The smell of freedom and teen spirit…oh, you thought I was talking about those Friday feels? Throwin’ back to that epic rock bootcamp at the new Peloton Tread studio in NYC. Instructor Olivia Amato kicked my butt with 45 minutes of chasing down dreams and breaking down barriers in this new HITT format. And I loved every *ss kicking minute. Dare to check out more below.

Peloton, the ingenius masterminds behind the at-home bike / in-home studio experience are treading into new territory, literally. This May, the company that brought live streaming cycling into your average home broke new ground by launching a treadmill. I was a runner before I was a cyclist, so I was beyond stoked to hear the news and to see how Peloton would up the ante. With so many other treadmills and bootcamp classes on the market, was there room to do anything different? The verdict: did. not. disappoint. In fact, I’m using this post to make my case to my husband that we NEED the Peloton Tread.

Let’s talk about the treadmill first. My favorite feature is the spin dial that controls your incline and speed on each side of the handle bars. You literally spin the wheel to increase/decrease your speed or incline in seconds. No more holding down a button FOREVER to get to that sprint speed – just whip the dial and you’re going from a comfortable 6 to an all-out 12 (let’s be real, 11 is my max).

Also, the shock-absorbing slat belt with ball bearing system (vs rigid belt) is similar to Woodway treadmills and helps to absorb shock. Joint issues are what caused me to switch from running as my main activity to cycling, but this technology is game changing. “Pound the pavement” is no longer in my vocabulary thanks to Woodway and Peloton.

Finally, the 32″ screen is easy to see/read without being obnoxiously large.

So let’s talk the live class. I’m that overly enthusiastic front row person who wants to see EVERYTHING. And OMG, Olivia ran the whole dang time! And not a lolly dolly jog, this girl was movin’. We started out with the run portion. There were two segments of running and two segments of free weights. This was a rock bootcamp, so I was definitely digging the Green Day and Rage Against the Machine to work through some weekday angst. You choose your own speed, but are given guidance as to how you should feel. And yes, it is a competition. It’s always a competition The run had me pushing my pace and the weight segments had me cursing under my breath. The only drawback was that we didn’t do a lot of incline work on the tread, but I imagine that I would get more variety with additional classes.

All in all, it was the kind of torture that you love to hate. Peloton Tread studio, when you coming to Chicago???

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‘Here goes nothing’ could be the start of….everything. Stop and think about that. Your choice is your magic. But those choices are only powerful if you take action. Take a minute to decide what magic you’re going to unlock this week. And run towards it full speed.

Each week I set 3 intentions:

1.) What is the 1 big thing I want to ACCOMPLISH this week?

2.) What is 1 new thing I can EXPLORE?

3.) What is 1 way I can CONNECT with others?

My ACCOMPLISH this past week was taking a workshop on design thinking to learn how to “Innovate Like an Entrepreneur”. The power of entrepreneurship is in thinking differently, finding inspiration everywhere and taking chances. With a new idea or business, you have everything to lose, but also everything to gain. In the workshop, we not only heard the tails from successful entrepreneurs like Jordan Buckner, founder of TeaSquares, but also took action to develop a new product and pitch to a set of venture capitalist – all in 24 hours! Talk about an intense thrill. While our team didn’t win, I was amazed by everything we accomplished. It had me wondering why we spend so much of our day analyzing when we could benefit from more doing?

My EXPLORE this past week was checking out Runn Chicago, a running studio (treadmill studio) for urban runners. If the thought of running for 45 minutes on a treadmill sounds like a snore, you’re about to be jolted awake. I’m usually a 3 to 4-mile kinda gal as that’s all I can mentally take on what some might call the “dreadmill”. This class was drill after hill constant engagement. Before I knew it, I was flying past mile 5 and felt like I was just getting started. Danielle, my instructor, was a burst of positivity as she took us through four zones of work throughout various speed drills and rolling hills. Zone 1 was sort of your “comfort zone” – a pace that you could comfortably hold while talking with a running parner. Zone 2 was what I would call a “faster friend” pace that is a bit more challenging. Zone 3 is where you head into a true run that has you questioning whether you can hold the pace (and the answer is always yes!) and zone 4 is all out mayhem. I’d highly recommend checking out a class with @daniellekshea!

Finally, my CONNECT this past week involved re-fueling at a reunion brunch with a classmate from my MBA program who recently moved to San Diego. We, along with some friends, visited an old favorite, Hot Chocolate, in Wicker Park. Brunching patio style with good food and good company is seriously living your best life.

Get out there and set some intentional magic this week, friends!

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