Keiser Spin Bike - High LDL/Bad Cholesterol

[Budatx]

Does anyone use or has used a Keiser, or similar quality Spin Bike?

I turned 65 in December and just had my annual physical. My LDL/bad Cholesterol is 114, so doc put me on 10mg daily of Crestor (statin). In addition to cutting back significantly on red meat and other cholesterol causing foods and ingredients, I have resumed exercising. I used to do spin bike classes (on a Keiser) at the gym, but stopped with COVID.

I'm planning to order a Keiser M3i. I know Keiser is a pro-level high quality bike (with a price tag to mach), and wondering if anyone can share their experience with owning one.

Any other tips for reducing LDL is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Dtail]

I had 139 LDL but good numbers for everything else. I have to take a 20 mg statin to get it down to 57. I tried not taking it for 3 months, since I play competitive Pickleball 6x weekly, but to no avail. So not sure exercise will make a difference for you.

There is some current thinking that one's HDL/Triglycerides ratio is more important than the LDL number. Unfortunately, neither my internist or cardiologist agree with that thinking.

 

[Masquernom]

We bought a used Keiser bike. Seldom gets used unfortunately. It's pretty nice though. We mostly use an elliptical or rowing machine. When only used occasionally, the bike is hard on my butt!

 

[bloom2708]

I have a spin bike from spinning.com. You can buy spin bikes from $150 (Amazon) to $3,000 (Peleton).

Try swapping out an animal product for a plant based product. Cow milk replaced by almond or soy or oat milk. Eat less cheese (the #1 source of extra cholesterol).

Try one of the plant based meats (Impossible or Beyond). They aren't a health food, but you will cut your saturated fat and cholesterol intake.

My ranking to cut:

1. Dairy of any sort
2. Lunch meats/processed junk
3. Red, pink and white meat
4. Eggs (yoke is pure cholesterol)
5. Fish

If you eat more plant stuff, you eat less animal stuff. Not saying it is easy, but dying and losing your health is not easy either. Ask millions of people who don't have their health.

My spin bike is a savior in the cold winter. My diet is a savior year round.

 

[Chuckanut]

Rather than eat the so called plant based meats, try making your own burgers with lentils, black beans, nuts, etc. there are plenty of recipes online for homemade veggie burgers. The safety of the factory made plant meats has not been proven. Notice that the producers make no health claims for them. They can’t. They are Frankenfood, IMHO. Look at the ingredients.

https://wellness.consumerfreedom.com/plant-based-meat/

“3
NO, REALLY. EVEN THE PLANTS BARELY QUALIFY AS PLANTS.

The plants that do make it in “plant-based” meats don’t much resemble plants in the final product, because they’ve been broken down and stripped of their vitamins and nutrients. Take a look at some of the most common “plant-based” ingredients:

Refined Coconut Oil won’t bring you visions of the tropics because it’s been deodorized and bleached. Not only does the process remove the coconutty scent and flavor, but it also reduces the number of healthy polyphenols and medium-chain fatty acids.

Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins are boiled in hydrochloric acid and neutralized with sodium hydroxide. The process breaks the protein down into its component amino acid molecules, which creates small amounts of MSG as a byproduct that isn’t required to be listed on the ingredient label.

Modified food starches are chemically or physically altered to allow them to mimic a particular texture, consistency, or other property. They aren’t dangerous, but they offer zero nutritional value while increasing the bulk of the product.

Soy protein isolates and concentrates are separated from their parent plant through a process called extrusion, which uses a petrochemical solvent to separate proteins from oils. The method is particularly concerning because the FDA does not monitor chemical residues in the final product.”

 

[USGrant1962]

DW is a spin instructor and bought a commercial-grade bike with our first stimulus check (she was laid off and her base gym has now closed permanently). She's also an engineer and researched the heck out of spin bikes. We ended up buying a Schwinn AC Performance Plus Carbon Blue Belt Drive over a Keiser M3x.

The Keiser has a lighter flywheel that produces an up/down pedal stroke with no inertia (not as good) and wide Q factor (distance between the pedals) which is not as good (can cause knee problems). But the Schwinn is a step more expensive. Bad news is it was $2300 without a display. She uses Les Mills On Demand spinning videos on a large TV in the basement with a Polar heart rate monitor.

There are good comparison reviews on Youtube.

And mixing up cholesterol and spin bikes will make this thread "interesting".

 

[harley]

I have a spin bike from spinning.com. You can buy spin bikes from $150 (Amazon) to $3,000 (Peleton).

Try swapping out an animal product for a plant based product. Cow milk replaced by almond or soy or oat milk. Eat less cheese (the #1 source of extra cholesterol).

Try one of the plant based meats (Impossible or Beyond). They aren't a health food, but you will cut your saturated fat and cholesterol intake.

My ranking to cut:

1. Dairy of any sort
2. Lunch meats/processed junk
3. Red, pink and white meat
4. Eggs (yoke is pure cholesterol)
5. Fish

If you eat more plant stuff, you eat less animal stuff. Not saying it is easy, but dying and losing your health is not easy either. Ask millions of people who don't have their health.

My spin bike is a savior in the cold winter. My diet is a savior year round.

You do realize that for most people dietary cholesterol doesn't affect blood cholesterol, and also doesn't impact cardiovascular health?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024687/

So feel free to spin away while munching on a cheeseburger. But leave the bun off.

 

[twaddle]

I find myself drawn to this ultra-controversial thread.

Age, LDL, exercise, meat, and statins. Of those, age is the least controversial, but it's also by far your biggest risk factor.

High LDL is a risk factor, and statins do seem to help. They may have anti-inflammatory benefits in addition to lowering LDL. I'd say don't fear them.

Exercise is good. Do whatever you can sustain. I like running and body-weight exercises just because the barriers are low.

The meat thing actually ties in to exercise. One of your biggest risks as you age is sarcopenia. More meat (protein) and more exercise will both help stave that off.

High HDL/TG, as somebody said, is probably a better marker than LDL simply because it correlates with insulin sensitivity. Exercise will improve that ratio, but so will losing a bit of body fat. The benefits of staying lean really can't be overstated, IMO.

In any case, don't sweat the details. Exercise and stay lean. You might not live longer, but you'll enjoy life a lot more.