Sweat was dripping off my brow as I climbed the invisible {very steep} hill on my stationary bike this morning. As we neared the top of our fictional summit with quads on fire, the instructor said something that transported me from my competitive spin class to feeling as if I was sitting in a theater listening to an inspirational story.

“How you do one thing often predicts how you’ll do others.”

She encouraged us to do this one thing — our 6 a.m. spin class that was getting harder by the second — well. To give it our very best. She reminded us that no one else can do it for us and the only person who will really know if we gave it our all is us. What will you do if you know no one will ever know or find out? That’s a pretty powerful question.

Left, right, left, right. Pedal. Push. If we give this one thing our best right now, we’ll be more likely to give other things in our day and in our life our best, she encouraged. Parenting, our job, projects, family obligations. Good choices and hard effort often lead to more good choices and additional strong efforts.

That’s pretty profound stuff for a Friday morning before the sun comes up.

Our instructor was right, you know. Excellence and effort matter. Discipline and striving to be our best self matters, even if we’re the only one who knows about it. We’re stronger than we think and capable of more than we believe we can do. If we don’t put that to the test often, we may never find out what’s truly possible.

It was a great reminder going into the weekend that I want to try to do all the small things, be it training or life, with the very best I can give it on that day. A little bit of extra effort — the extra inch, not the extra mile — often goes a long way.

A Spin Class-Inspired Protein Shake

After class, the spin studio I attended had cups of cold brew coffee waiting for all of us. I grabbed one and took a few sips, deciding it would be better as an ingredient in my post-workout breakfast when I got home. I rode the high of the class for a little while longer by blending the following ingredients:

• 1/2-cup of black coffee, chilled or at room temperature
• 1/2-cup of milk or milk-substitute product of your choice (I used Silk’s unsweetened coconut almond blend)
• 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder (I used vegan chocolate Shakeology)
• Handful of ice

What has an instructor said to you in a workout class that made you think and/or left you inspired? What are your weekend workout plans?