Perio Princess or Peloton Prodigy
New Year New ME!
Actually, who am I kidding? Same person…It’s still me. BUT— it is a new year! And with that, comes new opportunities (and new corona variants). Again, kidding….well kinda….
I can’t help but feel a little pessimistic, even a little bit of Groundhog’s Day syndrome when reflecting on 2021 and trying to anticipate what 2022 has in store. We’ve been here before, hoping things would to go back to “normal,” and just when we started to feel like we were in the clear… another variant popped up.
Looking DIRECTLY at you Omicron—
New Year’s Resolutions ?
While most like to begin 2022 with setting new goals and resolutions… I don’t. A long time ago I stopped setting New Year’s resolutions. I found through experience that I would quickly lose interest in my new fitness plan, and instead browse the Postmates coupons. I am who I am. I do try instead to do monthly goals, weekly self check-ins, and prioritize daily tasks as: urgent, moderate, and “eventually” (code for: I hope to get this done at some point).
Started off on the Wrong Pedal
What I did start in 2021 that I hope to carry into 2022 is doing weekly Peloton rides. At first Peloton was something I was totally against - let’s be honest, they don’t have the best track record sometimes. First, the Peloton bike and I started off on the wrong foot in 2019. If you remember the Christmas commercials from 2019, where the wife was gifted a bike from her husband..the total look of distain on her face… then yeah you know what I’m talking about. Strike two came when 2021 was coming to a close, and so did the character “Mr. Big” on the TV show Sex in the City via …you guessed it…a heart attack during a peloton ride.
Slow and Steady
When we had free access to a Peloton bike at the gym, I decided to give the bike a try. I had already dabbled in a couple of spin classes at a local studio, and found the stress release and endorphin rush slightly enjoyable. Every week I got on the bike, and, without fail, every week I was LAST place in the class. The instructors would play their favorite tunes, tell me how fast to peddle, motivate me to conquer the world with inspiring words….riding my little heart out… sweat dripping down…and still.. I was consistently LAST. One time I vividly recall looking down at the interface and seeing that after one class, I was only burning 80 calories.
One thousand riders…a couple hundred…fifteen riders…. Always at the bottom 10% , if not totally last. Eventually I started noticing on the interface that people were sending me virtual “high fives.” WHY? Sympathy virtual taps because I was doing so bad ?! Probably so.
Class after class, I could not understand why I remained at the back of the pack. I did the recommended cadence, the recommended resistance, I did my best, so why was I last? Eventually, I accepted my doom. I kept showing up for the endorphin release and calorie burn. Cue “Eye of the Tiger” training montage. A couple of times, I did make it to the top 10% of the class. Only to go back to being in last place.
So, what did I learn from being terrible at Peloton and what can we all apply to daily practice? I’m not sure.
Maybe the lesson is: try your best, and even if you’re not in first place keep going, keep showing up?
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