Indoor fitness equipment

[moremoney]

I am in need of a piece of equipment that will help the top half of my body.
My lower half is ok, i have strong legs so no worries there.

I am 49 and getting bigger every year because i don't exercise enough.

I E my belly is getting bigger and my chest is getting softer.
I would like a recommendation for some home equipment please.

I have to be careful because i have a bad heart, but i hate getting fatter.

 

[Aedus]

What is your goal? To lose fat in general? To tone up your upper body? To lose fat then tone up?

You could lose your gut first off by just doing a real diet and going for a brisk walk every day to start off, when you get slimmer then you can focus on toning up, there's no point toning up your body or even building much muscle if you have a lot of fat covering it, because well you won't see it anyway.

For the initial weight loss you can do it without spending money on machines, instead spend the money on decent food and make sure you eat enough of it every day, there's many threads on here about how to diet and how not to but if you want people in here can give you the info.

At the end of the day no amount of machines or equipment will help you if your diet is bad, no amount exercise will help you if your diet is bad, and a simple diet could be all you're looking for at first to get rid of the belly, before you actually focus on really getting your body toned up and looking good.

Just my 2c.

 

[moremoney]

What is your goal? To lose fat in general? To tone up your upper body? To lose fat then tone up?

You could lose your gut first off by just doing a real diet and going for a brisk walk every day to start off, when you get slimmer then you can focus on toning up, there's no point toning up your body or even building much muscle if you have a lot of fat covering it, because well you won't see it anyway.

For the initial weight loss you can do it without spending money on machines, instead spend the money on decent food and make sure you eat enough of it every day, there's many threads on here about how to diet and how not to but if you want people in here can give you the info.

At the end of the day no amount of machines or equipment will help you if your diet is bad, no amount exercise will help you if your diet is bad, and a simple diet could be all you're looking for at first to get rid of the belly, before you actually focus on really getting your body toned up and looking good.

Just my 2c.

My goal is to lose fat ie get my tummy smaller.

When i was 25 i had a six pack, and it felt good.

The problem i now have is, i have heart disease so my exercise is limited, but that don't mean i have to get fat.
HELP me get slim.

 

[RimBlock]

My goal is to lose fat ie get my tummy smaller.

When i was 25 i had a six pack, and it felt good.

The problem i now have is, i have heart disease so my exercise is limited, but that don't mean i have to get fat.
HELP me get slim.

As Aedus has said, get your diet sorted out first including any liquid lunches / dinners.

If you take down your calories to a resonable level with good healthy food then you should start to see and feel an improvement.

On top of this you could then add some exercise. I would suggest some light walking first. Just start to get the body used to exercise again. Due to your condition I would suggest speaking to your doctor before starting on any heavy exercise as none of us here, to my knowledge, are qualified to advise you correctly. The human body can be very forgiving in good health so advise that is not optimum will cause very little damage but for a weekended body it is better not to risk it.

As for diet help, post up what you would usually have in a day and we can try to offer pointers on how this could be improved.

Regards
RB

 

[moremoney]

I think i have'nt explained properly.

My diet is ok, my body ain't.
Reason being, my health which has made me careful, or even lazy.

I have now decided i need to execise more, but with care.

Therefore i need an inhouse workout gym.

 

[Disco Boy]

Sort out your diet and go for a walk.

If you have heart problems, then surely light exercise like walking is better than more strenuous exercise like running or cycling?

If you are putting on weight then your diet isn't okay, you are consuming more calories than you are burning off.

 

[RimBlock]

I think i have'nt explained properly.

My diet is ok, my body ain't.
Reason being, my health which has made me careful, or even lazy.

I have now decided i need to execise more, but with care.

Therefore i need an inhouse workout gym.

Ok, I understand your point and what you want but ....

If your diet was scaled back when you stopped the exercising then you would not have gained fat. You must have been eating too many calories for the amount of work you are / were doing. By reducing the calories to maintenance level you put yourself on a strong footing with which to start an exercise routine as any exercise you do will tip you over the number of calories you are eating and so burn fat (with the right conditions).

Now if you are saying you have recently amended your diet to do all mentioned above then how about giving an example. At worst people will make some suggestions that may help. At best you may provide ideas for others.

For exercise, as mentioned, try starting with walking / speed walking / light jogging. Get a base level of fitness under your belt before thinking about lifting weights as lifting will be a shock to the body.

Free weights are usually considered better so a bench and some dumbells and a barbell would be a good start. A squat rack would be great if you have the room / money. A number of people use powerracks which can double as a squat rack and provide more safety for other exercises like a bench press but these are usually more expensive.

Start very light. Have a look at the thread Gordy posted, my thread may give some ideas and I am sure some others will have ideas for you as well.

Grab all the ideas together and get the ok from the Doc before starting. We can only advise but it is your helth (as I am sure you are very well aware).

Oh and expect it to take time. It will not happen quickly so plan for the long haul. My stomach took me 4 years to 'cultivate'. As much as I don't like it, it is going to take me more than 6 months to get rid of .

Regards
RB

 

[moremoney]

From my understanding just simple walking does nothing for you, only speed walking does any good, which is out of the question for me.

This is why i have asked for somthing to use in-house.

My diet has not changed much over the years, when i was younger, what i ate didn't matter.
It only matters now because i am not that active, and i am older without much idea about what foods to eat, and the easy to prepare recipies.

When i was young you didn't eat healthy, you just ate.

 

[RimBlock]

From my understanding just simple walking does nothing for you, only speed walking does any good, which is out of the question for me.

Walking will improve your health and endurance as long as it is a bit more than just down to the shops and back. It can be made more difficult by adding weight by using weight ankle straps and / or wrist straps or having a backpack (daypack) with some weight in it (bags of flour / sugar if not gym weights).

Hill walking is better. Walks through a forest if one is reachable etc would be more interesting. Ups and downs strees the body a bit more. A heart rate monitor may be in order.

This is why i have asked for somthing to use in-house.

Yep. Get free weights if you have the room.

My diet has not changed much over the years, when i was younger, what i ate didn't matter.
It only matters now because i am not that active, and i am older without much idea about what foods to eat, and the easy to prepare recipies.

When i was young you didn't eat healthy, you just ate.

Exactly and that is where we can help. Your body does not need so many calories as it is fine tuned to your relaxed lifestyle. You need to rev up the body and reduce the calories to slowly burn off the fat.

I used to eat a big bar of chocolate for lunch every day when I was 15 and remained very skinny. I have to slap myself whenever the chocolate temptation comes knocking now .

So give us an idea of what you eat, things you like and dislike and we will try to help with suggestions and improvements. We need you to put the first foot forward else we have nothing to work with.

RB

 

[moremoney]

I used to eat a big bar of chocolate for lunch every day when I was 15 and remained very skinny. I have to slap myself whenever the chocolate temptation comes knocking now .


So give us an idea of what you eat, things you like and dislike and we will try to help with suggestions and improvements. We need you to put the first foot forward else we have nothing to work with.

RB

You better come round and slap me.

I'll have to work this one out, but i can tell you i like meat, 2 slices of bread and butter with 5 o'clock meal, and 3-5 bottles of red wine per week.

I can lose weight if i am motivated enough, but i feel that i need to exercise more than just walking.

The trouble is it has to be done at home because i can monitor it better because of my heart disease.

 

[Aedus]

You better come round and slap me.

I'll have to work this one out, but i can tell you i like meat, 2 slices of bread and butter with 5 o'clock meal, and 3-5 bottles of red wine per week.

I can lose weight if i am motivated enough, but i feel that i need to exercise more than just walking.

The trouble is it has to be done at home because i can monitor it better because of my heart disease.

Not as much as you may think, if you diet correctly you can easily shift weight with minimal exercise, because your body uses calories to even sit and watch TV, it's always burning calories to maintain yourself to keep yourself alive. Exercise is a secondary thing for you I feel, when your weight drops it gives your heart less to work for, for the same amount of exercise, which for your own health benefit may be better.

But as all people starting new exercises, before you actually consider them really, go see your GP about it.

We can advise your diet, and you can lose weight from that alone, but if you want to speed up the process you factor in some light exercises like walking which also slowly builds up your fitness, if you don't want to believe us that's fine, but most of us have been through it.

 

[Buffman]

You better come round and slap me.

I'll have to work this one out, but i can tell you i like meat, 2 slices of bread and butter with 5 o'clock meal, and 3-5 bottles of red wine per week.

I can lose weight if i am motivated enough, but i feel that i need to exercise more than just walking.

The trouble is it has to be done at home because i can monitor it better because of my heart disease.

Well first thing you need to do is address diet then if you want to lose weight buy some cardio machines (Rowing machine/treadmill/cross trainer / stepper) Although best bet is to go to a gym and see which one you like most. As for building your upper half, you'd need to spend a fair bit of wonga on a powercage/dumbbells and despite you thinking your lower half is fine, you'd need to work it to see more gains in the upper body.

 

[moremoney]

I have tried a treadmill, i had to stop after 1 min because my blood pressure just kept going up and up and up and up.

But i ain't going to lose weight unless i can do some form of exercise.

 

[Buffman]

I have tried a treadmill, i had to stop after 1 min because my blood pressure just kept going up and up and up and up.

But i ain't going to lose weight unless i can do some form of exercise.

You can lose weight from just diet. Drunkenmaster will be in here to tell you .

 

[moremoney]

You can lose weight from just diet. Drunkenmaster will be in here to tell you .

Good. Get him here now.

 

[kefkef]

As has been said, Diet alone can help you lose the weight. If you struggle to do it yourself then join a group such as weight watchers or slimming world, sounds a bit nancy'ish i know, but my old fella at 57 was 17st at 5ft 7" (basically all the extra weight was a hooooge belly, his old diet consisted of lots of chocolate, full fat fizzy pop, pork pies etc), he did the weight watchers one and dropped to 12st which took him about 1-1.5yrs.

Before exercising with any condition (especially a heart one), as has been said, you really need to get to a doctor first. I would suggest swimming might be a good place to start with though, and it'll get you out of the house.

 

[moremoney]

As has been said, Diet alone can help you lose the weight. If you struggle to do it yourself then join a group such as weight watchers or slimming world, sounds a bit nancy'ish i know, but my old fella at 57 was 17st at 5ft 7" (basically all the extra weight was a hooooge belly, his old diet consisted of lots of chocolate, full fat fizzy pop, pork pies etc), he did the weight watchers one and dropped to 12st which took him about 1-1.5yrs.

Before exercising with any condition (especially a heart one), as has been said, you really need to get to a doctor first. I would suggest swimming might be a good place to start with though, and it'll get you out of the house.

How can i expose myself to the innocent public with my belly getting bigger by the day.

 

[moremoney]

You can lose weight from just diet. Drunkenmaster will be in here to tell you .

What time does he get to the pub.

 

[RimBlock]

How can i expose myself to the innocent public with my belly getting bigger by the day.

How about lunch times or during the day ? Swimming really is very good for you and the water adds a great support. They may have some fitness water classes at the pool and lets face it, most people are there because they are overweight.

I think setting a goal will also help, giving you something to strive for. You could also get the worst picture of you so far or take a couple of shirtless photos now (front and side) and put them in the bathroom or on the fridge as reminders that this is the worst you want to be. Use the photos as reminders everytime you have a craving for bad food or a desire not to go out to exercise.

Diet..... yep please work out a detailed list as it will make advice more accurate. Meat is fine if it is lean meat. White meat is better (chicken / turkey) without skin. Fish is also great and red meat is ok in moderation as long as it is a lean cut. Grill or oven cook (raised slightly up to let fat drip off) rather than frying if possible. Change the bread to wholemeal bread if you haven't already. White bread is full of sugar and other nasties that taste great but pile on the calories. Eggs and tuna are also good (seperatly or together . Read the labels and count the calories you are eating. Aim for a high protein, low carb and good fats diet. Keep to around 2000 calories and weight will slowly come off. Add some exercise and it will come off faster. No to your week point....... 4-5 bottles of wine a week. Ok so 5 bottles over 7 days is 0.7 bottles a day. Red wine averages 500KCals so * 0.7 = approx 357Kcals a day. This is just under the number of calories you would get from drinking a litre of coke every day. It really needs to be cur back if you seriously want to loose weight. How about trying to work back to a bootle a week for now. UK recommendation is 3-4 units / day with a half glass (175ml) of red wine being around 2.3 units depending on strength.

Exercise......
I understand your reluctance to go out for a number of reasons. I went swimming for the first time with my son in 3 months because I am happier with my shape now.......still some way to go though.

You really need to get a base level of fitness going before plowing in to more exercise or as you saw, your BP will sky rocket. Walking will help raise that level of fitness. Climbing stairs will also help but will be much more taxing.

For more motivation look here. Some stunning transformations there from some very overweight guys to very fit people. Note the amount of time for the transformations usually range from 1 year + for big weight loss. Prepair for the long haul but it will be very much worth it in the end. Anyone who made a very large transformation in much less time either were loosing weight outside of the recommended guidelines or were 'chemically' helped and not in a normal supplement way.

You started the ball rolling by posting here so lets keep it going. Post a detailed plan of what you currently eat and also your height and weight would be helpfull.

Cheers
RB