2 trips the gym! Your dedication is admirable, and your humor is a joy, LOL. When I was a gym member I always rolled my eyes at the ridiculous mirror-gazing guys, I loved reading your take on them. Your subtle digs probably did go right over his head, but thanks for sharing them with us!

Hey thanks Johnathan,
Like most of my one hundred day challenge posts, the story is fictional but the exercise is real. Most of my stories have a little thread of truth woven into them(I love using cheesy cliche quotes)like the guy in this story.
P.S- I love the podcast, and think that you really have alot of guts to put it all on the table like that. Our lives in some ways are very similar.(Read my introduce yourself thread, Bonjour from Montreal.) I hope that your Mom is doing well.

Day 7
Cardio-3, 20 minute sessions on the Elliptical or “ Hi, my name is Shawn and I’m an Elliptcalaholic.”
I woke up early this morning with the intention of getting to the gym early to be able to ride Ellisa my favorite Eliptical machine (Hek, Tom calls his bike Fuji).I set out on my way to the gym with the intetion of doing a workout on the elliptical to give my sore foot a break from running. 20 minute later I was at the gym on Ellisa and ready to go!

The first 20 minute interval I tried to keep myself between 60 and 65 rpms. Remember folks 20 minutes on any exercise machine has been know to cause serious outbreaks of boredom. So I decided deploy my secret weapon...my slightly over active imagination!
I imagined myself as Colonel Shawn Austin the 6 dollar and 50 cent man! Roll Intro! You see Shawn on the elliptical machine pumping his heart out.
Holding the handles tightly Shawn exclaims in a garbaly radio voice “I have reached target heart rate! I repeat,I have reached target heart rate!!!!” Shawn pumps even faster!
Everything seems to be going well, when disaster rears its ugly head.
Shawn yells, “I can’t hold on, shes breaking up!"He yells as he is thrown from the elliptical.
The elliptical keeps going as if it is being riddin by some invisble hamster demon, then burst into flames like a 1973 Pinto!
Shawn Austin lying on the floor in a pool of his own sweat not moving.

And so ended the first 20 minute interval. I tried to keep myself between 65 and 70 rpm
Announcer’s voice,"Shawn Austin, an exercisenaught barley finished his workout.”
Oscar voice"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him, we have the technolgy,we can heal his bobo’s.” a picture of a band aid appears on the screen.Oscar voice again,"we have the capability.” You see Shawn Austin still lying on the floor,now sporting an awsome red track suit.(Yes I know,it’s a continuity error,but whose fantasy is this?) Gym guy comes over and applies the bandage to Shawn Austin’s elbow. Shawn Austin rise to his feet like a man possesed by a hamster, smiles and flashes the thumbs up sign then jumps back on the eliptical trainer.Oscar voice again,” To make the first elliptical man, he’ll be bigger, badder, one mean mother… SHUT YOUR MOUTH! He’s a complicated man and nobody understands him but his woman. Shawn… Shawn Shaft!"(Sorry, the song was on my mp3 player at the time )

3rd and last 20 minute interval. Trying to maintain 70 to 75 rpms
We see Shawn Austin back on the (of course wearing the stylish red track suit) elliptical moving so fast his hands are nothing but a blur! The red led says 200 rpm and there is a puddle of sweat under the elliptical the size of lake Michighan.

After finishing my last 20 minute set I took some pictures on my camera phone, Yes it is real sweat!
Walked home and will probably go swimming tonight for an hour.
These pictures remind me of Scotts new avatar.

You absolutely rock. I look a lot like you when I run at the gym. I’m surrounded by old people wearing jeans and sweaters tucked into them not sweating at all. They look at me like I’m insane.

Bree

Thanks for pointing me to your introduction thread, you’re right, we do have some important things in common. And you’ve made a lot of progress prior to starting this 100 Days Challenge! Now I see where you get the stamina for all these 20-minute intervals. Your $6.50 Man story was funny, it probably would have dawned on me sooner or later that there’s a bit of fiction going on here. I guess I knew that, with the talking rodent and such. But I did believe you might have actually taken a verbal jab at the mirror-gazing muscle man, LOL.

Glad you’re listening to my podcast, I appreciate the feedback!

Bree I don’t understand how people can go to the gym and not sweat,unless going to the gym is purely a social event for them.

Johnathon,
I read the post you put in my introduction thread and must say thank you for the lovely salutation.

LOL

that was great......yeah i do the same thing....my imagination keep going....whether listening to the POD or some other imaginary situation with work, triathlon, or whatever!

And I sweat a lot too!....just the way I am (show me a jalapeno, and I break out into a swet).....When I do spin class, there is not a dry spot on my shirt!!! oh well.....I do clean up my machines I use, with those wipes, so no one has to ....well you know

Hi Shawn,

When I read your post about the man in the mirror, I thought was a “ghost of exercise future” showing you how you will look.

Have a great day!

M

Sorry guys, had a really tough day today not feeling very funny.

Day 8-Circuit training Day-back,abs,and shoulders-11 exercises, 12 reps each-3 circuits,and 60 minutes on the elliptical trainer.
Almost made it to the gym by 7 am this morning ended up there at 7:20am (left at seven).
Started with a slow 15 minute warm up on the Ellissa elliptical 60 to 65 rpm.
Went on to do a circuit that took about 10 minutes things were a bit heavy but I felt great.
I decided to do one more 15 minute round on the elliptical this time maintaining 65 to 70 rpm. I am a bit of a masochist, I like to push harder as my body becomes less compliant.
Another ten minute circuit, I am beginning to memorize my exercises and can move very quickly.Being circuit training I don’t have to stop.
I only do 24 minutes on average of cardio per weight training session,so...why not do more?Yes you guessed it the call of Ellisa was to hard for me to resist,again I decided to push up the anty this time from 70 to 75 rpm. Still had enough energy to continue.
Last circuit and I was beginning to feel it, I consider this workout the easier of the two that I do. I should have went home. I had done more than I had to, but I just had to push it.
I decide to do another 15 minutes on the elliptical keeping it between 75 and 80 rpm. Almost didn’t make but I did, my legs were vibrating and I had that super clarity that only can come from an endorphin high.
From beginigng to end the whole workout took me an hour and 38 minutes stopping only to use the washroom and drink. I left the gym thinking that I could take a nap when I got home, I had only got to bed at one am the night before. Got into the house around nine and my girlfriend was already awake and asked me to call my previous place of employment to see if they had my check ready. I called and talked to accountant he said that the check that he had cut for me yesterday morning was still unsigned.
I have been jerked around for this dam check for the last 2 weeks! First it was some sort of clerical error where they had forgotten write me a check for my last 2 weeks. Boy was I pissed! Luckily my girlfriend had gotten her check and we were going to go to the bank and she would give me some money to go grocery shopping and she would go out with her friend.

I’ll leave it at this and continue tomorrow.

Ahh! a new day and a clear mind. Continued from yesterday.
As my girlfriend and I were heading tothe bank I received a call on my cell, it’s the accountant and the cheque had finally been sighned. The problem being I was not dressed for the weather because I thought I was only going to be gone for a couple of minutes,still in my gym clothes I had only gotten the chance to change my t-shirt. I leave my girlfriend and head for my previous place of employment. After a lovely 45 minute bus and metro ride and being extremely fatigued all I wanted to do was to get my cheque and leave. I went to see the accountant, he passes me the cheque and warns me to cash the cheque as fast as possible.My former employer has been in financially trouble for years, many times I have had supplies held hostage for overdue checks.Been forced to improvise solutions with little or nothing because they had no money to pay a repair person or the decided to be cheap and figured that I could hack out a solution. Here is are some examples. Recently I was asked by my employer if I needed a new computer, I replied that we could save money by upgrading the ram and installing a new harddrive. I even offered to install it myself. It took 3 months to get $50 dollar stick of ram. They asked me to buy the harddrive and I refused because I knew it would be like pulling teeth to get it back. I only got the hardrive when I could no longer work because there was no more space. Worst of all the group insurance that we pay for was not being payed.
I ended up running to a bank branch near the metro,I was so cold I thought my limbs would fall off and cashed the check. I hope it passed so I can filially be free of that place!

Sorry you had a bad day. 

At least you spend part of it with your mistress, Ellisa (oops, maybe I shouldn’t post this here, does your girlfriend have access to your postings?)

Thanks Paula,
My girlfriend calls all things I have fun with “my mistress”. I hope that came out right

I’m sorry you had a rough day… and yet you kept going strong- you just keep on amazing me. It was great to hear your introduction on the show this weekend. You are so inspiring!

That was a rough day, but you were still a bit funny. I can tell no one else hijacked your computer and posted for you. Hope tomorrow proves to be better, and that the check clears. What a bunch of crap. Bid Ellisa a hello for me.

Bree

Hey Guys, thank you for the words of encouragement, Rachel thanks for the heads on the episode just downloaded it of Itunes,and will listen to it later.
Been Kinda beat, so here is Saturdays report,gonna keep it short this time,have to go to bed soon (got to be up at 6am to go to the gym)
Day 9
Circuit training-Arms chest and shoulders-1hour on Elissa the Elliptical machine-total time 1 hour 35 minutes
been feeling kind of lazy lately and have not been to the pool since Thursday of this week-tomorrow is cardio day and I don’t know how to top what I’ve been doing lately maybe an hour and forty minutes on the elliptical? (Yes, I know I’m an elliptahollic.Maybe they have a twelve stride program?)
Day 10
Rest Day, cleaned up the house with my girlfriend, took a nice long nap,going back to bed soon. Sleep good!

Day 11
Cardio-80 minutes on the elliptical.4 sets of 20 minutes
My day started off by going to the gym (quel surprise!)and thinking that I would do 60 minutes of cardio, that wasn’t the case. The 60 minutes flew by and I felt I had another 20 minutes left in me so I did another 20. I began to think, 7 months ago I was not able to do this, 10 months ago when I started I would have broken a sweat thinking about doing 80 minutes of exercise, A little bit over a year ago I would have said,"Screw the exercise, I need a cigarette!” and passed out from cardiac arrest just thinking about exercise.
I would never dreamed that I would be doing this. To experience the euphoria of running for the second time in my life(The first time was when I was 3) was incredible,the first time I ran for 30 minutes straight, I wanted to do it again like an e-ticket ride at the fair!
Ask me what my motivation is and I will ask you this-name me one successful fat person, no Santa Clause doesn’t count! I can tell you the answer. It’s me and everyone who is like me,trying to change. Keep pushing your limits you don`t know what you will find.Today you are walking, tomorrow you will run!

Hi Shawn

I heard your story mentioned on the MTM show and came on here to leave you a note to say how impressed I am with what you have achieved so far. Out of darkness can come a little light.

Your latest achievement is just fantastic - that feeling of being able to do something you desperately want to do (in your case running) really is hard to describe and is worth all the hard work. I wish you further success over the next few weeks and beyond.

Fi R xx

Thank you for the kind words Fi,
Day 12-Part 1
Circuit training Day-back,abs,and shoulders-11 exercises, 12 reps each-3 circuits,and 60 minutes on the elliptical trainer
40 minute walk to the gym and back home
15 minutes on the elliptical followed by 10 minute circuit.4 elliptical sessions avreging 80 rpm 3 circuits

Part 2 or “Shawn Scourge of the Deep”
40 minute walk to the gym and back home
55 minutes of continous swimming(I don’t go fast,but I don’t stop)
5 minute cool down stretch

Burned 2500 calories,just a bit tired

  Holycrapola… How do you do it?! Amazing, Shawn…

Yeah, that is quite a workout.  I’m tired after reading it.  Great job!