At the gym stretching

I dont understand why the first 30 minutes of an elliptical run is always so hard. And then while I just stay on bc I'm watching tv it goes so much faster and easier. I wish I could feel like that the whole time. There is a scale here and im going to use it. I know you aren't supposed to weigh yourself every day but I guess I can. It might make me work harder to see results. I just don't want it to discourage me bc it's so slow going.