Training & Nutrition - Best exercise bang for the buck?

I am currently getting my ride a Specialized Expedition but I know I won't want to ride during the Ohio winters, so I'm looking for the best indoors substitute. I want to do 30 minutes/day cardio/weight loss exercise. I'm considering a trainer for my bike, a recumbent exercise bike, or an eliptical exercise machine. I've used the recumbent and the eliptical at the Y last winter, but have not been on a trainer yet.

With an operating budget of $500, what's my best choice?

swimming.

I won't argue that - I did a good bit of swimming when I went to the Y last year. I soon found it boring and I just can't get to the Y more than a couple times a week, even though I'm retired (I take care of a disabled spouse and can't get away too often for any length of time).

I use a Concept2 (http://www.concept2.com/) rowing ergometer, they work off wind resistance. I have a model B, they are now on D. I bought it for $500.00 used at Play It Again Sports. I like the all around workout it gives me. If you do a little searching, locally or on ebay I am sure you can come up with one for your budget. It is not for everyone, see if you can try one out at a gym if you have never used one. Most YMCA's should have them. Good luck with finding a new exercise that you can enjoy.

Now might be a good time to find a good deal on a model C since the D is fairly new.

30 minutes a day WAS the least amount of exercise recommended by the American College of Exercise (ACE) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

That recommendation was recently increased to one hour per day. People just weren't getting enough exercise on 30 minutes to maintain decent fitness! Somehow, you're going to have to increase the amount of time you work out- even if you do 30 minutes in the morning and 30 more minutes in the evening. Otherwise, your fitness will go waaaaaaaaay down- and when spring comes and you get back out there, you may be so far behind that you'll be struggling to get to the level of fitness you should have been at had you done that hour of exercise per day during the winter.

Having said that, I'd join a local gym and find some spinning classes. Or if you are not a gym rat and don't want to deal with the inevitable "New Year's Resolution" crowd, invest in a good fluid trainer- at least with a trainer, you're not dictated by time constraints and crowds like at the gyms, and quite frankly, some of those spinning instructors can be teeth-grindingly, god-aweful. :-/

Koffee

Radioflyer, I was considering exactly those three choices for exactly the same reason (MN winter).

If you come up with a good answer, I'd be interested if you posted it here.

I have heard that the time to buy is now, before the inevitable winter rush.

Hi,
I just got a Kurt Kinetics trainer. I like it. Let you know how the winter went come spring.

Originally posted by RacerX
swimming.

I'll second or third swimming. If you did or could swim 30 minutes straight every day you'd have excellent overall fitness.

Having a pool available for $2.00 an hour coupled with an initial investment of less then $50.00 in gear would get you over 200 hours of exercise a year on your $500.00 budget.

Check out some winter cycling advice at icebike.com.
Can you do XC skiing?

I need to limit my time away from home on this. I've found it real easy to burn a couple of hours going to the Y, working out, swimming, showering, and coming home.

I'm looking for something I can do in the basement for 1/2 - 1 hr every day (or a 1/2 hr a couple of times a day) while keeping an eye on the situation here.

Cool- I feel you. Then get the trainer and set up your basement with a television. 500 bucks will buy you a pretty nice trainer, and with the leftover money, you can get Tour de France videos and Spinnerval videos to work out with.

Don't forget, if you want to keep up your fitness, you will need to do an hour a day, 5- 6 days a week. If you want to keep up your endurance too, it's better if you can find the time to do the full hour at one time, rather than break it up into half hour intervals, but if you want to work on keeping your weight under control, then breaking it up into half hour intervals is better than nothing (along with keeping control of your diet).

Koffee

Cool- I feel you. Then get the trainer and set up your basement with a television. 500 bucks will buy you a pretty nice trainer, and with the leftover money, you can get Tour de France videos and Spinnerval videos to work out with.



This is what i am starting to do right now.
I have a new TV and cable bought. I have a weight bench, and some free weights, some new carpet pieces, swiss ball.
No trainer yet though. Why the recommendation for a trainer over rollers?
I was thinking of going for rollers with the resistance fan.

Heres my plans for next year: www.endlesspool.com

FXjohn

How much wear and tear does a trainer put on a bike? Any more/less than road riding?

Just on the tire I think.

You will probably want to get a smooth tire, I cant tell if thats a mountain bike or not from the model. Specialized is a pretty good bike though I think.

FXjohn

How about a set of rollers? They will help you work on you're balance.. spinning and following a straight line while riding on it. And they don't put the stress on you're bike like a regular trainer. I admit rollers are not for everyone though, Kreitler makes some of the best rollers out their but they are expensive.

Kev,
I am new to this; in what ways do rollers put less stress on a bike than a trainer?

On a trainer you're real mounts directly to you're trainer and does not let it move at all. So when you pedal you are forcing the bike right and left while riding the wheels absorb alot of this force. But when in a trainer you're rear triangle and the BB absorb this force. So puts alot more stress on the frame then normal riding. While a roller you are still on both wheels so they still absorb this force. YOu can get a fork mount for most rollers so you can use it like a regular trainer if you want. So you get alot more options open to you.

I can just see me tooling along on a set of rollers when something goes amiss and I go flying across the basement and hit the wall on the oposite side! ;-)

You have about as much chance of that happening on a trainer. If you happen to turn the wheel and slide off the rollers you will move maybe 1-2 feet. Since you are all of a sudden hitting the ground and tries to force you to go forward and you have no momentum so stop pretty quickly. At first it does take a bit of practice but after 2-3 times you have it down pretty good.

A few manufactures do not warranty their frames when used on trainer, so you might want to check into that.

Originally posted by radioflier
How much wear and tear does a trainer put on a bike? Any more/less than road riding?

Trainers do not put much wear and tear on a bike. You see most of the wear is on the chain, chain rings, rear cogs and most of that comes from dirt that gets on the chain and acts as an abrasive. Not a lot of dirt in your exercise room. If you worry about such things, clean and lube the drive train about once per month.

Also, how much shifting are you going to do on the trainer? Also, I bet you won't have to use your brakes at all.

I have had trainers that do put wear on the rear tire. But trainers that use a take off on the rim don't wear the tires.

Problem with trainers is BOREDOM. I can go out and put hours in on the bike on the roads. I can always find someplace to ride and gawk at. Plus the antics of the local drivers adds a little drama. I find it difficult to do an hour on a trainer.

Underwater hockey season just started in Madison, Wisconsin.:D

It is one heck of a work out for an hour once or twice a week. Otherwise, I swim and also do the treadmill at the Y. I don't run on the treadmill because of knee trouble, an old skiing accident, but put it on max incline and walk on it instead. I can get my H.R. up to 85% and keep it there without a problem. My normal routine is 4 minutes @80% followed by 1 minute @90% for 45 minutes.

I have had trainers in the past and broke an axel on my bike one time. I now have a set of rollers that work out pretty well. They make you work on your balance and you need to pay attention while your on them. The problem, as others have already stated, is that they get to be pretty boring.

Jon