Before the start of every New Year I make a list of things I
want to improve in my life. This year (probably because the excess amount of
free time I have) I’ve been able to really focus on those things and get off to
a great start. I think where I’ve gone wrong in past years is that I have given
myself too broad of an idea rather than little realistic things I can do everyday
in order to get a significant result. My small changes that I wanted to keep up
from last year are to write and read more. One of my big changes for this year
is trying to become a pescatarian (with the exception of slip ups every now and
then). Last night I struggled to stay away from the buffalo chicken spin dip at
the super bowl party I was at. But it’s a working progress. My other
improvement is the ever popular fitness goal. I am making a point to
move/workout for at least 30 minutes a day. Having an apple watch helps
massively in that I can see my daily movement, standing, and calories burnt in
the day. I have already felt a massive change in that I don’t feel pressured to
workout everyday but just move around, because really 30 minutes in a day isn’t
that much. I have even started making up workouts by running up and down the
stairs with intervals of push-ups and sit-ups in between sets. And of course
when the weather is permitting I go for runs outside for however long I feel
good for.
After bumping into an old friend from high school last
weekend we got to talking about how we used to run together on our track team
and how he’s now working at the Peloton showroom in Chelsea in the city. If you
don’t know what Peloton is, it’s a semi new fitness bike and now treadmill
that’s very high tech. It has a large screen where you can log into workouts
from home and take part in a class that’s going on live in the Peloton studios. Of
course these machines cost you a pretty penny because of all these features,
but you can also download the Peloton app that gives you the workouts to
complete on any stationary bike or treadmill that you have at home or in your
local gym.
So when Kevin asked me if I wanted to come and take some
classes I was jumping at the opportunity. I went to my first treadmill boot camp
class on Thursday and now I am hooked! The studio itself is absolutely gorgeous!
Let’s just say it wasn’t like walking into a Planet Fitness or any old gym. It
felt like I was walking into a high end gallery. The locker room has everything
a girl could need for her fitness essentials including deodorant, dry shampoo,
hairspray, you name it really and they had it. So after I was done admiring the
locker room it was time to get acquainted with the machine I would be doing my
work out on.
At first glance it doesn’t look much more than your average
treadmill with the exception of the large screen on it, but after Kevin showed
me all of its features it seemed like a runners dream. The belt in which you
run on has grooves to prevent slipping and felt like to keep you in place. I
know when I run on a regular treadmill I can sometimes feel myself swaying from
left to right on the belt. It has a “free” button which allows you to run
sprints at your own pace without the help of the speed up button, so basically
it goes as fast as you can. The other main difference between a Peloton
treadmill and a regular one is the two buttons on the sides. On the left there
is the incline and on the right side is the speed, but instead of a + or –
button it is a wheel that is just so much easier to use when in a work out. The
screen shows you speed, distance, incline, and rank in the class. At home it
would show all of these things and also the instructor doing the workout of
your choice.
What I did not know about this workout I had signed up for
at the Peloton showroom was that it would be recorded! The workout that I would
be doing would be broadcasted live in front of every Peloton machine in the
country! Thinking about this all my fears flashed through my head, the number
one being falling off this machine and having it on tape FOREVER! And trust me
if you know me well you know how clumsy of a person I am and this was a
reasonable fear. Luckily for this session I was just out of sight of the camera
if all went terribly wrong, but they also had a few staff in the room in case
things did go wrong for me or anyone else.
The class probably had about 10-15 people in it and I was
all sorts of pumped up once I knew this would be recorded. Plus knowing that I
would be competing with everyone in the class put my competitiveness into
overdrive. I need a class that challenges me but also has the sense of competition
because that will automatically make me push even harder. As the workout went
on I was feeling really great honestly, it was quick to get into the groove and
the instructor Jess had the sweetest demeanor that she really made me feel like
I could run a marathon. She kept me pumped the whole time and her little shout outs
during the class had me pushing harder for some recognition of my own. Every time
I felt like I was getting winded I would just look up at the leaderboard and
see how close I was to the person above me and increase my speed to catch up
with them. I ended up finishing the class in fourth just behind Kevin and the
two other trainers in the room who did the class so I was feeling pretty good
about it.
The class finished with 15 minutes of all lower body
weights, which was probably the hardest part of the workout for me. The instructor
Jess was an absolute machine busting out 15 reps of everything seamlessly while
also talking into the mic (it really is a talent in itself). When the class
completely finished I felt a rush of energy and felt really great. Seeing this
I was asked a staff member if I wanted to complete a yoga class that was starting
about 40 minutes later. I was skeptical because I had literally done one yoga
class in my life and it went horribly wrong, but for some reason I also jumped
at the opportunity to try another class and said yes.
For all that don’t know my athletic/coordination/flexibility
they have no correlation because although I can run for miles and have decent
stamina, I cannot touch my toes or stand on one leg without toppling over. So
yoga really isn’t something that should be in my vocabulary. As I was waiting
to walk into the studio I had asked one of the staff members to put me
somewhere in the back so that I wouldn’t be seen on camera (because this is
also a class that gets broadcasted to all Peloton app users, there isn’t a
machine for yoga). The girl responded that it is a small classroom with only 1
row so it would be hard to not be seen at some point or another. HA! Way to put
the viewers at home at ease if they weren’t advanced yoga participants. To add
insult to injury my instructor Jess and another trainer also did the class with
me… oh and were right next to me to make me look extra gangly and
uncoordinated. When the class finally starts the yoga instructor began by
telling the people at home that this was not a beginner’s class so if they had
only just started their method they should return to this video after more
practice. WHAT AM I DOING IN THIS ROOM!?!? But it was too late, the camera was
rolling and there was no escaping the next 45 minutes of my torture. BUT plot
twist! I actually ended up getting the hang of all the moves relatively quickly,
because really what choice did I have? There were a few times where I was
thinking “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this but I think I’m doing it
pretty damn well!” Well at least that was my thought because I don’t know about
you but sometimes our mind tells us we're doing something really well but in
reality you’re just not. Like when people are drunk and think they can dance
but then watch it the next day on their friend’s Snapchat and they forward it
in embarrassment (not that it has ever happened to me of course lol).
So I finished the class strong and honestly felt like a million bucks. I wasn’t achy as I would usually be after running on a treadmill, and
wasn’t as tight thanks to the yoga class. And the days after I definitely wasn’t
as sore as I thought I would be. To be honest I would love to buy one of those
treadmills for my house if I had the money for it because I 100% think they are
worth it, but for the meantime I now have reconnected with Kevin who is happy
to have me take classes whenever I want! That obviously meant I booked another
class which is actually tonight! I cannot wait to get back and try another
treadmill class. What is really great is that they are finally expanding to
England and they have just opened up a show room in London! This could just be
my new fitness addiction.
I really can't thank my friend Kevin and everyone at Peloton enough for such a great experience and not only that how incredibly friendly, helpful, and supportive everyone was!
