Reddit reviews MagneTrainer-ER Mini Exercise Bike Arm and Leg Exerciser

Do you have a lunch break at all? I know one way my dad would get some exercise in during the day was to take a walk during his lunch break. My parents are both older now and lead pretty busy schedules, but they either try to go for walks or use this mini-bike I found, it's pretty convenient because it's designed to fit under a desk. I can vouch for its usefulness--you can also set it to have more or less resistance. The only problem is that you need to be of average height/have the proper chair that fits you to use it (but I am a bit of an outlier--4'10 and most furniture is designed for adults, not kid-sized adults!)

Here's the link if you were interested.

I have, this one. It worked well for me.

At US$150 It's definitely more expensive than a simpler model like this one at US$24, but the extra cost goes to making it quiet, which is a must if you're using it in cubicle land.

It's a type of arm exercise bike

https://www.amazon.com/MagneTrainer-ER-Mini-Exercise-Bike-Exerciser/dp/B000V53KD8

You probably won't get much use out of that. It's too lightweight and offers the wrong kind of resistance (if any). It will probably sour you on the whole mini-excercise bike thing.

You want something heavier with magnetic resistance. I have one of these, but there are some knock-offs like this one that is somewhat cheaper.

It is a different work out, but it's expensive. Basic department-store-build handcycles start at about $2,000. Enthusiast setups start at $4,000 and go up from there.

Other than using a different muscle group there are no benefits to handcycling over a normal bike. It's heavier, more expensive, harder to transport, etc.

There are arm trainers that sit on a table top like this

Before I get started, I want to let you know that I was told not to work during my pregnancy. Luckily, we can afford for me to be a stay at home mom. I’ve been pregnant a few times and have two adorable kids, one seven and one three months. I am so glad I was given this advice because there is no way I could have been on my feet during my pregnancies.

Also, you can do this! It’s hard, but if you love kids as much as me, you’ll do anything to get them! I viewed my pregnancy pain as acute pain. It was going to have a stop date... I could do this!

Also, my pain level did get worse after each pregnancy. I want to be honest about that. I combat it with exercise. I try to exercise every day now so that I have enough energy to be as active as a mom as I can. I do not regret my babies at all. They are my pride and joy and their existence is worth it. On the flip side, being with them lowers my pain level because it helps to keep my mind off of the pain.

1. Find a PT who has had coursework in pregnancy. Specially ask for coursework. Experience was not enough for me with my first pregnancy... she was horrible. My second pregnancy I had a PT I had worked with for a few years and she specifically took PD for pregnancy for me!
   
2. Your OB does not need to have experience with fibro to be a great OB for you as long as they are willing to learn! Neither OBs I worked with had had a patient with bad fibro before. Both were so amazing because they were willing to learn as things came up. The only thing I insisted is that I see them for all OB appointments and that they try their best to deliver me... and they both did! I also interviewed my OBs. This was easy to do in city 1. City 2 did not have a procedure to do this. I pushed back and explained that I was disabled and needed to find the best one to take care of me as a result. Second I said disabled, they made it happen. Only reason I had two different ones was because I moved across country.
   
3. You may need to take opioids during pregnancy. Take the smallest amount possible. If you do, demand to have a consult during pregnancy to see a neonatologist at the hospital where you are delivering. They can help put your mind at ease. Talk to them about the hospitals protocol for babies born with any amount of narcotic in their system. They may have a longer stay. Find out the protocols for monitoring them for withdrawal. Find out who will be monitoring them for this...
   
4. Pregnancy support bands are a must when you start to get big. They aren’t pretty, but you can barely see them when you are wearing clothes.
   https://www.amazon.com/Maternity-Belt-NEOtech-Pregnancy-Support/dp/B01GO2Q8ZS/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=pregnancy+support+belt&qid=1562852785&s=gateway&sprefix=pregnancy+support&sr=8-5
   
5. Stay active during your pregnancy! Walk everyday. At least 20 minutes at 60-80% of the target heart rate for your age. You get endorphins this way that will help with the pain. You also will have more energy after the baby comes this way. When I got further along, this got harder. I got this to use as a sitting bike or an arm bike to make exercising easier. I continue to use it as an arm bike for the days I have trouble walking.
   https://www.amazon.com/MagneTrainer-ER-Mini-Exercise-Bike-Exerciser/dp/B000V53KD8/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=arm+bike&qid=1562852959&s=gateway&sr=8-7

I like this pedaler. It's a bit tall to fit under many desks though while still allowing your knees up. You would need a raised desk like the lady in the pic has.

So, I have spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Although recently, on a letter of medical necessity, I have a doctor classified my cerebral palsy as quadriplegic. So apparently, that's a thing.

In any case, exercise is often a specter for me as well. I was recently placed on medication to manage blood pressure. It is a slight derivation from normal, but consistently elevated. The medication has managed it so far – but I do not want to be placed on additional medication, if I can help it.

All of this is to say that I went out and got myself an upper body ergometer. If that doesn't sound familiar to you, it's a fancy way of saying "arm bike."

The specific version I got is wheelchair accessible. It is called the [MagneTrainer.] (https://www.amazon.com/MagneTrainer-ER-Mini-Exercise-Bike-Exerciser/dp/B000V53KD8/ref=pd_bxgy_200_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000V53KD8&pd_rd_r=ANTN3QRQESQS3P7F0098&pd_rd_w=3S7zo&pd_rd_wg=yvlLB&psc=1&refRID=ANTN3QRQESQS3P7F0098&dpID=41ns1qmFnML&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail)

With the wheelchair accessible stand, and the ergonomic handles – which you may or may not think about getting, as you seem to have hand involvement, more on this in a second – it comes to around $500. Which, admittedly, is not inexpensive. But, on the other hand, it is not nearly as expensive as some handicap specific exercise equipment can be.

And I can verify that it will give you an intense upper body workout. The first time I used it, I was a bit overzealous with the tension, and so afterwards, my upper body felt like so much beaten and raw meat. 😀

But, back to the issue of your hand involvement. You might stick to the base handgrips, as they may be easier to grasp. Alternatively, I had a physical therapist once who liked to use UBEs with people who had cerebral palsy. And she had no compunctions physically strapping hands onto handlebars to support their limited abilities to grasp. So, it's a thought.

Admittedly, I do not know your body. And so, your mileage may vary. However, it feels great to be able to do this kind of exercise. Of course, I would love to be able to do more. Swimming, as you say, is fantastic exercise. However, it also requires someone like me, and from the sounds of it, someone like you, to have people who can assist. Which unfortunately means being dependent on other people. Which can be frustrating, as I'm sure you'll agree.

My exercise bike doesn't have any special output. I agree that it would be really cool to take heart rate and be able to adapt the power of the game based on optimal performance. This is the bike I bought for 150 bucks: http://www.amazon.com/MagneTrainer-ER-Mini-Exercise-Bike-Exerciser/dp/B000V53KD8/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1417821000&sr=8-11&keywords=magnetic+exercise+machine
Even without the extra info though you can do a ton with the velocity, direction information. You should get a leap and build something for you bike! Then let me play it :D

If I were in your shoes I'd start doing three things:

• I bet you're drinking a lot of calories. Substitute one drink a day with water. Once you're comfortable with that make it two, then three, then... If you substitute one 20 ounce Coke a day with water you'll lose 25 pounds in a year. Four and you'll lose 100.
  
• Light exercise. I think recumbent cycling would work well for you. It's low impact and it's easy to control the intensity. I would:
  
• Pick up a heart rate monitor.
  
• Pick up one of these: http://smile.amazon.com/MagneTrainer-ER-Mini-Exercise-Bike-Exerciser/dp/B000V53KD8
  
• Work out a routine with your doc.
  
• Start writing down everything you eat. Don't worry about counting calories yet. If you eat it and it has calories it gets written down. No exceptions.
  
  Good luck!

If you take off the bells and whistles, they're all pretty much the same thing with varying methods of adding resistance. Currently I've got my eye on one on Amazon that's about $160, plus $30-40 for the handles which replace the pedals. It doesn't have much beyond a timer and a dial to increase or decrease resistance. The one you're used to looks like it tracks your workout, maybe your vitals, how much energy expended, and possibly has an option to automatically change resistances so it seems like you're going up and down hills. For my money, most of that stuff can either be figured out on my smartphone/manually or just ignored, so I'm fine with the sub $200 price for my setup (also, space being at a premium...).

I feel like your workout will be fairly cardio intensive either way, though the larger machines do have a few possible advantages. The biggest of which is that if you're larger/stronger than most, the floor machine would be much more stable than a table top unit unless the latter is bolted down. Another possible advantage is that with the space and electrical usage, the floor machine may be able to take advantage of electromagnets to push resistances far beyond that of which a table model is capable (purely conjecture, I have no idea if any floor models use electromagnets or if they can crank them well beyond a table top model and am basing this on physics alone)

Hand pedaler.

https://www.amazon.com/MagneTrainer-ER-Mini-Exercise-Bike-Exerciser/dp/B000V53KD8