Meet the Devil Machine

This is the Devil Machine.

When the gym manager pointed it out to us, she named it the devil machine. I thought it was a funny name but she was totally serious. "It's an elliptical on steroids," she said. "It'll kick your butt and get you in shape fast. It burns 3 times as many calories as a treadmill and it works not just your legs but your core and upper body too."

I found out how serious she was about what she called it when I hopped on to try it out. Sure, it looks easy, but I couldn't stay on it for more than a minute. Granted, it was at the end of my workout so I was tired already. But I decided to do it again the next day at the beginning of my workout. 3 minutes was as far as I got and I was sweating like crazy. Mean ol' machine! Now I really understood why she called it the Devil Machine. It was perfect! If it was going to get me in shape faster than I was determined to continue trying it. So began my love-hate relationship with this machine.

My legs especially killed me every time but that first week I got up to 5 minutes. I found that the best way to deal with it was to not pay attention to it. Unlike a treadmill, you don't have to worry about balance at all. There's no moving belt to force you to maintain a certain speed. You move it, it doesn't move you. It's very easy to use and you don't have to think about what you're doing. I make sure I'm watching something interesting on the T.V. or listening to an audio book. Distraction is key so I'm not counting the seconds until I can stop. It works perfectly!

I've been adding 1 minute every week after getting to 5 minutes. This week marks the start of 9 minutes on the Devil Machine. If I can completely replace the treadmill with it then I'll be a happy healthy woman. Bring it on Devil Machine!