Think you're in shape? Think again!

We got our new Elliptical Machine delivered on Friday. I didn't have a chance to use it until this morning.

In short, this machine kicked. my. ass.

I barely lasted 20 minutes on it, and I was DONE!

I suppose it's the same sensation I had after the first morning that we worked out in Hawaii (also on Elliptical machines) but I managed to do better as each day progressed.

I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I need to build up my stamina and strength on this machine, too. Makes sense. Plus, I was sick after we came home from Hawaii, and haven't been able to work out at all since.

So, from my first experience, the machine is fantastic. We shopped online for a few days, and read all kinds of reviews on different machines before deciding on one. We also went to 3 different stores to actually try them out. This machine have a few important elements that helped us decide on buying this one. For starters, it has a large 19.75" stride length, which is important because of Dick's height. Some of the smaller (and less expensive) models that we looked at only had a stride length of maybe 15" or so. Those worked fine for me, and the machines were generally smaller. However, when Dick tried them out at the stores, we realized that he probably wouldn't benefit from them as much, and would be compromising his workout. That's when we focused on stride length as one of the most important factor. The other great feature that this model has is that it is foldable which is especially cool. The foot print of the machine is a whopping 79"L x 27" W x 69" high. However, it can fold down to 42"Long. That's cool. We're going to keep it in our guest bedroom/Raggedy Room since we have space in there, and we don't generally use the room. It'll be nice to be able to fold it up when we do have company.

That's the first work-out report from here. I'll keep you posted on our progress :)