Product Advice

christinemadden0223

Happy New Year everyone! I'm thinking about treating myself to some new fitness/weight loss toys and wanted to know a) if anyone has tried them and your reviews and b) if you have any other products you swear by...

The ones I am interested in currently are:
1. Fitbit
2. Those Brazilian Butt-lift videos
3. Workout music apps (preferably free?)
4. Food processor/juicer

I currently have a polar heart rate monitor that counts calories and I love it, but the fitbit sounds cool with the sleep and step tracker. I have Pandora but I find myself maxing out my skips (maybe I should just pay for it haha) and a blender that works for shakes- are the above mentioned worth it? And what else is a gem?

MoreBean13

I just got a fitbit one and it's pretty cool. No word yet on how effective it will be, but it sure is nifty.

My favorite music app is Spotify, but you do have to pay for it. 8Tracks is a good free one.

DiamondRubyMom

I have a fitbit. It helps to motivate me to move more. It's not that accurate when I do cardio. I use my polar HRM to get a more accurate number. It also doesn't seem to be accurate when carrying things.

Azexas

I got a Fitbit Flex for Christmas and I love it. So far it's fairly accurate and the tracking of sleep is pretty neat. I also have the Aria scale and it's also pretty impressive. Automatically updates to my Fitbit account via wifi.

MY best friend does the butt lift DVDs and says they are a good work out- but I only have her word on it. I haven't tried it.

Pandora- Heavy Metal strength training station is my go to for workout music.

AHASRADA

I have a Fitbit and absolutely love it. It has been extremely motivating for me to get up every couple of hours and log some steps. I used to work out in the AM and that was it; sedentary most of the rest of the day. Now I take a 20 min. walk after both lunch and dinner, and am conscious of how long I have been sitting and make a point of moving around more so I can make my targets.

I do wear my HRM for workouts and override Fitbit calories for that time. This combo has been extremely accurate. I figured out how many calories Fitbit thinks I am burning at rest (sitting or sleeping) and subtract that amount from my goal for the hours I will be in bed until midnight. This is my target to hit before bed. For example, Fitbit says I burn 50 calories per hour at rest (BMR), and I go to bed at 9pm. My daily burn goal is 2150 cals, and I will burn 150 cals. from 9pm-midnight while lying down. So, my target is to burn 2000 cals by 9pm. I hop on my treadmill between 8 and 8:30 and walk until I hit 2000 cals, and also 10k steps and 5 miles. If any of those are not reached I keep walking. Very motivating and helps me meet my goals.

You just have to decide if you want an on-body device like the Zip or One that you wear on your belt or bra, or a wrist model like the Flex or Force. You can compare them on the website. I have the on body and find it very discreet and accurate.

If I were choosing between and food processor and a juicer, the processor would win hands down. The juicer can only be used for juice (or soup I guess), but it removes all the fiber from the fruits and vegetables, so you're losing a lot of good stuff. The food processor uses everything and can still liquify, but can also chop, grate, etc. It is extremely useful for all types of foods and recipes.

Good luck deciding!

jonnythan

IMO, the Fitbit is worth its weight in gold. It's extraordinarily motivating and surprisingly accurate.

Workout videos.. meh. For music, you could try Songza or Pandora.

Not a fan of juicing. The Nutribullet is a pretty impressive personal blender. Very powerful.

christinemadden0223

Thanks all! I'm seriously considering a fitbit flex.
I am definitely going to try the heavy metal strength training radio on pandora tonight- pretty excited!
As far as the DVDs I'll probably just stick to lunges and squats at the gym- just gets a little boring- need ideas for new variations.
And every cool recipe calls for a food processor, so I may HAVE to get one (and probably not use it as often as I say I will...)

Ervie317

Weighted stepups or one legged lunges might be something to try for variety. Aslo, the stairclimber is a good option. I have a a love hate relationship with it.

jonnythan

I recommend against the Flex. I've seen rather mixed results with it. I don't think that the wrist is a very good place from which to measure and estimate body movement. I strongly recommend the One instead (especially since the One has a display and counts elevation/stairs).

roniredd

Love my fitbit! Really helps to motivate me.
I actually have the nutribullet and a juicer. I used both a lot, but haven't in awhile. I think the novelty wore off, plus I just like "eating" too much!

jonnythan

Also, lunges and squats get boring because there's no real progression. You're not training for any kind of particular goal. That's boring by nature. Start to incorporate strength training, and your goal can will be adding more weight to the bar. Look up Stronglifts. There's a ton of info about it on MFP, and even a women's Stronglifts group.

jonnythan

Love my fitbit! Really helps to motivate me.
I actually have the nutribullet and a juicer. I used both a lot, but haven't in awhile. I think the novelty wore off, plus I just like "eating" too much!

Yeah there's nothing really special about juicers or blenders. I think juicers are silly because they remove a lot of the roughage and fiber from stuff, which is very healthy and helps keep you full. The blenders are great though; they make it way easy to consume fruits and veggies if you don't like eating them whole. I usually drink some protein powder once or twice a day, but sometimes like blending it with some fruit for a nice smoothie. This morning for breakfast I put some milk, a can of peaches, and scoop of protein into the blender for breakfast. Yum.

christinemadden0223

Haha I lift heavy already- the squats and lunges are always with a barbell and weight. I like the progression, but I feel like I get bored and don't vary enough. My routine is always the same. Unfortunately my gym does not have a stair machine (boooooooo). I have done weighted step ups and like them- I like to do one legged squats either weighted from the bench or no weight "shoot the duck" style hanging on to a chest high bar. I also LOVE deadlifts. I want to get some variation in the part of the muscle worked which is why I think that Brazillian butt lift thing intrigues me- all my motions are front and back- I would just vary lifts (add side raise?) on a cable machine but my gym doesn't have ankle straps (again- booooo) I like how the videos incorporate different muscles in the booty! That, and I generally do a chest/tricep day, a back/bicep day, a cardio/light shoulder day and a leg day and want to add another leg day without doin the same ol same ol.

I haven't eaten lunch yet and a peach protein smoothie sounds delicious!

christinemadden0223

IMO, the Fitbit is worth its weight in gold. It's extraordinarily motivating and surprisingly accurate.

Workout videos.. meh. For music, you could try Songza or Pandora.

Not a fan of juicing. The Nutribullet is a pretty impressive personal blender. Very powerful.

Do you think the nutribullet would work similar to a food processor as far and blending/liquifying solids? Many recipes I want to try call for processing things like nuts, oats, prunes, apples...

jonnythan

Actually never heard of doing lunges with a barbell. Do you continually increase the weight on the bar? How much are you lifting now?

jonnythan

IMO, the Fitbit is worth its weight in gold. It's extraordinarily motivating and surprisingly accurate.

Workout videos.. meh. For music, you could try Songza or Pandora.

Not a fan of juicing. The Nutribullet is a pretty impressive personal blender. Very powerful.

Do you think the nutribullet would work similar to a food processor as far and blending/liquifying solids? Many recipes I want to try call for processing things like nuts, oats, prunes, apples...

The Nutribullet comes with one food processor-style blade meant for solids such as nuts and oats, and another blade meant for liquifying things. It seems to handle grapes, spinach, and carrots just fine so I can't imagine prunes and apples would present a problem.

christinemadden0223

The more I write on this subject the more I wish I had the money to go to a new gym lol but my gym has smith machines ( the bar is 45) and I started with one 25lb weight on each side and am up to a 45lb weight on each side (about 8 reps- 3-4 sets). The "short barbells" look like curl bars with no curve to them. I use the 40lb bar and usually do 2-3 sets of 12 walking lunges. Instead of upping my weight on these I try for perfect posture/form and more reps/sets

lindsyrox

RockMyRun is an amazing music service for exercise! There is a website as well as a free app and all mixes under either 30 or 40 minutes are free! So if you typically run for 30 mins at a time then you're golden. I actually broke down and paid for a subscription so I could get 2 hour mixes for running half marathons. When you pay for the music you actually download it and you get to keep it. YOu can search to find mixes w/ the types of music you like (country, house, rap, rock, pop, etc) you can search by beats per minute too. When you click on a mix it even lists EVERY song included in the mix and you can sample it before you decide to download/use your credit to buy it. What really sets it apart is the mixes are for running, they're upbeat, consistant, no lags between songs, no love ballad in the middle to screw you up. LOVE it. And like I said you can get the free app and listen to the shorter mixes for free so nothing to lose if you hate it.

christinemadden0223

The Nutribullet comes with one food processor-style blade meant for solids such as nuts and oats, and another blade meant for liquifying things. It seems to handle grapes, spinach, and carrots just fine so I can't imagine prunes and apples would present a problem.
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This may be something I need to get!

christinemadden0223

RockMyRun is an amazing music service for exercise! There is a website as well as a free app and all mixes under either 30 or 40 minutes are free! So if you typically run for 30 mins at a time then you're golden. I actually broke down and paid for a subscription so I could get 2 hour mixes for running half marathons. When you pay for the music you actually download it and you get to keep it. YOu can search to find mixes w/ the types of music you like (country, house, rap, rock, pop, etc) you can search by beats per minute too. When you click on a mix it even lists EVERY song included in the mix and you can sample it before you decide to download/use your credit to buy it. What really sets it apart is the mixes are for running, they're upbeat, consistant, no lags between songs, no love ballad in the middle to screw you up. LOVE it. And like I said you can get the free app and listen to the shorter mixes for free so nothing to lose if you hate it.

I am definitely going to try this! Especially with the beats per minute option so I can pace my runs- I HATE when a slow song comes on pandora right after a power song!

christinemadden0223

The more I write on this subject the more I wish I had the money to go to a new gym lol but my gym has smith machines ( the bar is 45) and I started with one 25lb weight on each side and am up to a 45lb weight on each side (about 8 reps- 3-4 sets). The "short barbells" look like curl bars with no curve to them. I use the 40lb bar and usually do 2-3 sets of 12 walking lunges. Instead of upping my weight on these I try for perfect posture/form and more reps/sets

Yeah, just reread this and realized I was confusing as can be- I squat on the smith rack (wish they had a real squat rack!) and lunch with the small barbells

christinemadden0223

lunge*** I'm hungry lol headed to lunch in 20

kirstenmaria

I'm not fit at all. I'm actually very out of shape. I DO have a fitbit though. I have a fairly sedentary lifestyle, and I didn't realize it until I got the fitbit. I don't log my workouts anymore; I only use the fitbit calorie adjustment. I've found it doesn't work quite as accurately if I'm on the elliptical at the gym, but seemed pretty accurate for Zumba on Monday night. I have the fitbit force...which measures floors climbed, sleep quality, steps, calories burned, distance, and "very active" minutes. And has a display. The only downside is that you have to hit the button on the force to check the time, and it takes up almost a whole inch on my wrist, so wearing a watch on my left hand with the force gets bulky.

JustT1m

If you are into lifting you may want to check out Body Beast videos.

christinemadden0223

If you are into lifting you may want to check out Body Beast videos.

I will definitely look into this!