hey everybody it's doctor jo, and today i'm going to show you how to
relieve joint pain with a recumbent cross trainer. so let's get started.
so today, i'm going to use the teeter freestep recumbent cross trainer, but i'm going to talk
to you a little bit more about it as i go along. so in general recumbent cross trainers
are a great way to get that alternative cardio workout therapeutic workout when you can't do
those high impact exercises. i know a lot of you ask me you know my joints hurt when i walk, when i
try and run, when i'm working on a treadmill, even on a bike i have a lot of joint pain, is there
something else i can do. and so this is a great alternative. a recumbent basically means you're
reclining a little bit in your seat. the technical term is lying down, but with this seat you can
actually kind of change the position, but you're supported with your back. so that's kind of in the
in the athletic sports therapy world, all those the recumbent means that your back is supported.
you're in a slightly reclined position. and that helps i like that it helps open up your
joints a little bit. so you're not up here where you're impinging into that area a little bit,
you're kind of opening up those joints, especially in the hip. cross trainer is kind of
that elliptical motion. so it's that smooth motion even with a bike, you're going a little bit more
in a big circular motion, and this is just a little bit smoother. so it makes it really nice
on the joints, where you're not having that impact that might make those joints a little
bit more sore. so with the freestep, what i really like about this is i'm going to go a little bit,
you can see how smooth it is. but you can hear how quiet it is. you can barely hear this when you're
on it, so that makes it nice that if you maybe want to listen to music or if you want to watch
tv while you're doing it. i know if i'm watching tv while i'm working out it makes time go faster,
and i'm not just going oh my goodness when is this thing over with. so i really like the fact
that it's it's quiet and it's smooth. and so a lot of things on the freestep is nice because
you can adjust everything. you can adjust the arm height, you can actually turn the
handles to get a different workout for your upper body, you can change the seat height,
you can change the reclining like i was talking about, and you can also change the resistance.
i'm just on one and i feel like i'm getting a good workout. but what i also like about the freestep
is that it has just a nice monitor here where you can see your calories, you can see your distance,
and you can see your time. so you can kind of keep track of all that it's in a nice position
so you're not looking at it the whole time, but you can glance down and see that, which is also
really nice. so for the arms um, what i like is that you're getting that arm workout too, but
you don't have to do the arm workout if you don't want to. but when you're doing both, you actually
end up burning more calories because you're you're getting your upper body muscles working and your
lower body. so you burn more calories. so that's that's really nice. but if you also just want to
work your upper body, you can kind of place your feet up on the front bar and then just get that.
so i feel like i'm working my arms a lot more now. so when the arms are in the up position,
i'm getting more of a pulling motion which is doing the biceps a little bit more. so if you
want to work the biceps a little bit more you you have the handles in that upward position,
but if you want to get your triceps a little bit more, it's really easy to change that. so
you just turn it a little bit pull it up and then you bring it down click it into position,
and then turn that back undo this one pull it up turn it down. make sure the the spots are in the
same place. tighten it up and then now when i'm going as you see i'm i'm getting that push down.
i'm pulling that motion where now i'm getting more of a tricep workout. it also works your chest,
your upper back, and again with the legs and the joints. a lot of times with joint pain, or even
joint replacements, this is this kind of machine this smooth motion cross trainer type machine,
um recumbent and everything, is what you're going to see in a therapy clinic. but unfortunately,
those machines are sometimes thousands of dollars. so this freestep is kind of that great alternative
where it's affordable. you can have it at home and then you can use it all the time at home.
so if i've had especially something like a knee replacement, these are
one of my favorites for knee replacements because not only are you getting the cardio workout,
and the motion workout, and the strengthening once you start adding that resistance. but a lot
of times after a knee replacement all those of you out there who've had it you know sometimes it gets
really tight, especially in the beginning it's a hard time getting that motion. well with this,
you can actually use your arms to get that motion, to get that bend in there. and i've found a lot of
times with my patients that if they're able to do it themselves, if you're able to push that motion,
if you know it's coming, you'll push a little bit harder than not knowing what your therapist
is going to do, and you're kind of tightening up and anticipating it hurting. so a lot of times
you can get a lot more motion in there, really you know pushing it with your arms too, and your
other leg to get that bend in there. so it's a great way to get that motion in there as well,
but it's just nice and smooth. you can also see if i'm pushing i'm getting that forward motion,
and so you have to look kind of hard because it's not like the bike where it's making that big
motion, but i'm pushing it's going forward this way. but if i'm pulling, then it's kind of going
a backwards motion. so again that's working different muscle groups. pushing using your quads,
pulling using your hamstrings. so this is just not only a good whole body workout, but it's a good
multi-muscle body workout as well. so it's a really nice um just piece of equipment,
smooth low impact on those joints and it's just a really great all-over machine. so if
you're interested in purchasing the freestep, click on the link up there, and don't forget to
subscribe by clicking down there. and remember be safe, have fun, and i hope you feel better soon.