Peloton Habits

When you own a Peloton you tend to tell everyone, it's like the new veganism.  Haha.

Owning a Peloton is a luxury and I acknowledge that but if working out is a priority for you, and you can squirrel away some money, I think it is well worth the investment.  We only got ours in March 2021 and even though the pandemic is nearing a close (right?! It will be over soon?), working out at home is still going to be popular for some time even with the gyms opening and gradually increasing their capacity.  I actually just recently downgraded from my monthly membership at my fitness studio to just buying packs of class passes (and honestly I haven't even done one of their classes since July).  Since we have the Peloton I thought I would see what it had to offer for classes other than cycling and if I could get my workouts done without leaving my house (with the exception of a run of course).  I will go back to the studio at some point, since I do enjoy the social aspect, but it won't be as often as I used to do way back pre-March 2020. 

In addition to the cost of the bike itself, the shoes, and the other accessories, you have to pay a monthly subscription fee to access the content, but there are unlimited accounts associated with that, so Dave and I each have our own account. 

Dave has been using the Peloton app without the bike for a few years now.  He had his normal road bike set up in on a trainer (that means the back wheel is hooked up on a spinner of sorts, and the front wheel is kept stationary, you can shift through the gears for resistance) and that worked out well. I didn't ever use the bike trainer because it was hard to keep readjusting it each time and I didn't have cycling shoes so I would have had to change the pedals.  When we were in Hawaii at the Four Seasons in January 2020, they had Peloton bikes in the gym so I used one there a couple of times and loved it.  I also used to do spinning classes at Good Life years ago, and I did always enjoy that type of workout.  It took a bit of hemming and hawing on our part to take the plunge and order our own Peloton bike but as I said, I'm so glad we did.  

I had heard names of different instructors from Dave but didn't realize just how many options there could be.  It's a bit overwhelming and because of that I have kept my instructors limited - Cody Rigsby, Alex Toussaint, Tunde Oyeneyin, Denis Morton, and then the occasional Ben Aldis and Emma Lovewell. People like who they like, and these are mine.  

I like to take live rides when I can and for awhile I was doing Alex's live ride on Mondays at 7:30 pm and Cody's live ride on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm.  The live schedules were a little off during the summer but I'm looking forward to getting back into it now. (Cody is on Dancing with the Stars this season so I was worried that would mean no new Cody classes, but apparently he will still be doing his regular Peloton schedule, phew!).  

For recorded classes, I typically bookmark the ones I am interested in (based on playlist and time) and then when I get on the bike I have already narrowed it down.  

I like the regular 20-30 minute rides, with the occasional arms and intervals option.  I will occasionally do a 45 minute ride if I have the time.  I do not stack my ride with warm ups, cool downs, or stretching. 

I love all of the themed/special event rides that Peloton offers - how fun was Cody's Disney ride!?!

Cycling/spinning is obviously the main draw of the bike itself, but there are classes of all sorts to keep you healthy and fit. We have a set of the Peloton weights that Dave ordered separately from the bike (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 lbs and we already have 5 lb weights). So far I have only tried the strength training (with Adrian Williams which I love since he does heavy weights stuff), Pilates (with Ally Love, and it was a little too simple for me), and yoga (with Denis Morton, and I loved that!).  I plan to start branching out to the other offerings as I get back into some healthier post-summer habits. 

It doesn't take up a lot of space and it's easy to connect with your Apple Watch and headphones. We bought some small towels and a bottle of cleaning spray to use on the handles and seat when we were done.  Dave already had cycling shoes but I needed to get a pair so I got the Peloton ones.  

My rough workout schedule is this:

Monday PM - 30 minute ride
Tuesday PM - 30 minute ride (or a break!)
Wednesday PM - 30-45 minute weights workout
Thursday AM - 6K run (outside with friends)
Friday - 30 minute mat workout (pilates or yoga)
Saturday - break from a formal workout, but getting activity with the kids or cleaning
Sunday AM - 45 minute ride

If you have a Peloton, follow me at @SarahAMacD.  I love working out with friends, even virtually.  If you don't have a Peloton and you're on the fence, I can talk you into it if you want, haha!

(If you think this post is sponsored, you are greatly overestimating my readership.)