Of course my Y is closed. No pool. My husband and I walk 2 x a day. Plus I use you tube if I can’t go out. I miss my friends but am calling people to check on them. How is everyone doing. Nancy50
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Up until recently, my workouts were 4 to 5 times per week, varied across rowing machine, cross country ski erg, spin bike, or elliptical. My regular gym, and its entire system, has closed, as has our condo system. Additionally, I do some long, intense walks once or twice a week, on weekends.
I tried walking intensely, and last night was pretty good, interspersing some stair running and inclines, but I know I couldn’t endure taht for 2 months, so we bought a rowing machine. I’ve owned them before, one I bought from a university decades ago, as well as other machines, but these are my favorite (below). We live in Manhattan and have a 1 BR, so space is limited, but we can tolerate it for the duration, after which I expect to resell it. The long weekend walking will continue, local restrictions allowing…
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Working, where I walk a lot, and walking sometimes.
Large home repair projects can be good exercise. I have stripped a 600 SF room down to the studs and subfloor in prep for a remodel. (Now I have to wait for this to end to get up the nerve to walk the aisles at Home Depot and buy supplies to rebuild it.) Landscaping projects can also be great exercise…those are next for me.
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John58, I wish our snow was gone, I love working outside. Spring isn’t here yet. Nancy50
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Your snow isn’t gone, Nancy50? Ours is. I’ve been walking the dog outside. I see lots of people out working on the house, like @John58.
That has quite the price tag!
We’re in a 1 bedroom in a city too. I usually go swimming 2-3 times a week and long hikes on some weekends.
I did yoga yesterday, and I think I’ll do that regularly for the foreseeable future. I’ve done it before, but I’m definitely just a beginner. I like how it relieves tension, but I didn’t get my heart rate up like other forms of exercise would.
I’ve used rowing machines, and it does sound like something I might enjoy over the next couple of months. However, I’m not up for that price tag. Is there another machine that you’ve liked in the past that is cheaper? You’ve clearly rowed more than me, so I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
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I live in Maine, so spring comes in about 3-4 weeks. We can easily walk around our block. Rarely meeting anyone. Nancy50
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I also belong to the Equinox system, which is pricey, but I joined because it maintained its rowing machines, unlike the prior club system that was half the price. Although I don’t think of it in these terms, my spouse justifies the expense because my health is of paramount importance.
For the workouts that I enjoy, there is nothing better than rowing, other than maybe cross country skiing. After 30 +years of fitness, across a wide range of activities, activities that don’t put my whole body to work are unsatisfying. I was certified as a personal trainer in the early 90’s, ran recreationally/competitively on the road and in orienteering, as well as rowed for 6 years out of a club in Princeton. I have kept the rowing habit up for 25 years afterward, although intermingled with periods of other activities. I know I love rowing.
Regarding your heart rate, for me, it actually raises my heart rate higher than the level of muscular exertion, since 80% my muscles are working at 50%, it forces my heart to work at 80% to satisfy all the muscular work. If you are getting less out of it, It is in how you row, what the damper (resistance setting) is set at, the length, technique, and intensity. On the other hand, maybe you are just enormously talented.
As for buying, I would never suggest buying one to try, regardless of the expense, although the Model D is hundreds of dollars less expensive, and is in fact, the one that competitive rowers train and test on. It is also the one in most gyms - you can try it first - , it is easier to resell if you decide against keeping it, and it is easier to use, requiring somewhat less agility and/or good technique. For me, 6 months of use of the Dynamic pays for a year of Equinox, so long term it could be a bargain, even if it is pricey up front.
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I try to walk every day at a moderate pace. I live with a service dog and that means I need to take him out a few times a day to relieve and that encourages me to extend that time out to walk. I probably average about 1-2 miles per day.
My dog is 11 and he doesn’t want to walk as fast as we have in the past, so I compromise and think about the other benefits of being outside and enjoying the budding trees as spring unfolds.
I’ve read that walking also promotes good mental health since the very act of alternating from the left foot to the right foot also moves the brain from one hemisphere to the other.
Last year, I bought a rebounder (mini-trampoline) and used it extensively for the first six months or so. I backed off some in recent months as I started to spend more time going to the gym to use a sauna. I suspended my gym membership recently as this pandemic spread and I’m now re-establishing my daily rebounder habit.
Here’s the post I made about it last summer.
I had to drop my physical therapy sessions for my plantar fasciitis due to this virus outbreak, so I try to do my therapy exercises that address strength and flexibility.
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Walking, and not just for exercise can be great, and this article explores the mental health aspect:
And this to appreciate art, although it could just as easily be nature:
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I am lucky to be in Arizona and can walk around the neighborhood or hike in the desert. My fitness class was held outside for a few days but now everything at our community clubhouse is closed. But quite wonderfully the golf course is still open. You can walk or ride in your own cart and they have removed anything that would be commonly touched such as rakes in the sand traps. Even the holes of the green are shallow so you can remove your ball without touching the hole or the flagstick.
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Ah well, we need something right now. Can’t really try it out at the gym at the moment unfortunately.
I understand lots of people are enjoying the outdoors right now, but there are a lot of enclosed spaces between our apartment and the complex front door. I’m addition, we live in a residential part of the city with small sidewalks. It is a struggle to maintain 6 ft of distance while running/walking outside. I also have a minor knee injury and am trying to limit the amount of high impact exercise, per my doctor’s instructions. Swimming was perfect for this, but requires a gym. I consider running and walking outside to be high risk activities in my area right now. Despite all of the measures in place in Italy, people are still contracting the virus and dying in high numbers.
That rowing machine may be too much of an investment for us right now. It was helpful to hear your opinions given your experience, and again, I appreciate your recommendations. The full body workout of the rower is very appealing to me since swimming provides me with a similar full body experience
We’re thinking of going with a cheaper version equal to about two months of our gym membership. It looks like it might be a better fit for people new to rowing.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07J2LR5C1/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b__o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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When I search, I sort by average customer review, and there are a few that are less expensive, but have higher ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rowing+machine&s=review-rank&qid=1584813166&ref=sr_st_review-rank
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My husband ordered a rowing machine from Amazon for about $220.00. He used it for the first time today and is quite happy with it.
My new exercise bike should be here by the end of the week. Meanwhile, I have been walking quickly around and around the main floor of the house.
Now that I am mostly over my cold, I will start walking outside again.
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We live in a large condo complex, 4 buildings, 21 floors each, 1100 units, and I’ll be waiting until late next week to get my machine, and ran across this, and thought it would be useful, in my case someone with lots of stairs. It’s a mixture of stair walking, running and calisthenics:
Which one?
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I just bought and received one of these.
https://www.cubii.com/products/cubii-pro
(I found it for $50 cheaper on Amazon, so ordered it there.)
I wasn’t sure how well it would work, but I’ve been thinking of buying one of these types of devices for a year or so. I’m in a tiny studio apartment and there is no room for anything much larger unless I were to remove a piece of furniture.
I like that this device syncs strides with my Fitbit. I used it for about half an hour today and my heart rate was steadily around 120-125 or so (I had it on resistance 7 out of 8 possible resistance settings). So not an intense workout, but definitely better than nothing, and I could have made it more intense by sitting up straight and working my core (I’ve heard of people sitting on an exercise ball while doing this to make it more intense). I think it will be useful even after this pandemic has passed.
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I lost my elliptical because my husband is quarantined in the master bedroom with it. We have resistance bands, weights, and other things, but that was the only cardio equipment in the house. I have have an old mini-stair stepper I could knock the dust off of, I guess. I always thought the cardio was important for heading off my sugar spikes, though. I’m not sure I can achieve the same results without the elliptical.
The rowing machine which my husband purchased is the SPM Magnetic Rowing Machine SF-RW5801
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