[issybird]

I've just got off my stationary bicycle and I wondered about fellow MRers and their relationship to exercise equipment, especially whether or not they have equipment and if they use it for more than a clothes hanger. A few fairly random thoughts on my part:

I'm happy with the bicycle overall, as exercise equipment goes. It's got a relatively small footprint and you can get a quality bicycle for less than you'd have to spend on a good treadmill, say. I can also do some web-surfing or reading while I use it, which kills the time reasonably effectively. (I listen to audiobooks while walking or swimming.)

I finally forced myself back on it a few days ago, after a hiatus. I've noted that the pattern with exercise for me is that I'm most likely to do what I did the day before. Routine is my friend; one day off can result in weeks of averting my eyes.

Location matters. In warmer weather, I used to keep my bicycle in the dining room where it was out of the way, but I moved it to the den in the winter because warmer. The reality is that I'm more likely to get on it when it's in the den, because the den is where I generally hang out anyway and it's a visible goad.

I'd rather be doing something outside, but given where I live it's handy to have an indoor option (and one that's here, as opposed to my mostly unused Planet Fitness membership).

I cheat. I have the cheapest Fitbit, the Zip, and I will confess that I stick it in a pocket or clip it to my shorts leg so pedaling registers as steps. I'm ok with this, as I figure it encourages me to keep moving. Anyway, that's my rationale.