#44 - Intimidating workout equipment

I hate being a fat person, trying to embark on a new-way-of-life fitness regime. We all get motivated by the idea of new exercise equipment, but the fat person has to consider some things a skinny person wouldn't. I end up thinking, "Wouldn't it be fun to try an exercise ball?", but then I worry I'd pop it. You are really limited in the types of exercise equipment you can use. I hate that. This topic comes up because I've been looking to purchase an elliptical trainer lately. I really loved working out on the elliptical at the gym; it was the only machine that didn't kill my knees. On a side note, I have bad knees from my weight. Every time I walk a long distance or run, they hurt very bad. So my doctors told me to avoid walking/running type exercise and stick to no/low impact exercise like swimming or using an elliptical. Anyway, so I loved using the elliptical at the gym, but I totally HATE going to the gym (the hassle, the embarrassment, the excuses, etc.). So I wanted to get a piece of gym equipment for my home so that there would be no more excuses. I started shopping around for ellipticals, but quickly found out there were limitations for fat people. Many of the low-cost ellipticals on the market have a weight limit of 225-250 pounds. Oops. I surpass that by quite a bit. I kept looking and looking, but the only machines I found that were stable enough for the heavyset were totally expensive (like over $1000). The best machines are, of course, the ones at the gym. They have no weight limit, but cost over $3000. Ouch! So that was out of the question. Then I found a bunch of machines in the $700-900 range that held people up to 300 pounds. I supposed this was OK, but hey, that's pretty close to my current weight. Do I really want to risk working the machine at its limit? Did I want to risk breaking the machine from my weight? Again, something only fat people think about. Around the first of the year a bunch of new machines came onto the market, and to my surprise had higher weight limits. Was the general public getting fatter and exercise equipment manufacturers responding to the need for more heavy duty machines? I ended up finding a great machine from NordicTrack with a weight limit of 325, so no worries about stressing the machine. Sure the elliptical is $999, but I guess that's what it costs for durability. I've read a ton of reviews about this elliptical and it sounds like a great machine (for heavy people). So I put in the order this weekend, and now I eagerly await the arrival of my new exercise/torture device. I'll put in my own two cents about the elliptical as soon as I get it and let you know how it is. I know it will be hard to stay motivated for exercise regardless of having exercise equipment or not, but I hope that having the machine sitting in my living room will inspire me to workout when I'm sitting in front of the TV, being a couch potato. I also won't have the excuse of not going to the gym because I'm too tired to drive or I feel too fat to workout in front of others. I won't be intimidated by the fancy machines at the club, or fear breaking my equipment. With this new machine I will have no more excuses!