I am the type of person that goes to the gym and uses the same few machines over and over. This month I am going to try to challenge myself to try some new machines for more a circuit style workoutand maybe even try a class once and a while.
My machine of choice is either the elliptical or the similar adaptive motion trainer. Every so often I enjoy the rower, especially if I want to relax and focus my thoughts. While I wouldn’t say the treadmill is my favorite, you will find me on it once in a whileusually begrudgingly!
However, that leaves a lot of machines unaccounted for! After about 30 minutes on the elliptical, I decided to try the Cybex Arc Trainer. It looks like this:
Yes, it’s not a huge deviation, but it definitely works your body in slightly different ways. You have to work more to stand in position and to keep the momentum going. The elliptical can be an easy machine to phone in, but the arc trainer requires you to keep renewing the cycling motion, as long as you have a little bit of resistance. I did 20 minutes and decided I liked it. It is definitely something that would work well in a circuit. I also liked that while it doesn’t have a TV, it overlooks the downstairs of the gym, so you can watch other people. Creepy? Maybe. 
Yes, my gym has lots of palm trees.
What to try next? Not sure, but this is an interesting article on cardio machines .
Speaking of gyms, do you need a gym?
After reading Dori’s reaction to her quote in the NYTimes article, Full-Service Gyms Feeling a Bit Flabby , I have thought a lot about whether I need a gym membership. (Congrats to Dori , Theodora and Jess for being interviewed by the way.)
On weeks like this one, where I did Physique 57 DVDs on six days and it’s just about warm enough to run outside without a parka, I wonder whether I need a gym or whether I could do videos, run and use the extra cash for a studio class once in a while.
Over the years, there have been very few periods where I have not belonged to a gym. My first gym membership was the local YMCA, a nice shiny new one, which came with my swim team status. So I’ve belonged to a gym since I was 12 and fell in love with cardio kick box classes at an early age 
. Obviously in college I had a student gym membership, which led to a love affair with spinning. Even studying abroad in Madrid and South Africa, I joined gyms! I admit, I probably didn’t NEED those memberships, as I enjoyed running outside and seeing the scenery more than being inside a gym.
However, there are two time I know I didn’t have a gym at my disposal. Right after college, I couldn’t really afford a gym before I had a stable jobnot 6 part-time ones. So I simply ran and did workout videos–and TONS of walking. Also, when I moved to my most recent apartment, I put off joining a gym for a few months. Since I was away most weekends of the summer, I got by fine.
This leads me to the conclusion that I could live without a gym and stay in shape. But I guess I like the gym. It’s nice when I want a low key workout. It’s a nice way to escape my apartment even if it’s cold or rainy. While my gym isn’t cheap, it’s not terribly expensive. If I go 4-5 times a week, as is typical, it comes out to about $4.75 a tripa fraction of the cost of one of my beloved studio classes. For now, I’ll keep my membership and attend Physique 57 , Core Fusion and Refine as the occasional treat.
All right, enough gym talk for now, I actually have a post on saving planned for tomorrow!
While it’s dreary and rainy in the city today, it’s been a good weekend. I even got to do something exceedingly rare for city folk: PLANT!
I’ve had to do some work, but not too much and I’m kind of in the mood hole up in the apartment anyways. I am also excited for the special treat I got to accompany dinner: Blackhound Mini Orange Cheesecake!
Blackhound is a charming bakery on 2nd and 10th. It’s the perfect place to pick up a special dessert, if you are looking something other than the standard cupcake! They have all kinds of little cakes and brownies, as well as large ones and lots of other cookies and chocolates. The best part is that they ALWAYS have free samples.
I am the type of person that goes to the gym and uses the same few machines over and over. This month I am going to try to challenge myself to try some new machines for more a circuit style workoutand maybe even try a class once and a while.
My machine of choice is either the elliptical or the similar adaptive motion trainer. Every so often I enjoy the rower, especially if I want to relax and focus my thoughts. While I wouldn’t say the treadmill is my favorite, you will find me on it once in a whileusually begrudgingly!
However, that leaves a lot of machines unaccounted for! After about 30 minutes on the elliptical, I decided to try the Cybex Arc Trainer. It looks like this:
Yes, it’s not a huge deviation, but it definitely works your body in slightly different ways. You have to work more to stand in position and to keep the momentum going. The elliptical can be an easy machine to phone in, but the arc trainer requires you to keep renewing the cycling motion, as long as you have a little bit of resistance. I did 20 minutes and decided I liked it. It is definitely something that would work well in a circuit. I also liked that while it doesn’t have a TV, it overlooks the downstairs of the gym, so you can watch other people. Creepy? Maybe.
Yes, my gym has lots of palm trees.
What to try next? Not sure, but this is an interesting article on cardio machines .
Speaking of gyms, do you need a gym?
After reading Dori’s reaction to her quote in the NYTimes article, Full-Service Gyms Feeling a Bit Flabby , I have thought a lot about whether I need a gym membership. (Congrats to Dori , Theodora and Jess for being interviewed by the way.)
On weeks like this one, where I did Physique 57 DVDs on six days and it’s just about warm enough to run outside without a parka, I wonder whether I need a gym or whether I could do videos, run and use the extra cash for a studio class once in a while.
Over the years, there have been very few periods where I have not belonged to a gym. My first gym membership was the local YMCA, a nice shiny new one, which came with my swim team status. So I’ve belonged to a gym since I was 12 and fell in love with cardio kick box classes at an early age
. Obviously in college I had a student gym membership, which led to a love affair with spinning. Even studying abroad in Madrid and South Africa, I joined gyms! I admit, I probably didn’t NEED those memberships, as I enjoyed running outside and seeing the scenery more than being inside a gym.
However, there are two time I know I didn’t have a gym at my disposal. Right after college, I couldn’t really afford a gym before I had a stable jobnot 6 part-time ones. So I simply ran and did workout videos–and TONS of walking. Also, when I moved to my most recent apartment, I put off joining a gym for a few months. Since I was away most weekends of the summer, I got by fine.
This leads me to the conclusion that I could live without a gym and stay in shape. But I guess I like the gym. It’s nice when I want a low key workout. It’s a nice way to escape my apartment even if it’s cold or rainy. While my gym isn’t cheap, it’s not terribly expensive. If I go 4-5 times a week, as is typical, it comes out to about $4.75 a tripa fraction of the cost of one of my beloved studio classes. For now, I’ll keep my membership and attend Physique 57 , Core Fusion and Refine as the occasional treat.
All right, enough gym talk for now, I actually have a post on saving planned for tomorrow!
While it’s dreary and rainy in the city today, it’s been a good weekend. I even got to do something exceedingly rare for city folk: PLANT!
I’ve had to do some work, but not too much and I’m kind of in the mood hole up in the apartment anyways. I am also excited for the special treat I got to accompany dinner: Blackhound Mini Orange Cheesecake!
Blackhound is a charming bakery on 2nd and 10th. It’s the perfect place to pick up a special dessert, if you are looking something other than the standard cupcake! They have all kinds of little cakes and brownies, as well as large ones and lots of other cookies and chocolates. The best part is that they ALWAYS have free samples.