MR APOLLO

 

I just did my workout on the exercise bike and rowing machine. I've been quite good recently having done this every day for a couple of weeks.

Yesterday The Old Girl said that she wanted a third machine - a cross trainer. I think that she wants this to keep one step (pun) ahead of me in the exercise stakes because she knows I don't like using cross trainers having never gone near one in the gym. I told her that men can't multi-task so that stepping on the steps while using the arm 'wands' at the same time is a bit much for us.

"Poor you" she said (I think she must be secretly watching Sopranos where this expression is used a lot) "I want a cross trainer".

So there it is. I went on-line and researched the cross trainers available in New Zealand with the best reviews. I eliminated the ridiculously expensive ones and also the cheap ones (which are false economy like most cheap items) and settled on the  Fuel 5.0 Elliptical Cross Trainer. I then did a search on this machine and availability and found three suppliers with quite varying prices and delivery costs. The most expensive one also had a $163 delivery cost. The cheapest (by $300) I went for has a delivery cost of $50. This was DTR. I then did an internet search on DTR to see if it could be trusted and the result said "OK". The company doesn't have a super-high rating because I guess it is primarily a rental company (ex tv rentals) and an instant finance company. These operations seldom get good reviews as they have many disgruntled customers. The way I see it is that, as a rental company, they buy machines of all sorts to rent out or sell on a finance out basis but also sell outright for 'cash' because the more they sell the greater discounts they will get from the suppliers. This explains (to me) the cheaper sell price. I hope that I'm correct and haven't been scammed but I'll be checking the credit card and bank account details daily until the machine arrives.

After removing the wood-burner and flue and reorganising the rear lounge we have enough room now for three machines. Who knows? I might like using it myself and add to my strength and fitness.