Equipment

What workout machines do you love?  Despise?  What do you get the most bored with?  I find these monstrosities to be a little insane. Between the stair machines, the ellipticals, the treadmills, the bikes, and the 20 billion different varieties of muscle machines, it seems overwhelming.  I was intimidated at first. For one, I hardly ever exercised my entire adult life. I mean, I took dance lessons from ages 4-17 and wasn't a lazy kid who ate Doritos glued to the T.V.  I was active enough. In high school, I thought "running" track during gym class was enough.  What I really did was walk the track with my friends as we discussed hair scrunchies and our outings for Friday night. If we broke any sort of sweat, it was because we were talking about the guys we crushed on.  Once I finally joined a gym (at age 29...) and I never ever thought I'd join a gym, I of course had no clue what machine was best to use or even how to work the damn thing.  Sad, but true.

      Of course, as with anything else in life, you figure it out.  You find something that works best for you.  You fall into a routine. Suddenly,  it seemed like a piece of cake.   mmm cake. with chocolate frosting.  Sorry...tiny tangent.  Unfortunately, when it comes to exercise, it's better to mix up your workouts. Maybe two days in a row do the same thing. Work the same muscles and get into your same cardio routine.  Just break a decent sweat and rev your heart rate up a bit, and that's it.  That's fine.  But then the next two days, work completely different muscle groups and do a different cardio segment.  You really don't want to do the same workout over and over again.  That's just plain boring! And zero fun.  I took that from my girl Jillian Michael's, but she said it a lot meaner. For me personally, I find I have a bit more tolerance for the stair machine ( here and there...I usually don't care for it.  It's hard!!)  and the treadmill.  I am not a runner, but I like to usually begin on the treadmill and walk and stretch a bit.  Then I walk faster and then jog for maybe five minutes. Then I stop. Then I walk fast on an interval at a bout 7-10; fluctuating it. If I run, it's at a speed of 6.2-6.5.  Yes that's "fast-er", but I've seen real runners going at a speed of 8 something.....what??  Nothing crazy here kids.  When I first wanted to get to my goal weight, only losing ten pounds, I ran more and spent a little longer on the beast (s).  Now that I am just maintaining and really not trying to actually lose any more weight, I'd say I normally stay on the stair machine or treadmill for only fifteen to twenty minutes.  Then if I'm not dead yet, I do some free weights with squats and some arm machines....

        You should see all the different bulky, laundry-bag filled with meat guys at the gym.  I shake my head and laugh inside.  They are ridiculous!  That's just not attractive.  But at least they are putting in the time and effort...right? hehe. While they are all staring at themselves pumping iron with fifty-pounder free weights, I grab my 5 pounders, and go to the back of the gym where there is a large mirror and enough space to do any workout you'd like.   I just do a couple different workouts incorporating squats.  Seriously, you need to Google "Jillian Michael's squat  and weight routines".  It's all there and more.  Some are insane and then I hate her. Others feel great and are a total body workout. When I'm done with that stuff, my heart is pumping fast!!  As if I just ran a marathon. Maybe not a marathon, but 1/2 of one? So the machines I love, but not all the time?  The stair machine and treadmill.  I get beyond bored on the elliptical. You guys....how do you do it?  It's just such a boring machine in my opinion.  I can't even pinpoint it. But, ugh.  And I have a bike at home, a nice one.  I will ride that in the Spring time and neglect it at the gym. It's sort of an after thought with the bikes for me. And the other "machines?"  I just stick with the triceps and biceps machines. And sometimes the leg ones. They feel good.

         Do what works best for you and your body. And your schedule. But try to fit in a decent workout at least 5-6 days a week.  I need to practice what I just preached since it's been over a week for me. Boo.  And don't be intimidated by those crazy machines, or the meat-bag guys who are cursing at , well, nothing, as they do each rep.