Monday, May 30, 2005
It's more than... goooood
After I gave up jogging a few years ago because my knees could no longer handle the stress, I got an exercise cycle to keep in shape at home. It's one of those machines that also monitor the heart rate, calories burned, spin rpm, etc and can be programmed to simulate jogging courses of varying degrees of difficulty. My regimen is to bike at least twice a week, or 3-4 times if I feel more energetic.
The machine has been tremendously useful since I can force myself into exercising with minimum fuss when I get home late or when the weather is bad. There is one thing I dislike though. It is just plain stingy when it comes to offering encouragement: no matter how hard the routine is, it flashes only a basic "Good Job" message when I finish. And it is not only this brand or model. When I travel and use cycle machines in hotel gyms, often commercial machines more advanced than mine, I still get the same message. Is it really so hard to come up with something different and original?
I got up early this morning for my exercise since I have things planned for Memorial Day. Lately I have been pushing myself harder at the close of the exercise instead of coasting like I used to. Today I cranked the level up one notch and finished with a burst of speed in the last 3 minutes. I put everything I had into that final sprint, faster and harder than I have ever done before. I thought I was about to die and crawled off the bike exhausted and in agony, but at the same time it felt enormously satisfying. As I turned back, the bike was beeping and flashing the same old "Good Job" line, almost smirking. Arghh... Why couldn't it play Beethoven Symphony No 9, or at least roar like Tony the Tiger "You're G-r-r-reeeat"???
- posted by Woofwoof @ 5:32 AM
