Exercise good judgment

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Mar 2, 2003 | by Susan WhitneyDeseret News staff writer

Ask Rick Strout to name the best piece of equipment for home exercise and he'll laugh and say, "I don't know, check the yard sales."

Strout, who manages the Metro Sports Club in downtown Salt Lake City, is alluding to people who buy expensive machines, use them for a few months, dust them for a few years and then sell them. (He adds that folks who buy gym memberships also slack off fast.)

So, before you buy home exercise equipment, you might want to decide if you will actually use it.

This can be hard to predict, Strout says. He owns lots of machines, and he often plans to exercise when he gets home from his job at the sports club. But then, sometime during the day, he'll see a friend on the treadmill or a friend on the weights, and he'll find himself joining in. Before he knows it, he's already done his workout.

Strout doesn't exercise at home because he craves the social aspect of fitness, he says. People who love to walk with friends or who love a yoga class, probably have realized the same thing about themselves.

But let's say you already like to jog alone or like to bike alone. Or let's say you already have a daily discipline of meditation or prayer. You might be the perfect candidate for a piece of home- exercise equipment.

If so, what should you buy?

Glade Going, manager of the Upper Limit Fitness Warehouse in Salt Lake City, says most buyers are looking for a cardiovascular workout. If your only consideration is to raise your heart

rate and burn calories, Going says, a treadmill or a ski-machine is a good bet. If you're nursing a knee or looking for a comfortable work-out, you might prefer a stationary bike or an elliptical trainer. If you seek novelty, a way to vary an outdoor jogging regime, you might want a rowing machine or a stair climber.

Treadmills are the best-selling machines in the United States. But elliptical trainers (a cross between a ski-machine and stair- stepper) are the latest trend. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, more than 6 million Americans use an elliptical -- about three times as many as used one in 1997.

Choosing a machine is all about personal preference, Going says.

A study reported in the August 2001 journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise compares the treadmill, ski machine, stair climber, rowing machine, exercise rider and exercise bike. The conclusion: There's a big difference in the amount of energy you'll expend on the various machines. There's also a difference between the way men and women burn calories. Basically (and unfairly) men burn calories more efficiently.

In the study, both men and women burned calories fastest on the treadmill, followed by the ski machine. The stationary bike turns out to be the least efficient way to exercise. (Please see chart on C1.)

The authors of the study were surprised by the results. They thought ski machines would offer the toughest workout. Ski machines work both the arms and the legs. And after all, the study says, Olympic cross-country skiers "have the highest recorded maximal oxygen uptake" of any athletes. (A scientific way to say their sport gives them a good workout.)

Once you choose a machine, what can you expect to pay?

The March 2002 issue of Consumer Reports magazine rated treadmills and elliptical trainers. The authors considered how easy the machines are to use, as well their durability, stability and more.

Consumer Reports' top five treadmills are Life Fitness T3 ($2,200), followed by Reebok ACD4 ($1,850), then Precor M9.33 ($3,000), Star Trac TR901 ($2,500) and Image 10.6QL ($1,500). The least expensive model they recommended is for walking only, not for running. It is the ProForm 525 E, which sells for around $500.

As for elliptical exercisers, Consumer Reports liked the Reebok Elliptical Crosstrainer 6808 ($500), followed by the NordicTrack VGR990 ($1,000) and the ProForm 695E ($500).

Going doesn't put much stock in Consumer Reports, however. He refers his customers to the Runner's World reports www.runnersworld.com. In a comparison done last December, the editors of that magazine liked the $3,795 True treadmill, followed by the $3,500 Nordic Track, followed by the $3,500 Precor and the $4,995 Cybex.

The best way to find the best machine for you is to test a lot of different models, says Traci Thompson, who directs fitness programs for the University of Utah faculty and staff.

But what if you don't have $3,000 to spend?

Well, that's not an excuse for you to lounge about. Thompson tells her clients all they really need for fitness is a good pair of walking shoes and some dumbbells.

Thompson tells people to walk, to lift, to stretch before and after exercising.

She says home fitness can be cheap.

E-mail: susan@desnews.com