I've rarely enjoyed outdoor exercise in the winter because of our weather.
Where I live, it rains from October to March, and being in the Northern Hemisphere with a long commute, when I leave it is dark and raining and when I return home it is dark and raining. So any kind of outdoor exercise ends quickly in soggy chilled discouragement. As an aside, I had tried jogging for the better part of the fall a few years ago, but the dark cold wet weather was just making me miserable. I confided to the man at the "Running Room" store that I'd stopped and he comforted me with the assurance that it really was awful, and nobody was running those days.
I've found most indoor exercise to be extremely boring.
So I'm also not the type to go into a room and exercise while staring at a wall either alone or with a bunch of strangers who don't want to talk. The idea of indoor exercise by itself is simply beyond boring. Thats why outdoor exercise (minus the weather and dark) appeals to me. Watching the seconds / RPM / calories count away is very interesting for about 10 seconds. The problem is that my doctor tells me I need to exercise for longer than 10 seconds to get any physical benefit. Enter "recorded TV". By watching a TV set strategically positioned where I'm exercising I actually "forget" that I'm exercising for brief periods of time. I've found that watching engaging science fiction like "Stargate Universe" and "Alias" keeps me focussed on the plot of the show and disengages my attention from the fact that I'm pushing 55-60 RPM on exercise equipment. I've found that educational shows like TED.com talks and Google tech talks while interesting, have no plot and don't keep me engaged enough to forget that I'm really exercising. Besides there is nothing like a good spy thriller to push up my heart rate a little more and make me run a little harder as Syndey Bristow sprints through the tunnels to escape the bad guys gunning for her. I know its a pathetically illogical to think that my running faster might save Sydney in a past episode. I try.
I didn't want to have exercise equipment that would end up with laundry piled on it.
The thought of spending hundreds of dollars for something I might not use was troubling, but when my wife suggested spending the same amount on a gym membership just for her, I could see the POTENTIAL for me to exercise resting in the balance of that choice. Fortunately for me we chose to purchase some equipment. The price was too high at $700, but we went shopping and tried them out. Well a few days later Sears Canada came through with a 50% off sale on their exercise equipment and we'd found an elliptical machine there that we liked. It was one of the few machines that had a smooth feel to it. Other machines we'd tried had a bumpy feel to them like walking on snow that would hold your weight for a second only to collapse sending your leg deep into the soft snow beneath. We ordered it and it came shortly after. 2 hours of assembly later we had an exercise machine that I was compelled to use in order to appear financially stupid.
So why exercise?
No, nothing to do with New Year's Resolutions. I'm more the type that thinks we should resolve to do better more often that once a year ;-) I had known for years that my doctor thought I'd be healthier if I dropped 15 pounds or so bringing me down to 170. Lets put it this way. I didn't lose 15 pounds despite many half hearted attempts. I was watching Dr. Oz who has all kinds of health advice on his show and he was interviewing this overweight man with a 52 inch waist. In the midst of the interview he asked the man for his belt, and proceeded to measure it with a tape measure. "You have a 42 inch belt and a 52 inch waist. You are doing what many men in this country are doing. You are kidding yourself by pretending you have a 42 inch waist when it is really 52 inches." I sat on the couch in disbelief... What do you mean belt size isn't the same as waist size! I seemed to recall some mention on a health website about using the belly button for properly positioning the measuring tape. So I had some work to do.
So I've been exercising for 5 weeks. I've lost 5 pounds and that feels pretty good. I'd like to be losing 2-3 times faster, but I'm not sure how to make that happen. Here is my formula so far (comments welcome);
- 40 minutes an evening at 55 RPM on the elliptical machine with resistance increasing as my body adapts.
- No second servings of food at meals
- No huge deserts. (a cookie or chocolate is fine, a piece of cake is not fine)
- Reduce the amount of food I eat that is not nutritionally dense. (buns, rice)
Cheers,
Greg.
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