Crosstrainer ( Warning: totally off topic ! )
Community Forums/General Help/Crosstrainer ( Warning: totally off topic ! )
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| All, I'm wondering if a crosstrainer - also known as elliptical trainer - are any good. I'm thinking of buying one, mainly to stay in shape, but I wonder if it is also capable to build up some new muscle. Do anyone of you use it and if so, are you satisfied of the results ? Cheers, Sergio. |
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| This should really be put in the General Help section. To answer the question, I don't know but the Ab King Pro is recommended to me. Also recommended are colon cleanse tablets with acai berry supplements. Not that I need to know how to loose weight. |
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| I've got one... It's really not very intense. But if gentle exercise is what you're looking for then it's a pretty convenient thing to have in the house... much like, y'know, a flight of stairs or something... I wouldn't recommend it if you want any kind of serious exercise or muscle-building or whatnot. I'd say get a bicycle instead. Cycling feels more like real exercise (to me, anyway); if you want to build up some muscle, try something like this. Something tells me that not many people on a programming forum are going to have good ideas about fitness though... |
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| The cross trainer can be very intense, if you set it to a high enough level i feel. It's great also, because it's a low impact exercise, as your knees aren't pounded so much. As for building new muscle, you need to use low rep, high intensity workout. Going on a cross trainer will make your muscles fitter, and will be generally good for your bodies health. You don't need much equipment for building muscle to be honest. A couple of free weight will do the trick. I must stress though, you must eat correctly, or it could have a negative impact on your overall muscle mass. Good amounts of protein, and carbs, will help give your muscles the energy, and the means to rebuild themselves. You should generally eat more good food, if you intend to exercise, as your body needs more calories/protein to maintain it's mass. |
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| I'm wondering if a crosstrainer - also known as elliptical trainer - are any good. Depends on the kind of workout you want. Cross trainers are pretty good (if often perceived as "girly" machines) for a cardio workout, good for people who are heavy (either muscle tissue or fat tissue), as they're more gentle on the knees than treadmills or cycles. I'm thinking of buying one, mainly to stay in shape, but I wonder if it is also capable to build up some new muscle. No. If you want to have a greater muscle mass, you'll need weight training. Kettle bells are a pretty good all-around muscle building exercise, but failing that bar and dumb bells are reasonable alternatives. Do anyone of you use it and if so, are you satisfied of the results ? I use it for warm-up, cardio and cool-down, mainly due to a recurring knee injury, which prevents me from running for any significant duration. But you need to spend a lot of time on it. Good amounts of protein, and carbs, will help give your muscles the energy, and the means to rebuild themselves. You don't need carbs as an energy source for muscles. Only brain tissue needs carbs. Fat works well as muscle energy, if you have a high enough oxygen saturation to burn it (it takes 3 times as much oxygen to burn fat, as it does sugar and amino-acids). You also only need about 0.7 grams of protein per kilogram of muscle tissue you wish to maintain. You should also be careful about eating too many carbs, as any carbs not immediately burnt, is stored as saturated fatty acids (the bad kind) for later use. |
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| I see Flameduck is a lean, mean programming machine. |
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| I see Flameduck is a lean, mean programming machine. Not recently. :( |
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| I prefer an elliptical over a treadmill because it is in fact easier on the joints. For endurance training and cardio, an elliptical would do the trick. If you want to build muscles in the legs, your best option is free weights. Lunges and squats are the best for building leg muscle. |
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| Not recently. :( Ah ok, well maybe a 'battle-scarred programming veteran' would be more accurate then. No? |
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| I've a lovely treadmill, unfortunately I'm off the running due to a foot injury. I'd imagine the cross trainer is good for building all round aerobic fitness and not necessarily muscle mass. I know my current stomach cruncher program works, executable in B3D - you can use heavier weights for the dumb bell excercises to develop muscle mass. The only reason I say it works is my stomach muscles have been aching today after the session that is currently programmed. It is in this thread http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=86607#981978 |
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| Ah ok, well maybe a 'battle-scarred programming veteran' would be more accurate then. Hah, 'beer-scarred' more like it. :o> |
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| You can't rely on fat as your main energy source though. It takes too long to break down and be converted to fat. Seems to work pretty well for me Mind you, i'm working on a specific diet plan to build muscle. It involves, one hour before training, eating the right amount of carbs. Train. Then between half an hour and an hour later, consume a small amount of processed sugars, followed by the right amount of protein. The body uses the sugar, to deliver the protein straight to the muscles, for faster delivery. As i say, it's worked a hell of alot better than the other diet i tried. 'beer-scarred' more like it. :o> hehehehe |
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| All you need is 3 minutes on the Ab King Pro a day and you can have rock-hard abs in no time. |
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| Most people I know who buy excerise equipment end up not using it. My best purchase for ages has been a decent bycicle, I go out with the dog and do 4-6 miles most days (dog runs, I ride). So if you really want to excerise regularly and want something you can't give up on, I'd get a bike and a dog; it works for me and it's probably cheaper too (bike was ~£120). Darkheart |
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| What about sports? Do you like doing any kind of sports? Martials arts are great for exercise and staying in shape, and also yer mind too. |
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| People, thanks a lot for the answers so far. Yes I do like sports, and in theory I could do anything - the difficulty is that when I'm at home, there are 2 childrens and a wife waiting for me :) They are still small childrens, so I can't really involve them in any sport activity - at least, not yet; well I do could use my daughter as a kettle bell and do some exercising, but it's not very comfortable... After some house working, playing, preparing dinner and such, I bring the childrens in bed, and then I have a bit of free time. But now it's quite late in the evening, I'm tired and in the need of a rest. That's why I think that an home exercise equipment could help. I've even found a good crosstraining model - a Kettler VITO XS ; sadly, a research has spotted toxic chemicals in the rubber handlers ! I'm quite scared from all this hidden toxines around us. Even in trainer devices ?! Do you have some model to suggest ? - and no, I'll not go to the AB King route, but thanks anyway. Sergio. |
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| I don't think the toxins get in through your skin, you'd have to eat a sandwich after and not wash your hands. Unless you are exposed to toxins on a daily basis, like for example asbestos workers were, I doubt you need to worry. |
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