MOUNT EVEREST

Yesterday I visited a YMCA in Springfield, Illinois that opened its doors for the first time approximately 5 years ago.  It was a beautiful facility.  I entered the Fitness Center and was faced with a completely different brand of cardio equipment.  This facility was filled with LifeFitness Brand.

One of the fun things about visiting different fitness places each week is that I get the opportunity to try a wide variety of machines.

I hopped onto this LifeFitness LCD-0201-07 Elliptical machine and set it for 'VIGOROUS BURN.'  This setting 'adjusts the intensity level based on actual heart rate to maintain the rate at 80% of the theoretical maximum.'   One thing I noticed was that it took me nearly 30 minutes to enter the target heart zone.   Did this mean that I wasn't pedaling hard enough?  Or did it mean that my heart is fairly strong and that it simply requires a lot of vigorous exercise to get into that elevated zone?   I don't know.

The machine allowed a maximum of a 60 minutes workout.   65 minutes with the cooldown period.  I did two sessions separated by approximately 10 minutes.

The machine recorded that I had 'climbed' the equivalent of 27,115 feet (12215 session I, 14900 feet session II)   The machine also recorded that I had traveled a distance of 8.81 miles (4.93 miles session I, 3.88 miles session II)

27,115 feet climb?   This seemed preposterous.   I have learned to accept that the numbers that these various machines fire back at their users are for 'entertainment only.'    The numbers are useful for gauging improvement, especially when one uses the same machine, set for the same type of workout.

However, I must confess that this number, 27,115 feet climbed was simply ridiculous.   And I will tell you why:   MOUNT EVEREST IS 29,029 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.   I did not think that I had climbed the equivalent of the world's tallest mountain.  Nevertheless, I am sure that I had a good workout!

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 Thursday MENU

breakfast   papaya, raw cacao, apricot, mango KIND BAR                     812 calories
lunch         SUBWAY double chicken spinach salad, oat's n honey bar   450 calories
dinner       HY-VEE HUGE SPINACH SALAD, GRANOLA               1171 calories
SNACK    VARIOUS BULK FOODS from FRESH THYME              1129 calories

total calories consumed 3563 calories

calories burned

65 minutes Elliptical machine (Springfield YMCA) LifeFitness LCD-0201-07 1015 calories
ten minutes break
65 minutes Elliptical machine (Springfield YMCA) LifeFitness LCD-0201-07 1161 calories

CALORIES BURNED 2176 CALORIES

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Monday net calories 1387 calories

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