# Exercise machines



## Anne (Jun 12, 2013)

I can't quite figure how this thing would work; how would this work??  http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?PIN=158179&EID=WT69&SC=WT691000&

Maybe I'm slow, but it just seems to me that a lot of exercises could be done just as well without the machines......

We do have the Jillian Michaels BodyGym, and like it; I haven't seen much improvement, but do feel better when I use it, for what that's worth.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 12, 2013)

Here's a video of the machine in use - it might help you figure out if it's something you'd be interested in.


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## That Guy (Jun 12, 2013)

When the gym I belonged to became overrun and just too damned crowded, I bought a Total Gym and love it.  My only complaint is that Christie Brinkley didn't deliver it personally . . . !


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## SifuPhil (Jun 12, 2013)

And the results of years of Total Gym use on Ms. Brinkley ...


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## Anne (Jun 12, 2013)

SifuPhil said:


> Here's a video of the machine in use - it might help you figure out if it's something you'd be interested in.



 Thanks Phil, but.....    :rofl:     :rofl:     I kinda think one could accomplish that without spending the money....


That Guy, the Total Gym looks like it would give a pretty good workout.   Looks like Ms. Brinkley added some steroids to 'her' workout, there....


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## That Guy (Jun 12, 2013)

Anne said:


> That Guy, the Total Gym looks like it would give a pretty good workout.   Looks like Ms. Brinkley added some steroids to 'her' workout, there....



The Total Gym is terrific but Phil's treatment of Christie will give me nightmares for years to come . . .


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## SifuPhil (Jun 13, 2013)

Anne said:


> Thanks Phil, but.....    :rofl:     :rofl:     I kinda think one could accomplish that without spending the money....



Yeah, that's pretty much my take on most of these machines, whether home or gym-based.

There's a series of exercises called *Convict Conditioning*, based upon the premise that if you are in jail you only have your own body-weight to work with. Lots of crunches, push-ups and such, totally effective and a strong workout to boot. 

The best workout for anyone is a _functional_ one; in other words, you get your exercise doing what you normally do. Farmers have a Farmer's Workout; runners run; weight-lifters lift weights. My workouts were always centered on martial arts movements, which made sense since that's what I did most of the time.

But we're hypnotized by seeing a toned, sexy body working-out on the latest plastic gizmo, we believe the marketing hype and we rush to give our credit card number to the operator standing-by. Usually, a few weeks later the gizmo is gathering dust in the garage. 

There's no machine that will do the work FOR you, and as for making it _easier_? Why would you WANT it to be easier? You don't get results from "easy", only from "hard". There ARE no short-cuts, no magic bullets, no matter WHAT the Madison Avenue folk tell us.



			
				That Guy said:
			
		

> The Total Gym is terrific but Phil's treatment of Christie will give me nightmares for years to come . . .



You're welcome. layful:


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## Anne (Jun 13, 2013)

You're spot-on with that, Phil.  Hubby & I were talking about getting in shape..he grew up on a farm, and it was work every day, all day, except Sunday, of course.  Everyone had to pitch in, you don't help, you don't eat.....  No barn cleaners, milking machines, etc.

as for the women, there was baking bread, doing laundry, scrubbing floors, gardening....all of it was work, few machines to make it easy.    Progress has its price, and now were paying for it.  No wonder they say Americans are spoiled and lazy.  I try to emphasize this with my grandchildren, but I suppose that is like saying, "I walked 3 miles to school in knee- deep snow" , etc.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 13, 2013)

Anne said:


> You're spot-on with that, Phil.  Hubby & I were talking about getting in shape..he grew up on a farm, and it was work every day, all day, except Sunday, of course.  Everyone had to pitch in, you don't help, you don't eat.....  No barn cleaners, milking machines, etc.
> 
> as for the women, there was baking bread, doing laundry, scrubbing floors, gardening....all of it was work, few machines to make it easy.    Progress has its price, and now were paying for it.  No wonder they say Americans are spoiled and lazy.  I try to emphasize this with my grandchildren, but I suppose that is like saying, "I walked 3 miles to school in knee- deep snow" , etc.



Yeah, kids now (well, to be fair, I guess, _every_ new generation) have it both easier and harder: easier as far as new gizmos to reduce their work-load, but harder in that they're getting farther away from a simple, nature-based lifestyle with its own built-in exercise system.


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## Happyflowerlady (Jun 14, 2013)

I looked at that three minute legs video, and I am pretty sure that I would just lose my balance and end up on the floor, so I will save my money on that one, too.
I did find a Gazelle on Craiglsist for $20, and I use that when the weather is not good for being outside, and I just really like it. 
I can stand on it, and don't have to lift up my feet, or bend my knees,( which do not bend well anymore), and when I put some good music on, it is great to get my exercise that way.
I do prefer to just be outside, working in my garden, or maybe weed eating, or something that needs doing out there, but some days are just either too hot, too cold, or just plain rainy, so then I have plan B.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 14, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> I knew there was a reason I'm still mucking stalls.



LOL!

But the repetitive nature of shoveling manure works the very muscles needed for the task, you've no doubt by now developed the "core" necessary for the task and so you've found the perfect exercise! 

At least it's a lot more useful than kicking people in the pills and breaking their elbows!


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## Anne (Jun 14, 2013)

That's another thing about exercise and the machines - it's repetitive, which bores me silly, and I'm not apt to keep it up for long.   When you're working, you can see right away what results you're getting, even if you have to do it again the next day.

Guess sometimes we're more  kind to animals than ourselves, and if they need care, we just do it.   Not so easy with ourselves....


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