Training a Couch Slug – part 1 of 2

If you are one of those people for whom exercise comes naturally and easily, then I admire you. My relationship to exercise and training is a wary one. I am a naturally sedentary person. My leisurely pursuits are sedentary activities: quilting, reading, writing, composing. Keeping in shape is not something that comes naturally to me. If you were interested in reading about the journey of a couch slug, maybe we have something in common.

Overcoming History

In my mid-thirties, I developed a desire to see what I could accomplish with my physical form, and I did a few years of intensive weight training and cardio. I dropped a whole lot of weight and reached my lowest body fat percentage ever. However, I didn’t know a whole lot about the relationship between exercise and nutrition, and I spent a lot of time counting calories and literally starving myself. I had a difficult time sustaining my energy for workouts and suffered from constant, distracting hunger. I looked great, but my relationship with food was miserable and becoming more unhealthy by the day. When my (ex)husband had a serious car accident, I stopped working out and really haven’t been back since.

My life has changed a great deal since then. Divorce, job change, moving, coming out, a new relationship – my energy has been completely taken up in transition. But as my life has settled, I have found my thoughts wandering in the direction of exploring the limits of what my body can do. As a licensed massage therapist, I have a better idea of what nutrition and training options would suit my goals. I really enjoyed the sense of empowerment that came from being fit and strong, and I am becoming aware that as I get older, bringing my body into better fitness will not become easier over time.

Living with a Cycling Goddess

My partner, Kelly, is an avid cyclist. She has participated in long-distance riding events all over the country. She was a part of a team of cyclists to ride from Anaheim, CA to New York City a few years ago. My couch potato self was highly intimidated by this motivated, athletic person, and I quickly built assurances around myself that I wouldn’t ever be able to keep up with her in any physical arena.

Still, I knew that in order to keep my whole self feeling and functioning at my best, that there had to be some physical activity that I was willing to engage in regularly. Not owning a bicycle myself, I hesitantly asked her if I could ride one of her old bikes on a trainer indoors. With a mostly poker face that hid the majority of her surprise, she quickly agreed, and I started riding on a real bicycle indoors.

Stationary Bike vs. Bicycle Trainer

Having ridden on stationary bicycles in the gym with unsatisfactory results, I immediately learned that riding a real bicycle on a trainer is a far superior experience. Even with a rather cushy seat, my butt went through some painful conditioning. I had to build up endurance for just sitting on the seat. Most of my early rides last fall were 20-30 minutes in length. The resistance was minimal. I was getting used to moving my body in this way, and after a few months, my rides were lengthening as my bottom became tougher.

The downside of riding on a bike trainer is that it gets pretty boring after a while. I started to think about riding outside, which had great possibilities for me, as I live in a planned city with many bike paths and designated bike lanes. The problem was one of location and access.

Too Chicken to Ride – Training Challenges

Our house was situated on a very steep hill. The road to our development was a major thoroughfare. It had a high speed limit and had no bike lanes or shoulder. No matter where I chose to go to ride, I had to face considerable traffic both ways. The horrible hill was my last hurdle on my way home. I really hadn’t ridden a bicycle in traffic since I was in high school. I had definitely lost my nerve for claiming my right to ride on the road. Kelly’s old bicycle that I was riding was a 20-year-old Cannondale hybrid, which had served her admirably for four seasons commuting in downtown Boston for many years. It was heavy – too heavy for me to lift to put on a car rack or to put into the car.

It was time for me to take this outside, but I needed help. Asking Kelly to take me riding was an intimidating prospect. I was sure that I would be too wobbly, too slow, too much of a hindrance. Around Christmas, I summoned up enough nerve to suggest taking the bikes to ride on a bike path. She agreed readily, again with some of that thinly disguised surprise, but no hesitation.

Taking it to the Streets (sort of…)

I was wobbly. And slow. I was very uncertain of everything to do with riding: starting from a stop, changing gears, braking, anticipating obstacles. I wasn’t even sure how to put a riding helmet on correctly. We never wore them as kids, so I had had no experience with the things. She didn’t laugh when I started to put it on backward. I had been training in clips indoors. Outdoors, I had to deal with the mechanics of stopping. I promptly fell over, still in the clips. The whole gear mechanism was a mystery to me. I felt like I was hitting every pothole in the path. Did I mention that I was slow?

However, it felt great to get outside and actually GO somewhere. It felt great to be able to do something outside together. I still felt woefully inadequate, and sometimes I felt like a complete idiot. We rode a few times around the holidays, and a subconscious plan started to develop in my head. I just needed practice and training. Full immersion. I would get better fast if I had to ride a certain amount each day. Consequently, when the subject of vacation came up, I casually suggested that we should go on a bike camping trip.

Stay tuned for the second half of this epic story, where this Couch Slug hits the road. With her faithful companion, they ride in search of adventure, challenge, and a good place to whip up some freeze-dried lasagna after a day filled with tunnels, terror and vertical torture.

Clear your Space – Recharge your Self – Direct your Life

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Christina Laberge

Owner at Wellspring Energyworks

Liturgical Fabric Artist, Composer, Reiki Master Teacher, Space Clearing Consultant, Energetic Better Living Coach - Christina Laberge is living abundantly in the Boston area with her wife, Kelly, her two cats (Tam-Tam and Rosie) and one very cranky parrot (Daisy). She loves choral music, creating fabric art, travel, and riding on the back of a very large Harley motorcycle.

Latest posts by Christina Laberge (see all)

• Scent and Creating Sacred Space at Home - November 28, 2018
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