6 ms·

You mind elaborating at all on these other exercises you mention?

by Carrok 11y ago

lfowles 11y ago
If you're not asking about running replacements in particular, there are books and books on primarily bodyweight exercises. That seems to be the appeal for running, that you can just do it with very little investment.
omegaham 11y ago
My personal suggestion is the ergometer, or rowing machine. Low-impact, cheap as exercise equipment goes, (a brand-spanking-new Concept2 will run you about $930, which is much less than a gym-quality elliptical or treadmill) and useful for everything from long-distance to high-intensity training. Plus, a large number of gyms have them, and no one uses them because they don't allow you to slack off like an elliptical machine or exercise bike. Just don't put the damper at 10 like the Crossfit folks do.
- kansface 11y ago
  Why is that?
  - omegaham 11y ago
    Quick background - the damper controls how quickly the flywheel comes to a stop. A typical rowing stroke is mostly a leg exercise. You build up momentum by driving with your legs, and then finish off the stroke with your back and then (at the very, very end) your arms. By the point that you're using your back and arms, however, there is enough momentum in the flywheel that you don't put much load on them. During the recovery, (when you're bending your legs and preparing for the next stroke) the damper slows the flywheel back down. Wash, rinse, repeat. The load is repeatedly taken by the legs, with the back and arms adding a little extra at the end of each stroke. Putting the damper at 10 knocks this all to hell. The damper removes enough of the momentum during the stroke that you're putting a significant load on your back at the end of each stroke. At best, this will tire you out early. At worst, it can injure you. You want the damper to be between 4 and 6. I usually row with it halfway between 4 and 5. If you want a more intense workout, drive harder and pick up the stroke rate.
peterwwillis 11y ago
Exercises to give the same effect as running? The simplest is HIIT, or high intensity interval training. You work at a very difficult pace for short bursts of time, with small rests in between. The exercises are almost all done standing in place and are all lower impact than running. You can add resistance to build lean muscle, and increase the reps for added endurance training. Other forms of this include P90x and Crossfit. It's funny, because this very activity is what led to me hurting my knees via running. I used to be in a pretty intense martial arts conditioning class which used HIIT and circuit training. I did it so much that one day I decided to see if I could run more than a mile (I had never done so before). I ran 17 miles. The next few days afterward I couldn't walk. Nobody had told me this would be a bad idea, and I had only ever heard that running was good for you...
- mikestew 11y ago
  > I ran 17 miles. The next few days afterward I couldn't walk. Nobody had told me this would be a bad idea, and I had only ever heard that running was good for you... Well, that at least explains your ill-informed original post that I downvoted. If you've never run a mile in your life, and don't see why doing 17 all at once is a bad idea, and use that as a basis for your argument, you might want to hold off on holding court about how running is bad for you.
  - peterwwillis 11y ago
    It explains perhaps my opinion that running can be dangerous. However, my opinion isn't ill-informed. Let's say you're running at 5mph on concrete and you trip on something. Amazingly, of all the anecdotal evidence I collected about falls while running, almost all of them were simple scrapes and bruises. A couple were sprains or knee injuries, and virtually none of the collar bone breaks I expected when people try to stop themselves with their arms. A few people hit their heads pretty hard, though. There's also more self-inflicted injuries that are common for runners, such as Runner's Knee, tendonitis, hamstring pull, plantar fasciitis, shinsplints, ITBS, lower back pain, and stress fractures. And while all these things can happen to non-runners, they are much more common with people who run frequently or for long distances. People with problems such as hyperextending knees or other pre-existing conditions are often encouraged to try exercise which is easy on the knees, by doctors. But the repeated impact of running might not be what's causing the pain in their knees when they run. It might be knee fairies. And while knee osteoarthritis hasn't been found to be significantly higher in runners vs non-runners, hip osteoarthritis has. It's commonly held now that the lower BMI of runners contributes more to their lack of increased osteoarthritis, rather than the assumption that running doesn't have a negative effect on the knees. Also, mysteriously, doctors recommend those over 45 to substitute some of their running time for swimming, cycling, and other less knee-impact-prone activities. But maybe old people just get bored quickly or something. It is also understood that trying to run before you're ready can result in injury, much like trying to weightlift a lot before you're ready can. But there are no guidelines about how to know what you're ready for, and certainly no warnings anywhere i've ever seen about running before you're ready. In addition, people who are encouraged to jog or run as part of a getting-fit program are at higher risk of injury due to a lack of muscles supporting the joints and bones, and adding additional stress to the knees. Alternative exercises avoid these common issues by providing a structure from which to safely begin and increase progress, provide the same health benefits, remove almost all of the potential for common running-related injury, and don't involve spending lots of money on running gear, not to mention take less time and are more convenient. But I guess I just don't know what i'm talking about.

You mind elaborating at all on these other exercises you mention?

by Carrok 11y ago

You mind elaborating at all on these other exercises you mention?

If you're not asking about running replacements in particular, there are books and books on primarily bodyweight exercises. That seems to be the appeal for running, that you can just do it with very little investment.

omegaham 11y ago

My personal suggestion is the ergometer, or rowing machine. Low-impact, cheap as exercise equipment goes, (a brand-spanking-new Concept2 will run you about $930, which is much less than a gym-quality elliptical or treadmill) and useful for everything from long-distance to high-intensity training. Plus, a large number of gyms have them, and no one uses them because they don't allow you to slack off like an elliptical machine or exercise bike. Just don't put the damper at 10 like the Crossfit folks do.

kansface 11y ago
Why is that?
- omegaham 11y ago
  Quick background - the damper controls how quickly the flywheel comes to a stop. A typical rowing stroke is mostly a leg exercise. You build up momentum by driving with your legs, and then finish off the stroke with your back and then (at the very, very end) your arms. By the point that you're using your back and arms, however, there is enough momentum in the flywheel that you don't put much load on them. During the recovery, (when you're bending your legs and preparing for the next stroke) the damper slows the flywheel back down. Wash, rinse, repeat. The load is repeatedly taken by the legs, with the back and arms adding a little extra at the end of each stroke. Putting the damper at 10 knocks this all to hell. The damper removes enough of the momentum during the stroke that you're putting a significant load on your back at the end of each stroke. At best, this will tire you out early. At worst, it can injure you. You want the damper to be between 4 and 6. I usually row with it halfway between 4 and 5. If you want a more intense workout, drive harder and pick up the stroke rate.

peterwwillis 11y ago

Exercises to give the same effect as running? The simplest is HIIT, or high intensity interval training. You work at a very difficult pace for short bursts of time, with small rests in between. The exercises are almost all done standing in place and are all lower impact than running. You can add resistance to build lean muscle, and increase the reps for added endurance training. Other forms of this include P90x and Crossfit. It's funny, because this very activity is what led to me hurting my knees via running. I used to be in a pretty intense martial arts conditioning class which used HIIT and circuit training. I did it so much that one day I decided to see if I could run more than a mile (I had never done so before). I ran 17 miles. The next few days afterward I couldn't walk. Nobody had told me this would be a bad idea, and I had only ever heard that running was good for you...

mikestew 11y ago
> I ran 17 miles. The next few days afterward I couldn't walk. Nobody had told me this would be a bad idea, and I had only ever heard that running was good for you... Well, that at least explains your ill-informed original post that I downvoted. If you've never run a mile in your life, and don't see why doing 17 all at once is a bad idea, and use that as a basis for your argument, you might want to hold off on holding court about how running is bad for you.
- peterwwillis 11y ago
  It explains perhaps my opinion that running can be dangerous. However, my opinion isn't ill-informed. Let's say you're running at 5mph on concrete and you trip on something. Amazingly, of all the anecdotal evidence I collected about falls while running, almost all of them were simple scrapes and bruises. A couple were sprains or knee injuries, and virtually none of the collar bone breaks I expected when people try to stop themselves with their arms. A few people hit their heads pretty hard, though. There's also more self-inflicted injuries that are common for runners, such as Runner's Knee, tendonitis, hamstring pull, plantar fasciitis, shinsplints, ITBS, lower back pain, and stress fractures. And while all these things can happen to non-runners, they are much more common with people who run frequently or for long distances. People with problems such as hyperextending knees or other pre-existing conditions are often encouraged to try exercise which is easy on the knees, by doctors. But the repeated impact of running might not be what's causing the pain in their knees when they run. It might be knee fairies. And while knee osteoarthritis hasn't been found to be significantly higher in runners vs non-runners, hip osteoarthritis has. It's commonly held now that the lower BMI of runners contributes more to their lack of increased osteoarthritis, rather than the assumption that running doesn't have a negative effect on the knees. Also, mysteriously, doctors recommend those over 45 to substitute some of their running time for swimming, cycling, and other less knee-impact-prone activities. But maybe old people just get bored quickly or something. It is also understood that trying to run before you're ready can result in injury, much like trying to weightlift a lot before you're ready can. But there are no guidelines about how to know what you're ready for, and certainly no warnings anywhere i've ever seen about running before you're ready. In addition, people who are encouraged to jog or run as part of a getting-fit program are at higher risk of injury due to a lack of muscles supporting the joints and bones, and adding additional stress to the knees. Alternative exercises avoid these common issues by providing a structure from which to safely begin and increase progress, provide the same health benefits, remove almost all of the potential for common running-related injury, and don't involve spending lots of money on running gear, not to mention take less time and are more convenient. But I guess I just don't know what i'm talking about.