Two Ideas to Use at the Fitness Center Treadmill

The fitness center is a wonderful tool for weight management and muscle building.  Through perseverance, endurance can be learned and mastered.  A stronger body can be obtained whether on the treadmill, weight bench, rowers and steppers, barbell or any number of other fitness center equipment.

Especially for newcomers to the fitness center results want to be seen sooner rather than later.  They want their numbers to improve overnight.  Although this may be possible for many, for most results can only be seen after improved endurance over a period of time.  I know this since I've been attending out fitness center consistently for about three months now.

I have two suggestions for improved endurance on one piece of equipment.  This is one of the most popular tools for body toning and that is the treadmill.  Now, I am not a runner by any means.  My flat feet make running the treadmill sound like a duck running for its life.  I am antsy and I also expect results.  I can sway my attention from the digital screen for only so long.  When my eyes do wander down I expect good numbers whether it be how far I've gotten or the time in which I got that far.  For my psyche, undesirable numbers tend to pop the steam from my balloon rather immediately.  To help prevent the temptation of looking at the screen I've noticed a couple things that have helped.

1. Television - Many fitness centers offer cable or satellite television in front of many of their stationary equipment such as treadmills, stair steppers and spinners.  I use this intently for concentration.  As an added reason it is also the only time I can get my fill of world news.  I tend to watch Fox News.  Watching television helps keep your mind in one place while the body is doing something else.  To a minimal degree this disconnects the mind from much of the pain the body is enduring.  As an extension to this idea try turning on the CC or Closed Captioning.  I find this to be really helpful.  Not only does this lessen the burden of noise for others it also increases your concentration exponentially.  Reading requires much more focus than just watching.
2. Tape - Still, after a while when the idea gets into my head I can feel my brain straining my eyes to look down at my numbers on the treadmill digital screen.  I would suggest applying a piece of masking tape to the screen particularly over the display you are most concerned with.  If you want to avoid the entire screen then initiate the white out operation.  In other words throw a towel over the display.    

It does take time for the mind to be agreeable with the current status of the body.  Getting them both to work in concert together is a daunting task.  Small ideas like this may seem stupid and worthless to many - perhaps even most.  Yet, there are those few out there, like me, who need these simple small ideas to make all the difference in their weight management routine.