Cross-Country Running in Forests

I have always enjoyed running and every weekend I get out in the fresh air and go cross-country running in the surrounding forests and countryside near to where I live. It doesn't matter to me what the weather is doing, wet or sunny, windy and cold nothing ever stops me I enjoy it so much. I often meet up with other people who are doing the same thing, cross-country running in forests. I cannot understand people who spend a fortune on enrolling at different gyms when running outside in the fresh air can make you feel so good.

However, I was really surprised when someone told me that as well as cross-country running they also had a cross trainer and an ergometer at home. I had heard of both these machines but couldn't understand why anybody would want one.  The more I heard about the ergometer and the cross trainer (Crosstrainer)  the more interested I became. An ergometer is like an indoor rower or rowing machine which measures the amount of work performed. The most common rowing-machine design consists of a fly wheel connected to a chain and handle. Depending on the machine the rower either moves back and forth as part of the rowing action or the rower remains stationary and the flywheel mechanism moves. Ergometer tests are used by rowing coaches to evaluate rowers and are part of athlete selection for many senior and junior national rowing teams.

The Cross-trainer is sometimes used when people are too busy to go running and prefer to use a cross-trainer at home. This way they can fit in their exercising at a time more suitable to them. Some people use them to tone certain parts of their body instead of just dieting and get fitter quicker. I know my neighbour has one that has a digital display on a stand that plugs into the workout machine and would rather use this than go running. She bought it because she wanted to loose some weight before she goes on her holidays and finally persuaded me to give it a try.

I felt sure that nothing would be able to persuade me to use either a cross-trainer or an ergometer but I was wrong. At first it seemed very difficult and I soon began to realise that I wasn't as fit as I thought I was. That got me thinking.  Maybe it would be a good idea to exercise on the cross-trainer during the week before I go to work and go cross-country running in forests at the weekend as well. I also went down to the gym and tried out the ergometer a few times which I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed. So now I enjoy all three activities and have never felt better. The cross-trainer is now a daily part of my fitness routine and I make a weekly visit to the gym to use the ergometer. Needless to say, the weekends are left for the cross-country running.