Fitness is a big part of who I am. I exercise 6 days a week and when the endorphins hit I feel amazing! At any clothing size, I feel exercise has given my body a nice shape and sculpted arms. I've heard several times now from nurses that they have observed that people who exercise regularly recover faster after hospitalization than those who don't. Thus, I believe movement is medicine. Now that I'm celebrating 100 rides on the Peloton bike I want to share my review and whether or not it's worth investing in one.
{photo credit: IG sassyredlipstick}
Before the pandemic I loved Flywheel! Unfortunately they filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in August 2019 and later closed all of their studios in March 2020. They created an at home bike which I thought was strange, as in why would you encourage people not to come to your studios anymore? Peloton sued them for copyright and that caused the company to fold. At the end of 2020 Pelton bike sales skyrocketed 172% higher than normal because of the pandemic which caused waiting periods for delivery. Yet before the pandemic, reports say they were no where near making a profit. Now they can lower their advertising budget because everyone knows about the brand. The word Peloton means a group of cyclists in a race, so you may have heard about that peloton crash at the Tour de France this summer.
Cost
Peloton just lowered the price of the bike and now it retails for $1500 which includes delivery and assembly. There are two different versions of the bike, but the less expensive basic one fulfills all of your needs. They offer a monthly payment plan with 0% APR to purchase the bike. Additionally, there is a monthly subscription membership of $40 a month for the classes. A couple friends of mine bought a cheaper bike and use an iPad to stream the classes. If you don't have the Peloton bike, the app is only $13 a month for access to the classes.
Peloton instructors are rumored to make between $500 to $750 per class plus stock options so reports say some are making up to $500K per year. Plus with their large Instagram following, they get sponsorship deals. They are the new popular influencers on Instagram. It's quite a lucrative career for the most talented instructors! If you're watching Dancing with the Stars this season, one instructor, Cody, is a participant on the show.
Century Ride
I started riding the Peloton in April and by July I was riding the bike daily Mon-Friday and have finally reached the milestone of 100 rides! In April 2020, Peloton set a record for the most people in a live class - 23,000 people. I've only taken a few live rides, as I prefer the on-demand library, but the live classes I took this month had 2000 riders. The instructor can see whose birthday it is and who is celebrating a milestone ride- 100 rides, 200 rides, 300 rides and will call them out by name.
The workout it fantastic! There's a great diversity in instructors. I have never worked out harder as it is an incredible workout, yet low-impact on your legs verses running. They have two studios in NYC and London where instructors are filming classes daily. And they offer classes in Spanish and German. I mostly take the pre-recorded classes from the on-demand library or I will take a session. Peloton sessions are a way to workout together with other people when your schedule doesn't permit you to take a live class. Every 5 minutes they preselect a number of classes to start at a particular time, so you start the class in sync with a number of other people who you see on the leader board which pushes you to pedal faster to compete.
Music
I'm a big music person, when I work out it has to be the to the right music. When you select a class on the Peloton, it shows you the whole playlist in advance so you can determine if you would enjoy taking that class. In some classes, I feel like I'm on the dance floor because the music is so hot! When searching for a class, you can also sort by music genre and the music isn't censored. I've taken hip-hop classes, 2010s pop, motown, latin, disco, Tropical House ride, EDM ride, artist theme rides, and a Carnival ride with dancehall music (yes the instructor dressed in costume and waived a towel and blew on her whistle) that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt joined.
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