It’s 6:15 in the morning and, with the sound of Britney Spears bumping in the background, a gay man named Cody just told me to fix my wig and “shake your titties.” The fact that I am happily sweating before sunrise and that I respond by actually shaking what my mama gave me is a testament to both the bewitching power of Peloton’s most popular instructor Cody Rigsby and to the fact that I’ve finally — finally — fallen in love with exercise.
I don’t think it’s an accident that it wasn’t until after I gave up on the idea of exercise as a way to lose weight that I finally found joy in movement.
Though I was a competitive athlete in high school and college, my adult life has largely been one unsuccessful exercise trend after another.
I’ve had gym memberships and personal trainers. I’ve trained for 5Ks, 10Ks, triathlons, and open water swim races. I’ve Zumbaed and tried aqua aerobics and step aerobics and yoga and ballet classes. Throughout all of those things, I’ve occasionally lost five to 10 pounds (that never stays lost), but I’ve also frequently over-trained and done too much, too soon. I’ve had epic bouts of shin splints, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, and chronically sore hips and shoulders from overuse injuries.
I thought of my body as a battlefield and exercise as a weapon.
Exercise was something that I sometimes did as a punishment for gaining weight or “cheating” on my diet. While I longed for the elusive runner’s high, I never really thought of exercise as something that was supposed to be actually fun. I wore my ugly, baggy workout clothes and tried my hardest until I inevitably burned out again.
And then I discovered how good being strong could feel.
My relationship with exercise started changing when I joined a small group strength training class in January 2020. With the help of an amazing trainer who truly celebrated all body types, I found that while I might never love deadlifts, I really loved getting stronger. She helped me think about exercise goals around being strong and never once mentioned losing weight or getting a “beach body” as a goal.
I was loving my new routine and then March 2020 hit and soon after our in-person classes switched to Zoom and the gym closed for good. Although I still love those group classes, I also decided to make the popular pandemic purchase of a Peloton bike.
I tried my first Peloton ride and was instantly hooked.
When our bike finally arrived, I was nervous but excited. As a not skinny, not rich person, I definitively don’t fit the stereotype of what some people think Peloton is all about. But I did my first ride and found myself grooving to great music and working up a good sweat. I finished the ride exhilarated and had the instant thought of “I don’t care if I lose a single pound, I want to do this every day.” In the next few weeks, I did just that. I tried a bunch of cycling classes to get to know all the instructors (I’m a proud member of the #BooCrew and love me some Tunde too).
I did barre classes with Hannah C. and strength classes with Adrian and yoga with Anna and Chelsea. I did classes set to Broadway tunes and '90s hip-hop. I lifted weights and once rode 50 miles on the bike in a single afternoon. If Peloton was a cult, I was fully drinking the Kool-Aid.
Soon, I was joyfully working out every day, even though my weight has basically stayed the same.
These days I do my in-person group exercise classes with the awesome trainer on Sunday and do Peloton the rest of the week. I’ve switched from baggy, saggy workout clothes to cute matching sports bra and leggings sets (turns out feeling cute helps with feeling joy). While my weight hasn’t changed at all, I’m stronger, my cholesterol has dropped over 20 points, and I feel confident.
I fell in love with exercise when I realized that I get to move my body with joy and purpose, no matter what my size is. I fell in love with Cody and Tunde too, but mostly with the idea that exercise isn’t supposed to injure you or punish you. To paraphrase another Peloton instructor, Jess Sims, I don’t have to exercise — I get to. Exercise is a gift to my physical and mental health and a way to love my body, right now, just as I am.
I’m #Ochita on the leaderboard and I’m in love with my bike and myself.
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