Weapons of Fat Destruction

When people find out how much weight I've lost, one of the first questions tends to be "how did you do it?"  My answer is always "The good ol' fashioned way, diet and exercise!"

Since that may tends not to be enough and usually have to elaborate, I thought that I would do a little series on the tools that I have been using to help me be successful.

Thus, I present to you:

My rower.  I named him Phil

Weapons of Fat Destruction:

Tonight's Weapon: The Rowing Machine

This is a new found love.  These machines have always intimidated me.  They are set off to the side at my gym, away from all the other "serious"  machines.  There are just two of them, and they are literally in their own corner behind a pillar so that no one can see them.  I've wanted to try them for a while because I thought it would be a good way for me to work out my arms (which have needed some special attention for a while now...)  Finally a few weeks ago in an effort to break through my plateau, I gathered up the courage and ventured over to this area, blew the dust off the seat, and began what will surely be a long term relationship.

The first time I used it, I had no clue what I was doing.  I set it on a low setting because I didn't want to over do it.  I quickly realized I needed to increase the tension level as the low levels were far too easy.  As of right now, I'm not doing it for very long; maybe 15 minutes or so at the end of my workout.  By that point my back starts to ache a little bit.  But, I love doing this at the end of my workout rather than at the beginning because after I'm dripping with sweat I can sit down at this machine and the constant moving back and forth on the rowing machine actually gets a good breeze going.  You aren't all sweaty and gross at the end of it!  My breathing is quick, so I know I got a good workout but you don't have that feel of "ick" that you get after sitting on a stationary bike, or running on a treadmill.

If I'm going at my typical steady pace, I tend to burn about 10 calories per minute, so I'm averaging 150 calories per workout on this machine thus far.  I hope to be able to increase my time on the machine, but I really don't want to over do it too much.  I will build up my stamina slowly, because the last thing I need is an injury due to impatience.

I do have to admit that I think I'm already seeing some results in my arms.  It could all be in my head, but I really think they look better.  I feel stronger too.

The one downside to the machine is figuring out where to put my iPod!  I lost my arm band, so when I'm working out on the other machines I'm putting it in a drink holder or the iPod specific cubby.  This machine doesn't have anything like that obviously, and you need both your hands so its not like you can hold it.  So where have I been putting it?  My good ol' trusty sports bra!  I feel kind of silly about it and I typically wipe it down with the sanitizer afterwards, but for right now it's working.  It just looks like I have rectangular iPod shaped growth.

So, there you have one of my tools to success.  I'll keep you posted on how my relationship with Phil develops.  Hopefully he and I are in it together for the long haul.