Eliptical Trainers/Machines

Santa brought me one for Christmas and while I love it...

I'm also hating it.

I mean...No one told me I'd feel like I was breathing in fire the first little while.

However, those five pounds I gained during the Holidays have disappeared in the last week too, so... Seriously, I am liking it and the fact it's low impact is big for me w/my joints being what they are. I'm w/out a doubt seeing a difference in my arms after only a week and I'm happy w/that obviously.

I'm doing ten minutes at night and going to leave it at that for now. We'll see what happens after a month.

Anyone else have one?

LOL - I don't believe in home excercise equipment. They usually end up becoming hanging areas for clothing in my house. The only worthwhile home excercise equipment I've ever purchased has been excercise tapes/dvd's and a step. However, I stopped using those regularly quite some time ago.

What works best for me is signing up for a class that I can't blow off because it's only at that particular time of day.

I get what you're saying heyang, but I'm in a very rural area of Canada. Going to a gym or Classes isn't an option for me. Not only that, but w/my knees and now being Type 2 Diabetic, I really do need the at home equipment.

I've had a recumbent stationary bike since the Fall of 2002, which was bought on the recommendation of the Physio I had after the knee scoping that was done earlier that year. I love, love, love it and have lost 40 pounds over the last year thanks to using it more than I had been. However, I'm now at a point where I knew I needed something more and w/the way my joints are, not just my knees, the pounding of a treadmill isn't for me.

Only problem w/the bike now is that the tension's offiicially done. I'm still using it, but have just increased my time on it now that I can't increase the tension for it.

I understand why people feel that at home exercise equipment is nothing more than a clothes hanger, but people also sign up for gyms and then don't follow through w/that too. For both angles, the one over all thing that really matters is the discipline to follow through w/it.

The group I have highlighted in my signature has really been a wonderful thing for me in so many ways. Not only do I have a group of people cheering me on, I also have a goal to work for. Like right now, I'm heading to Minas Tirith w/Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. To get there before the Winter Olympics start is what's got me going right now and then it'll be the next step on the Journey in Lord of the Rings.

Thanks for your post and opinion and good luck to you w/the struggle to keep fit and healthy.

I don't have one but I just joined a gym & have been using the elliptical pretty exclusively. I love it too! I'd intended to run on the treadmill but I like how the elliptical is much less impact. I usually do 20 minutes, sometimes a bit more or a bit less.

I'm doing it for stamina to help w/ skating, and also to lose weight!

Sorry for only getting to this now. It's been a crazy few weeks around here and the computer took a back seat. Anyway...

How are things w/you backspin and your time on the EP at your Gym? I'm now up to fifteen minutes every night on mine. That first try at it seemed to take forever, but I kept saying to myself as the end got closer was, "I *can* do this...I *can* do this...I *can* do this...."

And I did!!

So far...so good!!

I tried one and was out of breath in 2 minutes and nearly fell off the thing.