Exercising caution over my fitness
I AM on the verge of buying an exercise bike although my decision on which to choose keeps getting delayed by one-star reviews.
Ninety percent of its ratings might be five star and verified buyers may praise its build and ease of operation, but I get snagged on that one-star doubt that comes from 2% of 168 users who suggest a metaphorical wheel will fall off within a week.
It’s also difficult to assess which will do the job properly. I am tempted by a machine described as recumbent with a soft seat and back rest upon which the less-thaneager fitness fanatic can recline. Except the position might have me nodding off.
Also briefly considered was a set of pedals you can use while sitting on a sofa watching TV or placed under a table while eating your dinner, but I’m not sure about stability and the possible soup or curry spillage.
And I certainly don’t want it under my desk so I can pedal while I work, as who knows what keys I might hit to create an Examiner column of obtuse vulgarity.
At the other extreme are the Pelaton adverts on TV, where sweating girls and chaps, cycling at top speed in their front rooms, join thousands of others live via handlebar screens to push themselves to the limit with an instructor shouting encouragement. I can imagine them sending each other high fives of success at the top of the Holme Moss challenge, while I would still be in Holmfirth considering fish and chips at Hollowgate Fisheries.
Susan Dicks suggests I try the Health Shack
Almondbury.
“They provide gentle motorised exercise for people of all ages, abilities and disabilities. You can do all six machines in 30 minutes and you don’t even have to change your clothes. You can also have an infrared sauna, a massage or physiotherapy by appointment. I go three afternoons a week and find it very beneficial.”
It sounds extremely
Susan, but is not for me.
Like Groucho Marx, I am averse to joining clubs that would have me as a member, particularly one which would put my exercise com
fitness
club
at
civilised, mitment on a formal footing. I will be much more comfortable indulging in the privacy of my own home where, I have speculated, I could watch BBC morning news and eat a bacon buttie while in the saddle.
Sue Murray has chosen such a path and assures me she combines home cycling with small screen viewing. “I bought an exercise bike a few months ago and found if I watched TV or listened to music I cycled further. I have yet to try to eat a bacon buttie at the same time.”
Rather than one of those sit-upand-beg bikes with a seat like a cheese cutter, I’ve opted for a recumbent that is designed to pro
I don’t want something under my desk so I can pedal while I work, as who knows what keys
I will hit...