Peloton parents everywhere are raising their kids to value movement and community, and Peloton mom Katrina Pilkington (#FittyKat) champions this idea through and through. Katrina, now the owner of both the Peloton Bike and Tread, has always felt most comfortable working out at home. She says, “I was very unhealthy growing up. I never was active, I never played sports. As an overweight person, I didn’t feel like I could go to the gym and do what everybody else was doing.”
Soon enough, after discovering her passion for exercise through workout VHS tapes and DVDs, Katrina found herself ingrained in the fitness world as a trainer and educator, and credits her commitment to getting healthy as the factor that allowed her to conceive. “I never thought I could have kids for most of my life,” says Katrina, but when little Ki was born, “it was a shock because we didn’t expect to have children. But it was a miracle, she’s my little miracle kid!”
Upon her daughter’s arrival, Katrina recalls a transition familiar to most mothers. “I’ve been a runner since 2012, but I wasn’t able to go out and run as much because I had Ki with me. As a mom, you can’t always just go out for a jog.” In search of a cardio alternative that would also allow her to stay near to her daughter while she napped, Katrina welcomed a second bundle of joy into her life: the Peloton Bike. Not long after, she brought the Tread home as well. “I get up every day at 5:30 AM and try to get one workout done while Ki’s sleeping, and in the afternoon I try to get ‘extra credit’ where I jump on a ride with friends, and can just connect with them for 45 minutes,” says Katrina. Of course, if Ki decides to wake up earlier than usual, “she just does my workout with me!”
The community aspect of the Peloton platform keeps Katrina engaged and connected with fellow Peloton moms. Through social media, Katrina, and a group of rider friends she’s only met virtually, coordinate to hop on a ride together. “The platform itself has given me a community that’s so, so supportive...it’s purely based around, ‘let’s get the work done, no matter how you need to fit it into your day,’” says Katrina. She also believes in the power of the leaderboard, cheering that “high-fives make a difference! Especially if you’re a mom, and you don’t have a big circle of influence, that one interaction can make your whole day.”
Ki, now three years old, has grown up watching her mother prioritize health and fitness. She recognizes some of her mother’s favorite instructors, delighting in seeing Ally Love up on the touchscreen. Katrina can already see how this active upbringing is shaping her daughter: “Growing up as somebody who wasn’t very active at all, I see the difference it makes in her life, that it’s part of her day. I want her to be part of a fitness community, to play sports, to get involved, and ride the Bike when she can!”
On March 8, 2020, Katrina completed her first marathon post-baby, thanks to training almost exclusively on the Tread. “No matter if we're the mother of one or ten kids, we have to learn to adapt. Our kids see us doing that, and it all adds up to them respecting our hustle and learning to grow and adapt from our example,” she says. By continuously showing up for herself, Katrina empowers Ki to choose to lead an active lifestyle. What better gift could a mother give her child?