Yes, yes, I know the correct answer is: ‘neither, just eat a bit less and move a bit more’, but that aside, interested to know what people have found most effective as both bits of kit are around the same price.
Minded to go for the constant reminder of the wristband as opposed to the soon to be coathanger of the crosstrainer but thoughts welcome…
Fin59 says
Um, aren’t they entirely different things with different purposes?
Bingo Little says
Can only speak personally, but… start exercising first and then buy all the toys. Gadgets and gear can often be a sort of proxy for actually doing the work – you buy them, get that warm glow of virtuousness and then never actually use ’em or do any excercise.
I say strap on a pair of trainers and start running round the park. Use the free Nike+ app on your phone to log your runs and try to either go further or faster at least once a week. When you’ve clocked 50k reward yourself accordingly.
OOAA
Fin59 says
Yup. agree. Just start by walking. Building up speed. Brisk walking regularly could have even greater benefit over the long term.
DougieJ says
Take your points, but we all could do with a reminder of what we know we should be doing. Just wondered whether a hulking great obstacle in the living room (not me or the GLW, ha!) would do the trick or something worn constantly which in theory would motivate the kind of activity you mention Fin59…
johnw says
If you’re going to go to the shops to get them, I would go for the cross trainer as the fitbit won’t give you any exercise carrying it home! After that, the biggest chance is that neither will be used.
DougieJ says
appreciate your harsh but fair advice johnw. Thought as much…
DougieJ says
@johnw – interested to know whether your comment relates to finding a better way to get fit or to succumbing to the inevitable ever-expanding girth…
johnw says
My best, and continuing fitness campaign (and this is fitness, no need for weight loss cos I don’t eat too much) is to go for a 30 minute brisk walk every day. The only expenditure is an Audible subscription so that I have something interesting to listen to. I’ve got through loads of books that I would never have known since I started about 8 years ago and because I make sure I only listen to the books on my walk, I really look forward to it every day.
badartdog says
I do 10km a day on a cross trainer – I’ve got one that is hybrid elliptical/ exercise bike. It wasn’t too pricey – couple of hundred I think. I like it a lot – put something on Netflix and go for half an hour. I used to run but it wrecked my knees – led to a lot of expensive physio that didn’t work.
JustB says
I don’t understand. A Fitbit is a hundred quid. Any elliptical trainer worth owning will be several times that.
And yes: go for a walk and do it every day. Buy the toys when you’ve sustained something.
FWIW I do find my Fitbit invaluable. But I only got it once I’d done a couple of weeks of sustained walking. Since that time I’ve lost 2 and a half stone, but it was a change in mindset that did that, not any gadget.
Colin H says
No idea what a fitbit is but I’ve had a good quality crosstrainer (a Kettler) for several years and use it regularly – great for the mind as well as the body. I subscribed to an equipment based gym for 3 or 4 years and went a couple of times a week but the subscription went up considerably one year and I reckoned it would be better to just buy the one bit of gear I used most often (which was roughly the cost of one year’s membership at that time – three or four hundred, I think). A wise purchase. I don’t care for the social aspect of gyms, so it’s great to be able to go to a spare room, put 40 mins of energy into something and then get on with other things.
todayoutof10 says
Hey @dougie.
I have neither but I am a regular at being physically active and have been all my life.
If you like the idea of a reminder and an electronic motivator, Fitbit is a brilliant tool. Many of my chums have them.
If you’ve got a smartphone you can use a number of apps that track your activity. I use Endomondo. It measures speed and distance and maps your run/walk. And it keeps your history, which can be useful if you like to check back. It doesn’t give you a kick up the backside like Fitbit though….
There are also a whole bunch of apps that take you through workouts. They’re great if you want to exercise at home. I’ve used 7 min workout challenge. It’s good.
You’re in the right place – the place where change starts – where the magic happens!
It shouldn’t matter which you choose if you’re motivated. As Nike tells us – Just do it! Good luck ❤️
DougieJ says
Thanks all. What are the main benefits of spending £300 rather than £80 on a crosstrainer?
Bingo Little says
Generally; more menu options (a wider range of workout programs, more data), but also – more importantly – a smoother action. If you’re going to spend hours and hours on something then little niggles (say, a squeaking noise) have the potential to annoy the shit out of you.
Colin H says
You get what you payfor, Doug – something cheap is likelier to fall apart or succumb to glitches. A high-end model will last for years (trust me) used several times weekly.
JustB says
An £80 cross trainer will – WILL – be a piece of shit, Dougie. A total false economy. Bingo’s quite right about annoying noises and shoddy build quality, but also the weight and smoothness of the machine’s action is a factor. I pretty much guarantee that a sub-£300 exercise machine won’t last you 18 months.
As Poppy says below, it’s both cheaper and nicer to get outside for a walk or a run, and it’s hugely beneficial mood-wise too.
If you want toys, get a Fitbit, a bench and some weights and do all your cardio outdoors.
JustB says
Sorry, should’ve added OOAA. But I agree with John above that 90% of all home exercise machines end up on eBay.
Poppy Succeeds says
Being outside is one of the best things about exercise — even in the winter.
If you have a cross trainer in a spar room, doesn’t the room get a bit funky after a while?
Colin H says
Windows can be (and are) opened after every session!
I cycle in the country too, but if time is limited or the weather inclement, and yet cobwebs need blowing away, 40 mins of serious calorie burning in the room next to my ‘office’ is hard to beat.
Sid Williams says
As a gentleman of advancing years who has always been active but my ball chasing passions are now rendered obsolete by knackered knees and I have to find other ways to slow down the decline. Actually, I still do enjoy a real taste-of-blood exercise session, it just happens a lot quicker these days. So, I cycle a lot and work out when the fancy takes me. I’ve done gym sessions on and off for most of my life but I have to admit, mostly off. The record is probably a 6 months stretch and the reason is I find it so boring, but if that’s your thing I guess a X-trainer would be fine, as long as you spend enough money on it as mentioned above.
Here’s the thing though, at my age (just turned 60), its not the access to exercise opportunities thats the problem, its the motivation. I got a Fitbit last year and I love it. It took some getting used to having it on my wrist but I find it really motivational. I have some daily goals to reach and I feel really bad if I fail, so I don’t. If I approach the evening behind on my calorie count, I go for a ride, or a walk, do some push ups/ sit ups etc, and it works. The added bonus is a vibrating alert when my phone rings (I’m always leaving it on silent) and alarms.
Summary, a x-trainer probably wont help you with motivation over time, but a fitbit will. You’ll always find a way to exercise if you want to.
dai says
I have a more affordable version of the fitbit the vivofit. Advantage of this one is it runs on normal watch batteries and no recharging is necessary.
It has certainly spurred me to get out there and I recently reached my 2 million steps recorded mark.
DougieJ says
Cheers. Had a look at this and surprised to see it’s a Garmin:
Thought they were all about the serious fitness people. Maybe it’s their gateway drug 😉
MC Escher says
My other half has a Fitbit and it has revolutionised her approach to a fitness regime. She loves checking the app to see what her stats are (there is a hell of a lot of data, sliced and diced in more was and more detail than I would have believed). So she can for example see that her RHR has decreased by 10 in the last six months, and how many steps she’s done every day, and this only makes her more keen to keep going.
badartdog says
Thats mine. £350 – used daily for about two years and going strong. it is a bit noisy in a squeaky creaky sort of way but so am I.
We had a dearer one – I forget the make bur it was about £500 and was just a cross trainer (no bike) but that broke after three years.
DougieJ says
Looks good. Something about £25-£30 / month on the never never is what I’m after.