I'm too fat for my treadmill. Inside exercise ideas?
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Mirdir
Posts: 39 Member
So when I bought the treadmill 8 years ago I was 100 pounds lighter and it has a weight capacity of about 250lbs. It works great...When i'm not standing on it. When I get on it slows down sometimes stops and then speeds up really quickly. I can get it to work at a consistent speed is if I set the incline all the way up and let gravity do it's thing. Walking at that incline even at a slow speed is way too intense for me right now my knees nearly gave out at 10 minutes and I had to stop. I walk just fine on flat surfaces so why don't I go outside and walk you wonder? My neighborhood is too dangerous someone was just shot to death in January a few houses down and I bought the treadmill originally because I was nearly assaulted by a man with a baseball bat and it's much worse now. If you so much as look at someone wrong your in trouble here and I'm a slow moving target.
So any ideas for exercise that is easy because I am horribly out of shape...Well i'm a shape, round is a shape right? Basically I need something that can be done easily at home without expensive equipment.
So any ideas for exercise that is easy because I am horribly out of shape...Well i'm a shape, round is a shape right? Basically I need something that can be done easily at home without expensive equipment.
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So when I bought the treadmill 8 years ago I was 100 pounds lighter and it has a weight capacity of about 250lbs. It works great...When i'm not standing on it. When I get on it slows down sometimes stops and then speeds up really quickly. I can get it to work at a consistent speed is if I set the incline all the way up and let gravity do it's thing. Walking at that incline even at a slow speed is way too intense for me right now my knees nearly gave out at 10 minutes and I had to stop. I walk just fine on flat surfaces so why don't I go outside and walk you wonder? My neighborhood is too dangerous someone was just shot to death in January a few houses down and I bought the treadmill originally because I was nearly assaulted by a man with a baseball bat and it's much worse now. If you so much as look at someone wrong your in trouble here and I'm a slow moving target.
So any ideas for exercise that is easy because I am horribly out of shape...Well i'm a shape, round is a shape right? Basically I need something that can be done easily at home without expensive equipment.
People rave about the Leslie Sansone walking dvds but I have never tried them. Netflix has a few good exercise videos as well as youtube. Walk laps around your living room or kitchen, cleaning is a good one, buy some hand weights and just move with those. Dancing is another option if there is a certain type of music you like that can be danced too. Stairs are great, I know the bigger you are the more you avoid them (at least I do) but even slowly walking up and down stairs will help. I'm sorry you live in a such a crabby neighborhood but there are lots of solutions. Hopefully some others can throw in some ideas too.
Good luck Elizabeth, don't give up. I'm sure there are lots of ideas in many of the group members brains!
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I agree a lot can be done inside without equipment. I started by just walking around my living room/hallway for 1 minute at a time and resting. Turn on some music and make a game of it with your timer. The more you do little bits the better your endurance will get. Even just standing/sitting can be made into an exercise. All you need is a sturdy chair.
If you live in a building can you do trips around the hallways? I've done that in the past.
I've been thinking about spending some of my couch time with a full water bottle in each hand doing various arm exercises I keep seeing on tv, but have been so busy in the evenings lately preparing healthier food and other things that I havent had time for my couch lol.
I've already started thinking that come winter next year I'm going to become a "mall walker" - I've had several broken ankles in the past 5 years and walking on slippery snow/ice scares me to death. I think the one here opens pretty early just for walkers and the like.
There is a work out room at my job, but I'm too self conscious to go in there yet, that might be an option for me next winter, too.
I dont know your transportation situation but could you travel to a different area to do some daily walking? If not drive, take a bus to a local park or shopping mall? I always look for areas with lots of benches so I can rest if I need to. I saw on Oprah years ago that one lady went to the cemetery every day because people would leave her alone, she could sit if she needed to, and it encouraged her to not want to die and get healthier lol..seems kind of morbid to me but it would be a nice place to walk and be alone I guess.
You will be back on your treadmill before you know it, good luck.0 -
Another idea, I dont know if you work? but I see lots of people at my job using their breaks and lunches to just walk around the building in the hallways, up and down the hallways you see them go with their ear buds listening to music doing their thing. There were a few larger ladies doing that this winter and I thought to myself "you go girl!!!"0
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Can you drive to a nice park or someting to walk?
Walk on your lunch break at work
Walk away the pounds DVDs
March in place during commerical breaks
Do you have stairs? Go up and down several times through out the day
Go to the mall and walk
Try some body weight exercises like squats and push ups.0 -
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People rave about the Leslie Sansone walking dvds but I have never tried them.
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I love the Walk Away the Pounds DVDs they are pretty good. She's not too annoying and neither are the people who do them with her. THere are some new ones where it's just her and no people walking with her and those are good too!0 -
Hmm thanks fr the ideas. I'm going to look into this Leslie Sansone, I was browsing the workout DVD on Amazon the other day and boy did they look intimidating.
I don't work, but I live with my grandma (who is my adoptive mother) so there is a lot of driving her around and helping her do daily tasks because she has really severe arthritis. I do drive so often drive to stores like wal-mart or Target and walk around, but I guess gas got to $4.30 this week and there is a lot less driving going on. I do listen to my ipod occasionally and dance around my room like an idiot so I guess I do have a few things I could do, They don't seem like traditional exercise but I guess when your this big the point is to get moving.
Thanks Ladies
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Any movement helps! And if you do little things here and there you don't necessarily have to count them as exercise on MFP and it might help you burn extra calories. For example, unless I am walking at 3.5mph (which is really jogging for me if you ask me!) then I don't log much or any of the walking I do. On the treadmill at the gym I warm up at 3.0 mph and never log it because its very minimal calorie burn, but I am still moving. So you are right, any movement helps. There are plenty of workout dvds for overweight/obese people...I have checked into yoga for the overweight, just haven't invested in it yet but I'd like to start!
Adding- I hated the idea of working out when I first joined MFP and would do as little as possible although I started walking with my boyfriend sometimes. Now that I am going to the gym and have been for several months I love it and see my body changing even more than before! Once you get into the wring of it you will hopefully enjoy it0 -
Check at the library and see what exercise dvd's they have. Also some cable networks show some exercise classes on public access. Good luck on your journey.0
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i used to have a tread mill do the same thing and i found that the belt was loose it should have 2 adjusted screws at the back where the belt rolls under the platform just make equal adjustments well thats what worked on mine0
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Turn on some music and just start moving! You dont have to do typical exercises to get results. Just put on your favorite music to dance to or anything with a good beat and just dance around the living room, do it while you're cooking dinner or any time you're just standing around. It helps.0
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People rave about the Leslie Sansone walking dvds but I have never tried them.
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I love the Walk Away the Pounds DVDs they are pretty good. She's not too annoying and neither are the people who do them with her. THere are some new ones where it's just her and no people walking with her and those are good too!
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I Agree!!! I love those walking DvDs0 -
I have so been there, so I understand.
Have you checked out these?
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=mini+stationary+bike
A pretty inexpensive investment that can help you get the first set of pounds off so that you can get back on your treadmill.
I also agree with those that recommend Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds. Best wishes!0 -
I am in the same situation...I have a perfectly great treadmill that I have outgrown. Although I'm still trying to work back up to exercising more regularly and for longer periods of time I do have the Walk Away the Pounds Videos. When I was doing them I loved them. They have been by far my favorite, plus if I'm remembering correctly there is even some resistance work with stretchie bands.
I've also recently purchased a set of pedestal wheels. I like them because can sit in a chair and pedal while watching TV without my bottom hurting.0 -
You've been given a fair few options there, but I spent years not being able to go out much because of medical conditions so I used to do all of my exercise at home, various exercise dvd's, Wii games, but my favourite, was setting up little stations and do a little mini circuit of exercises, 2 minutes at a time, using anything you have around the house, steps, chairs (to support you) tins (instead of weights) etc etc, hope you find something that you enjoy doing!
Becs0
