Working Out

Working Out: It's a phrase that has filled me with dread in the past. I've never really found an exercise program that I was excited about, and somehow the fact that I didn't feel this overpowering urge to go work out always left me soggy with guilt. Guilt for me is a paralyzing emotion, and so this led to a neverending (or ever-ending, depending on how you look at it) cycle of forcing myself to work out for a little while and then quitting for a little while, only to finally stop completely.

Overall, the number one problem I've had in getting a good exercise routine going is that I found it incredibly dull. Problem number two: I am fat. I know this. Just because I know I am responsible for that however doesn't diminish the fact that I am embarrassed to exercise in front of people because, well, let's face it; fat people sweating and gasping is something people ridicule, and I'm ashamed of my body. The number three problem is that when I had the motivation to exercise it was invariably inconvenient to get to the gym.

Now that I've laid out the backstory, here's my plan (and so far, it's a smashing success, but it's only been three or four weeks): Buy my own exercise bike and use it after work while watching DVDs on my computer or reading books. It solves all of my main problems by giving me privacy, convenience, and entertainment. It's amazing how much better shape I am in just from the first few weeks of exercise. I started off on an easy setting on the bike doing Low-Mid-Hi intervals for a half an hour, and today I've worked my way up to a full hour at a high resistance (3-5-7, where 8 is the highest).

For those of you interested in trying a smiliar technique, let me point you to the good people at Home Fitness Club. The model I got is the Universal LS 750 Recumbent Bike. It has all of the major features of the one in the gym, including the heartbeat sensors in the hand grips and a programmable interface for setting up your workout, but the feature I liked the best was the magnetic resistance, which is very quiet, which means I can work out at night without my roommate waking up and chasing me down the beanstalk. I don't know if I'm losing any weight yet, but my pants already sag, so it's definitely doing something.