Exercise Equipment at home

ScotsLass78
ScotsLass78 Posts: 248 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm thinking about buying an exercise bike or elliptical machine to use at home - but I'm not sure which would be best, or if a bike/elliptical mix would be better?

I don't have a massive budget (I'm in the UK) or lots of space. I've had a look and found a few options, but before I go and buy a piece of equipment, I just wanted to hear from people who have machines at home. Have you found it worth the expense?

Currently the only exercise I do is walking (approx 10-12k steps a day) so I'd like to now add something else into the mix that I can do at home.

I have tried a few exercise videos but I get bored of them quite quickly. I used to love the bike at the gym (I used to like doing this and reading/watching TV at the same time) but I can't join a gym at the moment, so I thought this could be the next best thing?

Any ideas/suggestions are most welcome! :)

Thanks
Sharon

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Beware that most at home exercise equipment become a dust collector or clothes horse after the initial enthusiasm has worn off.

    Years ago I bought a combined exercise bike and elliptical - in reality it wasn't really any good for either.
    Personally I would only consider a gym standard piece of equipment, most budget stuff aimed at home use is pretty poor quality. I would go for a second-hand quality piece of kit rather than brand new and poor quality. Look on Gumtree or eBay perhaps?

    My suggestion though would be an outdoors bike and a turbo trainer to convert it to home use when you can't get outside.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    Echoing the above. Outdoor bike + trainer.
  • smile_laughter
    smile_laughter Posts: 3,682 Member
    I love my treadmill. I've had it for 2 yrs and still use it. If you loved the bike at the gym, I say get that. As previous person said, most items collect dust. This hasn't been the case for me, though. Purchase what you know you will use. Do you have any dumbbells?
  • janettles
    janettles Posts: 69 Member
    edited September 2016
    Since you mentioned a budget, I'll share my inexpensive indoor cycle. It is about $150 US dollars or about 113 British pounds. It is a folding unit, taking up little space, and entirely silent in operation. I can ride it during a TV football game and not irritate my husband :smile:
    I ordered mine from Amazon and assembled the parts myself.
    https://amazon.com/Exerpeutic-Folding-Magnetic-Upright-Pulse/dp/B007595TKU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473689018&sr=8-1&keywords=exercycle
  • ScotsLass78
    ScotsLass78 Posts: 248 Member
    @sijomial - Thanks....I wouldn't use a bike outdoors (I had a bad crash years ago and I'm too nervous on roads now) so I don't think that would be worth paying for, but I think you're correct in that it's better to pay for a quality item rather than a poor, cheaper one so I think looking at a second hand machine is a good option.

    I've not bought anything before as I don't want it to be up being somewhere extra to hang clothes so I'm also thinking about hiring a machine for 2-3 months and see how much I use it.

    @smile_laughter - I think a bike is probably the best option for me, as I think this is the one I'd use the most, so probably best to get a better quality bike than a mixed trainer. I've not got any dumbells, but I was thinking about getting these too as I've been using bottles of water as little weights, but I probably need to get something a bit heavier now :)




  • ScotsLass78
    ScotsLass78 Posts: 248 Member
    @janettles - thank you! Yes, I'm looking for something that is small and silent so I can use it and not be in the way :)

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