Groovybabe

At my gym we have two types of cross trainer. A black one and a silver one. My instructor said in the beginning to use the black one as its easier (smaller strides) and as that is what everyone else uses I flocked towards the sheep. I don’t really like it because the covers on the handle move and there is no heart monitor on it. This is it on the left. I was averaging about 60-65rpm on the black one, which after speaking to Betz, I discovered was quite low.

Well today I decided to go on the silver (harder) one and it seemed to have a different system because I was averaging 90rpm! I don’t think after a week off I would have risen 30rpm, dropped maybe but not risen!! So I am taking this one as the one which I compare with other people, because it seems more realistic. But saying that, I *did* work harder. On the black eliptical I average 1.60-1.90km’s over 25 minutes but today working at 90rpm on the silver one (pictured, right) I did 3.55kms!!!!! And after I got off it I really felt worked out, so much more than I did on the black one. This one also has a heart monitor and so I was able to monitor my rate throughout. It started out at about 117 (note, this is not my resting as I’d exercised before this) and it steadily rose to about 137 at the height of my exercise, when I was going my fastest about 9.5rpm. I think that is pretty good, actually. When I started going to the gym, almost 6 months ago,I used to have to calm down my heart rate when it hit 150!

I have to say, though, that 25 minutes on any cross trainer is an extremely long time and on the black xt I was dreading using it. In the first few minutes on the silver I was thinking gosh I have so far to go yet but ten minutes in I was feeling really good. Twenty minutes came and I told myself I could get off if I wanted as I’d  worked so much harder today but I stayed on for the full 25, and in the end was competing with myself to raise my distance (was aiming for 3kms, so quite a result).

I did almost 15kms of cardio in todays workout, which is almost double what it was when I started working out. Aside from the weightloss, that has got to be a result in itself.

The last few days for me have been pretty bleak. I think because I wasn’t able to work out all week last week my mental health was really suffering, plus I am sleeping on a mattress on the floor, which isn’t helping at all. Thats when I do sleep, at the moment I am hardly sleeping at all. All of this has made my eating control slim. I’ve not been binging as such but I have been giving into eating more readily than I normally would. This is why it was so pivatol that I get in the gym today. However when I went out to the bus stop it was tipping down with rain and my bus didnt come. I was so tempted to go back in doors (my bus stop is right by my flat), hide under my covers and feel sorry for myself. But I knew if I did that it would have been the beginning of the end so I walked to the shopping centre (15 minute walk) and caught the bus from then. And I am really glad I did. This past week has shown I really cannot live without exercise in my life any more, it is just not worth it.

(PS I have taken my fitday link down because I am not using the web application any more (I was becoming too obsessed by numbers) but I do have fitdays PC programme, which I bought a few years ago and I am using that (mostly) to log what I eat.)

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