“Every day, you reinvent yourself. You’re always in motion. But you decide every day: forward or backward.” —James Altucher
I haven’t suffered this much in a long time. Funny to start a blog with such a statement, especially when it describes something good. It’s also funny how two, seemingly unrelated events, can turn out to be intimately related in a way that causes positive change in my life.
The first event, a conversation with the former president of the business school at a large university that talked about teaching her students the importance of reinventing themselves every three years or so as an entrepreneur. I remember replying that I think that concept goes beyond just business, meaning, I think it is good for all of us to reassess our directions and reinvent ourselves at times in order to stay stimulated and avoid stagnation. This is especially true in fitness.
The second event, deciding on New Year’s eve, after a little prodding from a good friend and a couple tequilas, to purchase a Peloton bike.
Fast forward a few weeks, after taking my 14th class on the bike. What I have realized is that this new activity is allowing me to experience the benefit of hard work again in a way I haven’t experienced in some time. You see, since retiring from the first love of my life, the sport of triathlon, I have been floundering from a physical standpoint. Although I have stayed in shape, my typical workout routine over the past few years has felt more like just going through the motions to me. A good friend once asked me when in life am I most happy. There are a few things that come to mind, but my response to the question, for better or for worse, is during the suffering that takes place when I am pushing my physical limits. 30 years of triathlon taught me that and without it, something has been missing from my life.
I’m sure for many, the fitness classes that peloton offers are about convenience, which is a nice benefit. Not only are there live classes throughout the day of all different durations and intensities, but there are many on-demand classes available as well. Any class, at any time, taught by world class instructors, at your convenience. The structure of an on-demand, 45, 60 or even a 120 minute class with a defined beginning and end is no doubt one of the reasons people pay a premium for the bike and the membership. For me however, it has become more about the structure of a defined class AND the leaderboard.
One of the unexpected motivators of the fitness Peloton program for me is the leaderboard that tracks your position in class based on total output or watts. Knowing where your are in comparison to the sometimes 3000+ other riders, in real time, motivates me in a way that few other things can. Maybe it is a character flaw, but seeing myself climb up the leaderboard, in direct relationship to how much I am willing to suffer and feeling the benefits of that suffering, somehow makes me whole. The endorphin induced daze that sometimes lasts for hours afterward is nice too. This is after only 14 classes. What excites me further is looking forward to the improvement that will inevitably come over time, and how that will translate into better results on that damn leaderboard as my fitness improves.
As a triathlete, I may not have always been the most gifted athlete in my training groups, but I was able to finish ahead of many of them on race day because in training, I was willing to suffer more that most and I literally, never missed a workout. Training for competition can get complicated but progressive volume + intensity usually produces results. In this way, athletics is the ultimate metaphor for life. Living with intention, consistently, combined with a little suffering, almost guarantees results. There is also something about bumping up against your physical limits to start your day that makes it easier to endure the other trying situations you encounter day to day. That long stressful meeting you are sitting in doesn’t seem as bad when you know that a few hours ago you were red-lining to a new personal best output in a 45 minute class.
To dial you in even further, Peloton does a great job of tracking your data and providing you with graphics to show exactly how you have performed over time in terms of calories burned, total output, and miles and minutes completed. Triathletes are the ultimate athlete data-geeks so to see how my output changes between a recovery ride vs a hard core Tabata or HIT training session helps me quantify the suffering. Yea, definitely a character flaw…
If you find yourself stagnant in your exercise routines to the point that your fitness or worse, your well being has suffered, it might be time to reinvent yourself in the athletic arena. Personally, I would recommend something that involves a little suffering and getting you out of your comfort level, but that’s just me.
Re-inventing yourself as an athlete after competing for 30 years is no small order. It seems however that I may have stumbled upon a way to do just that.
Until next time, Stay Healthy and Live Well…
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