If you asked me a few months ago about the last really good workout I had, I’d tell you it was during the labor and delivery of my son … over a decade ago. Honestly, I’ve always wished I was one of those moms who rose wide-eyed at dawn and ran for miles in any weather before the kids got up for school, all for the love of it. But I’ve been avoiding exercise since I became a parent, mostly due to chronic exhaustion and what I thought was a lack of time.
Over the years, I’ve halfheartedly attempted a handful of workout programs, but none put the fab in my abs
I tried to dial it in (dancing would be fun!) with a couple dance workout DVDs that featured choreography I imagine even JLo couldn’t keep up with. I even got fit and unfit again in my garage during the first year of the pandemic, when I got on and then meekly tiptoed off the P90X wagon. And since I write for a living, I became so sedentary that I started to worry whether I had officially morphed into Grandpa Joe from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as I worked from bed most days.
I always hear women on social media say how exercise changed their life and they can’t believe they didn’t start sooner. It was a club I longed to belong to, but I never thought I’d figure out a way in.
Cut to: my doctor asking me at my annual physical how often I exercise weekly
Exercise? Who has the time? Who has the energy?
“I walk the dog almost every day,” I answered.
“Yes,” my doctor said. “But what do you do for you?”
It was like the question was being asked in slow motion. Me? I don’t do anything for myself, I’m a mother.
But as I reach middle age, I realize that I’m living on the sidelines of my own life, while the rest of my family are the MVPs
I enjoy being their cheerleader at soccer games while I’m the one behind the smartphone filming all of their goals, or cautiously navigating the skatepark to capture them skateboarding with flair. While they are gleefully diving into their physical activities full throttle, my only form of exercise is lifting a mug of coffee to my mouth so I can keep up.
Then I saw the Peloton bike while I was scrolling Instagram, and it brought back memories of the only time I ever felt truly happy while exercising: riding a bike with the wind in my hair as a kid. The price of the bike seemed astronomical, but I decided to be impulsive for once and spend some of my hard-earned savings by investing in myself and my future health and well-being.
“We ride at dawn,” I said to myself — or as soon as the bike gets delivered
When my bike showed up, I was equal parts thrilled and terrified. Now I’d really done it. There were no more excuses or escapes, as this expensive piece of exercise equipment was part of my home and could not be ignored. I was intimidated and reluctant to hop into the saddle. But that’s where the genius of Peloton took the wheel. I logged onto my profile and was greeted by an array of exciting prospects. I started changing my life one mile at a time, one resistance point at a time, 15 seconds of a grueling challenge at a time… and it’s all leading to my own rebirth after all these years.
I finally “get” what all those women were talking about
I now love exercising, and I just needed to find the right fit for me. Beyond the bike, turning over this new leaf has been more about me carving out a space for myself in the universe than it is about the actual act of exercise. Some days, even if all I can muster is a five-minute guided stretch, or a 10-minute gratitude meditation, I can’t wait to dive in wholeheartedly.
The Peloton instructors who live inside that screen on my bike, bursting to be beckoned in all their glory, are there for me at the push of a button, waiting to greet me wherever I am, for any amount of time I have. I ride in pajama bottoms and bras that aren’t designed for sports. I ride any time of the day or night without judgment. I didn’t just buy a piece of exercise equipment, I bought my own community and cheering section, where I am finally the athlete everyone is waving their hands in the air for, and high-fiving, of course.
The sunset I’m riding into on Peloton’s scenic bike ride may only exist on the screen, but this home addition has me pedaling into my own happily ever after, in a new love affair with exercise and myself.
