Life and Other Stuff

Today marks my 208 week streak (4 years!) with Peloton. It’s no secret that dumb things motivate. Hello?! I ride a bike in my house that goes nowhere and get virtual badges for my efforts. On paper – I get it. SO. DUMB.

But…it works.

This is the longest stretch of consistency with nutrition and fitness. In large part – that’s due to the Peloton and its communities. This long-term thinking about health and health span actually does work. Aesthetics and smaller clothes are a nice side benefit but are only motivation for a short while.

As part of this consistency and focus, a medical checkup was long overdue. The 3 blood pressure readings they took at the doc’s office a couple of weeks ago were elevated, prompting a two-week tracking to see if I was, in fact, hypertensive. Complaining to my husband that their machine had to be wrong (yes, all three times), he shook his head at me as he got out his blood pressure cuff for me to use. The 2 weeks are up today and I WAS RIGHT! For whatever reason, it was elevated that day, their machine was off or there were gremlins messing with me because it’s been consistently right around 100/60. YES!

Do I want to stay out of the doc’s office as much as possible? YOU BET. Do I want to not have to take meds? Of course. Beyond that, do I feel good? Can I walk up the hills around my neighborhood and not be winded? (18 months ago, I was laid out with a nasty upper respiratory infection that had me wheezing for weeks!) I don’t even have to huff and puff to get up these hills lately – which means improved lung and heart function! Am I in the moment with the dogs as we walk? Can I appreciate the gorgeous flowers EVERYWHERE that are blooming? Can I do cartwheels with my kids and play tetherball – and still beat them?! Am I sleeping well? Do I have energy and vigor to greet the day? In short – is life pretty good overall?

Yes.

This 4-year milestone is just a silly virtual badge, but it is a representation of habit change and worth celebrating. Wrapping up a running program (Completed!) was worth celebrating. Kids wrapping up their school year has me feeling excited about looser schedules and summer fun around the corner. (CELEBRATE!) We are loving our neighborhood and the fresh limes and lemons in the yard! Celebrating that by being Neighbor Nancy and setting out a bucket of lemons to share! (I love being the Lemon Lady!) My husband surprised me with a Cala Lily (my fave) yesterday and our little herb garden is growing strong, too!

It’s a big bucket of good stuff lately.

As the cliche goes, we can’t pour from an empty cup bucket. Training in whatever modality is not the point. Train for life outside of the gym. Train for life and longevity. Train for mental health. Train for having mobility and avoiding falls and being stiff and uncomfortable. Train to maintain balance. Train so we can be around and healthy for our loved ones. Working out and getting fit is great – but it’s the living of our life we are training for.

How are you filling your bucket today?