Do you work the machine or are you along for the ride?

StaceyL76

*** I in no way pass judgement on others, this is just an observation that I wanted to share in order to provoke thought. Everyone's journey is thier own and I honor and respect that.***

Hiya Pals,

Since I started my journey back into a fit body, which was almost 3 weeks ago, I have been very focused during my workouts. I mean I have been making sure to pay attention to form and force. I have some issues with injuries.. That is not the only reason I pay attention.. When I started this leg of my journey, I desired a strong fit body and with that, the weight will come off. So when I workout, I want to put my all into it... That has not always been the case, I have worked out on and off for many years.. nothing consistent in the last 10 years - sometimes just going to go through the motions. I mean getting on the machine and letting it take me for a ride for 30 minutes and jumping off and calling it good. As I looked around the gym today, I noticed some folks just going through the motions, and that is cool, I don't know the motivations behind their activities.. I just noticed and it reminded me of how I had previously worked out in these last 10 years. Before that, I was warrior, smashing out workouts..etc... However, I went through a funk.. a 10 year long funk.

I have noticed running or walking on a treadmill is much easier than walking or running outside or on a non-motorized path. So when I workout and it is in the gym on a machine, I focus and take that machine for a ride. I push it, work it hard and get the most out of each level. I do this because my main goal is a strong fit body and the side effect will be escaping the extra insulation I am carrying. LOL

Have you guys had similar thoughts? Do you work the machine, or are you along for the ride?

I sincerely hope this provokes thought and doesn't offend anyone. : )

richiefixo

i definately work the hell out of that machine!.....one time i was going so fast on the elliptical i ruptured the belt .........lol

JackieJ13

I've mostly been along for the ride, but you've given me something to think about.

hush7hush

A friend of mine at the gym is exactly like that.
They will just sit on the bike and text.
Or stand on the side rails of the treadmill.
Or work the elliptical for like two minutes, then just ride it until it stops.
It drives me crazy when I'm busting my *kitten* and sweating all over the place.
But my friend is just kicking it.
Sometimes I want to look at them and say "THAT IS WHY YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT!"

e1lindsay

i figure as long as i'm sweaty, hot and tired, i've done my best....

ejohndrow

Yep I know what you're sayinng. Personally I like to beat the machine up, and if I don't it's because of the resistance (like when I put it on hill climb and get it up to a 16). When I was younger I was probably more guilty of just going through the motions, but since weight and strength are measured as a part of my livelihood I have really started to take my workouts a lot more seriously.

sarglava

Some days my motivation decides for me... so both. Sometimes I realize that I'm being a whimp on whatever machine it is and then rev it up a bit. I want to burn as many calories as I can!

Fancy_Nancy2

Bump

erikblock

For me, it really depends on the day. Sometimes I'm feeling strong, and I just go nuts. I push the machines to the limit. Other days, I'm just barely hanging in there, and I'm lucky to get a passive 30 minutes in. I try to just give it the best I feel I'm capable of on any given day.

ftoddw

Great question.

I was thinking the same thing yesterday as I was on the elliptical machine while my heart rate soared past 175 and I was panting like a dog, burning about 27 calories a minute while next to me a woman was reading a book. Reading a book?!

We both were on identical machines for the same 45 minutes, but i kept thinking, "Does this woman actually think she's getting a workout?" I mean it was better than sitting in an easy chair and eating bon bons while she read, but her speed never went above 5 mph, while I fight like crazy to keep mine above 7.5 mph.

You get out of it what you put into it. My machine thanked my hard work by telling me I had burned 1287 calories, while the woman next to me didn't even burn 300 (according to the machine).

lisapickering

I'm with you! I get on the machine and work as hard as I can. Sweat on the floor, wobbly legs and short of breath... and I love it! I'm not here to tell anyone what to do but when people tell me they go to the gym everyday and can't lose weight I wonder if they are the ones barely raising their heartrate. Just going to the gym isn't enough. I know the reason that I've lost weight is because I work by butt off everyday.

richiefixo

Sometimes I want to look at them and say "THAT IS WHY YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHHAHAH! omg we have to be twins cos thats what i think 247 when i am people watching at the gym!

...:P

hush7hush

Sometimes I want to look at them and say "THAT IS WHY YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHHAHAH! omg we have to be twins cos thats what i think 247 when i am people watching at the gym!

...:P

There is this HUGE girl at my gym.
She sits on the bike and reads.
Maybe makes one movement every five minutes.
And I'm thinking "hey hippo, I'd like to use that machine."
Or "you gotta move it to lose it."
But those are all way too mean.
So I just keep my mouth shut and hit the cybex arc trainer instead.
Like I have to make up for her calories. LOL.

Or this dude that sits at the bench press and EATS!
WHO DOES THAT?!?!?!?!?!
Seriously!

slapshotgolf

No offence...good question. I probably started on the "ride" end of things when I began....my weight didn't allow me to do then what I can do now.....but it helped me lose the weight required to get here....As I began to take the machine for a ride, I bought an HRM, and it made me more aware of the calorie burn rate, and the need to elevate my heart rate...I'm the opposite though..can run much longer distances outdoors than on a treadmill...the monotony of the same scenery makes it hard for me to prolong my indoor runs...

addman72

I like to think I work it , enough sweat comes of me to suggest I do.

Every week I improve , I can run harder , longer.

I do see some people at the gym walking on the treadmill , reading a book , but if they are comfortable with that then thats up to them.

StaceyL76

Thanks for your thoughts on this. It is good to know that other's have similar thoughts that are inline with focusing on strong fit bodies and of course burning calories to help trim up. ; )

I do appreciate your time.

koosdel

I am proud to say that I am on my second elliptical!

BflSaberfan

Well, I guess its better than them sitting on the couch doing nothing.

I dont notice other people when I'm at the gym. I have 1 focus, 1 goal. No time to worry about others there.

Sometimes I have lazy days at the gym when I feel tired, or maybe coming down with something,....at that moment someone might look at me and say "wow she's lazy, barely moving" what they dotn know is that I've lost 50lbs by working it all year and maybe just need an easier day.

anzura

I have to disagree with the treadmill being easier than running outside. I find the consistent pace of the TM to push me harder than the random pace I do outside. I slow down when I'm tired, but the TM keeps me pushing and consistent.

I don't really get the elliptical. It makes my feet go numb and I don't get a good workout no matter how hard to push it. It's a weird machine. Now the recumbent bike is the best to me!! Talk about a booty burn!

sillygoose1977

I have noticed that the same people who barely exert any effort at the gym are the same people who stare at me like I'm psycho when I am tearing up the elliptical and the bike.

erikblock

I have to disagree with the treadmill being easier than running outside. I find the consistent pace of the TM to push me harder than the random pace I do outside. I slow down when I'm tired, but the TM keeps me pushing and consistent.

I don't really get the elliptical. It makes my feet go numb and I don't get a good workout no matter how hard to push it. It's a weird machine. Now the recumbent bike is the best to me!! Talk about a booty burn!

It's interesting to talk to different people about the road running vs. treadmill running issue. From a purely physiological perspective, one would assume that the treadmill is PHYSICALLY easier because a belt is doing some of the work for you. You sort of just have to pick your feet up and give yourself a small push, and the belt moves under you. Obviously, on the road, this luxury doesn't exist. I know that I tend to be able to run farther outside because I don't get as bored with the scenery, but my legs are also MUCH sorer from running outside. I can do 5 miles on the treadmill and not feel a thing the next day, and if I do 5 miles outside, my legs are feeling it for the next 2 days.

End6ame

Why use a machine at all?

jamiesgotagun

I have noticed that the same people who barely exert any effort at the gym are the same people who stare at me like I'm psycho when I am tearing up the elliptical and the bike.

I notice the exact same thing and get strange looks because I am sweating so bad, but that is what I am there for!!!!!

anzura

I know that I tend to be able to run farther outside because I don't get as bored with the scenery, but my legs are also MUCH sorer from running outside. I can do 5 miles on the treadmill and not feel a thing the next day, and if I do 5 miles outside, my legs are feeling it for the next 2 days.

I totally agree with the boredom thing. I can only tolerate 45 mins max on a tm before I want to pull my hair out.

I think the sore legs and the feeling of working harder outside is due to the varying terrain. You can climb all you want on a tm, but you can never run downhill. Before my tm was all busted up, I would use it for a tempo run. I hated doing tempos when hills were involved. I don't live in a flat area. So needless to say, I don't run many tempos anymore :ohwell:

StaceyL76

I have to disagree with the treadmill being easier than running outside. I find the consistent pace of the TM to push me harder than the random pace I do outside. I slow down when I'm tired, but the TM keeps me pushing and consistent.

I don't really get the elliptical. It makes my feet go numb and I don't get a good workout no matter how hard to push it. It's a weird machine. Now the recumbent bike is the best to me!! Talk about a booty burn!

It's interesting to talk to different people about the road running vs. treadmill running issue. From a purely physiological perspective, one would assume that the treadmill is PHYSICALLY easier because a belt is doing some of the work for you. You sort of just have to pick your feet up and give yourself a small push, and the belt moves under you. Obviously, on the road, this luxury doesn't exist. I know that I tend to be able to run farther outside because I don't get as bored with the scenery, but my legs are also MUCH sorer from running outside. I can do 5 miles on the treadmill and not feel a thing the next day, and if I do 5 miles outside, my legs are feeling it for the next 2 days.
[/quote

Yes, that is where I was coming from, you have a machine or belt moving for you. Outside, walking, jogging, or running, I have to push off the ground. It feels different and like more work to propel my body forward. ; )

Very interesting to hear other's perspective on this.

Thank you all for particpating..

JDMPWR

*** I in no way pass judgement on others, this is just an observation that I wanted to share in order to provoke thought. Everyone's journey is thier own and I honor and respect that.***

Hiya Pals,

Since I started my journey back into a fit body, which was almost 3 weeks ago, I have been very focused during my workouts. I mean I have been making sure to pay attention to form and force. I have some issues with injuries.. That is not the only reason I pay attention.. When I started this leg of my journey, I desired a strong fit body and with that, the weight will come off. So when I workout, I want to put my all into it... That has not always been the case, I have worked out on and off for many years.. nothing consistent in the last 10 years - sometimes just going to go through the motions. I mean getting on the machine and letting it take me for a ride for 30 minutes and jumping off and calling it good. As I looked around the gym today, I noticed some folks just going through the motions, and that is cool, I don't know the motivations behind their activities.. I just noticed and it reminded me of how I had previously worked out in these last 10 years. Before that, I was warrior, smashing out workouts..etc... However, I went through a funk.. a 10 year long funk.

I have noticed running or walking on a treadmill is much easier than walking or running outside or on a non-motorized path. So when I workout and it is in the gym on a machine, I focus and take that machine for a ride. I push it, work it hard and get the most out of each level. I do this because my main goal is a strong fit body and the side effect will be escaping the extra insulation I am carrying. LOL

Have you guys had similar thoughts? Do you work the machine, or are you along for the ride?

I sincerely hope this provokes thought and doesn't offend anyone. : )

To be very frank about 70% of my gym has no clue as to how to work out, wrong form, right form, I talk to the gym manager/trainer about this and asked him how he doesn't flip out. He said he used to care but realized he was outnumbered and even when he would tell people how to do it right they would go right back to doing it wrong or look at him funny. On that note i learned to mind myself and not worry about anyone else unless they asked me or was sticking out like a sore thumb.

The one thing I will admit is one woman does the stairmaster next to me pretty often and then i hear her *****in about her FAPA yes she reads a book while workig out, barely breaks a sweat, her resistance level is a joke and I one days asked her if she kept track of her calories and the macros for her daily diet? she looked at me like I was a three headed dragon.

CakeFit21

I don't go to the gym, so I hardly ever use machines at all. However, the first thing that came into my mind when reading this was, "I don't work the machine, I AM A MACHINE!!!" :devil:

fteale

I don't do indoor exercise, really, so no machines involved, but I am definitely more an along for the ride person. I want my body to be able to do what I ask of it, but I am not interested in being the fastest I can be, or the strongest. I just want it to work as it should. I exercise to switch off, not focus more.

StaceyL76

I don't go to the gym, so I hardly ever use machines at all. However, the first thing that came into my mind when reading this was, "I don't work the machine, I AM A MACHINE!!!" :devil:

"I AM A MACHINE!!!"

LOVE IT!

Elizabeth_C34

My personal favorite are the girls with boob jobs who just strut around the gym and text in tight clothes. There's one girl at our university gym who does that, and I've never seen her on a machine... ever.... It's like "um, why are you here"?

Elizabeth_C34

I have to disagree with the treadmill being easier than running outside. I find the consistent pace of the TM to push me harder than the random pace I do outside. I slow down when I'm tired, but the TM keeps me pushing and consistent.

I don't really get the elliptical. It makes my feet go numb and I don't get a good workout no matter how hard to push it. It's a weird machine. Now the recumbent bike is the best to me!! Talk about a booty burn!

It's interesting to talk to different people about the road running vs. treadmill running issue. From a purely physiological perspective, one would assume that the treadmill is PHYSICALLY easier because a belt is doing some of the work for you. You sort of just have to pick your feet up and give yourself a small push, and the belt moves under you. Obviously, on the road, this luxury doesn't exist. I know that I tend to be able to run farther outside because I don't get as bored with the scenery, but my legs are also MUCH sorer from running outside. I can do 5 miles on the treadmill and not feel a thing the next day, and if I do 5 miles outside, my legs are feeling it for the next 2 days.

I really can't run on a treadmill. I get bored senseless then I start feeling whiney, and then I quit. My gym workouts are usually strength workouts and short. I do my cardio outdoors in the sunshine, and I really like the added resistence that running on the ground gives. Makes me feel like my workouts are doing more good even if I do less distance.