Infernal TortureTrack

[forgive my basement!]

Ok, who invented this device? It looks like something out of an inquisition's nether chambers. But it's a NordicTrack, skithing. I'm not a skier, much less cross-country (or is that cross-county?) skier. I have this thing thanks to Freecycle. I got on it for 20 minutes yesterday. I attribute my lack of tremendous backaches to the leucine. I have a minor ache reminding me to warm up before exercising.

I like that the machine is very very low-tech. I don't have to turn on the heart monitor, which runs on 2 AAs (and I have rechargables anyway). I know I'm a computer geek -- see all the computers in the basement? -- but it's nice to know that I don't have to use any electricity to get my workout.

My iPod will be my sanity savior. I did 20 minutes without my iPod yesterday. Dumb. But at least I got some time in getting used to the motions to make on this thing, and I'm not sure if I was more sweaty and tired when I was "done" or just plain bored. To ease the boredom, I became a member of the Manager Tools website which is terrific for entrepreneurs, business people, and geeks who are wannabe managers to learn business etiquette and good practices. I usually listen to them while driving. Episodes are a 1/2 hr long or longer, which is perfect as a distraction from the fact that time is passing that I could be doing something else for my business while I exercise. I'll be actually doing something for my own professional development while exercising. Guilt-free exercise. Yay.

If you're not a business person, check out the choices of podcasts out there, whether through iTunes or other podcast directories (podcast alley, etc.) because there is tons of interesting programming out there -- probably even podcasting about weight loss -- that you can listen to while exercising (or driving, but I'm not sanctioning any activity that causes anyone to sit on their rump one minute more than necessary! If I spend a few extra minutes exercising for a show that goes overtime, it's ok....). If you don't have an iPod or other "Mp3 player" you can still make audio CDs from them, or maybe you exercise near your computer, then you can just play them over the computer speakers. I like an in-my-ear experience, so my iPod is great.

My other exercise-of-choice (and this one DOES use electricity) for the winter is DDR (Dance-Dance-Revolution, on the Playstation 2) which is fun, but I can't really listen to podcasts while doing DDR, I'm too busy listening for music queues for dance steps. However, that has it's own advantages, so I'll blog about that once I'm back on the dance mat....