To all the Fitness Fads I Loved Before

So, it’s been several weeks since New Year’s. How are your resolutions coming? Did you make one involving exercise? Were you swayed by one of the latest fads such as sculpt workouts, Zumba, spinning (bicycling), shine dance (see my article on this at https://bit.ly/42jqQKh) or goat yoga where participants do poses while interacting with goats?

I admit it. I’m fickle. I can get caught up in exercise fads, buy equipment, and then, after the newness leaves, the new toys (or goats) sit. I recently tried to get rid of a stationary bike. “Pedal,” as I’d affectionately named her years ago, sat in an upstairs bedroom for over a year without her wheels rotating once. Our relationship had started off passionately enough, but it quickly waned. Hoping to get those sparks back, I bought a DVD that showed the gorgeous Irish countryside so, as I pedaled, I could forget I was sitting inside cranking away on a stationary bike. 

Alas, the DVD failed to maintain my motivation and apathy set in stronger than ever.  To soothe my spirit, I YouTubed Julio Iglesias singing “To All the Girls I Loved Before.”  I listened, focusing in on one stanza in particular.

The winds of change are always blowing
And every time I try to stay
The winds of change continue blowing
And they just carry me away.

The song was an inspiration to make changes; get rid of the old and try something new. My husband and I loaded the heavy bike into the back of our vehicle, not an easy task, and drove to our local St. Vincent’s. They wouldn’t take her. For a brief moment, I remembered how it had felt to be the last one picked for playground baseball teams, and felt a twinge of pity for Pedal, but it was short-lived. I lusted after the space I now had with the bike out of the guest bedroom. Still, I wasn’t heartless. I didn’t want to just dump Pedal and run.

“Free.” I taped the sign to Pedal’s back and set her in a prominent position near the driveway. Looking pathetic, she sat. And sat. And sat. 

Desperate to find her a home, I started harassing people, beginning with the carpet cleaner. “Would you like a stationary bike? It’s practically new.”

“No,” he replied, “I already have one that we never use.”

I called friends, but like gardeners with armfuls of zucchini in August, I couldn’t find any takers.

Meanwhile, I unearthed more unloved exercise equipment: a weighted vest that’s supposed to combat osteopenia that I rarely used, various hand weights that are covered with dust, and old VHS aerobic workout tapes. As I looked at the yellowed covers with popular exercise promoters like Jane Fonda and Kym Johnson from “Dancing with the Stars,” I recalled fantasies that if I only did the exercises, I could look like these women. I wanted to break out in song. “To all the tapes I once caressed, And may I say I’ve worked out with the best …”

For now, poor Pedal still sat alone near the driveway. Maybe I could start a dating service for exercise equipment. I’d submit the first ad. “Single stationary bike looking for love. Preference given to those with soft cheeks.”

Then, one fated day, my husband and I talked to the director of Easter Seals. “Could you use an exercise bike at your Respite Center?”

“Hmm.”

My husband and I held our breaths.

“Yes, I think we have just the spot.”

Hallelujah!

We didn’t waste any time. We hauled Pedal over and set her in a prominent spot in the large gym.

I gave her a pat on the seat.  Pedal, you“traveled in and out my door. You live within my heart, you’ll always be a part, of all the fads I’ve loved before.”

I walked away smiling and singing. 

To all the fads I've loved before
Who traveled in and out my door
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the fads I've loved before.

(adapted from an earlier “Laugh, Cry, Reflect: Stories From a Joyful Heart” column.)

3 Replies to “To all the Fitness Fads I Loved Before”

Dee

I can truly relate….

Thanks for your comment, Dee. It makes me feel better. 🙂

So good, Amy! Fun to read and so, so true!

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