The Busy Fitness Pro

Posts Tagged ‘Excuse’

“We” have just bought a rowing machine. It’s one of these big fancy ones you find in a gym. My husband decided “we” needed one as he watched me struggle into my jeans.
Anyway I bid for a second hand rowing machine on e-bay and was frustratingly out bid in the last 40 seconds. However, the women who actually won the thing, decided to pull out of the sale because she was “too tired” to go and collect it.

In the auction details it clearly said “buyer to collect” and gave the choice of two locations, so she must have realised how far she would have to travel if she won. Mind you, that may not have been the case. Perhaps, as she’d bid so late in the auction she’d overlooked that bit which is something I did once to my cost.
When I was new to e-bay I bid for a bronze ornament in the final few minutes of an auction and won it. I was delighted with my purchase until I realised it was being shipped from Beijing and I live in UK. The postage was eleven times more expensive than the actual item and it is a good story to tell when my family wants a laugh at my expense.

Now the location and shipping is the first thing I check.
Still her loss was my gain and so last week end “we” went to collect it, having first removed a few seats in the car as it’s a big thing but surprisingly not too heavy.
The woman who was selling it had bought it new and you could see from the condition it had rarely been used. Somewhat worryingly she told me it was because she now had a bad back, but quickly added it had nothing to do with the rowing machine. I guess she must have read my mind.
Anyway, we completed the transaction and brought it home so I now have absolutely no excuse not to exercise. It is actually very easy to use but there is a technique to follow, if you don’t want to hurt your back. Posture is very important, as is the arm and leg action, which requires co-ordination.
Rowing machines are actually great because they are the perfect way to keep fit. As well as improving stamina, and burning calories, they are good for rehabilitating muscles, ligaments and joints after an injury.
However, there are many different types available, some better than others and come in various price ranges. The older, piston ones tend to be harder to use and not as effective, but the modern ones, like the one “we” have just bought have advanced technology which mimics the actual real life rowing experience. It’s amazing what you can achieve with a bit of air resistance, a fan, a sliding seat, a chain and a handle bar!
Rowing machines exercise the muscles in your abdomen, arms, back, and legs, all areas which I’ve sadly neglected over the years. They are good for the heart and lungs as they offer aerobic exercise and also strengthen muscles providing anaerobic benefits.
All in all they are an excellent fitness machine and mine will tone up my arms, shoulders and thighs, as well as burn off a few calories and give me some beneficial cardio exercise. At least it will if I use it.
I know any form of exercise is good, and particularly if you are trying to lose weight or have health issues. Dieting is only a small part of the weight loss/health regime, and in our increasing obese society, exercise should be high on the list of priorities, and not just because of the struggle to fit into clothes.
Type 2 Diabetes is definitely on the increase with most sufferers being overweight, and there are now over 200 different types of Cancer. You may be interested to know Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment, so exercising daily and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level.
That’s something I shall reflect on when I go on the rowing machine which I now agree “we” really did need.

Technorati Tags: Auction Details, Beijing, Bid, Bronze Ornament, Diet Help, E Bay, Eleven Times, Excuse, exercise, Few Minutes, Fitness Diet, Fitness Health, Fitness Help, Fitness Training, Free Access, Great Source, Guess, Health Benefits Of Rowing Machines, Jeans, Laugh, Leg Action, Ordination, Permenantly, Posture, Real Solutions, Rowing Machine, Rowing Machines, Rowing Machines And Fitness, Rowing Machines And Health, Shipping, Struggle, workout

One article about fitness that I came across has this to say: You have taken the important first step on the path to physical fitness by seeking information. The next step is to decide that you are going to be physically fit.

That sounded encouraging. Not to mention that it just about sums up everything I’ve been doing when it comes to my physical fitness plan. Yes, indeed, I have taken that all important first step. Hundreds of times in fact. Top Ten Best Foods for a Flatter Belly, Seven Steps to Flab-Free Arms, 30 Days of Walking Tips, these and every other top ten list I have perused. I have also scoured countless columns of so-called fitness experts, from celebrity trainers to Phys Ed professors with Ph.Ds. I can then confidently say that I am a fitness information addict.

As for the second step, the one about making a decision to be physically fit, that deserves a check mark on my to-do list as well. I’ve made lots of decisions. I’ve decided to buy a new pair of running shoes, enroll in a jiu jitsu or muay thai class, go to the gym, and go jogging on Saturday nights instead of confining myself to a debilitative state in front of the TV.

Now, if I can only gather enough willpower to actually act on my decisions, then I’ll be good to go. As of now, my only physical activities consist of walking from the bus stop to the office and vice versa and frequent trips to the bathroom. I’ve heard a good number of raves about the benefits of walking and that made me feel better for a while. I even resorted to drinking lots and lots of water so that I could have an excuse to go to the bathroom more often. But my efforts proved to be futile as the bulge in my belly still refused to budge.

I took up weight training as a Phys Ed course back in college and my instructor used to say then that Asian women are naturally predisposed to having a somewhat fuller midsection. I still haven’t verified the veracity of that statement and I have serious suspicions that he was just saying that to make us feel less pathetic. Another professor of mine, this time in a literature class, said that some cultures actually consider women on the, uh, heavy side to be sexier and more appealing. Well, too bad. The culture I grew up in doesn’t exactly adhere to that belief.

The choleric side of me is already screaming “Do Something!” in an insanely hysterical manner so I decided to take on a more proactive stance regarding my fitness condition. I checked out gyms. And I don’t just mean doing a google search. Ha! I did some offline research as well. One tip I got about choosing a gym is a classic real estate principle: location location location. Basically, the idea is to choose a gym near your house or at least located somewhere that’s not a two-hour drive away.

Fortunately, there happens to be one on the street adjacent to where I live. Unfortunately, its location is the only good thing about it. The equipment are regretfully very limited and are cramped in a tiny space. That’s already a violation of item number six in the top ten list of things to consider when choosing a gym. (And yes, I happen to like lists.) And let’s not talk about personal trainers. It doesn’t have one. Apparently, the gym’s philosophy is to each his own. You come in, pump some iron, and if you strain a muscle or a barbell falls on you, well, some people have had it worse so just thank the heavens for a relatively milder bad luck.

Locker rooms are nothing more than tiny stalls where you could change and don’t ask where the showers are. Your stinky post-workout smell is not the gym’s problem. The cost, set on an hourly basis, is unsurprisingly dirt cheap. Their second philosophy: you deserve what you pay for, tetanus (courtesy of the rusty equipment) and fungal infection included. Looks like I just found the gym from hell.

I still like myself very much despite my less-than-perfect figure so of course I didn’t even consider going back there. So much for a near-the-house gym. It’s time to look for the not-a-two-hour-drive-away. A friend told me about the gym where he is a member. It’s about 40 minutes from my place but is definitely way more decent than the last one I checked out. The equipment is fairly adequate and well-maintained, there are shower stalls and real locker rooms, and personal trainers are available to help you.

Here’s the best part: there’s TV! How awesome is that? I could burn calories on the treadmill and still have my much needed dose of The Simpsons. Before I lose myself in workout ecstasy and sign up for membership, there’s just one important thing I need to know. Who gets to have a say on the TV channel? The choleric side of me may be happier now that I’ve finally taken a more active stand on my fitness plan but it will not be completely pacified until it has control of the remote.

Technorati Tags: Addict, Asian Women, Bulge, Bus Stop, Decisions, Ed Course, Excuse, exercise, Fitness, Fitness Experts, Fitness Plan, Frequent Trips, Gym, health, Physical Fitness, Professors, Running Shoes, Saturday Nights, Seven Steps, Sums, Suspicions, Top Ten List, Veracity, weight training, workout