Last week a friend of my on MyFitnessPal wrote about how she had just purchased a great new machine for her home gym. It was a ProForm Elliptical/Recumbent Bike Hybrid that HSN was selling for $399. The thing that got me to look at it was that they were offering it for 5 payments of $80, which is much more manageable on my budget. Plus, free shipping!
I was SO tempted, but could I justify buying it? I already have a great membership to 24 Hour Fitness that I have at such a great deal ($99/year) that I will never give it up. Plus, I really like the classes (Zumba, Aqua, among others that I want to try) and the interaction with people that the gym offers. But the thought of being able to roll out of bed, put on my sneakers, and just hit this machine was really too much. And those two machines are my favorite cardio machines at the gym.
I checked out all of the reviews I could find online, and the only negative people found was the time it takes to put it together. All the other reviews were positive, mentioning how solid the machine was, how smooth, how much they enjoyed it.
I’m sure you can guess where this is heading. I’m not one to deny myself much if I can help it. And after all the factors mentioned above, I was sold. So I ordered it, and as of today, I am the proud owner of a great new piece of workout equipment.
I can concur that it is a b!tch to put this thing together. My dad is a master at stuff like this and it took us about 2 1/2 – 3 hours to put it together. It wasn’t difficult to follow the directions because everything was outlined and organized so perfectly, but it just had SO MANY STEPS. Luckily for me, my dad is a patient man who will do anything for his daughters, so we got it done and all it cost me was a 49ers sweatshirt. (Yesterday as I was purging and organizing my closets I found a sweatshirt that I’d purchased for myself long ago but never worn. Now it’s too big for me (:)!!) and so I gave it to my dad). Yes, I know just how special my dad is.
After recovering from putting it together, grabbing some lunch, and answering some school emails, it was finally time to give it a go!
I loved it! It’s not as easy as the machines at the gym, but it does work really well. The elliptical mode especially got my heart rate up in no time. The bike was great, too. This machine is really built solid, and is worth much more than the $399 price tag. I’ve seen ellipticals on Craigslist selling for $400 – used. This is a MUCH better option. All told, I was on the elliptical for 15 minutes and the bike for 25 and I burned 570 calories, which is great! I can definitely see myself using it in the morning before school. That way, my after school workouts can be more focused on strength training/C25K (more on that in another post).
I love that I was able to reward all of my hard work and success on the scale with a piece of equipment that will spur me on to even greater success.
What’s a reward you’ve given yourself recently to celebrate a success or to motivate you?
One of the things I love about WW is that they have the concept of “Tools for Living” that help members achieve weight loss success through behavior/attitude (in addition to food, exercise, and support). The Tools for Living strategy that I’ve been using this week is called Winning Outcomes. The idea is basically to look at what you want to achieve and then positively state what you need to do to achieve that outcome. (This same technique is used in business all the time). My winning outcome for the week was to see a loss on the scale on Saturday. In order to achieve that, I realized I needed to get organized. 
Bella on the Beach 