by Confession time: I’ve been allergic to cardio my entire life. Unless I’m doing something like surfing, where I can be distracted from the fact that I’m exercising, I’ve avoided it.
Weightlifting has always been my preferred form of exercise. I like being strong-ish, and the majority of the time I’m working out with weights, I’m mostly waiting for the next set. It’s basically 30 seconds of extreme effort followed by several minutes of listening to whatever audiobook I’m into at the moment.
BUT–I’ve known for years that my cardio dodging isn’t healthy. The ol’ ticker should not be ignored. And I’m not getting any younger. So, when my wife suggested we rent a Peloton bike to see how we like it, I jumped at the chance. Running and I just don’t get along (me sprinting looks like an ordinary person fast-walking), and I’ve always thought cycling was easier on my joints, but I didn’t want to ride around the city in the heat.
Therefore, cycling in the AC is the best option I can think of. So, when the bike came, I jumped on and gassed out in seven minutes. Like, I couldn’t even finish the class I was attempting. Clearly, I had to adjust my expectations.
So, I found a 15-minute class that had music I could endure. I survived (barely) and decided the next day to do it again so I could see if any kind of adaptation had occurred. And interestingly, I did a little bit better the next day.
I decided that I was going to keep taking the same class (for science!) so I can report here how my body adapted over time. Plus, it’s pretty hard for me to wimp out on a 15-minute class. I can waste 15 minutes looking at the plants in my backyard that I already looked at three times earlier the same day. And 15 minutes is way better than nothing.
Last night I hit the 40th ride. And since it was the same ride over and over again, I have a true apples-to-apples comparison. I plan on branching out now, but let’s have a look at my progress (you may have to click “view images” to see the screenshots).
First up–day one:
As you can see, my rank against everyone who’s ever taken this class puts me squarely in the back of the pack. I was pretty down on myself, to be perfectly honest, since I’m not exactly sedentary. I also hoped that I’d have more leg power since I squat some heavy weights regularly. I’m sure that did help, but there’s no way to know how much that contributed since I can’t know what I would have done otherwise.
(Seasoned Peloton warriors are looking at those stats and thinking what a pansy ol’ Green is.)
And how did things change over the 40 rides? Behold:
I have to say that shaving 35K off my leaderboard standings feels pretty good. Also, my resting heart rate has dropped about 10 points. Not bad for less than three months.
So, from here, I plan on exploring the many other ride options just to keep myself interested.
The lesson here is that I found something that I can tolerate to get in the work. That’s the case for a lot of people when they’re starting their exercise journey–they find something that they think they can do, even if they don’t love it, and then they keep at it. Often, they come to love it.
I love weightlifting even though I’m genetically designed to be weak (skinny forearms and calves are considered rate-limiting factors for gaining strength). But, after many years, I’ve hit bench press numbers similar to a strong senior in high school. But I’m still a lot stronger than I would be otherwise. And now I feel better about taking care of my ticker, too.
P.S. that’s my Peloton handle in the screenshot–right now, I’m only following one person (and being followed by the same dude), but if you want some accountability on the bike, feel free to follow me. It’ll help me knowing I’m being watched!
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