Why buying a Peloton Bike was my best decision in 2020.

I’m surprised too. 

I swore the bike would be an expensive piece of unused room decor. Another obelisk added to an already over-indexed basement space. In no uncertain terms, I did not want to waste the money.

You’ve read the title, you know the ending to this story already. I was wrong.

With five months with the bike, the stats so far: 165 workouts. 120+ active days. 40lbs down from my peak pandemic weight. A legitimate exercise routine that stretches beyond the Peloton platform.

How did Peloton reshape my relationship with health and fitness?

“Free” time and anxiety found an outlet

In the before times I commuted from the southern Massachusetts suburbs through Boston into Cambridge, either by train or commuter rail. The daily 3–4 hour roundtrip meant that I was commuting for all of my personal time, with the rest of the day spent working or with my son.

Once the long-term reality of remote work set in, the commute went away. Our basement flexed from a lounge/storage/game space to incorporate a home office. In the early days, spare time was non-existent while juggling child care with work. By July we had a new baby in the house but also found consistent childcare. This support unearthed some precious free time. Time which immediately became dedicated to anxious naps and snacking.

Having struggled with fitness for the last 5+ years, my weight and belly fat skyrocketed. I started a Couch to 5k program running program in an effort to shed pounds at the same time my partner became interested in the Peloton

“Why spend money on that when we can run through a New England summer and fall?” I said foolishly. We already had dumbbells, a weight bench, and a water rower buried unused in the recesses of our basement. A stationary bike the cost of a mortgage payment didn’t make sense. My wife explained that soon it was going to be cold, dark, and snowy, and running was too high impact for her right now, as she recently gave birth to a baby. She is a saint.

Her interest (aided by an aggressive retargeting ad campaign) converted me to pro-Peloton in short order. The purchase was made with delivery scheduled for mid-October. In the interim, I completed the couch to 5k course. Feeling good, I started towards a 10k distance until a knee injury left my leg elevated and myself in physical therapy. The bike arrived shortly before my knee doubled in size, and the low-impact seated workouts were approved for rehabilitation.

I rode a few times weekly in October and November as my knee healed. The rides were challenging, instructors almost painfully motivational and fit. My butt hurt from the seat. But on top of the whopping upfront cost, I was determined to get value out of the monthly $40 subscription fee. At this time, I rode to make the bike, “worth it.”

By December I was completely burned out. From work, the lockdown, the political insanity within the country. I could scarcely think, let alone function as a human being. I turned to the bike and rode. Everyday. I beat through the mind-blank autopilot and set two goals. 1. Be the best father I can be. 2. Ride the damn bike.

The habit slowly formed and I still clip in for at least 15 minutes daily. Oftentimes I ride after the kids fall asleep, but on the best days, I use it as a pseudo commute from the basement workspace to the upper levels of our home. An hour of cardio and a quick shower helps shed whatever I was during the morass of the day, so I can be the dad I want to be for the little dudes.

Gamification works

Since December 1st I haven’t skipped a day on the bike. Keeping the streak going provides enough motivation to climb aboard even when my only ambition is to drink a beer and go to bed. The challenges span beyond a simple unbroken calendar streak though. It’s been a blast chasing a variety of virtual badges. From personal feats such as milestone rides and output records to more general trophies for completing a new promoted set of rides. Collecting the shiny gold stars as I go adds an extra endorphin kick, and I look forward to days where a new milestone badge is in my grasp.

Why waste this effort?

Spending all this time on the bike has promoted other healthy habits. I roped a few pals into joining me in a Hundred Push-up challenge three times a week, to counterbalance the cardio with a touch of strength training. We all do the prescribed workout in our homes and then commiserate about it over Slack.

I’ve also begun to question my dietary habits. I used to reach for the second serving, beer, or ice cream, without question. Now I ask if that momentary satisfaction is worth canceling out the caloric gains I earned. Sometimes it is, and I enjoy it. But usually, the answer to food and drink is “No.”

From a weight-loss perspective, consistent cardio is my magic bullet to stick with calorie counting. My app of choice, MyFitnessPal, inflicts a draconian 1620 daily calorie limit. It takes zero fingers and zero toes to count how many times I have hit that goal. However, the calories I gain back from exercise allow me to eat between 2000 and 2100 calories and still be at a caloric deficit.

There is a lot of argument and consternation about the accuracy of these calorie burned metrics in fitness and health circles. But following these guidelines works for me. I eat enough to not be hungry and lost 17 pounds in 2021. A solid increase over my non-calorie counting days.

Riding helps me feel better

I’ve long struggled with depression. My family and I exited 2020 relatively unscathed, but my brain chemistry hasn’t gotten the memo. Burnout, numbness, surge capacity depletion, pandemic fatigue, describe it however you like, but most days I feel like a shell of the person.

Riding the bike, reclaiming control over a small part of my day, has offered some reprieve from the darkness. On the best days, the exercise flips the mental light switch on. Thrusting the darkness back to the walls for hours.

More than anything, It proves that I can create positive habits. A drive to grow and better myself still exists, and that’s a spark that I need.

Is a very expensive piece of home gym equipment necessary to enact these changes? No, of course not. But for me, it has been the needed catalyst to rebuild my mental and physical health.