Big gains at the gym by working out at home

I visited the gym yesterday for the first time in many years. I walked through the door with two objectives. I wanted to test my strength level by doing some bench presses, and I wanted to try the Concept2 rowing machine. I started with the bench. I was hoping to do 225 lbs. at least once. I manged 4 reps. This was after working my way up to that weight from 135. I was surprised by how easily I was able to handle the weight. I could do a few reps with 225 when we used to visit the gym before we had kids. I would lift two or three times a week. Seeing that I haven't lifted in close to 5 years, I thought I made be able to struggle through one rep. The fact that I was able to lift more by doing whole body exercises and push-ups while working out in my garage than I was able to do while lifting regularly has affirmed my workout strategy.

As for the rowing machine, I read about the Concept2 machine somewhere online or in a magazine late last year. I thought about buying one, but at $900 or so, that wasn't something I could buy without knowing whether or not I would enjoy the workout. I only thought about getting one because I was intrigued by the challenges and competitions Concept2 runs through their website. Competition is a big motivator for me so I thought having an exercise machine that would give an outlet to my competitive nature could only help. But would I like the workout. After doing two miles on it yesterday, I can say that I really enjoyed the workout. It's a simple machine, but it provides so much feedback it's easy to set a goal and use the workout to see if you can make it. The designers of the display must have read Flow because it easily satisfies the requirements of a good flow activity. I'm looking forward to doing it again next Saturday. Maybe I'll even look for a used one online.

A little postscript here, I just added another book to my read list. I'm making excellent progress on this resolution, but a good number of the books I have read this year were either bought this year or borrowed from the library. The book I added tonight, Geeks and Geezers, came from a coworker who got it from the library in our building. I needed to get it through it this weekend as I promised to give it back to her Monday morning. I wanted to use that resolution to work through my substantial back log of books that I want to read. Maybe I'll focus on that aspect of the resolution in the second half of the year, until I start working on my MBA anyway.