"Steve Freides" <steve@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:6df7ffF2bc3nU1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> <Mamadu.Bwana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:833c3179-7b11-4100-9856-0f8c00865a26@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Hi,
>>
>> I am thinking about buying my first treadmill. My family and I are on
>> a very, very tight budget and we are counting every penny so this is a
>> huge decision for us and I need some help in deciding which one to
>> pick.
>>
>> I am 6 foot 3 (189cm) for 252 pounds (115kgs) and I need to walk for
>> about 30min on a daily basis to loose weight. The climate where I
>> live makes outdoor walking impossible most of the year and, besides, I
>> need to stay at home to watch for the kids. I do not plan to run on
>> the treadmill, only walk, initially slowly (I am very much out of
>> shape), but eventually at a brisk pace to get a good aerobic exercise.
>>
>> I have been initially tempted to buy the NordicTrack C2155 (
>> http://tinyurl.com/5amgjq
)
>>
>> But the newer NordicTrack A2350 looks even better to me (
>> http://tinyurl.com/5mfsxs
>> )
>>
>> My questions to you are:
>>
>> 1) Do NordicTrack treadmills have a good reputation?
>> 2) What do you think of the two models I am considering?
>> 3) Can you think of a better (as in value for the money) deal than
>> these NordicTrack treadmills?
>>
>> Many thanks for any pointers!
>>
>> Mamadu
>
> Google the phrase strength-endurance, and don't settle for just a
> treadmill. Google also "ross budget training" and read his web site.
> There are a ton of things one can do, at home, for little or no money,
to
> build both strength and conditioning, and certainly for well less than
the
> cost of a treadmill of any sort.
>
> My choice would be a kettlebell plus the book "Enter The Kettlebell" by
> Pavel Tsatsouline - the combination will cost you about $200 and is
widely
> available. Or buy yourself a screw-on dumbbell set at the local
mega-mart
> plus a jump rope - that combination will cost you $50. Or any of a
> thousand other things. Just say no to the dishonor of dieting and
> aerobics :) and get stronger _and_ well-conditioned instead - and lose
> weight while doing it.
As usual, Friedes is partially right in his obs/recs, but has so far to go
as yet in trying to get over himself, that the correct stuff is often
unrecognizable, buried beneath his sundry personal issues and
self-preoccupations.
He is right that walking is perhaps a middling approach to complete
fitness,
but it is an excellent beginning, certainly a very convenient tool, and
actually capable of burning a lot of calories. And possibly a requisite
beginning for many people.
I myself walk 2-4 hours/week, brisk and up-hill (both ways!), in
preference
to running in summers. In winter, the emphasis is more on running.
Nothing wrong with aerobics, nothing wrong with dieting, when done
intelligently and in context.
As a culture, we just eat too goddammuch anyway, and the zeitgeist of
"revving up our metabolisms" so's we can eat even *more* is just effing
ludicrous, profligate, and reprobate. And immoral.
I am a big believer in weights and HIT, but everything in time.
The site Friedes refers to is rosstraining.com, and it is indeed an
excellent site--altho pretty intense stuff, but which you can always
tailor
for yourself.
If you look at the cultures renowned for their longevity and health,
walking/hiking/carrying/herding is likely the full extent of their
"exercise"--they just do lots of it.
Also, if you are going to go the eventual weight-route, forget about
Friedes
and his obsession with effing kettlebells.
KBs certainly aren't bad, but *nary a person on this planet* can
rationally
explain why KBs are *at all* better than dumbbells, save for one or two
possible moves.
Whilst there are a litany of people who can cogently argue why dumbbells
are
FAR better than KBs.
DBs serve the same basic function--resistance-- but are *far* more
versatile, more economical, more ergonomic, more use-able..... you get
the
idea.
But Friedes doesn't. And never will.
It takes time and experience to figger out the context and "hierarchy" of
all the fitness options available, and altho I don't really like
treadmills
myself, they can be a very good option/place to start. And for some
people,
indispensable.
--
DT
>
> -S-
> http://www.kbnj.com
>
>
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