Earlier this spring, I started getting serious about fitness. Given that we have four young kids, time is of the essence, and neither my wife nor I have the time or inclination to head to the gym. On top of that, I’ve always hated running, and it can get brutally hot in the summer ’round these parts, which makes it tough to exercise outside.
So… I’ve put together a home gym of sorts that lets me get a fairly complete workout in the convenience of my own home. The components:
» Concept2 Model E Rowing Machine (Erg)
» PowerBlock Personal Adjustable Dumbbell Set
» Adjustable incline bench (sorta like that, but the seat is angled up)
This stuff takes up roughly half of the spare bedroom/office upstairs and allows me to get a good, full body cardio workout (rowing) plus a bit of weight training. I’ve been at it since early March and I’m finally got to the point where I miss my workouts if I don’t do them.
My goals are pretty straightforward at this point. I try to row as often as possible, and I never skip more than one day in a row. Typical sessions are 6-8k, somewhere in the 25-35 minute range, though I’m working on extending them. I combine the rowing with dumbbell work three or so times per week. I’m shooting for a minimum of 100k meters per month which, as it turns out, is actually pretty easy to achieve — I should probably increase it.
My wife, on the other hand, has been a long-time runner. Unfortunately, the year and miles have finally begun to catch up with her, and we recently decided to part ways with our trusty treadmill and replace it with a nice elliptical. After much consideration, we settled on the Life Fitness X5. Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s the sort of thing that gets used all the time.
I haven’t done much with it myself, primarily because my heart rate monitor from the erg isn’t compatible with the elliptical. My wife snagged the Polar heart rate monitor that came with it (my erg came with a Suunto) and we’re not crazy about the idea of sharing a sweaty chest belt. Thus, until I find the time to buy myself a Polar, I’ll probably stick with the erg.
I should note, however, that I’ve used a Life Fitness elliptical in the past (including while we were on our Disney Cruise) and I actually quite liked thitem, despite my aversion to running. And more importantly, my wife absolutely loves it.