Show Up, Come Back…Simple But Effective

Hi.  My name is Mark, and I’m Deconditioned.

“hi mark!”

About 15 years ago I was actually in non-horrible shape.  I lived right next to a 50 mile rail-trail in Northern Virginia, rode most weekends, and bike-commuted occasionally.  Then I  changed jobs and stopped commuting.  The work got crazy and I rode less.

After moving  to Western PA some years ago, I stopped riding altogether. Between the hills killing me, and the inconvenience of attaching the bike rack to the car and packing up the bikes  to go to a rail trail, it just wasn’t worth it.  15 years and 50 pounds later.  I was growing out of my 38″ waistband pants.  Clothes just weren’t fitting any more.  Woof.

Now that we have a vehicle that can easily hold two bikes inside (a Honda Element  – we really like it),  I  decided that this would be the year of getting back on the bike.  My wife Sharlotte’s bike did not fit her well, so I said “find a bike that fits and we’ll get it for you”.  In the course of researching a new bike, she stumbled across this “Global Ride” website.  Hey!  Lower Burrell – That’s close!  After poking around the site a bit, we decided to take a Yoga class to check the place out.  We’d always wanted to try Yoga, but it’s hard getting started with just books and video tapes.

We showed up on a Saturday morning in mid-April.  Before the class, Gino gave us a tour of Global Ride.  We were impressed.  An indoor facility geared for “real bikers”, and not a bunch of yuppies clad in spandex doing aerobics. We’re also Mac people, and  all of the Macs sitting around were comforting.

I wouldn’t say that first class was a disaster. Kelly was so very patient with this new blob that showed up  for Yoga One in the Sun.  I was actually able to hold many of the poses for a short period of time.  But some of the balance-related things just didn’t happen.  Tree pose.  Oy!  I was sore for days afterwards.  Luckily my sister, who has done the Yoga thing for years, said that was OK, and would soon pass.  She was right.

That next Monday we showed up for one of Gino’s Acclimation classes.  I had heard about spinning and indoor cycling, and the usual mass-media stuff looked and sounded kind of bizarre.  I was nervous.  We got there early and went upstairs to the studio to be fit for the bikes.  I was impressed when the leg angle gauge and the plumb-bob came out.  “These guys know what they’re doing.”  I strapped down the toe-clips and started spinning.

It was so much fun.  I liked riding outside.  The indoor experience, while not identical to the outdoor experience, was close enough to make me remember 20-30 mile trips up and down the W&OD trail in Virginia.  Plus it was nice not having to worry about sunburn, headwind, or bugs.

I think we started with a cadence drill.  I can do cadence.  I’ve always spun the cranks quickly.  Then partway through we had our first “standing song.”  I couldn’t do it.  I couldn’t find the right resistance to counterbalance my weight.  My muscles couldn’t hold me up for more than five seconds.  Gino was also so very patient with this new blob.  I was totally done after 20 minutes. And I hurt afterwards.

But I also felt good afterwards.  It was weird.

The first rule when doing anything important is “Show Up.”

The second rule is, “Come Back.”  Seems simple enough.

So I came back.  And came back.  We took classes from other instructors.  Tried Pilates.  Tried the core strength class.  What was amazing is that all of the instructors were kind, patient, and helped guide me through the work and do what I could.

The third rule is, “It’s just work.”

Playing a musical instrument well takes a lot of work.  You’ve gotta learn your scales and arpeggios.  Programming a computer well takes a lot of work.  (I’m a professional programmer).  Gotta learn your data structures. There’s no reason why losing weight and getting to a reasonable level of fitness won’t involve a lot of work.  There’s no reason why getting ready for a 40 mile MS ride won’t involve a lot of work.  It took 15 years of concentrated deconditioning to get to this point, so it’s crazy to expect it to all go away in a month.

At the time we joined Global Ride, Gino, Nina, and Jennifer were just about to go to Italy for the Giretto.  It was mind-blowing that a guy in his 50’s, with two artificial hips, was about to do 415 miles of climbing in Italy.  That’s quite the inspiration.

Now, four and a half months later, I’m down 12 pounds.  I can stand for every standing song in a class.  I’ve taken a 50 minute Gino “Strength” class and lived to talk about it.  Shoot, I’ve done back-to-back  classes with Bill.  I can ride rail trails for 20 miles.  I am shocked and amazed at the progress.  This is with 3-4-5 indoor biking classes a week, along with a weekly Yoga class.

OK, so how did I really do it?  What’s the trick?  A lot of work!  But along the way I learned to use a lot of new tools that helped out, and focused my effort, to get to where I want to go more quickly.  And I’ll start talking about them next time.  Stay tuned.