.. I used to swim but I was told swimming won't let me lose as much.
 
xifuyinyin said:
hey i tried that too.. but it hurts so much especially on the knee...
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It depends on your situation really. I'm the exact opposite, I jump rope because it's much easier on my knees than running, because I have ITBS, where the illio-tibial band hurts real bad while flexing your knees in a running position. Also the type of shoes and flooring makes a big difference. It's usually recommended to find a shoe with lots of padding in the toe and not much in the heel, and to jump on a thin rubber mat or maybe wood... concrete is supposed to be bad, although that's what I'm currently jumping on, I've got a big storage building I'm partially converting over to a gym.
 
I've thrown around the idea for a while. What rope do you have?

I'm an avid spinner (love my Johhny G Spinner Pro), and can't stand running. But, this I think I could get into.
 
deschain said:
What rope do you have?
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An el-cheapo slightly weighted nylon one with 1/4 pound weights in the handles. I just started a month ago, I'm a newbie at this, I'm not sure what rope is best. I've read about some heavy leather ones that boxers use, I think I might try that, I want to be like Rocky. :D


deschain said:
I'm an avid spinner (love my Johhny G Spinner Pro)
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My "spinner" has two working wheels and it can actually roll down the road. :D I have a Trek 1000 road bike and I hook it up to a Minoura magnetic trainer when it gets too miserable or dark outside.


deschain said:
can't stand running.
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I used to be a good runner, I got 9th in nationals in the 100 yard dash as young as age 12, and continued running into college where I made it as a walk-on at my college's track team. But, I've always been a sprinter. It's hard converting over from fast-twitch to slow-twitch.
 
I think I'll start with a cheapy. No sense paying top dollar when I don't know if I'll really like it and stay with it.

As for the bike, Trek is a really nice one (but you know that, you bought it). Our weather is not real nice for outdoor bike riding most of the time, and our terrain is completely flat, so I prefer the great indoors (that, and I can't take my 3yr old and 9 month old on a bike outside with me, but they can play in the next room)

I live in Texas, so it's hot as hell and so humid we practically drink our oxygen here. :) So, I'm not big on outdoor riding.
 
Treadmill VS Elliptical

I'm a little confused on my workout. I use both the elliptical and the treadmill. When I use the treadmill on the fat burn mode, I enter my age and weight, and it takes my heart rate (ideal fat burn HR is 128). When I use the elliptical, it only takes my weight. I'm not supposed to run because my knees can't handle the impact, so I walk when using the treadmill. Plus, anything faster than a brisk walk brings my HR into the cardio training range. On the elliptical, I can burn around 250 cal in 25-30 min. On the treadmill, it says approx. 165 cal in 30-35 min. The elliptical seems to burn so many more calories in less time, but it doesn't feel anywhere near as hard of a workout as the treadmill. Which one is really better? Is the treadmill just more accurate because of the additional info entered in? I usually do about the same distance, so I know I'm not going a whole lot faster on the elliptical. Anyone know?
 
I'd like to know the answer to this as well. On my elliptical it usually says I burn about 600 cal/hr, but on the treadmill at what feels like the same exertion it only says 300/hr or so. Is it because the elliptical has greater resistance and arm motion, or is it just wildly off?
 
Exercise machines are notoriously inaccurate when it comes to calories burned. You are better off googling to find an activity chart somewhere on the internet or just going by the Perceived Exertion Scale. Don't worry about working out in the "fat burning zone". That's more myth than reality. You'll actually burn more fat in the "cardio" zone.

copied from about.com
Perceived Exertion Scale

When exercising, it's important to monitor your intensity to make sure you're working at a pace that is challenging enough to help you reach your goals, but not so hard that you blow a lung. One way to do that is to use a Perceived Exertion Scale. The standard is the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion, which ranges from 0-20. Because I'm a math-idiot, I made up my own scale (see below) that's a little easier to remember. In general, for most workouts you want to be at around Level 5-6. If you're doing interval training, you want your recovery to be around a 4-5 and your intensity blasts to be at around 8-9. As you'll see below, working at a level 10 isn't recommended for most workouts. For longer, slower workouts, keep your PE at Level 5 or lower.

* Level 1: I'm watching TV and eating bon bons
* Level 2: I'm comfortable and could maintain this pace all day long
* Level 3: I'm still comfortable, but am breathing a bit harder
* Level 4: I'm sweating a little, but feel good and can carry on a conversation effortlessly
* Level 5: I'm just above comfortable, am sweating more and can still talk easily
* Level 6: I can still talk, but am slightly breathless
* Level 7: I can still talk, but I don't really want to. I'm sweating like a pig
* Level 8: I can grunt in response to your questions and can only keep this pace for a short time period
* Level 9: I am probably going to die
* Level 10: I am dead
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That's true, cals burnt isn't hugely accurate on the machines, for example on the stepper machines at my gym the cals carry on clocking up for a few secs after you step off (it's obviously done by some sort of belt or something) you can only really take that as a rough guide.
 
Speaking of calorie counters and accuracy - I've been using Dance Dance Revolution as a work out tool lately, and it has a workout mode. It estimates the calories way high, but it doesn't count them at all if you miss the step. I thought that was pretty funny.
 
I'm not too concerned about calorie accuracy. I figured they weren't exact. I just want to know which one really burns more and is the better workout. Even though the elliptical feels easier, is it really burning more than just walking? Last night I was on the elliptical for 35 minutes at a pace that I could never handle for that long on the treadmill. At least it felt like it...
 
Remember, the most important aspect of cardio is where your HR is during the session. Most calorie calulations are way off on gym machines. Keep your HR where is is supposed to be, depending on your goal, and you have nothing to worry about.
 
I have found that the calorie counters on the machines at the gym tell me that I can burn more calories in less time on the elliptical machine than on the treadmill and I would venture to say that that is a true statement. The elliptical machine is using more of your muscles to get the work done--it just feels easier because your not stomping your feet on the ground. For me, my feet fall asleep if I stay on the elliptical machine too long---I bet I'm a funny site to see getting off that's for sure. :)
 
I prefer the ellipticals over treadmills because i don't like high impact exercises at all. My elliptical machine doesn't record my height or my weight, it just seems to give me a random number of calories burnt which i know is way off. I focus more on my heart rate and breathing to know if i'm doing a good workout.
 
I love the elliptical because it doesnt put so much impact on your joints like the treadmill does, but I think its best to switch up your cardio machines so that your muscles don't become too familiar with one. So I try to do both, and just keep your heartrate up! :)
 
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