In December, I gave a one month review of the Peloton stationary bike / fitness company. I talked about the pros and cons from my perspective, and gave it a positive review. I also said that I would report back in a few months and let you know if I still thought the hefty price tag was worth it. Well, it’s been six months since we purchased our Peloton and the verdict is in.
Bottom line: For us, the Peloton’s price tag was and is worth it. We continue to enjoy the wide variety of workouts available both on-demand and live (there was a short period when their studios were shut down due to COVID; but soon their instructors began filming from home – tremendous job by the company to keep their people employed and new content coming).
The bike itself has performed well and held up during the last six months. My wife rides five to six times per week and I ride three times per week; we’ve really had no issues thus far with how it operates.
Since I first downloaded the digital app prior to Fall tour, then purchasing the bike at the end of November, I have done over 400 total workouts – most using our bike – either cycling or casting to our TV for floor workouts (strength, core, yoga, etc.). Since we received the bike six months ago, I have missed a total of eight days working out, and when I look back on which days I missed, they’re all easily explainable. None that I can remember were because I just didn’t feel like working out. That hasn’t happened since we got the Peloton.
As I said in my previous post, the workouts themselves are really good. The cycling workouts are quite varied as are the instructors’ styles. I have my favorites, but I try to give new instructors a try from time to time and am rarely disappointed.
Over the last few months, my wife and I have done a few of the four-week programs available – all have kept our interest and been effective. We both did the strength training program with Andy Speer. He’s my overall favorite strength workout instructor. He’s very technical and science-based in his approach.
We’ve both also done a couple of rounds of the core program with Emma Lovewell. They’re short – between 5 and 15 minutes, and are a great add-on to the end of another workout. Emma is one of my favorite instructors. In her core workouts and on the bike, she’s very clear and provides excellent guidance and motivation. Be warned – her cycling workouts are tough!
Another program I got a lot out of is Discover Your Power Zones, a cycling training method based on current level of fitness. The method breaks levels of effort down to seven zones – Zone 1 being minimal effort and Zone 7 being all-out. The cool thing about the Peloton bike is that you take a 20 minute test to discover your current level of fitness as it relates to these zones. At the end of the test, the Peloton bike automatically calculates your zones, making it super easy to know where you are as the instructor calls out zones. At the end of the four-week program you take the test again to see how much you’ve improved. The difference in my performance between the two tests was impressive.
A few other instructors I like:
Jenn Sherman was Peloton’s first cycling instructor and also the first instructor I rode with when we got the bike. She’s motivating, doesn’t mind swearing to make her point, and sings a lot.
Christine D’Ercole races on the track and brings that expertise to her classes. She’s down to earth, has tough, varied classes, and is always motivating.
Matt Wilpers has a similar approach to building workouts as Christine in that he approaches it from the perspective of an athlete. His low impact workouts are a great way to sure up your technique.
Along with Andy’s, I do a lot of strength workouts with Jess Sims. While Andy always provides a balanced, tough workout, Jess often just smokes the crap out of you. Both are great.
My favorite yoga instructor is Anna Greenberg. She explains each pose really well and keeps the overarching goal of each workout in mind as you progress through it. Very helpful for a novice like me.
As far as results, all I can say is that both my wife and I feel like we’ve gotten in much better shape than we’ve been in some time. I’m looking forward to seeing how we’re looking and feeling in another six months.
To the Color 