It’s another beautiful, fall day here on Long Island, and I write this to you from my parents’ home. Every Tuesday and Friday, I visit my hometown of Port Washington, and work with my grandmother on rehab from hip replacement surgery last summer, and my dad on improving his strength, tone and overall cardiovascular health.
Additionally, today I’ll be sending out my Holiday Jump Start Beta Program members the link to access the private Facebook page! Starting this coming Monday, 10/2, we’ll be starting an eight week group focused on helping members lose up to 20 lbs before the Holiday Season truly begins at the end of November. About half of the 20 spots have been accounted for, so if you’d like to learn more and are interested in applying for the program, please go to www.weightlossbypete.com/holidayjumpstart.
Now then, onto today’s message! If you’ve followed me for any length of time, then you know that I’m not a fan of gyms. They’re often crowded, dirty, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, they can be incredibly overwhelming with all of the machines and all of the free weights at your disposal. Hell, I more than know what I’m doing, and outside of a day a week where I’ll do some basic functional cardio and strengthening at a local gym, I get my exercise in by either playing sports or by working out at home.
In my opinion, these are more convenient, and are more motivating to me than traveling to a place I don’t really want to go to…
That being said, you may not have the space in your home, nor the time outside of family and work to play a recreational sport, so the gym may be your ticket to getting your exercise in. In that case, I think two of the best machines you can use are located in the Cardio Section.
Depending on how overweight you are, and how badly your joints (hips, knees, and ankles) hurt after doing things like jogging, running, or even walking, will determine which machine is best.
The best piece of equipment for folks who suffer from a great deal of joint pain would be the ‘glider.’ Inspired by Tony Little’s Gazelle (remember those awful infomercials?!), these elliptical lookalikes help you to more closely resemble a running motion than a standard elliptical does, all without the pressure on your joints. With one of my Hybrid clients here on Long Island, we meet at a gym, and we always finish on the glider when we meet in-person. For a guy who’s torn both MCLs on a number of occasions, you can bet that makes me happy!
If you’re looking to get your entire body involved, my favorite (by far!) piece of cardio equipment is the rower — More specifically, a Concept2. These have been popularized in bootcamps and CrossFit gyms, and really give you the best bang for your buck. By using correct form, you have to drive through your feet and your lower body as you pull your body back, working your arms, core, shoulders, and upper back in the process. In fact, studies show that while rowing, you’re working 86% of the muscles in your body, as well as all of the body’s major muscle groups.
A great 20–30 minute workout you can perform on either machine is to warm up at a light-to-moderate pace for two minutes, and then go as hard as you can from 2:00–2:20. Then, from 2:20–3:00, slow down to a light-to-moderate pace, and then repeat the hard interval starting at 3:00. Continue these intervals for the 20–30 minutes you’re allocating for this workout.
Hope this helps you if you’re a gym-goer! Now get out there and apply it ;-)
Sincerely,Pete Weintraubpete@weightlossbypete.com
P.S. Like I mentioned earlier, spots are filling up fast for my FREE Holiday Jump Start Program starting this Monday, 10/2, and if you’re on the fence about working with me, here’s your PERFECT opportunity!
All you have to do is go to www.weightlossbypete.com/holidayjumpstart, and see if you meet the criteria. If you do, enter your name and email address, and apply for the program. I’ll let you know within 24 hours if you’ve made the cut or not.
Don’t wait! Half the spots are filled, and once I hit 20, I will be closing access down! That link again is www.weightlossbypete.com/holidayjumpstart. Apply today ;-)