Before I get into my postpartum Peloton journey, let’s set the stage about me. I’m a freelancer. One of the biggest motivators and energy boosters for me as a freelancer is working out. I haven’t always loved working out though. I have a troubled history with food, diets, fitness, and over-exercising. I’m happy to say that through a lot of therapy I have a mostly peaceful relationship with food and fitness.
Working out is something I do in the morning – after the girls are at daycare – because it helps me clear my head, see the day with focus and gives me a sense of what needs to be done.
In 2020, I was pregnant with my twin daughters, which was a wild time to be pregnant by the way. A global pandemic plus a twin pregnancy really showed me how much I took my physical fitness for granted.
By week 20 of my twin pregnancy being able to move my body the way I wanted was basically gone. When you’re pregnant with twins, things escalate quickly.
It’s harder to move around because you get so big so fast and you are also incredibly out of breath. I won’t soon forget waddling to my OB appointments trying to breathe with my Covid mask in 99 degree heat.
Luckily, I had my twin daughters at 38.5 weeks – which is past full term for twins. They were huge and totally healthy. Both over 7 lbs. The doctors and nurses were impressed, which my overachieving self enjoyed, even under the influence of heavy drugs during my C section. I’m nothing if not constantly-striving to be impressive.
Once I had the girls and started to recover from the C section, I couldn’t wait to get back into working out! I craved movement. I thought that was a feeling only serene yogi goddesses felt.
I used to be a working-out-is-a-punishment kind of person. I did it regularly, but with a white-knuckled sense of duty.
Post-pregnancy, my feelings on movement, exercise, and fitness changed radically for the better.
So this very self-involved preface is all leading up to the truth. I’m now a Peloton person.
My impulse Amazon Peloton bike purchase
I bought myself a cheap bike on Cyber Monday from Amazon. I literally picked the cheapest stationary bike on Amazon (VigBody). I wasn’t sure if it would be trash or not, but I’ve been known to make an impulsive Amazon purchase, especially at night from my phone. So I hit that orange “Buy Now” button, felt the rush of serotonin, and rolled over and went to bed for 30 minutes until my baby twin daughters woke me up demanding food again.
Ah…twin parenthood. So good. So exhausting.
Anyway, when my stationary bike arrived, I have to say I was a bit sheepish. I told my husband I had made an impulse buy. He’s the opposite of an impulse shopper so he gave me a look like, “Let’s see how this goes…”. I promised him I would assemble it myself.
It turns out it was the easiest setup ever. I had the baby monitor next to me while I used an Allen wrench to put together the parts. It took 30 minutes max.
I have to say. Best purchase ever.
My Peloton Hack Setup
- My VigBody bike was about $200
- The Peloton app is $12.99 a month.
I did purchase a Wahoo Cadence Sensor but haven’t hooked it up. I’m just not that competitive with my workouts. I don’t need to know if my legs are moving as fast as they should be. Maybe I’ll be that way someday. That’s also why I don’t think I need the actual Peloton bike. I’m not motivated by a leaderboard. In fact, in the past when I’ve gone to cycle classes in person at those fancy studios a-la Soul Cycle or Cycle Bar, I always felt very exposed when my performance was shown up on a big screen.
I’m not an athlete. I remember being intensely embarrassed of my athletic abilities at recess as far as I can remember. So competing voluntarily in a cycling classes brings back 4th grade, chubby me and it kills the mood.