Commit2Fit

Continuing with celebrating iconic LGBT athletes, this week we're sending love to Billie Jean King!

King is a former world No. 1 tennis player, with 39 Grand Slam tennis titles and 20 Career Victories at Wimbledon. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987, in addition to a long list of impressive accolades ranging from the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a Time's Person of the Year.

The times that King was living in restricted her from living her authentic life. While married to Larry King, Billie Jean King had a secret affair with her secretary, Marilyn Barnett. The affair had a tragic ending, which included Barnett publicly outing King in 1981 during a palimony lawsuit. King then publicly acknowledged her bisexuality, making her one of the first major athletes to openly discuss their sexual orientation. 

King is an advocate for social justice and gender equality. In 1973, she won a famous "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match against 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. She was only 29 at the time. She persuaded major companies to sponsor female tennis athletes and founded the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation.

I have King's website linked below, I highly recommend learning more about this incredible woman!

Happy June! To celebrate Pride Month, we're focusing on iconic LGBT athletes. This week, we're showing some love to Jason Collins!

Jason Collins was the first athlete in the 4 major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL) to come out. He wrote a personal essay that was published in the May 6, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated, which I have linked below.

Collins played Basketball for 13 season and for several teams, including my state's team the Minnesota Timberwolves. He's known for his strong defensive play and considered a "Pro's Pro." He made 10 playoff appearances before retiring from basketball in 2014.

Towards the end of his career, Collins wore jersey number 98 in tribute to Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was tortured and murdered in 1998 in a notorious anti-gay hate crime.

Since coming out, he noted in the second Sports Illustrated article I have linked below that he thought more active gay male athletes would come out. However, that was not the case. Only one other active athlete (Linebacker Carl Nassib) came out in the 10 years between the two articles.

Collins is now an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans and recently married his longtime partner, Brunson Green.

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Wednesday Wisdom: History of Spin Class

To round out National Bike Month, we're focusing on one of my favorite activities: spin class! Spin classes began popping up in the 1970s and 1980s. The above photoed gentleman, Jonathan "Jonny G" Goldberg is considered by many to be the creature of spin classes.

He was training for a vigorous bike race, created an indoor workout for training that became popular with his friends and acquaintances. When he began setting the workouts to music, the spin class as we know it today was born!

There are a few different types of spin classes. There's classes that focus on increasing power to get ready for outdoor bicycle races. There's classes that combine dance and spin classes, where you do choreographed movements on top of the bike. There's combinations of these and probably anything else you can think of.

If you haven't before, I highly recommend giving a spin class a try. It's my favorite class to reset my week!

Source:

Struggling with motivation has been REAL! I’m realizing that my racer’s tummy and my delays in training have pushed the half marathon out of my reach, so I’m pivoting to a 10k. I’m happy that I’m able to adjust my goals for my body’s safety and to have reasonable expectations for myself, but I’m sad that a big goal has gone out of reach in the original timeline.

So, when a virtual challenge surrounding my favorite painter came across my feed, I immediately signed up. So, the goal is to accomplish 56.13 miles in 56 days. I’m planning to start using the walking pad again and to continue with my 2 mile jogs a couple times a week and a long jog.

I have a link for 10% off the virtual challenge if you want to join in on the Vincent Van Gogh challenge or any others that Conquer offers.

Hold me accountable, friends! I need it!

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To celebrate the potential drop of “Debutation” (TV) at the AMAs, I’m doing an Eras themed spin class! Join me for 13 songs sure to keep your pedals spinning! Check out the video on my YouTube channel, link in bio!

**Be advised!

*check with your doctor before starting any new fitness routine

*Consider every prompt as a suggestion, do what feels right for your body. You’re the boss!

*I’ll give general spin bike set up guidelines, but check the users manual (or ask a gym employee) for specifics on the bike you’re using. Each bike is wildly different!

I finished the 60XT Challenge!! Here are my key wins from the 60XT:

-I ran my first 10k and started FanFicFitness

-I lost 5% body fat

Wednesday Wisdom: Bicycles and WWII

We're continuing with our celebration of National Bicycle Month. This week, we're taking a look at the impact of Bicycles on WWII.

During the war, there was a shortage of key products, such as gas, rubber, and metal. In 1942, the United States pushed the Victory Bicycle, a modified bicycle that only used the bare necessities in its manufacturing. It gave Americans the ability to travel while reducing their use of petrol.

In the army, many countries had a bicycle infantry or bicycle brigade. While the terrain could be difficult to travel, they gave soldiers a quiet and quick way to travel behind enemy lines or help different teams communicate with each other when other forms of communication were disrupted.

SOURCE:

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Wednesday Wisdom: Thomas Stevens, First Person to Cycle Around the World

From April 1884 to December 1886, Thomas Stevens took a historic ride around the world on his big-wheeled penny farthing - the popular bicycle of the time as seen in the photo.

He pedaled over 13,000 miles and crossed over the United States, Europe, and Asia. He was only accompanied by his bicycle, a change of clothes, writing equipment, and his revolver on his travels.

SOURCE:

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I’m so excited to launch a program I’ve been working on for quite a few months now: FanFicFitness! My mission is to create accessible fitness classes through stories of real or imagined events.

I’ll be posting a series of spin classes biweekly on YouTube, link in my profile. To partner with the release of each class, I’ll post the program here for anyone who wants a solo adventure.

While my current set up is super amateur level, I felt so much joy creating this program! Maybe I’ll get no followers, maybe I’ll get several. Either way, I’m reaching my personal goal of reconnecting to my fitness instructor self in a way that’s sustainable.

**Be advised!

*check with your doctor before starting any new fitness routine

*Consider every prompt as a suggestion, do what feels right for your body. You’re the boss!

*I’ll give general spin bike set up guidelines, but check the users manual (or ask a gym employee) for specifics on the bike you’re using. Each bike is wildly different!

Playlist:

Wednesday Wisdom: Bicycles & Women's Rights

May is National Bicycle Month!

Did you know that the Women's Rights Movement in the 1890s was closely tied to the explosion in popularity of bicycles? Sounds surprising on its own, but when you put it into context of travel at the time it makes sense!

For decades until the bicycle came along, women largely relied on men for transportation. Men drove the trains and automobiles. Women could ride a horse or use a carriage, but setting up a carriage was heavy and often left to men. Furthermore, women in the cities couldn't afford horses due to the additional cost of maintenance and sheltering them.

So, when the bicycle exploded on the scene, women were drawn to it. It was relatively affordable and lightweight, so women in both cities and rural areas could enjoy it.

The popularity of bicycles changed women's fashion, transitioning from thick skirts to thin skirts or even trousers to make cycling easier.

Ultimately, bicycles provided women with a freedom to wear more comfortable clothes and travel when and where they wanted.

SOURCE:

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