Legs of mush - exercise suggestions?

[Susan]

I like simple but effective exercises. I do quite a lot of variations of Squats and Lunges:

Sumo Squats, Squats with small dumbbells (you can add a military shoulder press to this exercise), Jumping Squats, One Legged Squats...

Lunges, Crossover Lunges, Staying in the Lunge position while doing various dumbbell exercises with your hands, Jumping Lunges...

I also do hamstring curls on my bodyball (you can do them one-legged for added resistance), thigh raises, Side Plank with leg raises, Wall sit - exercises etc.


And you can always choose exercises that strengthen the whole body, like Burpees, they do a lot for your core strength and the little jump at the end adds some leg strength too.

[ann_w]

@Kathi: I picked out 60 rpm arbitrarily. I lowered the setting and tried doing 80+ rpm instead. Oy! Now *that's* an aerobic workout!

@Miranda: Goodwill! I have one really near me! I should go there and look for dumbbells!

@Emily: I've never tried yoga. I think there's a class at a community center near me - I should check out the times.

It sounds like a general consensus towards lunges, squats, and calf raises. I'll probably try Oakleaf's suggestion when I'm a bit stronger (down the road).

@malkin: I'm 50, and lost 85 lbs since last February, and have probably another 40 or so to go. I pretty much just walked them off, so I'm pretty mushy still!

@Susan: I should probably get a body ball - I saw pics of people using it like a bench press.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions!

[Catrin]

@Susan: I should probably get a body ball - I saw pics of people using it like a bench press.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions!

Mat Pilates is also good for core strength, if you have access to one. I find that Yoga is too hard on my knees, but of course every "body" is different.

I didn't know that exercise balls are also called body balls, learn something new every day They are excellent for core strength exercises - with or without dumbbells. You might also want to look into agility and balance exercises, that will also help you on the bike and in general functional fitness.

[Kathi]

@Kathi: I picked out 60 rpm arbitrarily. I lowered the setting and tried doing 80+ rpm instead. Oy! Now *that's* an aerobic workout!

@Miranda: Goodwill! I have one really near me! I should go there and look for dumbbells!

@Emily: I've never tried yoga. I think there's a class at a community center near me - I should check out the times.

It sounds like a general consensus towards lunges, squats, and calf raises. I'll probably try Oakleaf's suggestion when I'm a bit stronger (down the road).

@malkin: I'm 50, and lost 85 lbs since last February, and have probably another 40 or so to go. I pretty much just walked them off, so I'm pretty mushy still!

@Susan: I should probably get a body ball - I saw pics of people using it like a bench press.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions!

What are your goals for indoor cycling? Cardio or strength training? 60 rpm=hill climbing, good for strength training but not cardio. The suggestions others have given you are more effective for overall strength training but be sure you do them with good form.

Here are two good articles on indoor cycling. Keep in mind recumbent bikes use different leg muscles than what you're used to unless you're riding a recumbent outdoors.

http://www.netplaces.com/easy-fitnes...or-cycling.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/26...tationary-bike

Do you monitor your heart rate? I use my heart rate monitor more than cadence but if you don't have one this will work just as well.

http://www.topendsports.com/testing/rpe-scale.htm.

Do you have to set cadence on your bike? If not just pedal at a comfortable pace until you build enough endurance to pedal at a higher cadence (rpm). Otherwise experiment with different rpm's and see where you fall on the chart. It's printable and you can use it for your walking too.

Congratulations on your weight loss.

[ann_w]

@Kathi - when I originally bought the indoor recumbent bike it was for aerobic exercise - it was also the only style I felt comfortable sitting in (wide seat with back support) that would support my weight. I didn't really pay attention to rpm's at the time, because - frankly - any movement was aerobic for me a year ago. It does have a heart monitor in the handles that I'll use sometimes. I don't know how accurate it is though.

After I got a real bike I went with 60 rpm because I figured it was a steady pace, and I needed to build up leg muscle for riding a real bike. (And it does seem to have worked a bit for that.)

But after reading those articles, I think that it would be a good idea for me to use it aerobically (80rpm) every other day, and on the other days use it for strength (60 rpm). Then I can get the best of both worlds. Especially since I still walk almost every day - my dog insists on it. Unless it's raining- then he refuses. (At the moment he's being velcro lap dog, which makes it interesting while trying to type ).

It's going to be so much nicer in Spring when I can just take the bike out and practice on that!

[Dogmama]

I also do hamstring curls on my bodyball (you can do them one-legged for added resistance),

These are great & mimic the pulling back stroke on a bike. I do them one legged & alternate legs. The non-pulling leg goes straight up. Great core strengthening too.

[Gypsy]

If cost/location is a factor, I would climb steps.

For my physical therapy (I had knee surgery many years ago), steps were one of the exercises we did for strengthening the glutes/quad area.

The key for my physical therapy was stepping on the stair the right way and letting the leg that's on the step bear all the weight.

If you have stairs at work or at home, climb those when you have the time. You're using quads and glutes for that, which should help on the bike. And no need to get out in 47F weather for it!

[ann_w]

@Kathi: Well, I kind of want to do both - aerobic, and build strength. So I think I'll do 80 rpm every other day, alternating with 60 rpm. I live in Portland - land o' hills.

@Gypsy: Tons of stairs where I work. I can start by getting off a floor before mine and walk up a flight after lunch. Good idea!

@Catrin: I've never tried Pilates, but I think the library has beginner dvds. For now I think I'll try the step ups (or maybe the lunges), squats, and calf raises. Maybe once a week I should do something completely different though.

[ann_w]

Going up stairs is a good idea - we have a ton of them at work. I'm going to do high rpm's every other day, and alternate them with low rpm's on the recumbent bike so that I can get aerobic exercise some days, and build up strength on others. I need both if I'm going to get good results on my regular bike. I'm still going to do squats and calf exercises though, and also either lunges or step ups. I hasn't thought about doing Pilates - maybe once a week I should doing a completely different activity - like Pilates or yoga.

[ann_w]

Thank you all, for some reason I can't reply in detail.