When I was working out after work one day, a friend mentioned a program on the treadmill called “Mystery Walk.”
I was intrigued.
I have been using the treadmill for about two years now, but I seldom change the incline, just the speed and distance. Occasionally, I will jog for a couple of minutes, but never very long.
It’s hard for me to stay focused on the treadmill, so I have a variety of games I use to keep me from staring at the second hand on the clock tick each sweaty second away.
Primarily, I count. I count in fours – one, two, three ONE. One, two, three TWO. One, two, three THREE.
Only after I reach a specified goal – say 200 – can I look at the clock to see how many minutes I have left.
Then there are the days when the music that is playing matches my gait. This doesn’t happen often enough when the radio is on the Oldies station. I mean, the way-Oldies, not rock Oldies (which really don’t seem that old to me at all). It’s hard to step to “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and actually burn a calorie or two.
So, Beth was telling me about the Mystery Walk. Instead of choosing a program of hills and varying speeds that you can watch on the grid, Mystery Walk will switch things up and keep you guessing, a big question mark on the screen.
First, you have to reveal your weight. Beth told me that she always adds some pounds in hopes that the machine will take it easy on her.
I had just weighed before I went to the gym, so I decided to log in the actual numbers. The first time I tried to punch in the numbers I accidentally hit 543 pounds. I don’t think Beth meant to pad the numbers that much.
You also have to program in how fast you are willing to walk and how high an incline you can take. I usually walk at about 3.2 mph, so I selected that speed and opted for a very low incline – this being my first Mystery Walk.
In recent weeks I have gone from counting to reading library books. Nothing constructive. I’m reading fiction by a Miami Herald journalist turned novelist. I enjoy the references to the newspaper business and he has a squirrelly way of looking at things.
With Mystery Walk selected and my book squarely in front of me, I hit Start and away I went.
Only, really slow. Usually, I don’t warm up – I go straight to 3.2. Mystery Walk had me meandering around 2.5 forever, or so it seemed.
I started reading about a woman who discovered she had a winning lottery ticket. The treadmill made a funny sound and the ramp started to rise. It went right past 1 and 2, right up to 8. My calves tightened as I tried to climb the hill. I checked the grid out and apparently instead of choosing 1.5 on the incline level, I put in 15.
Yikes.
Mystery Walk started to feel like a Mystery Ride at the fair. It cranked up the elevation and dropped the speed. As soon as I became accustomed to the climb, it dropped and the speed cranked up.
It was not easy to read while being bucked around for 30 minutes.
I am proud to report that I hung on for the entire half hour and even for the two minute cool down – which, trust me, I needed.
And, I’m pretty sure I will take the Mystery Walk tomorrow too. But when I program the walk, I might add just a few pounds.
