Terry Peloton

Tag: personal training

  • RIDE RESOLUTIONS.

    Go Green

    As we begin the new year, conversations turn toward resolutions whether it be saving money, ditching bad habits (or starting up great new ones), and most often – weight loss. Many of us want to ride more in the upcoming year without the focus on losing weight. Here at Terry, we put together some alternative ride resolutions designed to keep you riding without weighty worries.

    • Put more miles on my bikes than my car
    • Due to my knee injury, I resolve to follow my doctor’s order and get back on my bike to get my knee strong again!
    • Find a safer bike route to work.
    • Start riding with a new group.
    • Plan my cycling schedule while my commitment is strong!
    • Get a trailer and take my puppy for a ride.
    • Plan more adventures on the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail.
    • Ride around Grand Isle with my wife – all summer!
    • Spend time spinning before heading to the climbing gym.
    • Learn how to build my own bike.
    • Register for a community ride that benefits a local organization (Click here to check out our 2016 ride calendar).

    Share your ride resolutions below and tell us where you hope 2016 takes you!

  • ASK A TOUR LEADER: CORE TRAINING FOR CYCLISTS.

     

    BCBS #4

    It’s hard not to have heard about core training. But what is it and how exactly does it benefit cyclists?

    Our core is not what we typically think of – it’s not just your abdominal muscles or having a flat stomach. Your core is a group of muscles that form a band around your midsection. As cyclists our movements come from a stable core.

    Core exercises train the muscles in your abdomen, back, hips and pelvis to work together. This can result in a better ability to really get power out of your legs, at the same time reducing injury and achieving better posture.

    There are many programs available that strengthen the core. Yoga and Pilates are effective here with the added benefits of stretching and developing a mind-body connection that is important to athletes.   Form is very important to achieve the best benefits, so these exercises are best done with a good teacher. Look for experience and professional qualifications. Whatever method you choose, remember your core is a system so look for a regime that works out the whole system, not just your abs.

    Regular core work can make you a stronger cyclist and can reduce injury on and off the bike. Pull out your mat and get going. You’ll be glad you did.

    -Joyce Casey, Adventure Cycling Tour Leader

  • HOW BIG IS YOUR BUT?

    Screen Shot 2014-08-25 at 2.52.29 PMIs your “but” getting in the way of your ride? You can come up with a million excuses as to why you “shouldn’t” be taking the time to get on your bike for a few miles each day….work and family responsibilities are easy targets. You truly feel them as real things you can’t take time away from. I get it.

     

    Here is the issue for me as your “Derailleur”…having your “buts” get in the way can lead to you saying things like, “But I’ll never become a professional so why try…” or my favorite “But if I can’t ride 25+ miles today, it just isn’t worth it”. Here is where I am pulling you up by your emergency brake and saying “ENOUGH”! YOUR “BUTS” are getting in the way of not only your ride, but your life. And it’s time to give up the ‘but’s’. Seriously.

     

    I was once told that a “but” cancels out everything that precedes it. Hence why I’ve since adopted a “No Buts” policy. I now believe where there’s a will there’s a way. You see, a “but” is essentially an excuse as to why you can’t have something. To live a life of excuses isn’t very empowering. In fact, it’ll stop you from getting the results that you want.

    So why do people fill their sentences, and thus lives, with buts? Because at a deeper level they’ve been programmed to believe that life isn’t a field of strawberries, that some people can’t have what they want, that life has to be difficult. If this is you, stop! Life is exactly as we believe it to be. Our beliefs are what create our reality. Believe in something enough, really truly believe something, and it will happen.

    This week I encourage you to notice every time you say “but”. And then really question whether there is any truth to the but (which generally there won’t be – it’ll just be a figment of your imagination) and start to explore alternatives such as: What if I could do this? What if I gave that a go? Give up your buts and just notice how your life starts to transform into a world of opportunities and happy endings.

    Now get out there and ride…

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

     

  • HOW FAST CAN A BRUISED EGO HEAL?

    Bucked

    I have written recently about the “off season” and how I look forward to moving my body differently during the winter months  – repairing both my body and mind from the grueling pace of training when I am in season. But even a “Derailleur” can learn a thing or two about what does and doesn’t work. And that includes how to repair a “bruised ego”.  Now, you haven’t been reading my blogs thinking I was perfect did you? Of course I am not. I make mistakes all the time. But I make all new ones and never the old ones over and over again. That was until last week. I did make one old mistake that I had made years earlier as a young 20-something eager to prove I could ignore my body’s messages of pain and push through it. Pain is different than discomfort. Remember that for this story.

    I ranted and raved on the benefits of moving your body differently and taking inventory of your mind during the off-season. Walking my talk (or should I say pedaling my pedals?), I have enjoyed the first few months in Vermont of coming off the roads and into warmth of the gym. That was until I was challenged by “Angie”, a CrossFit workout of the day that is what they call a benchmark workout. It is designed to test your fitness level by throwing 100 pull ups, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, and 100 air squats at you to see how long it would take you. You can do them unbroken meaning you can take breaks in between, but you must do all 100 pull ups before you move on to the push ups, and so on. I walked into my local CrossFit box, saw the workout and said, “no problem, I got this, it won’t be fast and it won’t be pretty, but it will still get done.” And so, the music went on, the clock set and off I went.

    What I realized was that my months of lower body work on the bike was actually a detriment to me when I was 20 push ups in (and after a painful 100 pull ups) and I noticed an odd sensation in my arms. They were painfully tingly. Not just tired, not sore, but painful. And then my arms blew up to twice their size. I looked like Popeye! But not in a good way.  I looked at my CrossFit Coach and asked him what he thought and he said “why not stop now and move onto the sit ups…you are doing great – listen to your body”. But I made a crucial mistake at that very moment. I thought “nah…I am going to do all 100”. And I continued to crank them out. When I got to 80, I couldn’t move my arms any longer. I stood up and walked over to the wall to begin my sit-ups. But I couldn’t cross my arms over my chest…in fact, I couldn’t touch my face with my hands. I felt such pain in my elbows; I couldn’t bend my arms to touch anywhere close to my face.

    I did a modified sit up with my arms by my side and then easily knocked out 100 air squats (thank you hill workouts this summer). I was done. I looked at the clock and sighed…as I had predicted; I did it, it wasn’t fast and it was far from pretty, but I got it done. Well except for 20 little push-ups I just couldn’t get out. I headed home tired and proud of what I was able to accomplish. And in pain.

    The story of course doesn’t end here because the title of this blog mentions how my ego had gotten damaged. What I should explain was that my arms actually got the worst of the injuries – I wound up micro tearing both of my arms in the bicep and tricep area. I could not touch my face, my head, or bend my arms for days. My arms throbbed painfully leaving me to ask for help washing my hair, brushing my teeth and doing ANYTHING that required me to bend my arms. Yes, I know, that basically means doing anything. When I asked for help from my friends and family, I had to explain what happened and why I was suddenly helpless. With each time the story was told, my ego took a little more of a hit when I realized that I was the only person to blame for this predicament. I could have stopped. I should have stopped. I needed to stop. But my determination to continue left me injured and out of the game for a full week.

    What if I had stopped when my Coach suggested? I would have been able to work out the next day, and the next day, and the next.  Instead my bull-headedness caused me to sit out for a week. So what was the smarter thing to do? Prove to myself I could do it or listen to my body. I have know been reminded AGAIN of that answer.

    My injury has healed, but my ego has one heck of a scar on it of a lesson I will never forget. Push past discomfort…stop at pain. Lesson learned. I am humbled. But smarter.

    Anyone else ready for the “off season” to be over?

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

  • WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

     

    I admit it, I am a junkie. I crave a hit everyday. I can’t seem to live without it. My newest addiction is TED.com. There are worse things to be addicted to I guess, but it still feels like being under its powerful grip is like I am doing something wrong. TED.com’s tag line is “riveting talks by remarkable people.” And if hearing stories and ideas from remarkable people is an addiction, then count me as a happily addicted person who seeks no cure.

    As a Derailleur, I hear stories on a daily basis from my clients. Stories of failures, stories of “stuckness” and stories of survival. And of course, after working with a client for a few months, those stories of “not enough” turn to stories of success. So it gets me thinking, “what story do you tell yourself everyday?” What do you replay in your head over and over again? Is it one of victimhood? Is it one of survival? Or is it one of hope? What would your TED talk be about if you were asked to get on stage and share your story?

    One of my favorite stories on TED.com is Amy Purdy’s. Amy tells a tale of how to draw on inspiration from life’s obstacles, having lost her legs from the knee down in a random act of life. Then there is Kelly McGonigal’s talk about how to make stress your friend, which is a mind-blowing-paradigm-shifting talk. And Apollo Robbins’ talk on “misdirection”(…how does he change his shirt mid talk without anyone seeing by the way?)…incredible. These are real people with real stories to share. And everyone has a story to share. Even you.

    In business, storytelling is all the rage. Without a compelling story, we are told, our product, idea, or personal brand, is dead on arrival. In his book, Tell to Win, Peter Guber joins writers in evangelizing for the power of story in human affairs generally, and business in particular. Guber argues that humans simply aren’t moved to action by data dumps, dense PowerPoint slides, or spreadsheets packed with figures. People are moved by emotion. The best way to emotionally connect other people to our agenda begins with “Once upon a time…”

    We are creatures of story, and the process of changing one mind or the whole world must begin with “Once upon a time.” But what if the mind we need to change is our own? How do we listen to our own story to change our own mind about who we are and what is possible?

    If you have read any of my blog entries, you will know that I am a firm believer in “we are what we think”…good and bad thoughts, we are what we think we are. So if your story is one of failure, loss and victimhood, guess what? Unless you find an ending that includes lessons learned, you will never make it on to a TED stage. Why? Because the formula for a good story in life and on TED is a lesson at the end. Whether it is children’s fairy tales, Shakespearian plays, or Harry Potter books, they all have incredible drama baked into the stories, but at the end, the lesson is the key to the story. So if the ending of your story is one that doesn’t include a lesson, you will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. And that is truly the definition of insanity. I am a firm believer in making all new mistakes and never any of the old ones. That is success for me. And by learning from each mistake, my story ending gets stronger and stronger because I can change my own mind of what is possible for myself.

    I am going to keep today’s entry short, well because I need to get back to my addiction; scouring the TED website to find more mind bending stories…but I am also off to write my own personal story. Because I want to be ready the day that TED comes calling for me to speak live…I want to be sure that I have my story straight. And to make sure that my ending is one I can be proud of. I challenge you to do the same.

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur.  She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction.  She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power.  As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

     

  • RIDE NOW, ACT OLDER LATER.

    A formula for living to 93.

    Although I have known my father for my entire life, I just learned the saying “Ride now, act old later” from him a month ago. He owned a t-shirt with that saying…and upon reflection; I realized that he truly led his life based on that motto.

     

    His life was an anthology of adventures…of watching the Hindenburg minutes before it exploded, of getting out of Pearl Harbor in time before the strike, marrying the love of his life and having two daughters with her, dodging dogs trying to attack him while he was on his bike, outliving his identical twin, facing cancer, getting TWO tattoos in his 80s, learning to text message, and finally, learning what it means when one’s body has had enough.

     

    My father was diagnosed 70 years ago with anxiety and it is miraculous that a Doctor in 1940 suggested that exercise would be the cure for him, but that’s exactly what he did. So, similarly to Forrest Gump who used running to relieve his emotional pain, my father cycled.

     

    My father’s cycling became his life. It was his religion, his medicine, his mental conditioning, and his solace. He biked mile after mile often with complete strangers who became his family when his real family was hundred of miles away. His idea of heaven was a hotdog after a 50-mile bike ride and a clean rest room before he turned around and cycled back home. His standards were high for himself but his genuine love of life allowed him to enjoy even the smallest of details. And how did everyone know that he was happy? He gave them the thumbs up. And a big smile. He didn’t have to say anything; he just stuck his thumb up in the air and everyone knew it was all ok.

     

    My father recently told me a story about when his heart defibrillator went off for the first time – he was traveling across Tennessee as the Grand Marshall of a bike ride when “BAM”…it hit him. He fell right over with the shock of it going off. And he lay there for a second on his side, still clipped in…frozen. Everyone who saw him fall cycled up to him screaming, “are you ok – Ken, are you ok?” And he didn’t move a muscle, except for that thumb which made its way up into the air to let everyone know he was just fine.

     

    My father passed away peaceful this month surrounded by his family and with his favorite cycling t-shirt on…he made it to 93 years. We all thought he would live to 100. And perhaps that is now his legacy; he has given us all the recipe for how to live to 100…eat well, exercise and keep that thumb up.

     

    Rest in peace Ken Magyar. Thumbs up to you.

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur.  She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction.  She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power.  As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.