a group cycling class, including hill sprints and interval drills. Other videos,
designed for bikes, treadmills, and stair-climbers, transport you to the Grand
Canyon, a Hawaiian rain forest, or the Swiss Alps. You can find a selection of
these videos in the resources we describe in Chapter 19.
If you work out at a gym, plug into the TVs that are either suspended in front
of the cardio machines or attached to each individual contraption. (We’re
fond of all this new technology; gone are the days when you had to negotiate
with your fellow gym members to find a mutually agreeable show. Suzanne
once had to miss a crucial episode of Melrose Placebecause two guys on the
bikes next to her insisted on watching a basketball game. The nerve... .)
Read a magazine ................................................................................
Kill two birds with one stone: Burn calories while you catch up on your read-
ing. Suzanne is a much more informed citizen during the winter, when she
spends a fair amount of time on the stair-climber, than she is during the
summer, when she’s outside on her road bike.
This is a good time to read the fitness magazines we talk about in the
Appendix. Exercise magazines offer lots of encouragement and tend to
contain easy-to-skim lists. When you’re drenched in sweat on the elliptical
trainer, taking in “Ten Ways to Boost Energy and Get Stronger” is a lot easier
than concentrating on an essay about Indonesian politics. Note:As we explain
in the “Treadmill” section later in this chapter, don’t read while you’re walking
or running on the treadmill.
Exercise in short spurts ...................................................................
To break up the monotony, do ten minutes on the treadmill, followed by ten
minutes on the bike, and then ten minutes on the rowing machine. Or try short
bouts on a cardio machine with five minutes of weight lifting. As we explain
in Chapter 8, it’s a myth that you must exercise for 20 or 30 consecutive min-
utes. Breaking up your workout into small chunks isn’t a good strategy to use
every day if you’re training for a marathon, but if your goal is simply to burn
calories and improve your health, the total time you spend exercising is what
matters most.
Think, but not too hard ....................................................................
People tend to have their most creative ideas when they’re doing something
repetitive that doesn’t involve their mind completely. But don’t set out to
solve the U.S. health-care crisis during your workout. Instead, use your time
Chapter 9: Using Cardio Machines 131