Virtual Exercise

 It’s been a very unusual week in Fort Worth.  Late Monday night we received sleet followed by snow.  We’ve had ice and snow in North Texas before.  Typically the temperature warms up later in the same day and it melts away without much of a disturbance.  This time, however, the temperatures remained below freezing for the majority of the week.  And although there were sand trucks working like crazy to prove that DFW was worthy of the Super Bowl, many roads remained covered with a sheet of ice.  As a result, schools and many businesses were closed for most of the week.

With ice covering the roads and temperatures below freezing, I couldn’t get out to run or ride my bike.  And the YMCA was closed.  So I had to resort to the Wii Zumba game my sister gave me for Christmas.  I did two twenty minute workouts and worked up a sweat and some extremely sore calves (note: I can still feel the soreness 5 days later).  The following day I decided to try Wii yoga.  It was so fun that I continued on with some other workouts and games that worked on my balance and core.  There are running and cycling games on the menu.  While they provide some sort of aerobic exercise, they are really nothing like running and cycling.  I even decided to go to the driving range and hit some golf balls.  At the completion of the bucket of balls I was given to hit the Wii pronounced me a “professional”.  I’ve never felt like much of a professional when I have hit balls at a “real” driving range.

  

Finally on Saturday the sun came out, the ice and snow began to melt, and the Y was open.  Although it was a gorgeous day and I would have loved to run outside, I decided to play it safe and go to the Y and avoid the possibility of hitting a random ice spot and breaking my tailbone. 

I had no idea what was in store for me at the Y.  The treadmill was different from ones I had been on previously.  It took me several minutes just to figure out how to start it and increase the speed.  Then I noticed there was a connector for my iPod.  So, I plugged in my iPod and began to run.  I watched others around me and found out that I could use the touch screen attached to my treadmill to pick a TV station and watch it on my individual treadmill.  ESPN was available.  I don’t have cable at home and have to invite myself to friends’ houses or go to sports bars when I want to watch Mizzou games that are on ESPN.  Now, I can go to the Y and workout during the games!  Then a woman stepped on to the treadmill next to me, pushed a few buttons, and suddenly her screen looked like she was running through downtown Chicago.  I tried to find the button she pushed.  She noticed and offered to tell me how to do it.  She explained that you had to choose the option before starting.  She continued to tell me that you can run through Chicago, LA, the Sierra Nevadas and Rocky Mountain National Park.  As if that wasn’t enough the screen would add trivia facts about the places you were running and included the sounds of rivers, birds, and background music if you had your headphones plugged in.  Upon completion of my workout I stayed to hike ten minutes through the Sierra Nevadas.  I was able to walk up and view two waterfalls along with many gorgeous views!  Working out at the gym has never been so fun!  I am certainly more motivated to go to the gym and run through each of these courses.  Then my new friend running next to me shared that the Elliptical machines had the same sort of system with a whole different set of places to go.  I can’t get back to the Y soon enough!

I’m a traditionalist.  I prefer to exercise outside in natural settings.  I remember reading an article in Runners World a couple years ago about all the machines that they have at the gym that simulate the outdoors.  I thought, why not just workout outdoors.  And while I still prefer to workout outdoors, I realize there is a place for the gym and I appreciate all the advances in digital technology that make it more fun to run and bike in a gym!