Tracking My Fitness: Peloton Stats, Jogging, and Sleep Insights

I last updated my Peloton journey on February 1, so this update is a bit overdue. Riding has been going well, and I am still enjoying the rides. Although I have not yet expanded to three rides a week, they are going well. Since my post on February 1 (see post), I have completed 417 rides and 519 total workouts, including 25 bike rides since February 1. I usually do one long ride around 30-45 minutes and then one or two shorter rides to either cool down or warm up before a ride.

I mentioned that I wanted to increase from two to three rides per week, but now that the weather is starting to improve, I think I am going to add jogging once a week. I might start this in the middle of April. I do enjoy jogging and miss going out in the neighborhood, plus Oliver loves it when I run because that also means I will take him on a walk afterward.

Weight loss has been fairly consistent since I posted in February, averaging about the same for the past month. No significant losses or gains. I am feeling good and enjoying the workout each week. I look forward to adding running in April, and I also plan to include exercises like sit-ups or push-ups. I need something to help with my core.

Adding running and some additional exercises should help me stay on track. If I can keep this going even with a busy summer, trips, or just not feeling like working out, I will be happy. In past years, I would be doing well until the summer months, and then we would go on vacation, camping, etc., and I would lose the habit. It is so easy to lose the habit, and it does not take much for that to happen. So far, so good for me, and I am enjoying the process.

Granted, there are times when I do not want to get on the bike to ride. Sometimes I do not feel well or am just tired, and it does not sound appealing at that moment. However, once I am on the bike and riding, all of that goes away, and I am happy once the ride ends. There is a good feeling after finishing a workout, a run, or general exercise.

I enjoy having Peloton to track my exercise. I also use the Fitness app on my iPhone. Recently, I have started wearing my watch to bed to track sleep cycles, something I never really did before as my watch would not last two full days. It is still that way, but now I have charging stations in multiple areas so I can charge my watch while watching television or getting ready in the morning. Believe it or not, I feel like tracking my sleep along with exercise gives me a better picture of my health. The Fitness app lets me know when my heart rate average changes, and through the night, it monitors for sleep apnea. I have had sleep apnea since around 2004, and it went away around January.

That is enough rambling on this Sunday afternoon. I am excited for March Madness and looking forward to the games. Enjoy the week, and I will talk to you next week.

From Bike Rides to Weight Loss: My Fitness Milestones

Starting February, I look back on my workout history since restarting this process in December. I continue my twice-a-week workout routine. I always work out on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m., usually with a live class. The other day is typically Wednesday, though I've moved it around as needed due to other events. I'm enjoying the process and routine. My rides are typically 30 minutes, but I've done a few as long as 45 minutes.

I'm approaching 400 total bike rides since we got the bike. I'm currently at 392 and expect to hit the 400 mark in mid-February. I typically ride one longer ride of 30 minutes and then one or two cool-down rides of five minutes or so. I'm hoping to time it so I can be in a live class and maybe even get a shout-out from the instructor.

I've only been focusing on bike rides so far. Although the stats above show other categories, I haven't been doing anything other than bike rides. I do want to add weightlifting and other cardio into my workout routine, but for now, I think it's good to focus on the bike.

In the spring, I intend to start running again. I was on a good routine a year ago, into the spring and summer, where I was running regularly. It didn't last long, unfortunately, due to summer trips, and I never got back into the swing of it after those trips. I enjoy running, and it also helps keep Oliver in shape, as I take him for walks after my runs.

My weight loss journey is progressing well. Since November, I've been on new medication that, combined with my exercise routine, has been instrumental in my weight loss. I've lost 30 pounds since November! I can definitely see the difference in my face and how my clothes fit. They're much looser now! I still have a way to go to reach my target weight, but I'm excited to continue this journey and see even more progress. I'm also focusing on improving my eating habits. I'm enjoying the foods I'm eating and making conscious choices to avoid less healthy options. All of these factors contribute to my progress. While I experience the normal aches and pains that come with getting older (like in my knees and back), I feel better than I have in a long time.

The last time I was at my current weight was in 2017, which was the lowest I'd been in years. I'm below that weight now. Again, I have a way to go to hit my target weight, but I'm making good progress.

Until next time, have a great rest of your weekend and a great week! Watch for future updates on my health journey. What are your favorite workout routines? Share your fitness journey in the comments!

New Features, New Motivation: My Return to Peloton

Peloton Stats Since I Started November 13, 2020

I got back on the bike on Sunday, December 1 and it felt great! The last time I rode the bike was on July 30, 2023. I had used the Peloton app a few times in 2023, but nothing on the bike since 2023. It felt good to be back on the bike and I feel motivation to ride again for the first time in over a year.

It had been so long since I had last used the bike that I found a number of new features have been added. Some I knew about and some I did not know had been added. The new additions I like included YouTube TV and Kindle are now part of the Peloton offerings meaning I can watch TV while biking or I can read my book and both are synced up to my accounts so I am seeing my current offerings. 

If I recall correctly, back in 2023 they were just getting ready to introduce YouTube TV as an option, but apparently it was not enough to prompt me to return back in the middle of 2023. I am glad to see it now as sometimes I just want to ride and watch TV. Other options added include Netflix which will also be fun to have available. I did not look at any other options, but happy to see the two mentioned services that are now available.

My plan for this biking renewal is to ride two or three times a week. The days will be fluid where I can ride any day as long as I get in at least two rides each week. I would prefer to ride at least three times, but I also do not want to overdo it to start. I bought some new biking shorts to help with sitting on the seat that can honestly get a little uncomfortable especially if I am riding a lot during the week or for long periods of time. Hoping the new shorts help in providing cushion from the seat.

It makes me laugh though as my dog, Oliver, is never sure what I am doing in the guest room on this thing. He walks in, looks at me as if I am crazy, and then leaves. Sometimes he just sits outside of the room in the doorway watching me. I wonder what he is thinking while he watches me on this metal thing and I am grunting while giving effort to the workout.

Through the years, I had connected with a few people on the Peloton app. I am following 23 people and I have 24 followers. I wonder how many of those people are still active members. I will see who is active as I start this new journey and become active again in the community.

You might wonder if I have tried Apple Fitness+ and I have but it is nice to have videos and interaction as part of the Peloton Bike+ experience altogether. Carrie and I have Apple Fitness+ as part of our combined services for Apple One which consists of Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple TV+, iCloud+, Apple Arcade, and Apple Fitness+. Of the services of Apple One, we use Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple TV+ the most. We take advantage of the iCloud+ for additional storage for our accounts. So far, I have not found the Apple Fitness+ useful for doing the bike, but I have used the service when running outside.

What fitness app are you using? Why?

Be sure to watch for future updates on my journey. You know I will be posting about them as I progress in my journey. I am ready for the journey and that is half of the process to get motivated. Let's GO!

50 Birthday Celebration in Fredericksburg Was a Success! Great Time in Wine Country!

We started planning my 50th birthday celebration back in December or January. Narrowed down the locations from remote beaches, sea side in the United States, to wine country locations. I made the decision I liked wine and we would revisit Fredericksburg (Fred), Texas. We had visited Fred back in 2020 prior to COVID occurring and had a great time, so it seemed like a good place to visit and have some fun. We decided on a VRBO house after going through a few dozen or so locations that we all reviewed, gave feedback, etc., but finally decided on one that could hold six of us and it had a pool.

Our trip was scheduled for when my birthday would occur, so we planned for July 20 through July 26. During our trip we took a lot of pictures. I picked out some for this update, but others can be seen on my Flickr site. Yes, we took over 280 pictures although some are duplicates, there are a lot of photos of our fun and wineries we visited. Below, I will attempt to outline what we did each day and some of the wineries or restaurants we visited.

Wednesday, July 20

This was our travel day. Erin, Greg, Carrie, and I left Topeka bright and early this morning. We loaded up the car and we were on the road a little after 5 am. Oliver being watched by my mom. We thought about taking him, but it would have been too much for him, so I am glad we left him behind.

Uneventful trip which was good. Greg and I split up the drive, so it was not bad at all. It is around an 11 hour drive to our house. Really, the trip was not bad at all and when making the trip with others that can help with the drive, it makes it go by quickly. 

We arrived late afternoon and checked out our house for the week. I was so happy with the house we selected. After reviewing many different houses in different locations, I am so happy we decided on Sunny Oaks TX. So, we arrived, checked out the house and then went to get something to eat. Javier and Corrie meeting us on Thursday, so we were on our own for finding a place to eat. We went to Hondo’s On Main which Carrie and I had been to back in 2020. We had a spot near the bar and really good food and drinks. Had a good time for our first night in Fred before heading back to the house later that night. Of course we had to get in the pool when we got back to the house where we hung out until it was time for bed.

Thursday, July 21

I woke up earlier and rode the Peloton for a while. Javier and Corrie were arriving to town today, so we were a little excited. Originally, we were going to meet them at the Hill Country Distillers, but plans changed and we would meet Corrie and Javier at the house. Greg and I were like little kids watching for our friends to arrive. I think I checked the front door a dozen times and then as the time approached they were supposed to arrive, we were both looking out the front door for their arrival. After their arrival, taking in their things, saying hello, and showing around the house, we left to go grab lunch.

We stopped by a place none of had been for lunch which was really good. High’s Cafe and Store with really good sandwiches and soups. It was a good way to lay a base before we started having some gin and whiskey at the distillers.

After lunch, we headed to Hill Country Distillers that Corrie, Javier, Carrie, and I had been to previously, but first time for Greg and Erin. I realized we only took one picture while we were at Hill Country Distillers which I think was due to our enjoyment of the variation of drinks. Good spot that I highly recommend checking out if you are near Comfort, Texas.

For dinner Thursday night, Corrie and Javier selected the spot and paid for our dinner. Thank you! It was a secret until the day they arrived and it was excellent! Crossroads Steakhouse & Saloon was the selection. It was wonderful! Everything from the drinks down to the dinner was excellent. I had the bone-in pork chop with Brussels sprouts. Oh my! Prior to dinner I had a classic martini and then Corrie and Javier got the table two bottles of wine. Fantastic spot for dinner and to start off our weekend of fun.

Following dinner, we went back to the house to get in the pool and enjoy some drinks around the pool in the Texas evening. It was wonderful!

Friday, July 22

This was our first day of visiting wineries, so we had to get a good base before we started. We went to what has become a tradition of visiting Mr. Gatti’s Pizza which is pizza buffet and salad. We went there back in 2020 and decided it would be good to go before we started the wineries. Following pizza, we had three wineries on the itinerary.

Augusta Vin is one of our favorites. Corrie, Javier, Carrie, and I had been there back in 2020 where Carrie and I have been club members since that first visit. We changed up our delivery to have a mixed wine box delivered four times a year. Previously, we had only reds delivered, but changed up the delivery to be a mix. All of their wines have been delicious and I have enjoyed their white wines when we visit, so decided to switch it up. We sat out on the VIP balcony and enjoyed a tasting followed by a glass of wine we shared. Enjoyable first day of visiting wineries. 

Heath Sparkling Wine at Grape Creet Vinyards was our next stop. We had tried to stop here back in 2020 not knowing they had just opened and it was by reservation only. This was sparkling wines paired with food. We all agreed we would go there to eat if the chef would do full meals. 

 The pairings were perfect and we learned the process of sparkling wines while we sampled. We did have a brief time where we were not sure if we were going to get in as there was some confusion with our reservation, but they grouped us together with two other ladies and everything worked out just fine. 

Following sparkling wines, we went back to red and white wines at Carter Creek Winery Resort & Spa which was a cool spot. Wine was good and had a huge outdoor area for events, cornhole, or just hanging out enjoy a glass of wine. There was also a brewery on the grounds which had some good beer which I enjoyed after an afternoon of wine. 

Saturday, July 23

The schedule was set with four wineries and a driver to take us around. It was so fun! Nick was great! He was a college student that drove people around on the weekends for wineries. He took good care of us checking us into the various locations and getting us to and fro safely.

Excited for the day and to get it started, we had a breakfast casserole that Corrie had made. Again, it provided a good base for us for the day of visiting wineries. I think I also had a Bloody Mary, or more, to start the day before enjoy wines. So exciting to have a driver picking us up and not having to worry about getting from one place to the next. We were ready to head out…

Our first stop was Slate Theory which as an amazing location and winery. The wine was delicious and their cellar was so impressive. Below ground and a nice cool temperature for wine, we sampled wines and looked around their production area. The concept for Slate Theory was cool as their label was about mental health and attempting to remove the stigma regarding mental health from their label to the various names of their wines (i.e. Insomniac and Schizophrenic to name a few). We all enjoyed our time at Slate Theory.

Second on the agenda was Hye Meadow Winery where we also had lunch. They sat us outside which was very warm. Not bad while we did the wine tasting, but once our food arrived, we were all ready to go inside. I enjoyed the wines at Hye Meadow Winery, but we did not buy any wines or sign up for any clubs at this one. 

William Chris Vineyards was our third stop of the day. A nice little stop where at first we thought we were going to be outside, but they moved us inside to a counter where it was cool. It was a little loud from “woo girls” in the tasting room and our host was a soft speaker, but we had a good time.

Hilmy Cellars was a fun last stop. Again, they wanted to put us outside, but Carrie got them to keep us inside at the counter. I really enjoyed the wines at Hilmy Cellars and we were able to enjoy a glass after the tasting while we waited for Nick to come pick us up. We also had some good flavored popcorn, which was much needed after various wineries, to tide us over until dinner time. 

What a great time of having a driver to take us around town, enjoy great venues, and wines, and to have fun in Fred. Nick picked us up from Hilmy Cellars and took us back to the house. We spent the evening around the pool, eating burgers, and continuing the fun.

Sunday, July 24

Our last day to do wineries, so we had Grape Creek Vineyards which is located at the same location/area as Heath Sparkling Wine that we had visited earlier in the week. Although, we had reservations at JenBlossom Cellars. JenBlossom Cellars turned out to be a private tasting which was amazing and some of the best wine I have ever had. No, we did not buy a membership here, but we wanted to do so. Instead, we bought one bottle which is the most expensive bottle of wine we have ever purchased. Saving it for a special occasion, we cannot wait to have it one evening.

A great way to start the day with JenBlossom Cellars, we left and headed to Barons Creek Vineyards. Our fun continued at Barons Creek Vineyards where we had a good person serving us wine and some snacks to tide us over for the day.  Carrie and I took home a couple of bottles from Barons Creek Vineyards and then also ended up for a membership. Carrie said later she did not want to but I was happy on wine and decided to join another club. “That’s how they get you!”. 😀

Our final stop for wine was Safari Winery. A fun location with a good host, but none of us bought any bottles from this location.

Finally to finish out the day we needed food, so we decided on Panda Chinese Restaurant which was some of the best Chinese I have had in a while. Put down a good base so we could head back to the house to play games and enjoy the night.

Monday, July 25

 The plan today was to stick around the house. Greg and I stayed around the house. The ladies went shopping and then to Augusta Vin to take advantage of our VIP status.  

While it was hot, it was not bad at all outside. I was outside for the morning and majority of the afternoon. Even though I applied sunscreen multiple times, I got burned on my shoulders and back. All good though and well worth it as I had an amazing day celebrating my birthday.

After the ladies returned, we all spent time in the pool and then Greg did steaks on the grill. They were so good! We had some difficulty figuring out the Traeger Grill the night we did burgers, but no issues this evening. The steaks came off perfectly cooked and paired nicely with sides and a nice glass of wine. Perfect pairing after spending the day drinking beer around the pool. 

A great way to finish off the long weekend with good food, drink, and fun in the pool. I am the first in our group to turn 50, so I cannot wait to see what the others all plan for their 50 celebrations. I recall some discussion happening between Corrie and Carrie that we might be in California for their 50 celebration. I cannot wait!

Ending our Trip

It was sad to pack up and leave on Tuesday morning. Corrie and Javier had to leave early to get Javier to the airport. We ended up having to take all the wine with us and meeting Javier at the airport as he could not ship his wine from UPS and of course could not check all of it at the airport. Worked out well though as we were able to meet his friend who pick up his wine from us as we passed through Forth Worth, Texas. 

I invite you to view all pictures from our trip by accessing my Flickr site. I would like to thank Corrie, Javier, Greg, Erin, and Carrie for making my 50th birthday celebration a memorial event. I think I will be talking about this celebration for years to come although I look forward to seeing how the others out do my 50 celebration. Thank you everyone!

Thanks to everyone who called, texted, or spoke to me directly to wish me a happy birthday. It was so fun!

My Stats for Working Out Slacked a Bit for June

Working out in June was another struggle. Looking back, I only had three of the five full weeks where I worked out multiple times. Two weeks I only worked out once on a Sunday. Getting sick in the middle of June did not help my days for working out (see Exercise Not Happening), so it is easy to understand why it was down a bit. In fact, I think the June 19 or 26 date was not even a bike ride, but meditation to keep my streak going for Peloton working out. One of those days I was sick in bed and not doing much. While it seems infrequent, looking back on May 2022, I only worked out nine times that month too. 

Not a bad track record for June working out considering I was sick for about a week and a half, still, I was hoping to be working out consistently throughout the month. Now, July has started and here we are at day 10 and my working out has not happened much for July either. I plan to get back into it starting Sunday, July 10 with my normal ride time and planning to ride Tuesday and Thursday this week too.

It is so easy to fall out of the routine of working out and so difficult to get back into the swing of it after taking a few days, or weeks, off from doing so. I am happy to report, which I have not done recently, which is that since January 6, 2022 I have lost 14.6 pounds. Weight not exactly flying off, but I am seeing some improvement with my weight. My clothes are fitting better, I feel better than I did back in January, but a long way to go. 

As I look to individual stats from June, they are not horrible, but not great either. Already covered the individual workouts of nine which matches with May workouts. However, at least one, maybe two, are not even bike riding workouts. So, really I am looking at seven workouts for the month of June. Not very good and room to improve for July.

Total minutes of working out at 211 is not great either. Back in May I spent 283 minutes working out, so this is down considerably from May time spent working out. Again, room for improvement for July although so far I am lacking behind total minutes working out. I might need to throw in an hour long, or two workouts, this next week or after to bump those numbers. My plan of incorporating a jog at least once a week has not happened yet either. I do miss running and still hope to get that involved in my workouts possibly in August.

Mile traveled is down too as you would guess. For May I traveled 69 miles during the month long working out routine compared to 45.6 miles traveled for June. Hoping to get that back up and tracking toward triple digits for future months. I will say, the past few months while I was trying to workout for at least 30 minutes, I have found that I have done a number of 20 minute workouts which means I am not working out for as long as say a few months ago or traveling as many miles.

Finally, calories burned is down almost 1,000 from May numbers. Again, not surprising considering I did not work out but only seven times for June where I was riding the bike. 

I do enjoy riding the bike. I look forward to it and enjoy the process. I just need to do more of it and be better about consistent workouts. Stop making excuses and plan for it if I know the week is busy, get up early to work out. Or, move days to another day if I am unable to get a workout in on a planned Tuesday or Thursday. I was doing this a lot early on in the year where I would move days, but the past month or two, if something comes up where I cannot get a workout completed, I simply skip that day. Not good!

I hope your workout routine is going well. If you are on Peloton and would like to workout together, please drop me a line in discussion below. Happy riding and see you on the bike…

April Stats for Working Out Went Up Slightly Compared to March

The month of April, I did much better with my working out each week. Well, at least for the last three weeks of the month, it was much better. I felt good working out during April. I consistently worked out on Sunday mornings. I continue to read while I work out on the Tuesday and Thursday days which is helping me get through my book list and then Sunday is typically spent working to a live instructor. 

 

As I review the month of April, I know why that first full week is so sparse with working out… that was the week of the NCAA championship game. It occurred on Monday, April 5 and it was a late game. As I recall, I went to bed early on April 6 which is my normal workout day. Then it appears I did not get motivated again to workout until the following Sunday. Not ideal, but I got back into the routine the middle of the month. 

 

Feels good to keep the routine going and I am seeing a few pounds drop off through the efforts. I still have not done anything about really eating better, but some how I am seeing pounds drop off little by little. Here we are in the early part of May and I still have not started the jogging once a week plan I had mentioned in past updates. I am hoping to start jogging on Saturday mornings. Hopefully in a future post, I will let you know how that goes. I want to use the Peloton app on my phone to do the run and then see where it takes me. Hoping my knees do better this time around with running than when I started it up before Peloton bike arrived.

 

The following month I get an email from Peloton to let me know how I did which is where these graphs and information come into play. My normal live workout on Sunday mornings is with Alley Love and varies from 20 - 60 minutes depending on the day. She did recently get married and looking to move to London, so I am not sure what that means for my normal workout at 11 am CDT with her as the instructor. She continues to be my favorite instructor as she keeps the workoug intense, she has stories that help pass the time, and she motivates during the workout. Anything to keep the routine enjoyable is what I am looking for in an instructor. If she does move on or changes time, I am not sure if I will find a new instructor for the Sunday morning spot or change to when she does do her live session.

 

I am approaching 300 bike riding workouts. In fact, when this update posts on Sunday, I should reach 300 on Sunday, May 5 as I usually write these early in the week. I am hoping to do the live ride with Ally Love on Sunday so I can get a shout out during the ride. She did mention me a few weeks ago in a live ride although she was not sure how to prounce “Havertyj”.

My monthly stats were down a little from March which is odd as I did not work out much in March with basketball happening. On average, I rode the bike for 25 minutes. I stopped doing the additional cool down rides and instead only focus on however long the ride is scheduled or that I want to ride. I usually do a cooldown but after the session has ended. Miles traveled are down a little too from March, but I hope over the summer I can continue to increase those to higher numbers across the board for monthly stats. We will see what happens...

 

The important point is that I continue to enjoy bike riding. I enjoy the process and how it makes me feel even when the workout is kicking my butt and I am not sure I will finish that particular ride. I enjoy reading while I workout and often times have classical music playing while I ride and read. Whatever I can do to make the workout enjoyable is what I am looking to do and that helps to pass the time and not even realize I am working out. Well, until I get off of the bike and try to walk down the stairs, then I know I have been working out and I am right back to reality.

 

What do you do to motivate yourself for working out? Any tips or tricks you can share?

 

Until next time, enjoy your workouts and strive on for motivation to keep the healthy balance of life.

 

March Stats for Working Out Have Gone Way Down Compared to January and February

With it being March Madness, it really disrupted my workout plans. As you can see during the month of March I had a week where I only worked out once and three weeks where I only worked out twice. It was a struggle! So, looking over the stats, you can see I was down four days from the previous month for working out. There were some days I could have worked out as I knew my schedule for the week, but the motivation was lacking in March and it continues to lack on this Sunday late afternoon as I write this update. In fact, today, April 10, I did not work out at all this past week. I had planned to ride today to get in something, but spent the morning and afternoon working on cutting up a tree. I am exhausted, so I sit here writing this watching the Master’s finish up and drinking a beer. I am spent! My back hurts and I could fall asleep. I did manage to get in a mediation to keep my weekly streak going on Peloton, but it really feels like cheating.

So, overall, I was down on everything from workouts, to calories burned, to miles. This month is not looking much better, so hoping it is a wake up call for me to get back at it again. After today, I plan to get on the bike again on Tuesday. 

Not a lot of updates on my exercise routine other than it is down considerably from previous months and not looking much better so far for April. I still have time though to improve April, so we will see how it goes. I do plan, as I mentioned a few months ago, to start running at least one day each week and now that the weather is warming up, I might start that this month. I do enjoy running and the routine of running. My knees do not like it much, but our dog Oliver loves it because it knows when I run we will go on a walk afterwards. 

I hope you are keeping up with your workout routine and I look forward to getting back on my three day a week routine this next week.

Progress Report for February 2022 Working Out... Did Better on Quantity but Dipped on Length

Another month down in 2022 and here is my status update for working out or more specifically riding my bike. February 2022 was really good for me with consistency of working out. I worked out twelve times throughout the month. I am still targeting Ally Love for my live events on Sunday mornings at 11 am CDT. I met every single Sunday with Love event for February with at least one going as long as one hour. It felt great and I love the energy Ally brings to the rides, so that helps to keep the process fun and new each week. Plus, she likes to change up the music and what we are doing each week, so that makes the rides fun and something I look forward to each week. Each time I have done one of her live classes that is an hour, I never look forward to the ride as it starts the hour long ride, but so grateful once I am finished. She helps to motivate and keep us focused on what we need to do during the ride.

During one such ride I hit a high of 337 for my for best output. This happened to be the 60 minute ride, so no wonder it beat all of my other outputs for February. Still, I had a good time and look forward to continuing the live rides in March too.

As I mentioned, I worked out consistently for 12 days through the month of February. I kept on my target days as planned except for the last week of the month, but sometimes it is needed to modify workout days if something else is happening on that particular day. I have had prior months where I had to change my target date for working out every day, so it was good to get my target dates in for workouts and not have to modify.

I still have plans that once the weather improves (i.e. no snow) that I will start running at least once a week to increase the workouts per week to four. I have not run in over a year, so I am looking forward to including that into my routine. The current plan is to introduce running on Saturday mornings which would mean I would be working out back-to-back days, but I think it will be good to do and help with my overall workout process.

One thing I did during February was to cut out all alcohol. I did not post about this previously or hint that I was going to do this during the month. It was primarily to see how much weight I would lose by not drinking beer or any liquor. Granted, I did without any beer through February, but I did not necessarily change what I ate. Which is to say that I was not eating great for most of February.  I went from 264 on February 1 to 258.2 on February 28. Not bad for only giving up beer, but I was hoping to be more. Carrie and I plan to further target our eating habits in the next week or so where I will once again limit what I drink, but more importantly what I put in my belly each week. I could tell I had lost a few pounds as clothes started fitting a little better, but still a long way to go for my health.

Reviewing my monthly stats are not too bad. I was hoping my average ride time was going to be higher for February, but it is right around 17 minutes per ride. I was hoping to be up around 30 minutes per ride, but while I got workouts in each time, I had some that were shorter than I had hoped as we were heading to places, other plans, etc., where I had to notify my planned ride. As I mentioned last month, I also usually do a cool down after each ride, so that helps to skew the numbers. 

I like that Peloton sends out these notices after the month is over to give a break down of how I did the prior month. To think that I biked 106.7 miles during February is a good feeling, but I think I can continue to increase these numbers as I continue my biking experience. Calories burned is interesting too int his monthly stats report. Of course that is offset by what I eat outside of cycling. During February, I did not do beer, or alcohol, but as I mentioned, I continued to not eat very well, so while I had 5,737 calories burned from bike riding calorie intake was not great during the month.

Something I keep saying I am going to try is to do portion control. I have a bad habit of eating everything on my plate when we go out to eat. I remember my parents when they would go out to eat, they would always split their plate or immediately do half and take the other half home. Good examples for me moving forward on my path to getting older and not able to lose weight as fast I did when I was younger.

Until next time, enjoy your bike rides and workouts…

Lanebreak from Peloton Announced on February 17 and My Experience with Lanebreak

Earlier this week, Peloton announced Lanebreak which is a new game mode that Peloton has offered to create a game mode for when doing bike ride. I tried the new Lanebreak on Thursday evening for my ride. It was a fun ride using the resistance knob to change lanes, it is a fairly easy process and allows for gathering points by changing the resistance knob to hit certain markers in the game. Turning to the left (less resistance) takes you to the left and turning the resistance knob to the right takes you to the right. Easy enough to follow and do the game. 

I started off on the easy mode to see how it would work. The first thing I noticed and later read on a 9to5Mac article was that Apple Watch could not be used for Lanebreak. The 9to5Mac article went on to say how silently Apple Watch had been removed from many of the workouts on Peloton except for those that are bike riding. As I mentioned, I went on a span of a few months where I was not using Peloton at all and then the past few months I have only done bike riding. Thus, I had not noticed that the Apple Watch had disappeared from weight lifting, meditation, jogging, etc. It seems like an odd thing to do especially when Peloton is struggling and there are discussions of being bought out by another company (i.e. Apple, Amazon, Nike, etc.). Especially for Peloton to remove the option quietly without any notice of the feature disappearing. 

Back to my experience on the Lanebreak feature. I did enjoy my ride and I had a good workout. It was fun because using the resistance knob to change lanes on the track, it took away that I was increasing or decreasing resistance. I was riding and realized I was going 115 with resistance at 45 or 50 and because I was playing a game, I did not realize I had it set so high or going so fast. There is a heads up display as shown on the Lanebreak blog site showing your resistance, speed, etc., but when playing the game the focus is not on those items and instead focusing on get points. Obviously, that is the point of the game.

I do enjoy using the bike with my Apple Watch, so I know that Lanebreak is in test mode as it said on the screen there might be bugs that I had to agree to before using Lanebreak. I am hopeful that at some point Apple Watch will be included in this new feature. For now, Lanebreak will likely be something I try once or twice a month, but for my regular workouts, I will continue to do “normal” bike rides on my Peloton.

Progress Report for January 2022 Working Out... Dipped a Little with Holidays... Reading and Biking

A pat on my back... I have been sticking to my regular workouts the past few weeks. In fact, in January, I worked out every week for my three workouts as I had planned. I did have to adjust days, but I was able to stick to my days and get the workouts done. I have no issue moving my workout days, so it worked out well. So far in February, I am off to a great start for this month.

I worked out a total of 13 days during January. I am feeling good on the bike and can ride for almost an hour without any discomfort. As the weather begins to change, I do intend to start walking/jogging at least once a week too. Hoping to start this new process in March or April. I really enjoyed jogging when I was doing so much of it not too many years ago. It felt good and I enjoyed the process. My dog, Oliver, enjoyed it too as he knew that the days I would run, he would get a walk. 

My best workout for January was a "Ally with Love" Feel Good Ride on January 23. I achieved my best output during the ride. I felt good throughout and did another workout following the 30 minute ride. The Sunday rides are almost always live rides for me while the other two days that I ride are typically recorded, scenic, or just ride sessions. I look forward to the live rides on Sunday and rode in the largest live group I have been a member of in early February with almost 10,000 people in the ride. It was fun and a lot of high fives throughout the ride to me and from me as I did my ride. It was fun!

You will usually find me on the bike on Sunday mornings at 11 am doing my live ride. Almost always with Ally Love although sometimes another instructor does the 11 am session, it usually is Ally Love. So fun and she keeps the energy of the workout, so it makes the whole process fun.

A further look at my monthly stats from January see I did a total of 22 workouts during January. I worked out for a total of 391 minutes in January for an average of 17.78 minute workout of my 22 workouts. Typically following a ride, I will do a five minute cool down, so the average is skewed a little with those extra workouts. If I take the days I worked out (13) and the 391, that comes out to an average of 30 minutes each workout... which is correct. As I have started February workouts, I have started to extend my workouts to 45 - 60 minutes although this sometimes depends on time or when I start the ride.

I like the total miles traveled of 98.3 and calories burned of 5,395 during January. I use my Apple Watch to monitor heart rate, so I think the calories burned are as accurate as possible. I feel good looking back on my stats from January and feel confident in my progress eleven days into February.

I continue to read while I bike which has been enjoyable. The main point is that I can read for 30 - 60 minutes and the riding of the bike while reading keeps me awake so I do not fall asleep while I ride. Reading while I bike has been a new task I started back in early January and I really enjoy the process. I typically read on the Tuesday/Thursday workout days leaving the live ride to focus on the instructor instructions.

On a side note, if you have not been watching the news, the Peloton brand is struggling. The brand has been struggling the past few months and it looks like they will be purchased by another company. So far the companies in the hunt of buying Peloton include Apple, Amazon, and Nike. It will be interesting to where Peloton is at in another few months. Peloton has a large following of customers and fans, so I do not think the brand will be broken but hopefully if it is purchased it will include new features or benefits.

Keep riding and see you in the bike routes...

Progress Report for December 2021 Working Out... Dipped a Little with Holidays... Reading and Biking

December 2021 working out was a little less than I had expected, but only one day fewer than I had done in November 2021. So, overall, not bad, but I could have used a few more days of working out. When I went back to work on January 3, I noticed some of my work pants fit a little more snug than they had prior to the holiday season. So, I am still working on getting back into the swing of things. I only worked out 9 days during December as indicated to the right. I plan to increase my workout to the three times a week and stick to it moving forward. If I need to adjust my days, that is not an issue, but I need to make sure to stay with my plan of working out three days a week. Taking more than three days off from riding is almost like starting over when I ride again. 

My plan for February 2022 is to completely remove alcohol. I know from past experience when I do this removal, I lose all kinds of weight and really feel a lot better. So, come February 1, 2022, I will be going the month not drinking beer or any alcohol. Yes, I know the Super Bowl is in there, but it seems like a good time to go without and try to get my body feeling better. More on this as February approaches and my status.

Overall for December, I did well with working out. I spent 189 minutes working out during December and traveled 43.7 miles as tracked through Peloton. While the calories burned looks really good, it does not help that I also would eat whatever I wanted and have beers. So, I am hoping that February will help get me back into better exercise with better results and also eating better too. Doing so for a month will help me and I am hope that during that month I will get to the point where I like it and continue to eating trend into March.

Carrie and I have both done this type monitoring with our food intake and alcohol removed from diet, but it has been a few years. We both plan to eat better and remove fast food from our routine when working. Most of it comes from it being so easy to pick up something to eat instead of spending time to prepare lunch or dinner which is healthier than Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonalds.

In regards to my bike riding, I am starting to feel better on the bike. I enjoy my rides and look forward to riding the bike. My backside still gets sore, but it is getting better. I am riding regularly 30 minutes on my rides. I will plan to continue 30 minute rides through January and then increase to 45 minute rides for February. I am taking the slow approach and gradually moving back into where I was at back in early July 2021 with riding. I still have issues with sore knees or stiff legs the day after riding, but I do feel much better than I do when I was jogging on a regular basis. Yes, I still have plans to start jogging at least one day a week although at this point, that will likely not occur until probably May or June.

One thing I have started as of about two weeks ago is to read while I bike. I have started reading again and reading a lot. I find it helpful to read while I am biking as it completely takes me out of my head and I can focus on the content of the book instead of my journey of riding. More on this later in another post later this month as I continue my reading journey. I do enjoy reading and riding whether I am doing instructor led or solo bike rides, it has been a good journey and makes the process fun.

Watch for another update on my exercise status in early February. Enjoy your biking, jogging, or whatever exercise you are doing.

The Cooldown from Peloton a Year of Stats in Review

This year as the year came to an end, Peloton sent “The Cooldown” showing stats from my use of Peloton over the past year. I stuck with it for many months and then let it slide for a few months before getting back on the bike and working out. It was a little difficult during the Christmas break too only working out a few times, but I am fully committed and expect to be back on the bike for 2022.

I hope your workouts have met your expectations for 2021 and set new expectations for 2022. Enjoy the year working out!

Progress Update for One Month Mark of Bike Riding and Exercise... A Starting Over Approach

When I posted back on October 31 that I was starting my exercise routine again (see post), I posted the total workouts I had done as I started that process. I plan to do monthly updates each month to show my progress. At the end of October as I was starting a regular routine, I was at 275 total workouts. I planned to ride three times a week. I did not meet that goal exactly, but I did manage to get a workout in at least once a week and usually more than once a week, but it depended on what was happening that particular week.

As of today, December 5, 2021, I have 290 workouts. I averaged about ten minute rides for my workouts during this time. I am still battling the fatigue of getting back into biking and struggling with my backside hurting from the seat, but it is getting better. I know the more I ride the better it will get. For the first month, I was keeping my rides anywhere from 10 - 15 minutes. This past week, I have started doing longer rides at 20 minute workouts. I plan to stay in 20 minute range for a few weeks before expanding out to longer rides.

Started November at 275 workouts... A month later, I am at 290 workouts.

It feels good to be back on the bike and getting some type of routine going in terms of exercise. My plan for early morning workouts did not go very well as I struggled to get up those extra 30 - 40 minutes early to get on the bike, so I decided for now, as long as I am riding, doing so after work will be enough for me. I make sure that during the week when I get home from work, I do not do anything else, but go straight to change and get on the bike. That helps to not cause loss of focus on doing the ride. Sometimes other evening events interfere, but I am working through trying to plan for those so I can change days or get up early and workout.

My long-term goal is to work in a jog for my workouts giving me four days a week to exercise. That will likely not happen again until sometime in the spring at this point. I am happy to report that after a year of owning the Peloton Bike (see post from November 15, 2020) I am back to using the bike and plan to make it my routine moving forward. Regardless of whether we are traveling, tired, etc., I plan to keep some form of exercise in my weekly habit. Once the habit stops, it is so difficult to get it started again and I do not want to restart this process of becoming accustom to the bike in the future.

Until next month with another update from my exercise, have a great workout and see you on the virtual trails of Peloton!

The Workout Starts Now and I Plan to Stick to a Regular Schedule for Exercise

I previously stated that I would start up exercise again after our latest camping trip (see No Exercise), so the time has come to start my journey to become motivated and start a workout process once again. The last time I worked out was November to the end of June. I completely stopped riding our bike, walking, or basically doing anything, so now the motivation needs to kick in so I can start working out on a regular basis. 

My plan is simple, start out slow. Bike riding 10 - 15 minutes the first few weeks as I build up what I lost in stamina from riding November 2020 - June 2021. I know that when I rode for only a week back in August, I struggled to ride for the two or three days I had planned which ultimately had me giving up and not riding since that date. My plan this time is to only do 10 - 15 minutes in beginning classes once again 2 to 3 times per week. 

I would also like to add in walking/jogging at least once a week although that might be difficult as the winter months are approaching, but we will see. The walking/jogging is to give me motivation to take our dog, Oliver, on walks. He loves it when I used to jog regularly (see Jogging Posts) as he would get excited when I would simply put on my tennis shoes. If I can just start the regular bike riding, I will be happy and keep it going throughout the year even when busy with other items.

To be able to keep the bike riding motivation continuing, I plan to ride during the week before work. My plan is to get up at 6 am on Tuesday and Thursday to ride the bike. As I become more used to riding, I might need to extend this out to earlier, but right now, I plan on 6 am twice a week to get up and ride. The third day of riding will be on either Saturday or Sunday depending on what is happening. I prefer Sunday and hope to take part in "Sundays with Love" on Peloton.

Looking at my current stats from Peloton, I did 275 activities with most of them being riding the bike, but I hope in a year I can double that amount. I did really good for a few months and then it is so easy to just stop and very difficult to get back into the swing of exercise.

I plan to update here at least once a month on my status and looking for my family and friends to call me out if I miss a monthly update or you know I am not doing the rides. I do enjoy riding, and running, so I look forward to the process and getting back into the swing of the mindset for exercise.

What do you do for exercise and how do you keep yourself motivated to keep working out each week? Post a comment and I would like to discuss further.

Back to Bike Riding After a Month and Half From Not Riding… Felt Good to be On the Bike!

After a fun filled past few weeks of vacation, weddings, and basically not exercising, I climbed back on the bike today. The last time I was on the bike was July 1, 2021. A vacation, out of town, and other events led me to neglect being on the bike the past month and half. 

It felt good to be back on the bike. I did a 20 minutes Country Ride and it felt great! I noticed that my heart rate was running higher than it did when I was riding on a regular basis, so that is not surprising. I had a good workout and look I look forward to riding again on my regular days of Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. 

I do plan to include at least one day of jogging into my schedule as I enjoy jogging. With the cooler weather, I think one day a week of jogging will be good. Mix up my exercise routine and it will also be a good excuse to take our dog, Oliver, for a walk which he loves.

Oliver is never really sure what to think when I am riding the bike. He loves walks so much, walking on a Saturday will be a fun way to get him involved in the process and mix up my routine. I think he will love it and his motivation for wanting to walk will help to motivate me to do my run and walk with him afterwards.

The ride this morning was with a new instructor I do not believe I had seen before. Olivia Amato in the 20 min Country Ride was a lot of fun and I look forward to future classes with Olivia. I did manage to keep my “streak” going the past month and half of consecutive weeks of using Peloton, but those were primarily meditation days at least once a week the past few weeks. I did have a few days of walking in there, so that was good, but I think I only walked and counted it with the app once or twice.

Short update for today, but I plan to do more Peloton posts in the future. What is your routine to get back into riding after taking a break?

Peloton Update with Review of June Half Over

It has been a few weeks since I posted anything about biking or exercise. I continue to bike about three times a week on the Peloton. I am fast approaching 200 cycling rides since owning the bike back in November 2020. I am currently at 194 rides. Three rides a week is about right for me as I mentioned in previous updates that I had tried doing more and I could feel it in my legs to the point where stairs and walking were difficult. I enjoy the three rides a week approach.

I am still riding Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday during the week. If I have to adjust, I do so and it has been working well. Tuesday and Thursday typically are shorter where I ride for twenty or thirty minutes with Sunday being my long ride days and usually live rides which I enjoy. Sunday rides are usually in the morning at 11 am and go for anywhere from 45 - 65 minutes. Tuesday and Thursday rides are usually scenic routes or recorded sessions from earlier days and following a work day.

 

I had planned to start running again as the summer months started, but as you can see, I have not started that again. I was only planning to run one day at a week which was going to be Saturday mornings, but so far, that has not happened. I also still want to do a bike bootcamp, but have not done one of those either.

I had plans to start eating healthier June 1, but that did not happen. I was not going to go crazy, but do a month of eating healthy, reducing breads, drinks, etc., but other things seem to grab my attention and cannot focus on doing the process. 

For now, I enjoy riding our bike three times a week and eventually working in a run at least once a week. I figure if I make this a normal routine for me then I can introduce healthy eating and watch the pounds disappear.

What do you do for exercise, healthy eating, and staying focused on your end goal of health?

4 Months Peloton and Losing Weight Motivation

Weight Tracking from November 2020 to March 2021

Making progress at exercising and reducing weight. As with much of the population, 2020 and COVID caused me to max out my weight. Pants did not fit, did not feel great, and did nothing really other than work, watch TV, eat, sleep, and drink lots of beer. As indicated in November 2020 post (see New Peloton Bike+ Delivered...), we have been exercising and enjoying our Peloton experience.

When we received the bike back in November 2020, I was at my largest weight of my life of 259.2. Granted, I think a few times I have gone above 260 during 2020 year, but toward the end of the year and through the summer months, we started trying to focus more on eating better and not having a beer every evening, so by the time I started exercising it was a lower weight.

A lot of variation in my weight, as I would expect, but I did not expect to go three or four weeks at a time and not lose, or gain, a thing. The dates between February 13 and March 5, I remained a constant 256 with just an increase, or decrease, in a point. Suddenly, I went from 256.2 up to 258.2 and the following week I went down to 252.2. The most recent weigh-in being 251.2. 

It is sure interesting how the body works and decides it is time to let go of the weight. My weigh-in days are Sunday mornings. A few changes during the time I stayed at relatively the same weight included eating more vegetarian dinners during the week with a meat introduced on the weekend. For the past few months since prior to when we got the bike, I have been limiting myself to only beer on the weekends (with a few exceptions such as watching sporting events during the week), so that has helped with weight decrease. Amazing how much weight can be lost just by doing away with any type of alcohol!

I have increased my bike riding to four times a week with at least one of the days being at least an hour of riding. The other three days are typically 30 minute blocks but broken up into smaller chunks or even two twenty minute rides that are easier than my 60 minute block. I continue to have fun and enjoy the experience that is Pelton. I am also trying to stay motivated to work out everyday with the Peloton app by doing weights, mediation, or Yoga. 

My motivation for doing the other non-bike days has been tough the past week or two. I tend to skip weights, or cardio, for mediation which is not ideal. Carrie tells me at least I am focusing on myself, but it feels as though I am cheating on the process. I have debated to just doing the four days of bike riding and not worrying about the other, but I do enjoy the feeling after I finish cardio or weights.

As the weather gets warmer, I do intend to introduce running into my workout again which will likely be one of my four days of workout. As I get older, I notice my knees hurt even following bike riding, so I am not sure how long I will be able to continue my runs. I do enjoy running outside though as compared to a treadmill but Oliver gets a walk following my run and I love how excited he gets when I put on my running shoes.

What are your exercise routines? How do you keep yourself motivated? What is your favorite workout? Do you wake up and workout in the morning? Do you work out in the middle of the day? Or, wait until the last of the day to get your workout completed? 

I would love to hear from you and discuss through comments on this post, Twitter, or FaceBook.

January Stats from Peloton for My Workouts Along with Goals of Completing All Categories for Peloton — Staying Motivated is the End Goal in Exercise

Peloton workouts continue to keep me motivated. I am doing some type of workout every day of the week. I have met my 30 day Peloton streak and working on 60 days now of daily workout. As I mentioned previously, I am not cycling daily, but instead I have mixed in weight lifting, stretching, cardio, and even yoga along with cycling. I have changed my cycling schedule to be three days each week and one of the other Peloton workouts the other days. 

Each month Peloton sends a summary of workouts, minutes of workout, miles, and calories burned for the previous month. The first week of February, I received my January report. 33 total workouts, 710 minutes working out, 169.2 miles traveled, and 9,551 calories burned for January 2021. It helps to put some perspective to what I did for the month. The total workouts being 33 is obviously because some days (i.e. two days) I did an extra workout those days. I sometimes do this when biking to do a tough ride and then a five to ten minute cool down. 

My goal is to workout in every category of Peloton and gradually making progress. It is helping my recovery period to not bike every day and put some space between bike rides as I think doing so everyday or even every other day became a little too much for my body and I could feel myself starting to get burned out on the thought of biking. Mixing in other workouts has helped to keep me motivated and I feel like a more rounded workout.

My workout totals since starting Peloton back in November are the following as of today:

• Cycling: 87
• Strength: 9
• Meditation: 5
• Stretching: 3
• Cardio: 2
• Yoga: 2

Categories not yet started include Bike Bootcamp, Running, Tread Bootcamp, and Walking. Granted, I have done running and walking but not necessarily tracked with Peloton app when doing so. I plan to get those workouts included in my stats at some point during the next month or two. 

As achievements are completed, it can cause many high-fives when going into a live session or even recorded sessions. When I hit the 30 day mark as soon as I went into a recorded session I had so many high-fives I could not keep up with high-fiving back. Makes it fun though but if not expecting to hit a mark it is a surprise when high-fives start happening. In my case, I forgot 30 day streak was happening when I went into do a popular recorded session with over 300 people doing the session and found my notifications light up with high-fives after high-fives. It is fun to high-five back. When I am working out live, or recorded, I always give high-fives to notifications I see for others such as ten, 30, 60, or even 300 workout. Most people high-five back and some do not which is not an issue. The idea is that it builds encouragement within the Peloton community and I completely agree.

Today as I look forward to watching Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV I am also looking forward to my live class today with Ally Love in “Sundays with Love”. A good 30 minute workout and then thinking of doing another 30 minutes just to prepare for tonight for some beer, snacks, and cheering on our Kansas City Chiefs. 

Until next week, stay well, stay warm, and share your Peloton workout in the comments.