How I Sweat

I don't go to the gym for a number of reasons. For one thing, if you read the Craigslist "Missed Connections" section like I do (ok, maybe you don't), then you would know that any given gym is a playground for emotionally-underdeveloped skeezy stalkers. Also, sweating and body odor are very personal. To have other people close enough to sniff my glistening mass is as unsettling as opening up for my gyno. No thanks.

So, I do my workouts at home. And it's worked out (get it?) quite nicely. Here's my set up:

My bike. It's a Schwinn recumbent bike that can give you an intense cardio while still being easy on the knees. It's also worked my inner thighs and hips, unlike the upright I had before. I'll admit it was a bit pricey (about $400), but it has been worth every penny.

Here is the program I use each morning. It goes through mild to intense resistance levels every 9 minutes or so. After the first 45 minutes are up, I start it again for one more cycle, for a total of about 55 minutes. In total, I burn 510-525 calories, or so the fancy monitor says. In any event, my heart rate usually stays at between 128 to 155, so I'm definitely burning some calories. I feel so good after each session. I *heart* this bike.



While I'm on the bike 55 minutes, my actual cardio workout time is much longer thanks to this thing. Meet Hobbes, the other Great Underminer in the household. He is endlessly fascinated with my exercise activities, coming up with new ways to get all up in my business.


And here is the second greatest piece of exercise equipment: The Playstation 3. No, seriously, this thing is like a mini-computer. When networked with your computer/internet, you can access all on-line fitness websites and watch their videos right on your regular TV. I like to workout to the Sparkpeople videos--especially Coach Nicole's butt-blasting and core regimens. The PS3 is also a great blu-ray and video game player. I can watch movies and (more typically) play mindless action games while pedaling furiously away on the bike. I highly recommend playing any of the Ratchet and Clank video games while biking. Good times, and the hour passes in an instant.

Here are my weights. Nothing fancy. The one thing that does bug me about them is that I have to spend a lot of time switching out the weights depending on what muscles I'm working on. Unfortunately, I just don't have the room to store multiple dumbbells in this space. The weights you see are the ones I have been using for my tricep exercises. The dumbbell on the left is for my overhead extensions (10 lbs + whatever the bar weighs); the one on the right is for my tricep kickbacks (5 lbs + whatever...). And thanks to Kristi's tricep scuplting blog, my triceps are fantastically tore up, in a good way. For biceps, I have been using 12.5 lbs dumbbells. But after trying some new bicep curls, I've cut back to 10 lbs. again.

Of course, I use a stability ball now. I wasn't initially a convert, but after a friend let me borrow hers, I've found that it really is an excellent way to work the core without putting a hurting on my back. Plus, I gotta say it's just plain fun sitting and bouncing and rolling on the ball. I feel like I'm in Romper Room. Surprisingly, Hobbes hasn't taken an interest in it. Yet.

And finally, my chair. I just started using it for one of Coach Nicole's lower body/thigh/glute exercises. You can check it out by clicking here.

You don't even need much of the equipment I have to get a decent workout. In fact, Kristi just posted an excellent article discussing how you can get your fitness on in the comfort of your own home using just what you have. Wish I had seen that sooner!

So, here's a breakdown of how I get busy with my own home gym, Monday through Saturday morning.

55 Minutes Cardio
30 Minutes Weight Lifting (triceps and chest every other day, biceps on alternating days)
30 Minutes Core or 30 Minutes Lower Body (alternating days)
15 Minutes to chase Hobbes out of the room or unhook his claws from my clothing

I don't plan on working out 2 hours a day/6 days a week forever. I'm still in weight loss mode. Once I get to the weight I need to be, I plan on cutting back my workouts to about an hour, 5 days a week and see how well I maintain with new calorie intakes. I really don't want to cut it back much further than that. I actually enjoy being active and it sets the whole rest of my day in motion. A few years ago, the old me would have snickered sarcastically at such a statement. Funny that.

P.S.

Some of you may have noticed a large, tacky stuffed lion in the background of some of these pictures and wondered why it's there, as I don't have kids. No, I am not a fur-vert or have some other fetish. There's a cute, albeit bizarre, story behind that lion and our other cat, Sebastian, which you can watch below. Let's just say we stand by their relationship.: