Dear Diary,
I do not go to the gym without my survival gear. This gear consists of my kick butt sports bottle (no wimpy toss-aways for me) and a book.
A book? you ask. Why on earth would you take a book to the gym?
Because I would not last five minutes on one of those boring machines without finding some way to occupy my brain.
Oh sure, you could argue that I should bring headphones and watch tv, but I believe the act of watching television causes your mind to shut down and become a zombie, and to me that is not conducive to getting up your energy and burning fat. I prefer to bring a book that will stimulate my brain enough to make the hour spent on the elliptical machine bearable.
A few caveats: only use a book on a machine where you can hold onto something for balance, unless you are so much more fabulous than me and can maintain your balance running on a treadmill while reading.
So if you find yourself unable to bear a minute on those hamster wheels at the gym, bring a book. It might just become part of your survival gear too.
Affectionately,
Jane
I do not go to the gym without my survival gear. This gear consists of my kick butt sports bottle (no wimpy toss-aways for me) and a book.
A book? you ask. Why on earth would you take a book to the gym?
Because I would not last five minutes on one of those boring machines without finding some way to occupy my brain.
Oh sure, you could argue that I should bring headphones and watch tv, but I believe the act of watching television causes your mind to shut down and become a zombie, and to me that is not conducive to getting up your energy and burning fat. I prefer to bring a book that will stimulate my brain enough to make the hour spent on the elliptical machine bearable.
A few caveats: only use a book on a machine where you can hold onto something for balance, unless you are so much more fabulous than me and can maintain your balance running on a treadmill while reading.
So if you find yourself unable to bear a minute on those hamster wheels at the gym, bring a book. It might just become part of your survival gear too.
Affectionately,
Jane
4 comments:
Hi Jane-
First off, congratulations on making the decision to get healthy and fit - good for you! I'm looking forward to following your progress!
I wanted to offer a quick suggestion for staying motivated while doing cardio. Studies have shown that people who work out with a book tend to burn 20 - 30% fewer calories than those who don't, so have you thought about an audio book? I too tend to get bored on the elliptical, and I find that listening to health and fitness books is a great way to stay focused while learning! I also like podcasts, and if I find my intensity waning I'll throw in a good song to refocus.
Hope this helps - let me know what you think! I'd also love to hear what you think about my health and fitness articles! You can read them at http://budurl.com/ExPg.
Have a great day!
-Caeli
What a great post! LOVE IT! I work out in my garage on an eliptical and I've never read a book as I've tried a magazine and I tend to get motion sickness if I don't look straight ahead...same way in the car. An audio book may work well for me too...I must try that Caeli! Anyhow...thanks for giving me a good laugh today!
~Derinda
Thanks, Caeli, for your suggestion! I actually have a solution for the read-a-book-exercise-less problem, and it is that I always use the machine with the moving handles to pump my arms, and I set the machine to "cardio" so if my heart rate slows down the machine adjusts automatically.
I keep losing my headphones, so I have issues with doing the music or books-on-audio!
Hi Derinda,
Thanks for the comment! Maybe B-O-A would work for you. Kudos to you for working in the garage! My office is supposed to be in the garage, but I much prefer the laptop on the kitchen table, it feels so dreary out there!
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