Welcome to the sparkly fitness bubble
It’s definitely not a cult…
It’s two years this week since the Reebok stationary bike I’d been stalking for availability on the John Lewis website arrived at my front door, since I signed up for the Peloton app, and since I took my first ever spin class.
I didn’t always have a great relationship - or any relationship at all - with exercise and sport. Even in primary school, I was amongst the slowest and least co-ordinated in PE classes - always last to be picked for the team - and before long I was tall as well, making it all that bit more obvious. By mid-way through high school I had absorbed a message, without anyone ever sending it on purpose, that exercise was only for people who were already good at a sport and trying to get better, or else for girls who wanted to be super thin catwalk models - and as I was neither of those things, it simply wasn’t for me.
I spent my first few years of uni slowly getting into running, because both of my parents run, and because I now lived somewhere where I could, and with the exception of a few Zumba classes, that was pretty much it - but I was beginning to enjoy the feeling of having my lungs full of fresh air, tired legs, and a sense of sticking it to my old PE teachers. Sidenote: what they say about exercise classes in Germany being more hardcore is true. My Zumba class there included burpees. No thank you.
When I came back to the UK for my final year of uni, I bit the bullet and bought a gym membership for the first time in my life. It was in the middle of that year’s essay deadlines that I began to appreciate how exercising could help my mental health. After a hand-in or a late night in the library, I’d jump on the elliptical or treadmill to sweat the adrenaline out of my system.
So that was it for the next few years - working out regularly because I knew it was good for my brain and I liked how my body felt afterwards, occasionally signing up for a 10k because it felt like what I ought to do.
And then Covid hit. I stayed in Edinburgh instead of travelling to the half marathon I’d trained for (the Bath Half, in the Sunday of that week when everything changed), packed away my gym padlock and membership card, and wondered what to do with myself.
It was then that one of my friends said, “You’re a really active person, aren’t you… this must be tough,” and for the first time I realised that being active was part of my identity. I was, and am, bigger than I need to be - I don’t look like someone who works out 6 times a week - and I had always felt a bit embarrassed about the fact that I worked out that much with nothing external to show for it. But when the gym was taken away from me, I realised that my workout habit was just as much part of me as staying up to midnight reading trashy novels or spending afternoons messing around in the kitchen.
With nothing else to do, I started running outside - that first lockdown brought with it glorious spring weather. I downloaded the Down Dog App and evangelised about the burn of their barre workouts, and went on a heck of a lot of ‘silly little walks for my silly little mental health.’ I bought roller skates, too - which were only marginally more successful than my sourdough starter. And then autumn came, and the pandemic wasn’t ending, and I still didn’t want to go back to the gym (though I think they were open, for a while then).
I looked at the amount of space I had in my flat, moved the furniture around in my bedroom, and checked the John Lewis website daily to see if the cheapest stationary bike in their range was back in stock. And eventually, it was.
I’m not the first to say that Peloton has revolutionised how I feel about exercise, and I won’t be the last. One thing I love about it is that we all have different reasons. Devotees of Matt Wilpers will rave about his Power Zone classes and form corrections, yoga fans wax lyrical about Aditi Shah’s flow classes, and Britney fans have found kindred spirits in Cody Rigsby and Matty Maggiacomo.
What’s my favourite aspect? Well, I’ll freely talk about how great the music selections are, and the classes of every length and type I could want - just this week I did a short 15 minute ‘climb’ class (cycling up out of the saddle with a heavy resistance) entirely to musical theatre tracks - and the encouraging coaching of all the instructors that keeps you going up the hill while distracting you from what you’re doing.
But what I really love is that I get all the best bits (for me) of group exercise classes, without any of the scheduling, the waitlisting, or - most importantly - any of the diet culture and body shaming. I never have to look around a studio and wonder if I’m the least fit, coordinated, or muscly - never have to see us all in the mirror and compare how my body looks to the person next to me. The Peloton instructors talk about all sorts of things while coaching - I’ve heard about Leanne’s dance career, Hannah’s past life as a competitive triple-jumper, and Christine’s history as a bike courier in New York - but they never talk about calories or weight loss. Everything is about how you’ll feel afterwards, or getting stronger over time (as much in your mind as in your body), but never with any sort of negativity.
And that’s what makes me a Peloton devotee. Or cult member, as you like.
The best way to try out the Peloton content - especially if you have access to a gym - is to download the app. There’s usually a free trial on there (here’s a link for two months free - I don’t get any sort of kickback for that) and after that it’s £12.99 a month. For me, that’s well worth it for how great it makes me feel. One day I might buy their hardware, but in the meantime I’ll be in the gym’s cycle studio when there isn’t a class on, headphones on and with a huge grin.
Something good…
I love a beauty advent calendar. This year I’ve treated myself to a Body Shop one. The Body Shop is an underrated high street gem - I particularly love their foundation and tinted moisturiser, as well as the vanilla perfume that makes me smell like birthday cake. Looking forward to discovering new treats in the advent calendar every day of December! You can get a £10 off voucher via this link (which gives me a small kickback too) if you want some lovely lotions for the colder months.
Can we talk about how cute the Starbucks Christmas merch is? It’s still too early for me to do anything but lust after it… but watch this space.
Have a lovely week, everyone - if you’ve enjoyed the newsletter please do add a comment on the Substack page or share it with a friend.