MY EXPERIENCE RIDING PELOTON FOR 30 DAYS IN A ROW

8/31/2021

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There's a whole boat load of stuff happening in the world right now that is 100% out of my control, but my weight and health aren't one of those things, or at least not insofar as my weight affects my health. I've already been down the overweight path, I got the plus sized t-shirt, ordered bigger pants, all that jazz. If you've read my post about how I lost 25 pounds (and another ten since then) you know what I'm talking about. Basically, I don't do overweight, I don't like how I look, I hate how it feels, making my entire world sluggish and ill. So I'm going to tell you all about how I got back on track with exercise by purchasing a Peloton, from day one to day thirty, here's the skinny. (read more)

MY 30 DAY PELOTON EXPERIENCE
ABOUT ME - AND THE VIDEO

Before I get into the nitty gritty of how I came to Peloton, let me tell you a little bit about myself so you know what to expect.

I am NOT a part of the body positive movement. I do NOT believe you can be healthy at any size, and I really dislike how sensationalized it has become to think that asking your joints and organs to deal with a bunch of extra pounds of fat is just totally fine and good.

Exercise allows me to be in the best shape I can be for the amount of effort I am willing to put in. I track my calories, I keep my weight in check, this is just another step in that staircase.

With COVID happening, and with my whole family contracting it in April, I knew who was most at risk and I didn't want to be that person. We all recovered fine, but it was a wakeup call to get back on track with moving more and pushing myself so I can hopefully keep this healthy body thing going for years and years to come.

I'd exercised before, I was a Beachbody coach for four years (this is likely why I have zero empathy for people who want to complain about their weight but not do anything about it), so I knew exercise felt good and helped me stay in a good place physically. I'd been out of the habit for so long (a solid five years) that I didn't quite know where to start to get going again. I'd gained 35 pounds and lost that same amount in the past couple of years, so my weight was good, but that didn't mean my fitness was good. I wanted more, I wanted to progress, get some muscle tone back, build up my stamina, sweat, work for something, feel alive!

Jumping around, doing pushups or plyometrics, all that stuff is off the table for me. I broke my arm quite badly back in February of 2020 while taking a snowboarding lesson, so I've got one arm that doesn't straighten all the way. I get by, it's good enough, but using it to hold my body weight is 100% out of the question. That and I just don't enjoy any of the things I listed above.

Running was also out, I've done that as well. The more I added to the list of things I wasn't going to do, the more narrow my choices became.

Then I saw that Peloton commercial, you know the one where everyone got angry about the dude buying his wife a Peloton for Christmas? Then everyone lost their collective minds about the Patriarchy? Yeah, that one. That commercial was the first time I'd really heard of Peloton. I figured if people were getting that bugged about it then it might be something I'd like to try.

Good job angry people, you got Peloton a customer, I'm sure they thank you. ;)

The first thing needed for me to get back into exercise was a sense of community, the more cult-like, the better. I'm not on social media, so I don't mean that kind of community, but rather the classes, the immersion, the feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself. Like I said, I'd been a Beachbody coach for a long time, so I knew for certain that I did NOT want to be a part of a community like that again. Nothing against Beachbody, they're a great company, but in every online group I did there was always the underlying push of "Have you considered coaching? You'd make a great coach!"

It's a business model, that's how it goes.

I wanted fanatical love for a program, but I wanted nothing at all to do with anything that "Could make you some extra money each month!"

Been there, got that t-shirt, too!

Peloton offers live classes, and after a little research I found out that they also record all of those classes and add them to their library. There are something like 14,000 classes in the Peloton library right now (it might even be more) so I could ride every day for years and never repeat a class.

At the time of writing this post I have ridden more than fifty times and have only done two of the classes more than once, just because I enjoyed them.

Variety is the spice of life, and variety is the spice of keeping me committed to a program. I don't want to know what the trainer is going to say next, I don't want to realize there's a hard part coming up that I'd rather just skip. I want to feel like each class is fresh and new, even if the only things changing are the cadence, resistance, and intervals.

So, my decision to get a Peloton was born.

The video of this blog post is below. If you want to watch it on YouTube you can do that here.

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IS THE PELOTON BIKE + WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY?

Is the Peloton Bike Plus worth it, or are you good getting the Bike?

I'm going to tell you what I know, and what I know is that you can't go wrong with either Peloton Bike. I watched a lot of videos comparing the two, but for every video that ended with "get the Bike +" another video would say "get the regular Bike".

I don't think you can go wrong either way.

I ended up with the Bike + only because I liked the idea of a bigger screen, a better sound system, and I really liked the idea of Auto Follow.

If you don't know what Auto Follow is, it's basically just the Bike + triggering a new resistance based on the cue of the trainer. Instead of you turning the knob yourself, Auto Follow makes the change for you so you can keep riding instead of focusing on something else.

In actual use, Auto Follow isn't super amazing. Yes it does exactly what it's supposed to do, it lets you ride without adjusting, but that doesn't mean you never adjust.

For example: You start a ride where the warmup resistance is between 20-35. After a month of riding, my resistance on warmup is pegged out, so I'm warming up at 35. I click the Auto Follow button, turn the knob to make my resistance where I want it to be, and then I ride. BUT...when the warmup is over and we get into higher resistances, let's say the new resistance is between 45-60, the Bike + will automatically move your resistance to the same range as your old resistance, which means my new resistance is 60 since my old resistance was the top of the range.

I can't do that. It's one thing on the warmup, something else entirely on a steep climb or high speed interval. I'll say that Auto Follow works half the time, but the other half of the time I'm making small adjustments, just like anyone without Auto Follow.

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IS THE NEW PELOTON WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY?

Another consideration when deciding between the Bike and Bike + was the bigger screen. No doubt about it, I love the big screen. I feel like I'm in the class, it's extremely immersive. The smaller screen isn't much smaller, though, an inch or a bit more? So maybe it's the same on the regular Bike. I also don't know how responsive the touch screen is on the original Bike, but I would imagine it's the same as the Bike +, which is to say VERY responsive. It's not like back in the day when you'd buy a knock off iPad and the screen was difficult to navigate. The Bike screen is just as good as any high end phone or laptop.

Now, the sound system is one place that all the videos said really stood out. The Bike + has more speakers and the sound is clear and crisp. That said, if you're working out with headphones on, this isn't going to matter to you at all. I think the headphone jack on the Bike + might be in an easier spot (it's right at the front of the handle bars), but I know the original Bike had a headphone jack, and I can't imagine it would be in a place that wouldn't allow the cord to reach your head, which is all that matters.

Resale value might be another consideration, but when I looked on Craigslist to see if I could purchase a Peloton discounted from someone using it as a clothes rack, I found that the bikes hold their value very well. You could save $100 buying one used, or spend that $100 and get the warranty that comes with a new Bike.

The warranty isn't transferrable, just in case you were wondering.

I chose to buy new, and of course I got the Bike +, no regrets there, but I think I'd have been equally happy with the regular Bike. The only thing I can think of that might have been a drawback is the sound system. I do not ride with headphones on, so I like that the sound is big and bold, but also leaves my ears free to hear my kids if they need me.

Peloton does also have a buyback/trade in program, so that might be something to consider when you make your purchase, but I haven't done much research on it. I can't see the point right now since I hope to have my Bike + for many, many years.

You can also find a Peloton coupon code pretty easily by using Duck Duck Go, Dissenter (or your chosen search engine) to look up "Peloton Coupon Code", "Peloton Coupon Code 2021" or even narrow it down further with "Peloton Coupon Code September 2021" or whichever month it is when you're reading this post. I'm pretty sure I used the code that I found on Retailmenot, it was simple and saved about $100.

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HOW DO YOU FIND THE RIGHT FIT ON PELOTON BIKE?

When you get your Bike delivered it will be set up by some technicians, but they don't fit you for placement. You will have to do that on your own, but it's not hard. The first time you turn the Peloton on it will trigger a series of videos that show you how to adjust everything. It'll walk you through changing the height and distance of the saddle, adjusting the height of the handlebars, and even helping you click in for the first time.

Using those videos I was able to get very close to my ideal seating arrangement, but it didn't feel quite right so I went looking further and found this other video from Pelobuddy.

I got my husband to come out and help me get everything adjusted correctly. It made a big difference even though the adjustments were rather small in each place, seat height, seat distance, and handlebar height. The end result was less fatigue in my legs and just a better riding experience overall.

If you've got someone who can help you out, I recommend that, but you can certainly do it on your own, it's just a little more difficult.

HOW HARD IS IT TO RIDE PELOTON EVERY DAY?

Not hard at all.

There are so many classes in so many styles and lengths that it's very simple to find a class you want to do each day.

I started out with the 20 minute beginner classes, added a warm up or cool down class, and even threw in a quick arms class while still staying on the bike.

On Sundays I started taking guided tours through Hawaii or California with one of the instructors, just to kind of chill out a bit. It was way more enjoyable than I thought it would be and has become one of the things I look most forward to each week, even though those classes are one of the few I repeat. I do wish there were more guided tours, but at the moment there are only a half dozen or so. Hopefully more will be made once COVID allows the US to open up and start moving again.

I've moved on from the 20 minute rides for the most part, but I still do an occasional short stint if I feel the need to recover from a tough ride the day before.

I've taken themed rides (Carnivale, EDM, Bass Drop, etc.), arms and interval rides, advanced beginner rides, climb rides, zone rides, and that's just the tip of the iceberg! There is so much I haven't even delved into!

For one whole week of my first 30 days I came down with a cold and chose the "just ride" option while watching episodes of House Hunters. I still burned about 350 calories per 40 minute ride and I didn't feel like I was overdoing it. I did PURCHASE a nifty little desk that inserts into the Bike+ handlebars, so if you're going to be watching a show on a portable device, I recommend checking it out.

The possibilities are endless. If you want to ride, there's some combination in the Peloton library that will suit your needs for the day. The Peloton filter even lets you filter out classes or instructors who swear. I don't want to hear that stuff, so I turn that filter on, it works great!

Some of my favorite trainers right now are Hannah Frankson (in the video I keep calling her Hannah Parkson, sorry!), Dennis Morton, and Leanne Hainsby. If you're looking for some suggestions, those three are amazing, but Hannah Frankson is most definitely my spirit trainer!

RIDING PELOTON FOR 30 DAYS IN A ROW

I rode Peloton for 30 days in a row, and I'm definitely going to tell you about my weight changes and measurement changes, but before I get there I wanted to mention a heart rate monitor. This really isn't necessary, but if you're like me and you track your calories then you might want to know how many calories you're burning in each workout.

The heart rate monitor is important because riding without it vastly underestimates your calories burned (or at least it did for me). I did my first week of classes without a monitor and it was showing that I'd burned somewhere around 200 calories per class. When I got my heart rate monitor in and hooked it up I found that I was actually burning more like 350 calories per class.

That's a huge difference.

I don't eat back my exercise calories, but I do still like to know how much I'm burning, it makes me happy.

If you are looking for a good, easily paired, cheap heart rate monitor for Peloton, I recommend this Wahoo Tickr Fit. I charge it once every few weeks, use it just about daily for at least 30 minutes, and toss the arm bands in the washing machine once a week. It's very simple to use and gives you a whole other window on your Peloton screen that will show you your heart rate, your zone, and your Strive score.

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30 DAYS OF PELOTON RESULTS

If you watched the video you know that I said I didn't lose any weight. That's no longer true. I guess it just took more time to come off.

After gaining 35 pounds a few years ago I did lose that weight solely through tracking my calories. I have maintained a steady 125-130 pounds for about two years now, and I know that getting below 125 is just something that doesn't happen for me very easily. I tend to hover right around 127-128.

After my first 30 days I weighed myself and found that I was still 127-128, no big deal. But as I kept riding (at this point I am 55 rides in) I have lost a couple of pounds and gotten under 125 for the first time since high school. Since my goal wasn't to lose a lot of weight (if any) I need to reevaluate my calories, but I'm perfectly fine eating more each day to make up for whatever I'm losing. I'm okay with being under 125, but not much under, after all, I like my curves and I want them to stick around!

The best part is that I don't feel like I'm doing anything extraordinary. I'm not taxing my joints, hurting my lame arm, or jumping up and down for a half hour at a time. It's exercise I can keep up with as my needs change. I can keep riding and adjusting as necessary, in perpetuity.

So while weight loss wasn't my goal, I did want to mention it. However, the big thing for me was just overall fat loss. I was hoping to tone my legs a bit, maybe lose some belly fat, and possibly lose some of the curve from my hips.

Here are my 30 day changes:

The smallest part of my waist was 26.5" when I started, and 25.75" 30 days later.
The area right over my belly button was 31" when I started, and 30" 30 days later.
My hips were 39.5" when I started, and 39" 30 days later.

Can you lose inches with peloton? Yes

Can you lose belly fat with peloton? Yes, and I lost way more than I anticipated here.

Is Peloton a good way to lose weight? I didn't personally see a ton of weight loss, but I'd taken care of that a couple of years ago, so I wasn't expecting to. I would think that if you have some weight to lose, riding Peloton for 30 days will definitely help you get that done.

So for those of you looking for "How to lose weight on the Peloton", my suggestion would be to start slow, track your calories, and commit to it, because after all, it's not cheap!

Oh! I also wanted to show you a quick picture of a ride I repeated, so the top is Day 1, my very first ride, and the bottom picture is Day 14 where I repeated the exact ride two weeks in. What a change!

Good luck!
Ty

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