[REC]

Christine,

Congratulations. If you consider the skier as a way to feel better, rather than "dreaded exercise" it really won't be bad.

I like Millie's idea of just using the arm pieces for the moment. From what I understand, upper arm aerobic exercises are even better for your heart than lower body aerobic exercises. Conductors and scupturers, like Michaelangelo, tend to have longer lifespans than those who didn't exercise their upper body. My violin teacher just died at 101 1/2. Until the end, he played his violin many hours per day.

Enjoy!

[christineu]

I have been thinking about an upper body-cycle too. Since the big ones are only made for rehab/professional use they are very, very expensive. The only thing availible for home use typically are those light weight little peddler things that you can put in front of a chair and use sitting down or up on a table for your arms- they typically sell for abotu $30 and are basicaly peddles on a stand. The problem is that you can't get much resistance going so you can't get much of a work- though it is good for range of motion.

What I have been thinking about is the local Good Will typically sells the old exercise bikes for $5-10. Some of them have better designs then others to convert them to an arm bike- specifically where the peddles are at of course. I am not sure just what will work the best but when I see it I will know it-lol. I really want one that will have resistance going forward and backward- you work muscles differently in each direction. Th eother thing is that the adjustment system for the resistance has to be accessible if I am sitting in a chair behind it- I can't reach but so far. I may even be able to 'rebuild' one to make it more user friendly for me- or I should say I will get my brother in law to rebuild it- I will just supervise

I did find one that might work the other day but the Nordic Track was first on my list of things to get- I may stop in later and see if it is still there- it had really narrow peddles that worked good in my hands. I would probably also mount it permenantly on a table or something fairly solid- I want to be able to really use the resistance and not worry about knocking it off. There is actually a new exercise bike a MC Sporting goods that would work well- the entire bottom part with all the working and all are about 30 inches long and 24 inches high (I would actually worry about tipping it if I used it as a regular bike it was so small)- the only problem was it was way too much $$$$$ for me right now.

Anyone that is thinking about getting an exercise bike really should check out Goodwill and other resale places like that- they have them pretty cheap most of the time and though they may not be a pretty and as sleek some of the older ones where build to last. I would think that even if it was just a 'starter bike' to see if you can stick to a routine for X-weeks and if you did to reward yourself with a spiffy new exercise bike.

So many people use the excuse they don't have the time to belong to a gym or have exercise or the money to have home exercise equipment but with a little creativity and work you can get used bike for $20-30, spend another $20 on hand weights (I love ot use mine when I am on the bike to better utilize my time), maybe buy some exercise cords (theraband in rehab), I even got my aerobic step at Goodwill for $4- a lot better then the $30-40 new (I used it before when they actually let me use real stairs to start with the 4 inch height and move up to real stair heights- I still use it to lay on to do some arm exercises and stretches), grab a couple of videos (tons of them on Ebay and other places for used or the library). Really for $100 or so you could get a lot of basic equipment if you are willing to use pre-owned- and we all know in reality that much of the preowned stuff has little use other then to hang clothes on.

Thanks everyone- I will post about the upper body cycle whenever I actually can find the bike to make it out of.

Christine

[MrsJim]

It sounds like you're referring to the Schwinn Airdyne. Those came out in (I believe) the late 70's/early 80's and were Schwinn's biggest seller for many years - kept them in business when their bike sales dropped before they filed for bankruptcy in the 90's.

If you check Schwinn's website www.schwinn.com you may see a photo of an Airdyne on the "fitness" part of the site - they sold kajillions of those babies and you shouldn't have any problem finding one used at a good price!

FYI - Schwinn was bought after their BK and has regained much of their former lustre - and of course has really done well in the fitness department with the "Spinning" bikes and related products...the company makes a pretty decent product as far as outdoor bikes go as well (their quality really fell off in the 20 years prior to filing BK).

[christineu]

Mrs Jim~

I know the Schwinn Aerodynes bikes very well- spent many hours on them in physical therapy over the years. I even had a cheaper knock off one that my mom has now- it was one of the many peices of exercise equipment that really irritated my knee- something about the angle between the seat and the peddles no matter how I adjusted the seat.

What I am thinking about now is actually an upper body cycle- in physical therepy they sometimes call them upper body ergonamers too. You actualy peddle around with your arms in a full circle instead of just back and forth like the Aerodyne does. By peddleing you get more muscles working so you can get more of a workout.

[MrsJim]

there's one at the 24 Hr Fitness that I go to. Maybe I should give it a whirl sometime - no one else seems to use it (probably because of the lack of directions on the machine!)

Take care!

[christineu]

Mrs Jim-

I would give it a try- it would add varriety to your workout and I bet it would be good to warm up on before an upper body workout on the machines. I know the ones at physical therapy typically go foward and backwards so you do each half of the time.

I have been looking at my Nordic Track just counting down until I can use it- probably not until the middle of April ...........I want to use it so bad. I still can't believe after all I have been through with my knee that I was finally going to be able to workout again- I haven't been able to do much for over a year, and even before that I so much pain and problems with my kneecap dislocating that I couldn't do much either- but after everything I have to break my foot!

How long has it taken you to lose your weight?- You started about where I did though I have lost a lot in the last year, even with 3 major knee sugeries and not a lot of exercise- typically all I have been able to do it 15 minutes of light bike work a few times per week, my leg rehab exercises, and using hand weights for upper body while sitting down. I do use my pilates when I am able and I did water aerobics for a while too- I know it is better then nothing but not as much as what I have wanted to do.

Christine