Exercising by Example

Last week when we went to the gym I didn't have my audio book so I was paying a lot more attention to my surroundings. I noticed that there is a guy that is always there about the same time that Matt and I go to the gym. He looks like he's in about as good a shape as we are but he hops on the devil machine and starts going like there'll be no tomorrow! Seriously, this guy cranks up that machine and moves faster for longer than I've seen anyone else do. Needless to say I was impressed. If this guy can stay on the devil machine for an hour and a half surely I could stay on it for a half hour if I put my mind to it.

So I did! Normally this week would have gotten me up to 13 minutes on the devil machine. But after watching this guy and having seen him keep on going forever and not have a care in the world...I decided I'd push it. First, I hopped on a machine right next to that guy so my motivation was right there next to me. Then, I made it to my 13 minutes and I told myself...I can go to 15. Just 2 more minutes. That's not hard, I've already done 13...what's 2 more? So as I worked my way to 15, I distracted myself with the television. I concentrated on reading what the ticker was saying and by the time we got to a commercial break I looked down at my machine's timer and it said 15:42.

Sweet! I made it almost 16 minutes and you know what? I can do a few more minutes. I've already done 16, I can do 4 more minutes and go to 20. It's not so bad. Again, as I got closer to 20 minutes, I turned my attention back to the TV for a while until there was another commercial break and I looked down. 22 minutes. Awesome! Well, I'm already at 22 minutes, let's round up and I'll stop at 25 if I'm really tired and just can't take it anymore.

When I got to 25 minutes I was really glad I was on the machine next to that guy. I suddenly understood why girls hang up their swimsuits in the kitchen while they're dieting to remind them why they're dieting! At 25 minutes I was positive I was too tired to make it to 30. But once glance to the side showed me that guy, huffing and puffing and sweating like a pig BUT....he was still going. I glanced at his timer and it read 1 hour 9 minutes. If he could do it, so could I. So I bucked up and kept going.

I made it to 31 minutes on the devil machine. I hopped off and my legs were a little wobbly and I was really thirsty. Later that first night I had to spend 10 minutes stretching my legs cause they were cramped up. The next day I couldn't bear to think about getting on the devil machine again. But when I got to the gym, there was that guy. So I got on the machine.

Monday I did 15 minutes, Tuesday I did 31. Wednesday 15 minutes and Thursday 35. Today it will be back to 15 minutes again. Every 30 minutes I'm on that devil machine I burn 250 calories. On the treadmill I was burning 100-120 in the same amount of time. That rocks! So I plan to continue my schedule and hopefully make that 30 minutes into an hour in the future. I know that that guy will be there at the gym to inspire me. And even when he's not there, I'll remember him for a while yet. Maybe someday I'll get up the courage to thank him for his example that helped me to push myself when I exercise.