Corss Trainer or Exercise Bike or two-in-one?

m4cc45

m4cc45

m4cc45

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10 Mar 2003
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Hi,

Basically thinking of getting a cross trainer. Obviously the all-over body work out is great in my mind. However when footy is on I'd prefer to sit down on say an exercise bike and watch it - the moving around so much on a cross-trainer may be too much to concentrate on the game.

Now the dilema is that I have seen some two-in-one machines which look okay but can't find any reviews to suggest, either way, whether it would be better to get a two in one or two seperate machines.

Does anyone have any pros/cons of this? Any links to any good cross trainers as well would be good.

Cheers,


M.
 
TFTI!

That would presume I didn't already have that.

Hard I know on these forums but if we could stick on topic please.




M.
 
Cons- Watching a football games while doing cardio? Imo your not doing it hard enough.
 
lol yeah get outside unless your some multi millionaire busienss man who works 20hours a day surely you can find 45 mins1 hour of free time to get outside and enjoy fresh air, hills etc cycling and free up some living space much better for you imo.

i understand what you saying but you need time to relax anyways so why not make a nice meal and have a beer or whatever as a reward while watching the football :D. Just think you might be wasting your money as its the type of thing my step dad would try and a week later it would be at the back of the garage with the other useless rubbish he picks up.

if i had to choose would be exersie bike tho as bobbing up and down on a x trainer would as you said be hard to concentrate on football.
 
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For me it's a distraction. It's not the only exercise I'm doing but watching footy, listening to music, whatever is a good distraction whilst also getting the benefit of exercise.

Surely any exercise is better than none. If you ever go into a gym they have TV's / music. Hell even some of the equipment now has small LCD's where you can watch digital TV.

I was only asking for opinions on the type of device and if anyone had any links thats all I want tbh.



M.

Edit: For info. No i'm not a multi millionaire. Yes I do work and I do work odd hours which means Gym membership is hard. I also play footy, run, climb and do other things. All I can say is how hard is it to give a straight answer on this forum. It's not a particularly difficult question is it to give your opinion on something. I'm not asking to be judged or for you to review something I'm just asking on opinions on cross trainers, etc.

Edit 2: It's also more for the evenings. When going out cycling in the dark (especially at winter) would be trecherous around here.
 
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completely depends.

pros- means if your a hefty person like me you dont need to go running/jogging and screwing your feet and legs up.

cons- most home gym stuff become clothes horses ;]
 
I agree with the clothes horse - I do have another 2 people living here who would use it so it would get used. For the price as well it's only like 1 months gym membership as well (@£200-£300) - individually speaking.
By pros and cons I meant between getting an all in one unit and singularly getting both units. Are the two in ones useless?



M.
 
dunno, ive seen them and they look interesting. never seen one in a gym though, just home use standard of stuff.

if 3 of you are going to use it often then it might be worth spending a bit more
 
Aye true - that is a good point I never thought of.

The cross trainers have been in most gyms (David Lloyds / Virgin / etc.) for at least 4/5 years. I think they have another name though (Elliptical Trainers iirc) which people may know them better as.

Supposedly better on your joints than jogging and a more allround workout.



M.
 
yeah, cross trainers on their own have been in gyms for years, but not combined machines for bike and xtrainer.

xtrainers are much better on your joints for sure.
 
You'd still be able to watch tv whilst on a cross trainer, though I'd have thought a bike would be better if it's for a bit of light cardio while watching football (coming from my experience with the built in tvs to cardio machines in my gym).
 
I own a cross trainer and use it most mornings, it burns a lot more calories than a static bike would... and it's softer on the joints compared to road running.

I can watch TV and blast some cardio out without much hassle, works for me.
 
m4cc45 said:
TFTI!

That would presume I didn't already have that.

Hard I know on these forums but if we could stick on topic please.




M.
Click to expand...

But exercise should be about fun, a goal, and a sense of acheivement. You are never ever going to get that using some poxy gym equipment. Hence the reason it gets used for 1 week then ends up in the loft.

Exercise isnt supposed to be easy if it was everyone would be outside in running shorts and vest.

But everyone can do it, it depends how much you want to.
 
I was a member of a gym for 20 years using cardio and weights. As I have got older I changed my routine. Including the use of a cross trainer.

This year I cancelled the gym membership and bought a good setup to use at home. As well as a bench, squat rack etc I included a crosstrainer. The thing I like about having the kit at home is I can either listen to my music or watch the TV in the gym. This IMO makes the session pass much quicker between sets. I like using the crosstrainer with dumbells. Something the gym always frowned upon on health and safety grounds. But at home I can work out how I want and I have never fallen off yet :P
 
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I have a bike and a cross trainer as separate units, I use them regularly and find them to be a great way to get a bit of a sweat on, especially the cross trainer since I get terrible shin splints running on tarmac.
 
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