Like many individuals, in 2020 I fell right into a fitness routine and after a couple of months of absence from studies I purchased a Peloton bike. While I enjoyed having the equipment in my home – and the Peloton offers a wide range of activities beyond the bike itself – there was still something missing. I struggled to keep on with my routine, and unfortunately my shiny spinning bike, once a beacon of hope, became a shrine of shame within the corner of my lounge.
But last summer I had the chance to check out a recent home exercise machine, the LIT Strength Machine, which promised to get me back on the right track when it got here to exercise. Part rowing machine, part Pilates device, part… something completely different. Using water for resistance, a sliding cart and various resistance bands, a single machine is in a position to offer multiple exercise options.
Since it is not a connected device, there aren’t any electronics – or chords – attached, which allowed me to enjoy my outdoor workouts within the California sun, and I can even use the arm mount to carry my iPad during guided workouts which might be a part of your monthly fitness app subscription LIT. It folds as much as run, so if you could have about two feet of space (wide) for the bottom of the machine and ceilings which might be no less than seven feet high, you possibly can store it upright when not in use.
At $1800, that is definitely still expensive gear, but in the event you mix the associated fee of shopping for a water-powered rowing machine and a reformer, you will spend that much (most definitely more) easily – and you’ll have to determine where to store the 2 pieces of kit which will or will not be deal breaker, depending on the dimensions of the home. (LIT also offers financing, FYI.) In addition to the associated fee of the equipment itself, you are looking at $25 a month (or $240 a 12 months) for a subscription to the platform’s digital fitness library. That being said, you do not necessarily need a category subscription, although I like to recommend it.
Workouts
As you’ve got probably guessed by now, you do not just practice rowing on this device – the app offers over 2,500 classes, starting from 10 minutes to at least one hour, with popular music and a dozen instructors – although rowing makes up for it in a big category and is a very powerful (and underrated!) category of exercise , in my humble opinion. Astronauts use rowers for training in space because they’re so rattling effective and use so many muscle groups at the identical time, including legs, back, arms and abs. The back muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes are probably the most engaged during rowing. The arms, shoulders and abs are also used to generate power and control the rowing motion.
Then you could have Pilates, which is in fact one other full body workout – the LIT Method machine incorporates elements of the classic Pilates reformer, using the seat as a small cart, with resistance bands added to the assorted routines.
In addition, there are injury recovery classes, core and conditioning training, stretching sessions, postnatal options, and even barre. If you do not fancy a guided class, there are also “stage paddling” videos where you possibly can virtually paddle through aquamarine seas or tropical lakes.
My experience using the LIT Strength Machine
One of my favorite parts of this machine is how easy it’s to take care of, easy and kick ass. However, at first it seems like a “lazy workout” – I’m going out in pajamas (even sportswear) and no shoes, sit within the wheelchair, slide my bare feet under the foot straps and begin rowing. Whether I take advantage of one among the guided rowing exercises or do my very own combo, the result’s at all times a full body, sweaty experience that hits every major muscle group in my body.
I like doing an easy 10-minute endurance row with the Jazmin R within the app or two different 10-minute sessions back-to-back. It teaches many basic skills that construct the precise form and strength to arrange you for other activities (each on and off the machine). The music is usually electronic, pop and hip-hop (from Hardwell’s dance anthem to “The Next Episode” by Snoop/Dr. Dre to something vibrating SZA). I select my rowing form and movement pattern; remind me of my grip and posture; and I’ll undergo a series of flowing power punches in addition to sprints. Jazmin’s energy is electrical, so even probably the most basic beginner classes still feel powerful and uplifting.
You can adjust the resistance with the dial on the water tank (which IMO is so cool… it’s all water based!). This permits you to manage the issue of your workouts and make changes as needed.
Then there are Pilates classes – I missed Reformer’s studio workouts a lot and longed to get back to my favorite type of exercise. One memorable lesson I attended was set to the Billie Eilish/Cardi B soundtrack (a winning combo) and I used seat bands and grip resistances to recreate long straps and a cart on a reformer.
I did a series of basic exercises sitting within the seat with strap handles in each hand, using a side-to-side twisting motion of the spine and arm strength to tug the wheelchair out and in. We also didelephantwhich is the reformer’s signature exercise, again using the seat as a carriage. We’re done with some side lunges with one foot on the seat. These classes are dynamic, difficult, form-focused and never boring or monotonous.
During the years of the pandemic, the small (virtually insignificant) barriers to entry seemed insurmountable – no less than for me! Something so simple as having to placed on cycling shoes and clip them in was something that got in the best way of coaching greater than once for some reason. Thanks to the LIT Strength Machine, I do not wear shoes half the time. I can just sit down and begin rowing… no classes, no shoes, no extra equipment. I literally practiced in my pajamas, barefoot, over and over.
All in all, the LIT Strength Machine offers a few of the safest, strongest, simplest and accessible types of exercise that anyone can profit from. The variety available keeps it interesting on your brain and body, and the instructors keep things positive and inspiring while helping you’re feeling a bit responsible. Being in a position to store it upright (or outdoors) and using its own modern technology as a screen makes it a house gym option that may evolve over time and work well in lots of settings and lifestyles.
