"People are Very Concerned"

I'd never heard of Peloton before yesterday, but apparently people hate it.

There are a lot of benefits to exercise besides weight loss. It's basically the best thing you can do for yourself. If you exercise more-or-less daily, with occasional exceptions to rest and heal, you will be happier and healthier across the board. It's not crazy to think that a woman who did so in a disciplined way for a year would feel like her life had been transformed for the better. This is true even though she's thin or whatever to start with.

How much of this is really projected guilt, I wonder, from people who know they should be exercising but are not?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

No idea about the guilt, but any interest I had in the Peloton treadmill ended when I saw how much per month it costs in addition to the base purchase price. The minimum to keep the database up to date is $20, plus tax. For the bicycles, it seems to be easily twice that. I don't know what it adds to your electricity bill to run the treadmill, but I would suspect it is noticeable if you use it often.

I prefer paying $30/month to my gym, which also includes use of free weights, machines, treadmills, a walking track indoors, a lot of classes for those so inclined, and so on. Or paying $0 per month and walking around the neighborhood, plus using a home weight set-up that I've had for twenty years.

LittleRed1

Grim said...

I wouldn't want an exercise bike anyway, because it trains only a very limited array of muscles. I invested my money in building a home gym, with around 700 pounds of weights, a solid barbell and a good squat rack. I also use natural stones for lifting and carrying, which is of tremendous benefit.

This particular thing may not be a good investment, I get that. Still, the intense adverse reaction suggests to me that people are being defensive.

ymarsakar said...

Grim, you are now a crystal user ; )

ANcient and lost tech based much of it on the natural rocks of the Earth.

Texan99 said...

I watched the commercial and couldn't figure out what all the uproar was about. True, the woman obviously didn't need to lose weight, but so what? As you say, there are other excellent reasons to get the heart rate up and strengthen muscles. I didn't perceive her to be pathetically seeking her husband's attention, either, which seemed to be what stirred some people up--not just HuffPost (which who cares) but even Instapundit.

raven said...

I hung drywall this weekend. Tomorrow I unload a lumber truck delivery by hand.

What is this "exercise machine" you speak of?

Seriously, just going for a couple mile walk with my wife is a tonic for both the body and the brain.

Grim said...

Yeah, I’ve been cutting and splitting a lot of wood. It’s good for you.

raven said...

When I was young, simple hard work was sometimes boring. Now, it is a calming effort, as there is no need to plan or figure or calculate- swinging the axe is a vacation from the constant ordinary onslaught of thinking .

It's nice to retire from the days work utterly tired in body yet with a clear relaxed mind. Great for a good nights sleep!

Grim said...

I like splitting wood. I'm not as big a fan of the chainsaw work. It's less physically engaging, though it is wearying in a certain way; after a few hours of it, the vibration takes the strength from my hands for a while.

But it warms you, and then it warms the house. It's good work.

douglas said...

"When I was young, simple hard work was sometimes boring. Now, it is a calming effort, as there is no need to plan or figure or calculate- swinging the axe is a vacation from the constant ordinary onslaught of thinking ."

Boy, that captures it exactly. I need to find a way to work more exercise into my routine. I'm just not getting enough, and work has me sitting 90% of the time. Not good. Lower back starts getting tight, and impulse is to sit, but more movement is what's needed.

raven said...

Often my wife and I will take a walk at the end of the day, when we are both a bit tired. About 2 miles, one mile uphill all the way, the sort of hill dedicated bicyclists get off their bikes and walk.
The curious thing is we are more refreshed on return than when we started. Twain said, "sometimes we need to take out our brains and stomp on them, they get all caked up". Perhaps a similar theme applies to the body.

Texan99 said...

I have to admit, now that I've seen the stills, that it's pretty funny how terrified she looks. Here are some good riffs: https://www.zerohedge.com/health/ryan-reynolds-pounces-peloton-wife-gin-commercial

There's an Aviation Gin commercial shot with the same actress, and a spoof in which a wife videotapes herself over a year processing what she thinks of her husband after his gift.