Can there be anything more boring than that?
On a threadmill, cross trainer, a rowing machine, etc, I feel like a hamster turning in a wheel.

_________________
If you say no, Elwood and I will come here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week.

Agreed, when I want to run, I enjoy a few miles of open off-road countryside.

Bring something to watch or listen to and take your mind off of it.

I like going to the gym. It gives me time to think. I don't run in the gym though - I run outdoors.

Agreed to this. If you use something like an elliptical you can read while you run - some people can read on the treadmill, but I've never been able to pull that off.

If you insist on enjoying your exercise, take up some sports.

Well I like the gym & the treadmill is one of my favourites! - I guess running outside would be okay apart for rubbish on the path, poor weather, cars and pedestrians (okay some people might live in more pretty locations). It's a great way to switch off a racing mind, I just set myself a target - another 10 minutes at a speed I can't imagine completing and push myself until I do it. Anyone who can read on the treadmill is going too slow & is wasting their time, in my opinion. A hamster? I prefer machine.

_________________
I am John. John-I-Am.

I've gotten the hand of reading on ellipticals and bike machines so that's helped , but I know what you mean. Lately I've been trying to ditch the cardio style workouts at the gym itself and replace them with biking to the gym itself and call that good so I can focus on machines and weights.

Now if I could just swim to the gym...

Bruce "Jim" Young

_________________
Currently reading: Plutarch, Cerebus, and D&Q 25th Anniversary

I had the opportunity to buy a nice treadmill for my place, so I actually set up my TV and XBox so I play Call of Duty online while I run. Definitely makes the running far less detestable.

_________________
1k KGS

The TV is always on in the sport club I go and I watch it but it is still boring.
Reading (or maybe even solving tsumego) would be ok but I cannot do it on a treadmill while running. And definitely not on a rowing machine

I also prefer to run or bike outside but my spring allergies are annoying these days. It will hopefully be over towards the end this month.

_________________
If you say no, Elwood and I will come here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week.

Wow! Guys, all I can say is take the time you spend reading and running simultaneously on the treadmill, cut it in half, and devote yourself fully to each action.

I won't go so far as to say that if you're not uncomfortable it's not exercise, but if you're not uncomfortable, it's barely exercise.

I think it depends on your purpose. If you have a specific goal like losing that many kilos in a month, or getting fit to run a marathon (or something easier), etc then it is true that you must push your limits little by little.

But if the only purpose is feeling better and healthier, then I would say being comfortable (not uncomfortable) is ok.

_________________
If you say no, Elwood and I will come here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week.

Nooo! I do not know a better feeling than that of being in excellent shape and pushing your limits on a 10k run! For me, if it's a good day without any annoying little pains, running often feels good from the start ("hmmm, nice pace, nice weather, how enjoyable") to the end ("woaahh, I can stand the pain... nobody will stop me... I must be Superman!!"). Injuries and beginner discomforts like annoying stings and such are "uncomfortable". Pushing your limits is not.

I have never liked gyms though. The environment is so ugly and devoid of the beauty and the elements. If you can, running through a forest just doubles to the enjoyment.

_________________
My name is Gijs, from Utrecht, NL.

When in doubt, play the most aggressive move

The whole point is that when you sit in a chair reading, your legs are doing nothing, and when you use the elliptical, your eyes and brain are doing nothing. Combining the two is actually cost-free.

We may have different ideas of "uncomfortable" in mind, but if you're used to exercise, running the same distance at the same resistance that you've been doing for months, with appropriate stretches beforehand, should be pretty painless. Sure, if you suddenly decide that you want to turn the dial to 11, or run for twice as long, or something, you're going to have to focus on finishing the run ... but once you acclimate to that, you're golden. Is your idea that it's only "exercise" if it's getting continuously more intense?

Uncomfortable does not mean pain. I'm not talking about training to be a UFC fighter or bust. It is a point of moderate discomfort where you have reached and sustained an elevated heart rate for a significant period of time. Of course, that will depend on personal limitations and fitness levels. But, running the same distance at the same resistance month after month is not going to do very much for your health and fitness, especially if that pace and distance is one that is allowing you to read simultaneously, or play video games, or whatever.

The cost free argument is a case of outsmarting yourself. If one runs at a pace that allows them to read, they are most certainly sacrificing on the quality of their reading, at the very least. While the running is no doubt better from a health standpoint than sitting and reading, it is nevertheless a waste of time (again from a health standpoint) compared to dropping the reading and focusing on running intensively to a state of moderate discomfort.

Few would seriously argue that curling the remote control while watching television is a cost-free activity benefiting your health, but it is not an absurd analogy.

You don't seem to be disagreeing with me despite your cry of "Nooo!", except maybe you interpret my word uncomfortable as injuries or beginner overuse discomforts. Injuries and pains are bad. The feeling: "I can stand the pain, I am Superman" comes long after being somewhat uncomfortable and certainly counts as exercise.

I don't follow. Running six miles in an hour at high resistance is good exercise, regardless of whatever else it is you're doing. Reading 30 pages in an hour is good intellectual stimulation, regardless of whatever else it is your doing. Could I run harder if I weren't reading? Maybe. Or, I could just get bored and run less frequently. Likewise, could I read more, or more thoroughly, if I weren't running? Maybe. Or, maybe I would lose track of time and spend too much time on each article, and end up reading less.



Okay, but as a complex being with multiple interests, I take multiple standpoints simultaneously; I am interested in health and in reading. Perhaps an hour doing both is less intense than an hour doing just one, but if I am spending some time reading and some time exercising, and an hour doing both is equivalent to at least 31 minutes of each activity, then I'm better off spending two hours reading and running, rather than one hour reading and one hour running. Cost-free. I whip up two extra minutes out of nowhere.

As it is, I would estimate that an hour of doing both is worth 50 minutes of running and 40 minutes of reading. But that understates the gain by a bit, because when I'm able to read and exercise at the same time I actually spend less time doing pointless things like posting on forums, since I can squeeze 90 minutes into an hour if I go to the gym.

If DDR counts I guess I work out regularly

_________________
"There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level." -- Bruce Lee

Most of my gym time is spent trying different types of cartwheels. MUCH more fun.