700 cycled miles in 1 month later…
Just three years ago, Max would not have called himself an athlete. Having avoided playing on sports teams and exercising in gyms throughout his life, one would never expect Max to have transformed into an athlete, and not just an athlete, a pretty advanced one, you might say.
It was some time during 2018 that Max became interested in riding a Peloton bike that his family had purchased to be able to engage in low-impact exercise. Max had the idea of incorporating more exercise into his daily routine for health reasons and thought that cycling could be his way of achieving a level of fitness. Max also views cycling as one of those exercises that you can pick up so easily because all you need is a bike to get started and your athletic abilities don’t have to be advanced to begin.
Starting out, Max felt challenged by the cycling classes’ level of difficulty.
“When you first begin cycling you are not super encouraged because you feel slow, your output is low, but the harder you push yourself and the longer you stay at it, the easier it gets.”
Max admits that it took him about 6 months of regularly riding his Peloton in order to feel that he was really making progress and transitioning into harder classes. What helped Max continue to stay motivated throughout the process was self motivation, in achieving something that he set out to do for himself.
“No one is going to care if you get on the bike and ride or don’t. If you don’t have the internal desire to believe in yourself and having the conviction that it’s something that you want to do, it’s probably not right for you.”
When Max first started, he was taking 45-minute classes at a regular level with instructor Robin Arzon, who became his favorite instructor. As time progressed, however, Max began experimenting in taking 20-minute classes, 1-hour classes, “Climb” classes, and even HIIT rides.
Max loves his Peloton, not only for how well the bike works and the spin classes the company’s platform provides, but also because of all the other classes the monthly subscription provides. Peloton has its standard spin classes, but also instructions for floor workouts, outdoor running and walking guidance, and even strength classes. It’s like paying for personal training or a gym membership that you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home.
Max credits the up beat music,- Peloton even has an exclusive collab with Beyonce– the Peloton community, and the acute instruction to motivating him to always getting back on the bike. Max mentions that, when you are riding a Peloton, you don’t feel like you are exercising alone, with someone instructing you and encouraging you along the way. Peloton also makes it easy to compete against yourself and others with the leaderboard, which provides a way to see your continued progress. Along with the leaderboard, Max feels encouraged by the challenges that Peloton presents, such as achieving daily exercise for one month. Max would suggest participating in one of these challenges to help motivate yourself and avoid discouragement.
What cemented Max’s newfound athleticism was a challenge that he accepted that was sponsored by Babson College’s Alumni Network for the month of January of 2021. The challenge was to have the highest combined output, total distance, or consecutive days biked. Max won all three categories, cycling a total of 704.82 miles. Max wanted to challenge himself during COVID, setting a goal that he could commit to for the month. Some of the challenges in competing include the amount of time taken to ride daily, Max often riding two to three times a day, in addition to the added mental fatigue that riding daily entails, where no matter what mindset you are in, you have to get on the bike and ride. Despite the challenges, Max mentions that it felt nice to see all of his hard work pay off, knowing that mentally he could achieve something that he hadn’t done before.
All you have to do is just get on and ride!
Recommended by Max:
Ursula D. 