Trainers, rollers or a gym membership??

I'll try to be brief -- I bike to work and back M-F for seven months of the
year (I live in Quebec, Canada), putting I'd figure about 100km on the bike
every week.

In the off-season, when I can't jog, I've been jumping rope and working a
punching bag in my basement for cardio, but it's getting a bit stale.

I have a weightlifting setup in my basement that I rather like, though, that
meets my needs.

So the dilemma facing me is:

Gym membership ($40 per month x 4 months, $160)
vs.
A $200 budget to buy a trainer or some rollers (I figure they'll last long
enough to be worth "extra" gym membership time).


At home, I have the convenience of rolling out of bed and working out in the
morning, and since I don't have a car, that's VERY convenient vs. taking a
bus ride to the gym and then another bus ride to work; I can listen to the
music I want, and I have all the weights I need for a complete non-cardio
workout.

BUT

At a gym, there's a heck of a lot more equipment for both cardio and
non-cardio, including rowers, elliptical trainers, etc., as well as a
personal trainer and good motivation.


Which leads to two questions:

1. whether a +/- $200 roller would be an adequate replacement for the
exercise bikes they'd have at a gym, and

2. which "budget" roller setups are best. I've been looking at the Tacx, but
if anyone has better suggestions I'd love to hear them. I live in Canada, so
I prefer to order from within the country (avoid those nasty customs
charges).

Opinions welcome. Sorry about all the blather.

- Matt

Matt Shepherd wrote:
|| Which leads to two questions:
||
|| 1. whether a +/- $200 roller would be an adequate replacement for the
|| exercise bikes they'd have at a gym, and
||
|| 2. which "budget" roller setups are best. I've been looking at the
|| Tacx, but if anyone has better suggestions I'd love to hear them. I
|| live in Canada, so I prefer to order from within the country (avoid
|| those nasty customs charges).

If you have to make a choice and can't get both, then I'd say go for the gym
membership. It offers more variety in terms of cardio (plus getting out of
the house/home can be motivating, too). I don't they could be a perfect
replacement for the roller, but since you aren't racing or anything, simply
maintaining your weight and overall fitness ought to get you by. IMO.

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...

If you have to make a choice and can't get both, then I'd say go for the
gym
membership. It offers more variety in terms of cardio (plus getting out
of
the house/home can be motivating, too). I don't they could be a perfect
replacement for the roller, but since you aren't racing or anything,
simply
maintaining your weight and overall fitness ought to get you by. IMO.

Plus, there's the social aspect of going to the gym. You get to meet a lot
of like minded people and if you ask the right people the right questions,
you can learn a lot as well.

IMO, the key to success at the gym is to make it part of your daily routine.
After a while, if you miss a day you really feel like something's missing.
Even during the warmer months, when I bike more than I do now, I still keep
the gym as part of my routine.

Cheto

Matt Shepherd wrote:

I'll try to be brief -- I bike to work and back M-F for seven months
of the year (I live in Quebec, Canada), putting I'd figure about
100km on the bike every week.

In the off-season, when I can't jog, I've been jumping rope and
working a punching bag in my basement for cardio, but it's getting a
bit stale.

How about XC skiing?

Matt O.

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
...
Matt Shepherd wrote:

I'll try to be brief -- I bike to work and back M-F for seven months
of the year (I live in Quebec, Canada), putting I'd figure about
100km on the bike every week.

In the off-season, when I can't jog, I've been jumping rope and
working a punching bag in my basement for cardio, but it's getting a
bit stale.

How about XC skiing?

Matt O.

I'm avid -- but when I have about 45 minutes in the morning to work out,
it's not really practical. By the time there's enough snow on the ground to
ski (and I'm lucky in that there's a trail starting within 1 km of my
house), it's too dark to actually do it before 7:30 a.m., and by then it's
not worth the bother. It's a 7-minute walk there, 7 minutes back, and I wind
up only getting about 15 minutes of skiing in.

I go every weekend, though.

- Matt S.

Matt Shepherd wrote:

How about XC skiing?

I'm avid -- but when I have about 45 minutes in the morning to work
out, it's not really practical. By the time there's enough snow on
the ground to ski (and I'm lucky in that there's a trail starting
within 1 km of my house), it's too dark to actually do it before 7:30
a.m., and by then it's not worth the bother. It's a 7-minute walk
there, 7 minutes back, and I wind up only getting about 15 minutes of
skiing in.

Have you tried skiing with a headlight? It's better than biking at night,
because snow is so reflective it brightens up more with lights. In fact I think
you don't give up much compared to skiing during the day, except warmth. A
Nightsun Sunsport light is perfect.

Matt O.

Subject: Trainers, rollers or a gym membership??
From: "Matt Shepherd"
Date: 11/24/2004 11:09 AM US Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

I'll try to be brief -- I bike to work and back M-F for seven months of the
year (I live in Quebec, Canada), putting I'd figure about 100km on the bike
every week.

In the off-season, when I can't jog, I've been jumping rope and working a
punching bag in my basement for cardio, but it's getting a bit stale.

I have a weightlifting setup in my basement that I rather like, though, that
meets my needs.

So the dilemma facing me is:

Gym membership ($40 per month x 4 months, $160)
vs.
A $200 budget to buy a trainer or some rollers (I figure they'll last long
enough to be worth "extra" gym membership time).


At home, I have the convenience of rolling out of bed and working out in the
morning, and since I don't have a car, that's VERY convenient vs. taking a
bus ride to the gym and then another bus ride to work; I can listen to the
music I want, and I have all the weights I need for a complete non-cardio
workout.

BUT

At a gym, there's a heck of a lot more equipment for both cardio and
non-cardio, including rowers, elliptical trainers, etc., as well as a
personal trainer and good motivation.


Which leads to two questions:

1. whether a +/- $200 roller would be an adequate replacement for the
exercise bikes they'd have at a gym, and

2. which "budget" roller setups are best. I've been looking at the Tacx, but
if anyone has better suggestions I'd love to hear them. I live in Canada, so
I prefer to order from within the country (avoid those nasty customs
charges).

Opinions welcome. Sorry about all the blather.

- Matt

I'd go with the rollers. The cheapest set I have seen are 130 at supergo. I
went first class and got the kreitlers with the fan resistance.

"Matt Shepherd" wrote in message
. ..
I'll try to be brief -- I bike to work and back M-F for seven months of
the
year (I live in Quebec, Canada), putting I'd figure about 100km on the
bike
every week.

In the off-season, when I can't jog, I've been jumping rope and working a
punching bag in my basement for cardio, but it's getting a bit stale.

I have a weightlifting setup in my basement that I rather like, though,
that
meets my needs.

So the dilemma facing me is:

Gym membership ($40 per month x 4 months, $160)
vs.
A $200 budget to buy a trainer or some rollers (I figure they'll last long
enough to be worth "extra" gym membership time).


At home, I have the convenience of rolling out of bed and working out in
the
morning, and since I don't have a car, that's VERY convenient vs. taking a
bus ride to the gym and then another bus ride to work; I can listen to the
music I want, and I have all the weights I need for a complete non-cardio
workout.

BUT

At a gym, there's a heck of a lot more equipment for both cardio and
non-cardio, including rowers, elliptical trainers, etc., as well as a
personal trainer and good motivation.


Which leads to two questions:

1. whether a +/- $200 roller would be an adequate replacement for the
exercise bikes they'd have at a gym, and

2. which "budget" roller setups are best. I've been looking at the Tacx,
but
if anyone has better suggestions I'd love to hear them. I live in Canada,
so
I prefer to order from within the country (avoid those nasty customs
charges).

Opinions welcome. Sorry about all the blather.

- Matt



I rely on rollers for my indoor winter workouts. I just can't stand the
trainer. It's like doing an interval workout every single time you get on
the trainer. But with rollers, you can go hard or easy, long or short. I
can't do 2 hours on the trainer, but I can on the rollers. I consider that
about the equivalent of a 3 hour ride outside ... not so much from the
physical challenge as the mental one. But with rollers, like anything else,
you get what you pay for. Cheap rollers are cheap. Kreitler rollers are
awesome. I have a set of Kreitler Challenger rollers that I've been riding
for years and years. This season I dropped about $40 and replaced all the
bearings and the rubber band. They're like brand new except for all the
sweat encrusted on the rails.

Bob C.

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
...
Matt Shepherd wrote:

How about XC skiing?

I'm avid -- but when I have about 45 minutes in the morning to work
out, it's not really practical. By the time there's enough snow on
the ground to ski (and I'm lucky in that there's a trail starting
within 1 km of my house), it's too dark to actually do it before 7:30
a.m., and by then it's not worth the bother. It's a 7-minute walk
there, 7 minutes back, and I wind up only getting about 15 minutes of
skiing in.

Have you tried skiing with a headlight? It's better than biking at night,
because snow is so reflective it brightens up more with lights. In fact I
think
you don't give up much compared to skiing during the day, except warmth.
A
Nightsun Sunsport light is perfect.

OH. MY. GOD.

That's brilliant. Thanks for mentioning it!

Everything around here is very hilly, so the idea of careening down through
the trees with a headlamp is ... challenging ... but MAN, that's a great
idea. I'll get on it!

Thanks a million!

- Matt S.

Matt Shepherd wrote:
At home, I have the convenience of rolling out of bed and working out in the
morning, and since I don't have a car, that's VERY convenient vs. taking a
bus ride to the gym and then another bus ride to work; I can listen to the

Get the trainer. Stressful effort to "get to exercise"
just becomse a reason not to exercise, in about 100%
of cases.

1. whether a +/- $200 roller would be an adequate replacement for the
exercise bikes they'd have at a gym, and

Yea, verily. Better, even. Exercycles don't fit you right,
and most can't be made to no matter what.

If you could get to the gym in 3 minutes (I can) I'd say
to do the gym because of all the other stuff you can do
there if riding the cycle gets boring. But the boring part
will be the 20-60 minutes dealing with the bus.

--Blair
"Go in peace. Come back pumped."