Peloton Holiday Commercial and my thoughts
For the most part, I only pay attention to strength, fitness, fat loss, training stuff that both I and some of my personal training clients can benefit from.
Other than that I stopped paying attention to most of the clutter that fills up the fitness industry in general. After all, there is so much stuff out there to be distracted by that I can’t possibly pay attention to it all and prefer to stay in my lane, focused on what I and my personal training clients want to achieve.
However, having been a personal trainer for well over a decade, having been through and even taught at personal training certifications I’ve developed a large network of friends in the industry, many of whom I respect.
This morning I saw on my facebook feed someone mentioning a “controversial commercial for Peloton”
Huh? Though I don’t pay much attention to fancy exercise bikes because I really don’t have a use for them, the whole controversial bit caught my curiosity. So I looked it up to see what the fuss was about.
When I first watched it, I wasn’t even sure I had the right video. I mean, who would be offended by this?
So I started digging around to see what the big deal is, and saw what people were saying. “sexist, dystopian” blah blah blah blah.
Oh for crying out loud. There is plenty of real stuff in the world to get outraged about…and you choose THIS to be the source of your ire? Come on now. Get real.
First, whoever is watching it is making assumptions. What if the woman in the ad asked for this? You don’t know, so don’t assume. And besides, it’s a fictional scenario.
Second, and this is also about assumptions, is that they are assuming that he is subtly saying “she’s not good enough for him, so he gets her an exercise bike to raise her to his standard…when he should love her for who she is.”
Maybe he does love her for who she is and what shape she’s in. But here’s the thing, there are more reasons to train than simply looking good in a bathing suit.
When you train, you feel better about yourself. You feel confident to take on life’s challenges, it releases feel-good hormones and you have more energy for the day. Wouldn’t you want someone to feel good?
I know for me personally, training changed my life. Before I trained, I lacked confidence, lacked energy, lacked focus etc. Once I picked up the weights and lifted them a few times, got stronger, the weights got heavier I started feeling good. I loved it in fact and had started a career as a personal trainer to help others feel the same benefits from the training that I did.
Most of the personal trainers I’ve talked to over the years are the same way. They didn’t get into it because the money is good, there are far easier ways to make money. They got into it because they had a passion for it, that was created by their own experiences.
If you want to train and get the benefits of feeling good that come with it, I actually recommend you focus on getting stronger, more so than the aesthetic side of it. Get strong, feel good, watch as the weights get heavier as you become more capable of lifting it and you’ll see how training transforms your life, not just your body.
Don’t do it for anyone else, do it for you. And don’t listen to the wimps that are offended by the Peloton commercial. They need to focus on themselves after all.
Eric Moss is a world-record-holding professional performing strongman, author, motivational speaker, and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey, is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, and Parsippany New Jersey.
A quick explanation of my personal training schedule
Next door to my personal training studio on Main Street is a barbershop. I get my haircut there because it’s convenient, he’s quick and does a good job. It’s so easy in the morning to just walk over there after training my clients.
This particular morning I figured I could use a haircut before Thanksgiving break. He had asked me about my schedule because one of his customers had been outside my place after studio hours and asked him. Not sure why they didn’t just call me because my phone number is in the window.
But I figured I’d take a moment to try and explain how my schedule works. During normal personal training studio hours, you would book an appointment for a timeslot convenient to you and you do this by calling/texting or just telling me when you see me. I’ll be there to guide you and support you, make adjustments in your technique etc. I just might be doing that with 2 or 3 more of my personal training clients at the same time.
Everybody supports each other and we have a friendly atmosphere.
Most of the time the schedule doesn’t change. However, this is Thanksgiving weekend (as of writing this that is) and I’ll be closed on Black Friday.
Also I’m a professional motivational speaker and entertainer, and sometimes the hours have to move around to accommodate my performance schedule. I’m scheduled to perform in Massachusetts on December 5th, and because of the length of the drive, I’ll have to go up the night beforehand. That doesn’t happen very often. I’ll be open later on Tuesday to accommodate it.
Most of my gigs I try to schedule around my personal training studio hours because I try not to impact my clients too much. A lot of my gigs, I can just drive there perform and come back in time to train my clients.
The evenings are my busiest times so I’m just about always there. Mornings are less common for my clients and if I’m not expecting anyone I’m staying home.
Anyways I hope that explains it. If you want to book an appointment call/text me at 973 476 5328. The first week is free so you can see if you like it. In the meantime, have a happy Thanksgiving!
Eric Moss is a world-record-holding professional performing strongman, author, motivational speaker, and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey, is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, and Parsippany New Jersey.
Why I had to close the personal training studio yesterday on short notice
I hadn’t planned on closing my personal training studio for veteran’s day but I had to because of a “last-minute strongman show”
Truth be told, I didn’t even know I was doing it until Friday, it was down to miscommunication due to tragic circumstances. I won’t go into details to respect the privacy of the one that had wished to hire me, but I’ll just say this. When I heard what happened I couldn’t possibly say “no.”
That and the thought of having a bunch of today’s youth excited to see me, and me not showing up, doesn’t sit well with me.
My personal training clients are also pretty understanding and totally agreed that I made the right call to close yesterday once I told them what had happened.
And also, just because something seems difficult, don’t let it deter you. Whether that’s bending steel or transforming your body and getting your life under control, it may be tough but it’s worth it.
Eric Moss is a world-record-holding professional performing strongman, author, motivational speaker, and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey, is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, and Parsippany New Jersey.