Let's start by getting one thing straight: I'm competitive, especially with myself. I'm the girl who has spent one too many evenings walking in circles around my apartment just trying to break 12,000 steps on my Fitbit (I know, it's ridiculous). Though a competitive streak sometimes gets a bad rap, it can actually be a great motivator for me to get my sh*t together when I'm slacking off.
Case in point: the other day, I attended an event held at Peloton, a trendy NYC cycling studio. The amazing thing about Peloton is that each sleek (is sexy an appropriate word to use here?) bike is equipped with a high-tech screen that keeps track of your speed, RPM, and energy output, plus lists a ranking of everyone's performance in the class.
Our instructor, who was the perfect mix of motivational coach and Kreayshawn, began the class, and as I started to get in the groove, I looked down to find myself down in ninth place. Oh no, not OK. With each hill and sprint I touched the resistance up just a tiny bit and watched as I began to rise through the rankings. My legs burned and sweat poured awkwardly off of my nose, chin, and forehead, but I kept my sights on the first-place spot. The 45-minute class whipped by me in a Beyoncé-tuned blur, and I reached the end to find I had snuck my way up through the ranks to sit in second place. Sure, I didn't come out on top, but I was still elated to see how far I had come by simply adding tiny bits of speed and resistance along the way — in the moment I couldn't even feel the difference.
So what's the moral of my tale? If I were to TL;DR my entire story, here's what it all boils down to: a little competition never hurts (as long as you don't take it too far!). So here are a few ways you can up your motivation and push yourself just a little bit further on your own trips to the gym — no leaderboard needed:
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