Fitness, Nutrition and Health- All Welcome (Hardcore and “Light”)

Parents Forum Parent Cafe
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@mom60 , if your daughter is looking for a bike that provides an upper body workout combined with cardio, then the Rogue Echo bike or the comparable Schwinn Airdyne Pro are both good contenders. It so happens that Rogue Fitness sells both its Echo bike and the Airdyne Pro. https://www.roguefitness.com/schwinn-airdyne-pro Rogue also sells the Assault Airbike https://www.roguefitness.com/assault-airbike-and-accessories Three bikes, three price points. Rogue is an excellent company to deal with. Quality products, great customer service. A Rogue rep would be very helpful to speak with to answer questions about which bike would best meet your daughter’s needs and wants.

I would agree with @sushiritto that these fan bikes are better for shorter high intensity interval workouts than for longer endurance workouts however, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In a 30 minute HIIT workout, you can get all of the cardio fitness and health benefits, in a time efficient manner, that a person needs. HIIT workouts also torch calories. There is no need to ride a bike for an hour or longer unless you have specific training goals that require longer training and general fitness and cardio health don’t require that.

As to TRX and your daughter’s concern about visual disturbances, if your daughter is looking for a way to do some resistance training, which everyone should do, TRX is about as safe as it gets. No weights to drop, infinitely variable resistance using just body weight, you always have your feet, hands or body in contact with the floor and its very easy to disengage safely from the TRX if you have any issues. She would probably benefit from a couple of sessions with a qualified trainer who could show her how to use the TRX safely and effectively within the scope of her limitations.

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@mom60 we have an Schwinn AirDyne and I love it. It feels super sturdy, I like the upper body component - I can even stand and ride it with good stability.

To be clear the bike I linked above is a good bike for the casual biker/exerciser who is looking to not spend a lot but have a smooth, quiet ride for a 30 minute workout a few times a week. For that I believe it is a good investment.

Now that you’ve explained more it sounds like your daughter might like a more intense workout eventually and would probably also enjoy a bike that had upper body movement. I hope she finds something that works for her and she feels better!

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Stress eating – is definitely me. For me, having regimented food intake/timing helps. It’s much easier on workdays. But, if it’s a short term stressor, sometimes I just go ahead and give in guilt free, especially if hormones are also fueling the anxiety. Take away the guilt and just move forward.

My worst habit is wanting to scarf down the kitchen when I wake up from my lunchtime naps before heading back to work, and also when I wake up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break. It’s long been a daily struggle, and one I often lose. It’s completely psychological. If I can just resist for 10 minutes, I’m fine and go on. But, I can justify just about anything in those first 10 minutes! My other bad habits are being obsessed with tracking (phone’s step counter) and not stretching/sitting too long throughout the day. With the tracking, I was getting really bad about wanting to spend every single spare minute walking obsessed with beating some stupid goal. And I wouldn’t do the bike/stairmonster because it would give me as many steps even though it would have been better for my body to not run. Sooo…. For the last 6 months I’ve tried something new. If I don’t scarf down the kitchen, I manually add a certain number of steps to the app (i.e. calories saved). If I stretch throughout the day – more steps. If I do the bike/stairmonster, I’ll give myself the equivalent number of steps per minutes as running. The downside is that it makes the daily step count meaningless, but that is perfect for me. That way I don’t obsess with beating a goal – it’s meaningless! And I purposely randomly assign steps so I can’t truly compare days. But yet, it’s nice to see the high number. So far, it does seem to be working. I haven’t been perfect, and the struggle is still there most every day, but I can resist most of the time now. I guess it’s sort of like my own sticker chart. LOL.

Today was a hodge podge. In lieu of a longer run, I did a 30 min run, 30 min stairmosnter, 30 min bike. Then a longer core video and some stretching. A friend sent me a picture taken when we ran Boston. It’s now 20 years old! OMG. I looked like such a baby. Where did the time go?!

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My knee hurts :(. Happened somewhere along my walk yesterday. I’m praying it’s just the colder weather and not a flareup. Seems to hurt less when I’m moving.

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I am a “light” core exercise person, due to a couple of surgeries over the past 3 years. I am more of a lurker, but finally decided to take the plunge and post, because this thread has been very inspiring for me. In mid-January I decided enough was enough (25 pounds over weight) and decided to work on sugar intake and try the delayed eating technique. I already walk 4 miles a day on the treadmill (takes me 64 minutes). I’m happy to report that today I am down 10 pounds! And the great thing is that I now I know I can do it. So thank you all.

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WOW @luder16 that’s fantastic!!!

These stories we share - you never know who you are motivating or who is in a similar spot. They are ALL important.

@ClassicMom98 , I am pretty obsessive about my steps. I have weaned myself away from being quite so obsessive about how many flights of stairs I climb or the meeting the 250 steps each hour (at work this gets to be a pain - working on one project can take your mind off getting up or getting up can disrupt the work to be done!)

When Pokemon Go was really popular (still might be!) I remember people saying or even noticing people out and about who were clearly walking and playing the game. Kind of an unspoken language. I often wonder when I am doing a walking round on our hospital campus if anyone I’m passing is just like me, looking to get a 15 minute walk and a couple thousand steps in.

Yes, I was that person who put on my car remote start to warm it up and then jogged up and down the block in the dark while it warmed up. :slight_smile:

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A few months ago, someone left a huge heavy equipment tire behind a business at the entryway to my neighborhood. For a while it bothered me that someone dumped garbage but for some reason over time I started to wonder how much it weighs. Probably because of those dumb gym commercials where they have the guy who keeps talking about how he flips tires, I started to wonder if I could flip it. I know - very strange and this sort of confession is what the anonymous internet is perfect for.

Last night, I convinced my younger son to walk down to The Tire with me. I had to try flipping it. We waited for a guy walking his dog to wander away and then approached this huge, filthy behemoth. Wedging our fingers underneath and making sure we were in good squat position, we looked at each other one last time and … flipped it. After a bit of celebratory dork dancing, we did it again. And again. And then he convinced me I could do it myself. Surprise - he was right. It was fun and empowering and a good adventure for us to do together.

Of course now I’m wondering if I can convince him to do a run with me where we incorporate visiting and flipping Our Tire. I also thought about trying to roll it home, but there’s really no way to do that subtly - this thing is almost as tall as I am when it’s up on its side. Also, my husband would never let me hear the end of it. So for now, I will hope that the business doesn’t get rid of this new, fun toy and that I can just keep visiting it with my kid. New challenges keep things interesting.

768

OMG that is too funny! And a story your son will share and tell over and over as one of the best memories with his mom. A+ effort all around!

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What a great story! THE TIRE will be our inspirational visual for this group!

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Outstanding, @milee30 ! ?

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@MichaelNKat Thank you. Your information is helpful. What she likes about the Echo is she knows the bike having used it at her previous gym. I’m going to bring up the TRX again. She took a small group training class once a week on the TRX for about 6 months before she got sick. Maybe she can book a few private sessions with the trainer to get a feel for what she can do with her present health issues.

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You are very kind, but I have to clarify - this thing is really, really grubby. We might want a prettier or even just slightly less disgusting visual. Like maybe one of Midwest doing major weightlifting. That’s inspirational.

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@milee30 Great story! You sound a lot like me. Everything to me looks like exercise challenge.

I would caution against taking the grubby tire home because once you have it and then later want to get rid of it, they’re hard to dispose of easily (and legally). And even once you have the darn thing loaded into a truck bed, the dump fees are usually not cheap. Ask me how I know. :smile:

Re: “Dork Dancing,” yep that’s me every time I hit a PR on something.

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That makes it all the more inspiring!

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So, between home and gym, I have ridden the Echo, Airdyne and Assault Bike a lot. I’ve also used the Concept 2 ERG, but that’s pretty much a Concept 2 rower turned into a bike. Here’s my brief non-bicycling expert POV about the three air bikes. Buy the Echo. :smiley: Done.

No, seriously, the Assault Bike is a good machine, but I never liked the monitor and how the monitor is organized. The Echo is more solidly built and I prefer how the handles feel. The Echo and AB feel just about the same in operation. To lift the back end of Echo isn’t well-designed, but it’s better than the AB. AB does make a higher end version for more money though.

I’m not a fan of the AirDyne. The feel of the bike and fan are different than the AB or Echo. The Echo and and AB just seem smoother in operation. Also, the Airdyne’s calorie counter is REALLY “happy.” I mean, really “happy.” The WOD’s in CF are often designed around doing a certain amount of calories. For example, last night’s WOD:

2 Rounds For Time:
20 Push Presses
30 Single Dumbbell Box Step-ups
40 Burpees
50 Calorie AB

The Echo and AB count calories economically or legitmately might be a better word. With the Airdyne, you have to do a calorie conversion, because the calorie counter is overly generous. I haven’t used the Airdyne in a while, but if my memory serves, it’s like adding 60-70%. So, in the above workout, apples-to-apples, I would have to ride the Airdyne for 80 calories, not 50.

Lastly, the Airdyne is the only bike that has broken a couple times. Now, this is a sample of one machine, but I’m really the only one that has used it. Once the gym added the Echo, I only ride the Echo. At home, the AB has been great. No service issues.

As for the Concept 2 ERG, I would definitely consider this an option. While you can shred calories and fat in a HIIT workout on the air bikes, some people, not me, like 2-4-6 hour bike rides. Hundreds, if not thousands, ride each weekend (and during the week too) around my area of Silicon Valley. So, if want the same experience at home, then the ERG is a better option IMO.

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Our local elementary school is about 3/4 of a mile away from my house. The school was giving away a nice piano when my kids were taking piano, a very long time ago. Long story short, yes, a neighbor and I loaded it onto a dolley and rolled it home.

I have no shame. And it’s all exercise to me. :lol:

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I still play Pokemon GO! Less walking than before more group play activities, when I was playing more solo I did more solo walks. I also play the Harry Potter game with similar walking goals.

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Functional fitness!! Delivery definitely counts.

In one of the other threads, one of our fellow CC posters told a story of how she and her husband tackled the delivery of their hot tub. That was epic!

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Pokémon Go player here! :slight_smile:

The new challenges — primarily earning candies & hatching eggs — really do encourage racking up those km.

I don’t believe Adventure Sync works all that well (the ability to get credit for km walked even when the app is closed). I always feel ripped off when I hike!

I don’t want the app open due to battery drain, but I also want an accurate tally of those hard-earned kilometers.

firstworldproblems

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@sushiritto good input. She is going to reach out to Rogue and see if they have any suggestions for her as to what bike best suits her needs. The Echo is less expensive but it’s her decision. She is very aware that she took good health for granted. One other concern with what bike to get is that she is 5 ft 3 with a long torso but short legs. She knows the Echo fits her.
Today I did 15 minutes on the track which was a mile. Mostly walking, my legs felt like lead. Strength training class and a Pilates class. Both are new instructors for me since January. What I’ve been impressed with is that they tell us how to have our knees, Feet, pelvis, shoulders etc and also where we should be feeling it so we know we are doing it correctly. Also that if you don’t feel it in the right place to ask. Also she shows variations that vary in difficulty and modifications for those with wrist, shoulder or knee issues. This is feedback I wouldn’t get if I was exercising at home or on my own.
I’m in awe of all of you with knowing your heart rate and target zones.