What would I give for an iPad? 10 pounds of flesh, apparently.
Me: "I need to get an iPad to use at the gym."
Neal: "You don't even GO to the gym!"
Me: "I would if I had an iPad."
Neal: "Go to the gym regularly for six months and you can get one."
Me: "Define 'regularly.'"
So I am now committed to exercising three times a week for the next six months, a total of 78 workout sessions of reasonable length. We're still negotiating whether completing 78 sessions early still counts.
Starting conditions: Weight in the 135-140 range. (In early April I was 15 pounds heavier!) Other than a few false starts, I haven't exercised regularly since I was a senior in college. That was 5 years ago and my flabby underarms, drooping butt, mental resilience, and emotional stability haven't fared too well. I feel like crap most of the time and something's gotta change. The ridiculously fit guys in my office swear by exercise as the solution to my ills. So, I'm finally giving their advice a shot.
So, anyone care to bet against me over whether I can do this? You could buy me an iPad to pay your bet when you lose. 
I figure I'll shoot for daily exercise so when I flake out sometimes I'll have a buffer to still get my minimum three times/week. We'll see how well this goes...
Exercise log (updated daily):
Month 1:
- Sat 5/29: 30min on the recumbent bike
- Sun 5/30: 30min on the recumbent bike
- Mon 5/31: We're going to count this day even though we didn't go to the gym because we got our exercise through rearranging almost all the future in our house.
- Wed 6/2: 25min on the recumbent bike
- Thur 6/3: 35min on the recumbent bike at resistance 7
- Mon 6/7: 20min on the recumbent bike. Started at resistance 10 but it was too much so I downgraded to 7 and then 5.
- Tue 6/8: 20min on the recumbent bike at resistance 7
- Fri 6/11: 45min on the recumbent bike at resistance 7
- Mon 6/14: 30min on the recumbent bike at resistance 7
- Wed 6/16: 25min on the recumbent bike at resistance 8
- Sun 6/20: 20min on the recumbent bike at resistance 8
- Mon 6/21: 25min on the recumbent bike at resistance 9
- Wed 6/23: 25min on the recumbent bike at resistance 9
- Wed 7/7: 20min on the recumbent bike at resistance 7 (yeah, I fell off the wagon for a couple weeks)
- Mon 7/19: 20min of swimming
June 3rd, 2010 - 01:50
Recumbent bike is a pretty soft means of exercise unless you’ve scheduled the resistance to get your heart-rate up.
Also: impressive schnorring to try to redefine “regularly for six months” as “78 times in three months.”
June 3rd, 2010 - 08:57
Yeah I’ve found when I sit next to her and do the recumbent bike I have to use level 13 just to get my heart rate up to 105. Ideally I want to be around 115 to 120 for my cardio workout although my heart rate stays in that area nearly the entire time I lift which is usually 45 minutes.
June 3rd, 2010 - 14:28
I can read on the recumbent bike, and it’s better than the nothing I was doing before.
June 3rd, 2010 - 16:21
You should be able to read on the elliptical; any decent gym has those little plexiglass S-shaped things that hold book-pages in place. And if the elliptical has a heart-rate monitor attached, it can automatically vary resistance to get you where you want to go.
June 3rd, 2010 - 20:10
The recumbent bike can do the same thing as far as varying resistance to get your heart rate where you want it.
June 3rd, 2010 - 09:41
I’d bet against you but having you buy me an iPad when you’re not getting one might damage our friendship.
June 3rd, 2010 - 21:33
I like this. You’re being tricked into developing good habits, lol. I hope it works out
June 3rd, 2010 - 21:43
Whatever works!
June 3rd, 2010 - 21:52
One of the aforementioned ridiculously fit guys in my office heard why I started exercising and asked me, “But what about reduced body fat? Blood pressure? Overall health?”
I replied, “Screw all that, I just want an iPad.”
June 5th, 2010 - 07:07
I suspect that the iPad desire will be quite motivating — do you have a weekly chart to track progress?
I do think weight, alone, is plenty of second metric (after visits), but visits are the most important.
I think I should do something similar, myself, for me — so I’m rooting for you.
This dual blog looks like a good idea. You two also look like a good couple.
I’m also thinking I’ll start blogging again … on wordpress, too.
June 5th, 2010 - 07:42
I’m only interested in the gambling aspect of this. Because I’ll bet on anything. Go to the gambling site and post a line.