Monday, January 19, 2009

Puddin's 24 Hour Fitness



Friday night while riding on the old DP stationary bike and listening to all of the creaks and squeaks it was making, I decided it was time for us to go high tech at The Compound with regards to our fitness. I decided I wanted a cool new stationary bike to ride indoors. So Mom and I headed out to a sporting goods store and while looking at an upright bike, I noticed an interesting recumbent bike. I'd never ridden one before, but I've heard horror stories about them; stories of how it will kick your ass when you ride it. I tried it out and fell in love with it. But the final decision was up to Mom, since she would be riding it, too. I don't even need to tell you that it was all the sales guy and I could do to pry Mom off the bike when it was time to leave. She said there was almost no pressure at all on her knees and back, and I can agree with her one hundred percent on that. And I had to agree totally with what recumbent bike riders said about it kicking them; after my maiden voyage on it tonight I will testify that it in deed will kick you. I thought I was a badass for riding the old exercise bike for ten miles a day; that's nothing compared to the workout I got tonight. I made it through eight miles and then almost crawled to the desk so I could post this. It was a good, hard workout - and I was only on the lowest tension setting, too. But it got my heart rate up to where it should be in the target zone, and I could really feel that my thighs got one heck of a workout.

It comes with a very cool water bottle holder, and the computer display tells you everything you need to know - RPM, MPH, how long you've been pedaling, distance, calories burned and even your pulse rate. I'm going to rig up something so I can hang my portable DVD player on it so I can watch a movie while I pedal. Size wise, it takes up just about the same amount of floor space as the old exercise bike, and it's easy to move around thanks to wheels on the front of it. There is only one small drawback to the recumbent bike, however - with the position of my legs and butt, my iPod kept sliding out of my pants pocket while I was pedaling. But other then that, I have no complaints. Tomorrow I'll dig out a cool arm band that holds the iPod. Granted I've only used it for one workout, but it's great machine, and it definitely gets the TWIT Seal Of Approval. I'll keep you posted on how my legs feel tomorrow.

2 comments:

Toots said...

Does this qualify under "parking lot watch"?

Puddin said...

Since I'm the editor, writer and publisher of TWIT, I get to set the rules. And I say no, this does not qualify for "Parking Lot Watch." First of all, with the deal I got on the bike, it really wouldn't qualify for what I call a "major purchase." Second, it goes nowhere, so I couldn't actually ride it into the parking lot. So no, it does not count. More on "Parking Lot/Major Purchase/Trip Watch" to come in a future TWIT entry.