Exercise aids

Exercise aids are toys for grown-ups.  They may be golf clubs, tennis rackets, bicycles, treadmills, elliptical machines, dumbbells, resistance bands, running shoes, or even a horse!   These aids help us get the most out of our exercise time, and help us have fun doing it!  What do you do when it’s poring rain outside and you can’t do your morning jog?  You jump on the treadmill.  How do you make a workout on the treadmill more fun?  You listen to your favorite music or a book on tape. 

The good news is you can get great equipment cheap from Craigslist.  I purchased a Pro-form treadmill and Pro-form elliptical machine from two different people for less than $150 total.  The elliptical machine was an especially good buy at $30. 

The main exercise aids that I use include golf clubs, treadmill, elliptical machine, resistance bands, hand grips, juggling pins (fun while doing The 8-Minute Wonder!), bicycle, and dumbbells.  I have a ton of stuff that I don’t use regularly right now including a mini-trampoline, several medicine balls, kayak, and a Body Bow.  I also invented something I called a body bug, which is shaped like a Volkswagen and is designed to stretch your spine.  Oooh.  I feel my back does not need stretching now so much as it needs a lot of movement and turning.   I also invented a wacky piece of exercise equipment I called TED, or Travel Exercise Dog.  The idea was to have this big stuffed animal sitting up in the passenger’s seat of my car when I traveled, with this cute little resistance band attached to his collar that I could tug on.   The exercise component of TED works great.  I always exercise in my car now, no matter how far I drive.  It is remarkable how you can work various parts of your arms, shoulder, upper and lower back just tugging on a resistance band.

However, the stuffed animal I have in my car is actually a horse.  I bought a bunch of dogs and other stuffed animals on EBay, and the horse is the one that looked best and was most fun.  Truth be known, I never was a dog person.

A question that may come up:  Do you have to use juggling pins when doing The 8-Minute Wonder?  No.  Just moving your arms and back and shoulders is great exercise and keeps your body flexible.  I use the juggling pins because I like the feel of them, and, to be honest, I think it looks cool.  The pins weigh one pound each, and that extra weight probably makes the workout a little more effective.  Bottom line:  Do whatever you want but make sure you put in the time!   Don’t neglect the eight minutes morning and night and as needed during the day!