Need to buy an Elliptical.

[Shredder]

I have around 10K to spend and I really need to lose some weight!

I have heard ellipticals are great for losing weight, will I get a good and sturdy one for 10K, its only for home use and my friends will also be using it on and off, please give your suggestions.

 

[Rage]

Please don't get into this elliptical bullshit. Elliptical machines give the illusion of a work out, when in fact they are nothing but momentum-producing-machines.

If you're just starting out, you're best bet is to join a gym. Taking membership at a place where others are working out, will both galvanize you, and keep you focused in the long term.

I suggest starting out on the stationary bike- 15mins. at a comfortable pace, followed by free-arm push ups, ab squats, light weights, etc. You should be done and out of the gym in 30 mins.- for a week or two weeks.

Over the next week and the next, you should build up to interval training <that is, mins. of max. exertion, followed by moderate, or aerobic, exertion> on the treadmill and stationary bike. You should be movin on to weight machines, preferably Nautilus, and doing 8 sets for time across various body parts after a 15 min. aerobic/anaerobic cardiovascular workout on the treadmill or stationary bike.

This is how you should be doin' it. Without the resting of the weight stack in between:



8 sets in 15 mins. tops. Ideally, with a weight, developing 8-10 reps. No resting in between sets. No repeating the same exercise. Repeat the movement to failure: which is, muscle fatigue- the point at which your arm / leg twitches and you can no longer move the weight stack.

I also recommend drinking a Whey based protein shake. You'll need it.

Build up to it. You won't get there in 2 or 3 weeks, or even months. You know you've done well, when you walk out of the gym nauseous and exhausted. Work out 3 times a week, with a gap of a day in between, and on your gap days do something light, like a 30 min. jog down the street or in a park. I highly recommend yoga for flexibility.

Believe it or not, anaerobic exercise- forms of exercise in which you work out intensely for short periods- are the best forms of losing weight. And there is no better form of exercise than that putting intensity on your muscles*.

If you can do a 'challenging' weight, a weight that you could ordinarily keep 10 reps of in your normal fashion, in that way in 6 months, you're gettin' good.

I'm willing to help you out on a weekly basis, if you want any assistance with forms, weights or even formulating an exercise plan.

I recommend the elliptical for pregnant women, war widows and the like. Not something you wanna get into.

Buy the book 'Nautilus Advanced Bodybuilding Techniques'. It's an investment you won't regret.


* Remember: Intensity and form is the name of this game. Take a day, or two, or three, to familiarize yourself with how to do the exercises properly. Your best bet is youtube: just type in the name of the exercise you see in the gym, and watch the videos that result. You'll get the general idea.

For the scientific-basis, of why I recommend Nautilus machines, and this intensity of workout, read the book.


Eventually, you should build your way upto something like this, which is a whole different kind of workout:

http://www.crossfit.com/


It is something I hope to introduce into the Indian Army, if ever I do get there.

 

[Patriot]

Well suggested Rage Sir.
Shredder buddy,Start your day with green tea. Try to cut down carbohydrate intakes. Drink 5 to 6 liter of water. Take atleast three to four servings of fruits like papaya, orange, apple etc. Avoid taking banana in starting or take one in morning. Make your breakfast rich in protien & sumptuous.Take your dinner very lite & early. In your dinner just take fruits, soup,salad or boiled vegetables.
Make a habbit of getting up before sunrise & morning walk of 7 kilometers & after dinner walk of 4 Kilometers. Take 8 hour of sleep.

Whole Idea is about increasing the metabolism, calorie consumption & reducing the calorie intake.


After one month you will see significant reduction in weight & improved fitness.

 

[pankaj nema]

Dear Shredder Having lost 10 kgs a few years back I can say that the fore most thing is patience

Bcos the measures suggested cannot be implemented suddenly.

Take a period of one month just for just preparing yourself. Exercises cause pain . Similarly we cannot stop eating all good things that we like.

You will suffer from withdrawl symptoms.

SO for first month just assume no results And once your body and mind have adjusted to the new disciplined regime you can easily loose 2 kgs every month

But patience is the key .Otherwise the weight lost can be put on again very easily

 

[thakur_ritesh]

I will give you my example, try it. Rest assured it works:

I had a surgery, was put on very strong steroids, the result of which, a huge increase in appetite. End result standing at 5'8", my weight shot up to 90kgs.

I tried fighting it various ways, in the end only thing would be getting frustrated and I would end up eating more. I had to put a stop somewhere and I did. Went to a gym, when I went there I stood at 88kgs, 15days down the line my medical tests had gone for a toss. The tests had gone so bad that it seemed a tsunami had hit me, my doc immediately asked me stop these exercises, which I had to. Frustration over this made me eat more and the weight scaled up to 90ks and by the end of it I was convinced no way was I going to lose all that weight which I so desperately wanted and had to lose, I had absolutely given up hope.

Now here is what you need to do immediately:

Take your weight right away, don't shy away from doing it. People who gain wt have a tendency of shying away from taking it. If you don't have a weighing machine at your home that is the first thing you should be doing. Go buy one rather than waste your 10000.
Each day early in the morning once you are through with your morning routine, and prior to eating or drinking anything take your weight, make it a everyday morning ritual.

Cut down on the food intake, very-very important. We generally eat way too much than the body requires. Have little helpings and try and do not eat more than 3-4 such helpings each day. (my routine is, I have brunch which means a good healthy helping in the morning, I skip lunch, have light tea in the evening and light dinner) try and eat healthy than junk and get into indulgence only once a week. Don't even think of doing dieting, will cause you a lot of problems later in age.

Try and do morning or evening walk atleast 30mins each day. An interesting fact, just like our natural age, even heart has age. People obese will have a heart whose age will be much more than what their natural age is, people who are fit (by fit I don't mean slim) will have a heart which is much more younger than their natural age, could be as younger as somewhere between 10-15years to that of natural age of a person.

If you can do, spare 20-30mins in the morning empty stomach for anlom vilom and krapal bharti, the one that ram dev does. It works.

This is what I did and do till date, and it took me 8 months to lose 28kgs, it was as good as losing a kg every 7-10days and each kg I lost was a triumph for me back then. Today I maintain my weight between 62-64kgs and I am very particular about it.

Don't try any of those stupid things be it GM diet, or buying all that equipment. About the equipment, you will be interested in it for a week at most and soon you will lose interest in doing it and your 10000 would have gone as a waste.

It can happen and will happen, just keep the faith and keep working for it.

 

[Phenom]

I would agree with Rage,
Having reduced my waist size by 5'' I can tell you from experience that Elliptical is not as good as Treadmill. And if you want to really reduce your weight the only way to do this is by going to gym and maintaining a diet.

 

[SHASH2K2]

Anyone here have any suggestion for people like me who want to increase weight.

 

[Patriot]

ShasH Buddy, start taking two banana every morning with one glass of full cream Milk. Take one glass on milk before going to bed and please do not forget to add half spoon sugar in Milk or else it will not digest properly. Do some exercise early morning walk or jogging will do then you may take whey protien shake. Take heavy break fast full of protien like egg whites, cornflakes, museli, oat meal etc. Take moderate lunch, which should include pulses carbohydrates like roti etc. Take light dinner. You can take dates with milk as well, as it is rich in iron & minerals. Do include seasonal fruits in your diet. You may also take some multivitamin tablet but consult your doctor.

And my favorite is every morning 6-10 Badam(Almonds) ka halva in desi ghee with Milk in winter will certainly do wonder with overall health.:happy_7:

 

[Shredder]

Thanks for the suggestions.

@Rage,

Thank you for that detailed explanation, and I'm not at all familiar with things related to fitness, but using weights, doing push ups etc. build up your muscles rite and one rumor I heard is that by developing muscles you won't be able to grow tall, forgive me if this info is stupid and absurd :emot100: because that is what I have been told, and could you tell me why an elliptical isn't worth buying(I didn't get what you said)? What about an exercise bike?

@Patriot, I used to walk 10km a day, my legs were hurting a lot, I assumed this was because I had never walked, but even after 3 weeks the pain was unbearable, so I gave up walking.

 

[Patriot]

Shredder first give me vital statistics like weight , Age etc and medical complication if any. I shall try to get best possible information for you. Very first thing to do is be happy.

 

[Shredder]

Well my weight is 81 kilos and my height is 5'8, no medical complications at all, and I'm 19(gonna be 20 in a few months).

 

[neo29]

You wana loose weight, control your diet, drink lots of water, eat green vegetables as much as possible, avoid butter, bread and red meat. First concentrate on eating habits and lifestyle initially and you are sure to loose some weight. Common exercise like cycling, jogging and brisk walking does wonders along with controlled food diet.