I used to ride a stationary bike at the gym, way back before my diagnosis with Lipedema in 2007; it wasn’t my favorite activity, I thought it was a bit boring, if I’m honest.
When I was a kid we rode our bikes everywhere, and I loved it, but a stationary bike is not the same.
At the gym in the 1990s and 2000s, I would use the treadmill, the bike and an elliptical machine (in addition to the more fun weight training and boxing style classes), trying to figure out why my body didn’t respond to anything I was doing physically to lose weight.
I was a bit of a cardio Queen back then, spending hours at the gym, with headphones on, going from one cardio machine to the next. I liked being active, and in order of favorite machines, it would have gone…
- Elliptical (most favorite)
- Treadmill (2nd favorite)
- Stationary Bike (least favorite)
The first time riding a bike again, since my Lipedema diagnosis, was in June 2015 - it was for the 1st Lipedema Triathlon.
I was so happy I could fit on a bike, because many I had tried didn’t work with my size/shape, but I found one at the YMCA (who was hosting us for the Triathlon) - it did require help getting on (from coach) - adjusting seat height, etc., but I would ride that bike once a year, for the annual Lipedema Triathlon, for four years, until the pandemic would close our gym.
That is when I had to figure out an At Home version of the Triathlon, so I bought a bike off Amazon, specifically for the Tri coming up in June (2020), and I would begin doing five minute rides (about 1 mile in distance) as training.
I still found riding the stationary bike boring, even watching music videos on YouTube, (but YouTube was better then just listening to my music, it was also visually distracting).
On June 27, 2020, the 5th Annual Triathlon, my goal for the bike portion was to do 5 minute intervals, then stand and shake things out, stretch my calves, etc. and hop back on for another 5 minutes. I would need to do 12.4 miles to reach the 20K distance, and tried to keep the breaks to 30 seconds each.
It worked, and I was able to do the full 20K ride that way. I also did rowing as a replacement fir the swim, and mowed the lawn in place of the 5K walk.
I would use the bike occasionally, as menopause took a toll on my Lipedema, and my mobility took a hit, walking became more challenging again, and I knew I needed to seek out other ways to stay active and move my lymphatics to keep my progression as under control as possible.
That is when my sister was talking about this upcoming Peloton ride she was excited for. She had me log in, as it was live, and she was right, it looked like a lot of fun.
I started looking for spinning classes on YouTube, and there were a few, not Peloton, but still fun, and I liked them so much better than watching videos; and it didn’t require me searching for playlists (it was the instructors job to find the music)!
I went online to find out how much the Peloton bike was, because I was running out of free spinning class video options on YouTube, and that is when I found out Peloton offers something called Peloton Digital, where you could use your own bike, but still have access to the live and on-demand classes. They offered a free 30 day trial period, and then if you continued, it would cost $12.99 per month.
You don’t have all the bells and whistles of the official Peloton bike, but for almost a year now I’ve been using the Peloton App with my own bike, and I love it! Me, loving a stationary bike! Highly recommend it to everyone, all the time.
On November 6, 2020 I signed up for their free 30 day trial to see if I would use it, and have been using it ever since. I just finished my 74th ride, and shooting to get to my century ride (100th) by the end of the year!
I had built up to 20 minute rides by the time I got the App, and started with once a week beginner rides, and wanted to work up to 3 times a week.
Then I wanted to go from a 20 minute ride to a 30 minute ride, and that went well. I had a couple family emergencies come up, that required travel, and I would not have access to riding; as soon as I was back home, I would get back on track. Life happens. We adjust as best we can.
A couple weeks ago I started riding during my lunch break, which meant a 20 minute ride, but I am trying to build up to 5 days a week. Last week I got 4 rides in; worked out of the office on Wednesday, so no lunch break ride that day. Hope to do the same this week!
MY STATS: My 1st ride was with Alex Toussaint (awesome trainer), but I don’t see my stats for that ride, so my 2nd ride was with Cody Rigsby (also a good trainer, and currently on dancing with the stars)…
- 4.3 miles in 22:44 minutes (11/10/20)
- 5 miles in 21:30 minutes (9/28/21)
