Hi all!

Just a quick post: Today (4/12, Monday) was officially the start of my workout routine.  I’ve been working out on the elliptical for the past couple of years, on and off, so it wasn’t too challenging for me to start my new workout schedule on a familiar machine. I always choose to use the Precor elliptical machines at the gym, which have a number of preset workouts.

This time, I selected ‘Cross Body Training II’ for 30 minutes, with an average resistance level of 5. My goal today was to burn at least 200 calories in 30 minutes. I am happy to say that Day # 1 was a success: I burned 236 calories during my 2.55 mile workout (3365 strides). Twenty minutes into the workout, I was getting a bit tired and sweaty, but was motivated by the fact that I only had 10 minutes to go (that’s only 3 songs – I count minutes as I’m working out in the form of songs to keep myself going!) I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s workout on the treadmill!

Quick question for you: Throughout today’s workout I briefly listened to the news (NPR), 3 songs on my mp3 player and watched passersby on the street below. Are there any particularly interesting podcasts or news programs that you listen to while you work out? Does anyone read anything – books, magazines, etc? I’d love to hear suggestions!