A Discussion on Home Cardio Kit

What is the best type of home equipment to help you do regular Aerobic (Cardio-Vascular) exercise?

 If you are not on a too tight a budget then what type of home equipment is best suited to help you do your required Cardio Exercise?

Well, this will depend to a degree upon your own personal preferences, but there are a few pieces of equipment that tend to lead the popularity stakes which all have slightly different characteristics, but which will basically do the same job (i.e. elevate your heart rate).

These are:

• Treadmills
• Elliptical Cross Trainers
• Steppers
• Rowing Machines
• Upright Exercise Bikes
• Recumbent (or Semi-Recumbent) Exercise Bikes

One distinction between these various types of kit that ought to be mentioned in particular is that the Exercise Bikes (especially the Recumbent or Semi-Recumbent types)and Rowing Machines are generally considered to be non weight bearing, whilst the others are not. This is of particular importance to anyone who suffers from either joint or back problems of any sort, when using non weight bearing equipment is highly advisable.

Of all these types of kit the Elliptical Trainers and the Rowing Machines are considered by many to give more of a "full body" work-out, with more muscle groups coming into play in using such equipment, however some people also feel that this should be addressed by the resistance training element of the program and not necessarily by the Cardio work-out.

My own take on this whole issue is that one should choose the type of kit that you feel most comfortable with (or least uncomfortable with!) and it may be worth going to a "try out" session at a gym to check out your preferences. (Alternatively you could go to a fitness equipment store and try out some of the stuff in the showroom, although you will generally get better purchase deals by shopping online).

I have basically always disliked exercise (although I think this was accentuated by being overweight in the past) and found it to be rather boring and tedious. My approach therefore was to go for the least physically challenging option that also allowed the use of some sensory distraction (in terms of audio or audio-visual entertainment). By combining this criteria with the need for the equipment to be non weight bearing (I have problem knees and back!) I came up with my ideal piece of kit which was a combination recumbent cycle and rowing machine.

I can use this flexibly at home (it also folds up so as to take less space) and I have found it to be the least unpleasant way to do regular cardio exercise. I can listen to music or watch TV whilst exercising and it is really quite a "civilised" process.

Whilst the above, describes my particular preference I am aware that many others prefer different solutions and a number of people that I know especially like the elliptical cross trainers.

Of course you will find all these types of equipment available for use in your local gym but to only have access to cardio kit at the gym can make getting regular aerobic exercise difficult. If you want to be able to exercise flexibly - when you want and for how long you want - (as well as making use of any "entertainment" facilities whilst exercising)-then having some sort of home solution is highly advantageous.

When starting out with a cardio program I personally think it essential to use a heart rate monitor so that you can properly regulate the length and intensity of the exercise in line with your level of fitness and weight loss objectives. Some pieces of equipment come complete with heart rate measurement devices of varying sorts. However I think that the most effective and reliable ones are the Chest Belt type and it may be worth considering getting one of these if your chosen cardio kit does not come with this (or is only supplied with the hand contact sensor type).

Combo Exercise Bike & Rower

Stamina Conversion II Recumbent Bike/Rower
Two Exercise Machines in One

***This is my preferred piece of kit*** (see picture)

This is the exact piece of equipment that I have used to do my cardio at home -and it is brilliant! I would never have thought that taking aerobic exercise could be so civilised. This equipment is very flexible and allows you to "spread" your cardio work outs across a good range of muscle groups. The recumbent bike alows you to start very gently at the begining of your program and gradually increase your rate of activity. I have found this kit to be very reliable and I have now clocked up hundreds of hours (& probably thousands of miles!) with no problems at all. It is very compact and folds into an upright position when not in use and so takes up very little space. I would highly recommend this item from personal experience.  (Note: This kit only has a hand sensor heart rate monitor which isn't so accurate, so a chest belt monitor is worth considering if you get this).