Like a lot of people, I'm in the process of taking stock of my overall well-being. It's been a few years since I've been up to date on doctor's appointments, and having turned 30, I felt like it was time to really take control of my health.
I wasn't entirely surprised to discover that the unhealthy eating that I and many other people have turned to as a source of comfort over the past few years has not served me well. With my cholesterol a little high and my overall vibe generally sluggish, exercise seems like a good thing to get both my mind and my body back in a better place.
Like most other things, this is easier said than done. I don't have an overabundance of free time in my days as it is, and sometimes fitting in one more thing will take me from on edge to beyond the brink.
I decided to try to find some creative solutions.
I remembered being a kid and seeing all these different little "As Seen on TV" exercise machines that you could use while sitting on your couch. In fact, I may have coaxed my grandparents into buying me one or two of them, just because they looked fun.
I figured that something like that could be a step in the right direction, so I started searching. I was surprised at how much fancier these machines are now than the flimsy little bike pedals I pumped until they broke back in the '90s.
After poring over some impressive possibilities, I picked the right one for me.
I decided to go with the LifePro Under Desk Elliptical Machine for Home and Office. It has sitting value, it has standing value, and you can even engage your arms with the included resistance bands. It felt like a good bit of options for a decent value ($179 with a $20 coupon at checkout at the time of this writing).
When it got to my house, I was both impressed and intimidated.
On one hand, this thing was certainly not flimsy. It has a bit of weight to it, though thankfully it also includes some wheels to make it easier to move around. It also came with a number of accessories that made it seem like they packed a lot into one fairly small unit.
First things first: Time to set it up.
Setting up the elliptical was pretty easy. It comes with a nonslip mat you can put down on your floor underneath it. It needs a two AAA batteries for the display and even comes with the screwdriver you need to put them in. For under-the-desk use, you don't need to have the resistance bands attached. You can increase or decrease the resistance of the pedals themselves using the dial in the middle.
Using it took a little getting used to.
I spent the first few days toying with different resistance levels and seeing how much use I could actually get out of the thing. Admittedly, it took me a day to realize the elliptical comes with a chair strap to tether it to the chair so you don't slide away from the desk while you pedal.
It wasn't just cool for exercise — it kind of helped my concentration, too.
It started out with me consciously pedaling through 5- to 10-minute periods throughout the day. As the days passed, however, I found myself pedaling while I was working through ideas, pedaling hard when I was trying to make sense of something. For someone who is naturally on the fidgety side, this definitely helped me sit still and focus on getting things done.
After a few days of use, I checked out the booklet to see all the intended benefits.
Chronic pain, one of the issues it can help with, is a major pain point in my life. I didn't notice a difference in any particular pain in the first few days I was using this, but by the second or third week, I did feel like I was a little more energetic and alert, which maybe bought me a little more time before the day's pains would set in.
I wasn't the only one interested in it, either.
Living with two guys who love to take things apart and put them back together, I knew it was only a matter of time before they were checking out my new gadget. There were plenty of days I found them at the desk, feet strapped in, pedaling away.
Once I started building an appreciation for the desk use, I tried it standing.
I thought this would be a no-brainer transition. Just do the same thing you do while you're sitting down but do it standing up, right? Well, not quite.
It turns out, you have to step in the opposite direction.
You need one kind of incline to sit and pedal and another to stand. You'll remember because the slots for the resistance bands should be in front of you, not behind. You don't have to use them, but I was enjoying doing both.
It took a few weeks of use before I really felt comfortable.
I am admittedly skeptical of my own athletic abilities. It took me a while to shed the feeling of "Am I doing this right?" It felt awkward and uncoordinated, and sometimes it could be a little discouraging.
I did find my stride.
Before I knew it, my relationship with the elliptical took a turn for the better. I tried to shed the self-doubt and just enjoy it. With some good music and no strong parameters, I focused on just using it as long as it felt good instead of trying to commit to a certain amount of time. It worked, and I ended up spending more time on it than I intended in most situations.
I didn't just get some extra cardio in. I got a way to exercise that I could actually enjoy.
It's no secret that I'm not a natural athlete. It takes some convincing to get moving, especially when I know how crummy I might feel after the fact. But this little fold-up, wheel-around elliptical has given me a new perspective and less pain, and hopefully, in time, it will help improve my overall health.
