Thursday, February 17, 2011

New toys, New adventures


I know this will come as a huge surprise to many of you but, I am not a huge fan of exercise. I do it because I have to. I am slowly coming around as I realise the stress relieving effects and general well being improvements that come with it, and I try and ignore my mother's voice in the back of my head as she says "I told you so".

I have grown to enjoy walking. Immensely! I plug myself into my iPod, strap on my shoes and off I go. I can happily walk for a good hour and a half before I even realise how far I've gone. I find it a great way to improve my head space, clear out the cobwebs and start fresh.

Running has yet to warm the cockles of my heart, but I'm sure that it will keep trying. I'm going to be restarting the Couch to 5K program very soon and now that I've found some better music (with prompts) to do it with, I'm sure it will be more appealing. Well, as appealing as running can be to someone who is as unfit and heavy as I am.

Swimming is enjoyable and now that I have a snazzy new swimsuit, I will be a little more relaxed as I dash from the changing rooms to the pool and try to slip in before the hot lifeguard sees me. Because, you know, he totally can't tell how fat I am once I'm under the water. Yes, I'm a doofus. I've also started the process to be a swim teacher, so it's getting more fun.

And then we come to biking. This is where new toys come into it. I was doing some cycling at the gym, but that's really no fun. It's hot in the gym, there's nothing to look at, there's gym bunnies prancing around in their lycra. Outside? The wind is against you a lot, it's hot (because it's summer right now), and there's cars to deal with. But, man, is it ever exhilerating!!

This is my new toy:

Her name is Greta. It was the first name to pop into my head when I got her. She is one speed, has back pedal brakes and a front hand brake, the seat is nice and wide & comfy, and she's awesome.

I've ridden all over town on her a couple of times today and my butt doesn't even hurt. Yet. I'm hoping to ride the bike as much as possible, if only to save money on gas!

Very shortly there'll be a nifty little basket to go on the front and I'll be able to use it for all sorts of things.


Do you have a bike? Do you use it?

Perhaps between the swimming and the biking, my plateau will be shattered and I will be able to finally hit that 25kg mark! Wouldn't that be fantastic?!?

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In other, slightly unrelated news, I got an email from someone at Treadmill Reviews today. For some reason, I decided not to delete the email as spam before I read it, and I was pleasantly surprised. As with the Nursing Schools list, I'm not sure how many people will see, read or even pay attention to the list, but I'm happy to be featured on there. And I get a snazzy badge to display on my sidebar!

If you're curious as to who else is on the list, head on over HERE and check it out!

7 comments:

  1. Greta is so purty! It's great that you've found the right exercises to keep you motivated. I've got my recumbent cycle to keep me going during the winter, and I need to get a real bike once spring rolls around up here in the frozen tundra. The kids are speed demons on theirs and I just can't keep up on foot anymore. Now that they're older, I have visions of family bike rides dancing in my head.

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  2. I love to walk too. I listen to an audiobook, and could walk my dog for hours.

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  3. I love my exercise bike at the gym, but then it's not warm over here. And I do tune out the lycra people because I put on my iPod and close my eyes.

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  4. Walking & cycling are my main forms of exercise. I do one or the other (or both) everyday and I've lost 48.3 kg. in a year. If I could add anything, it would be swimming.

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  5. I can't wait for the snow to melt away so I can walk again and enjoy the fresh air. I love your bike, it's very cute.

    PS I got listed on the same site and I'm taking it as a compliment!

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  6. When I first started WW, I found that simply walking every day for 30 minutes made a huge difference to my overall progress. I was lucky though cos my job required me to walk to the bank every day (about 30 mins)...now I've changed jobs, don't have to walk to the bank, sitting on my bum...getting fat. 30 MINUTES! C'mon Rachel. :-)

    LOVE the bike. She is very sexy.

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  7. Oh what a cute bike, where did you find her, as I see you are from New Zealand, I am looking for a basic bike??. Oh and BTW found your blog from Kazz's blog and am going to add you to my favorites.

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