Exercise for Busy Parents – 2 New Pieces of Exercise Equiment

This post is a bit off topic in a way… I just wanted to share a little bit about how I squeeze exercise into our busy day.  If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you know that last year I had crazy ear/balance/dizziness/noise-sensitivity/vision problems all stemming from inner ear problems/ear surgery.  I wound up having 6 surgeries and in the end they had to remove my ear drum/bones/balance system in my left ear (making me deaf in that ear).  That has slowly gotten better and I love my new BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid) !  But, all that surgery and all that time unable to walk comfortably (because of seasickness) aggravated my back.  This fall, I wound up going to physical therapy to deal with some major hip pain because of a bulging disc in my lower back. Physical therapy was wonderful, but time consuming and costly (with all of the co-pays for the twice-a-week visits)!

As I wrapped up my physical therapy, I was determined to keep up with the exercise and stretching routine. I also wanted to find some small ways to add in exercise during these cold months when I’m just not outside as much as I normally am. I found I was spending a LOT of time on the computer with the move of my blog and stuff.  I decided to purchase two new exercise machines. I like them SO much for different reasons and wanted to share them with you.  These don’t take away from time I spend on my recumbent bike or walking/running, they just add in a bit of exercise during normally stationary moments.

I spent a lot of time online reading a ton of reviews and opted for two new exercise machines – a stepper and an elliptical.  Both of them are portable versions. The links below are affiliate links to Amazon.

I got the Sunny Health & Fitness Twister Stepper (affiliate link) which is super portable. We have it in our homeschool room and I’ll pop on it during those random times when I’m standing near the kids helping out, but can’t really focus on anything else (but them).  I find myself jumping on it a couple times a day for about 10 minutes each.  It’s pretty small and portable.  It comes with resistance bands, but I don’t ever use those and will probably remove them at some point soon.   Here’s a photo (definitely need new running shoes, don’t I!!). At it’s current price of $50, I highly recommend it!

For under my desk, I got a Stamina 55-1610 InMotion E1000 Elliptical Trainer  (This is an affiliate link.)  I wanted something with a gentle movement that would allow me to move my legs during those long hours at the computer.  If we didn’t already have a recumbent bike, I might have considered the DeskCycle Desk Exercise Bike (This is an affiliate link.) because it got amazing reviews. But I opted for something different. The movement is gentle and smooth.  I don’t like it as much as a standing-exercise option, but for under the desk, it is great! The elliptical that we got is currently $88.99.

As for the recumbent bike, I don’t know what I would have done without it last year when I was so sick and unable to move my head without feeling seasick and my vision going blurry!  And, now that I’m healthy again, I still use it most every day. I love that I can read or be on the tablet comfortably! I got the Schwinn 270 Recumbent Bike. (Affiliate link) It has been fabulous. I’ve had no issues and love that it has a number of different training rides to choose from (hills, cross-training, etc.). At $500, it’s quite an investment, but I highly recommend it.

My favorite form of exercise is still running or walking outside (the cost of a pair of shoes), but life doesn’t always allow me to get out when I want! 🙂

Oh–and do the kids use these?  Well, they jump on them from time to time, but since these are made for adults, in my opinion, they really aren’t suitable for kids. The kids aren’t heavy enough for the stepper and they aren’t tall enough for the recumbent bike.  They can use the elliptical, but since it’s tucked away under my desk, they don’t have access to it.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts on my new exercise equipment.

See you again soon here or on our Homeschool Den Facebook Page! ~Liesl