In my answers to your New Year's questions, I addressed the topic of using fitness machines - which ones were recommended and why - along with my confession that I didn't use machines myself. Well, I spoke too soon.

I was called for jury duty in January and ended up spending a full three weeks at the court house. Even though this was a great experience - wonderful judge, bailiff, lawyers and fellow jurors - I wasn't able to teach my usual seven fitness classes a week.

What to do? In the evenings, I took advantage of the machines at one of the clubs where I teach. In this article, I am going to share my experience and what I learned first hand.

Start slowly.
I decided to try the Stair Climber first, because it was available. I soon discovered why it is so seldom in use. In the words of the trainer who manages the club, "The Stair Climber is brutal." The good news is that each piece of equipment has detailed instructions.

First, you choose the type of workout which can vary from "Fat Burning" to "Slow and Steady" to "High Intensity Aerobic" - which I chose. Then, you enter your weight and length of workout (I entered 30 minutes - less than the aerobic portion of my classes). Next, you have a choice of the level of difficulty (1-20 with 20 being the hardest). Because I feel that I am quite fit, I chose 19, and was off and moving.

It took me only about two minutes to realize that I was way in over my limit. Thank goodness there is a "Stop" button, and I could stop the whole craziness and re-input my settings. This time I picked "Fat Burning," 20 minutes and level 9. Even 20 minutes was a challenge, but I stuck with it and felt that I had completed a super workout, which I followed with stretching, free weight work along with core and balance work on the stability bar. I felt satisfied.

Don't settle for just one machine.
The next evening I decided to try the "Versa Climber." If you remember, this is the machine that was the most highly recommended by the authorities I had researched for the answers to your New Year's questions. Now I know why it is over in a corner and never in use. Even the young director of squash at the club told me that he can barely do ten minutes on it.

I feel that it is a good idea to try a variety of machines, and find the one or two that suit you the best. It doesn't make sense to work on one that is so challenging that you become discouraged.

Another machine - one of the most popular at the club - is the "Elliptical" machine. It is a pleasure to use - one has a lot of control - and it isn't so "brutal" that you can barely make it through a fairly long workout. It works both the arms and lower body, backwards and forward.

If you are in the market to purchase a machine, this is a good time to do it.
One of the other jurors was as concerned about his daily workout as I was about mine. He generally works out in the morning, but realized with our court schedule that necessitated being downtown early, he wouldn't have time to go to a club.

He looked into purchasing a machine for his home, and found a serviceable "Treadmill" on sale for only $149.00. He told me that he was quite pleased with the workout he was getting, because he could both run and walk on it, along with controlling the speed.

I would suggest visiting several stores to see what they have available and for what prices. He didn't purchase the top-of-the-line model, but the one he got was easy to set up and served his purpose perfectly. This should also give you the opportunity to try out several machines, rather than purchasing a sight-unseen model advertised on TV that will end up sitting in a corner covered with dust.

No matter what works for others, determine what is the best and most enjoyable for you.
I was glad to have the chance to try the various machines, but would not want to work out this way on a regular routine. This past week, I was overjoyed to get back to teaching my regular classes. I feel better than ever and know that the secret to stick-to-itiveness is to enjoy what you are doing fitness-wise. Then it doesn't seem so much like work - it is FUN! And, we all can relate to that!