It’s no secret that my love of Peloton runs deep. I remember hearing about it and immediately became interested (and no wonder– back in college, when T and I were dating, and LONG before Peloton came to market, we entered a business plan competition and came up with a product concept VERY similar to this believe it or not!)
We ended up purchasing the bike almost 2.5 years ago, right after Blake was born. And I’ve been on a 138 week streak ever since. I can honestly say it’s been the best investment for our physical and mental health. I have over 1,000 Peloton workouts under my belt, so I thought I’d dedicate a post all about it!
Whether you own a Peloton bike or tread or just use the app, there are several ways to enjoy the Peloton craze.
While the bike or tread has a hefty price tag, I can tell you it is worth.every.penny. Especially when you start to add up fitness related costs with gyms, classes, time spent driving to a gym, etc. Peloton even offers a neat calculator to see your savings. We saved up for it, and with 0% financing, it’s a great option. There are showrooms throughout the US you can go to and demo a ride or run, otherwise, you can order online. Plus, there is a 30 day in home free trial! (Use my code KCSBNB for $100 off when you order!) I know there are competitors out there as well, but I have tried them, and I can honestly say that Peloton is by far the gold standard– whether it’s stability and design of the equipment, tech platform, variety and types of classes, features, etc. Consumer Reports ranks their equipment at the top of the list, and it’s no wonder that celebrities choose to have Pelotons in their home gyms vs. competitor brands.
When you purchase a bike or tread, it comes with a membership where anyone in your home can access the entire library of classes using your hardware or the Peloton App for $39/mo. With a digital membership (only $12.99/mo), individual users can access the entire library of classes and work out with equipment or none at all on your phone, tablet, TV and web browser. (And you can try the app free for 30 days right now to see if you like it!) Note that if you don’t have the bike or tread, you don’t really get metrics or a spot on the leaderboard to see your output, don’t know your cadence/resistance, etc. among other things.
I love doing the workouts cast to my TV screen or via the app on my phone if I’m not using my bike. There are also apps for your TV to cast the workouts. So many options! And the workouts alone provide so much variety that I’m convinced there is no way to get tired of it. There are so many workouts types, from live or on demand, and various disciplines, from strength to meditation, yoga, outdoor running, stretching, cycling, bootcamp and running. And they are constantly evolving their class offerings- from music themed and motivational series, to pilates, core/run/strength training programs, barre, pre/post natal workouts and more. There are workouts that range from 5 min to 75 min and more, and at all levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced.
In addition to the variety, I also love that your class history is stored, so you can see how many times you worked out each week, tap on a class you want to take again, asses how many cycle vs. strength classes you’ve taken, etc. It’s really nice to have all of that all in one spot if you are a metrics gal like me. You even get month end emails with your stats, and year end ones too if you like to compete against yourself!
If you are driven by the community, Peloton has that too. You can follow people (I am StyleFilesVal), workout with people in a live class or on demand (sending high fives and even video chat), or filter your results by age/gender, or even ride with hashtags of commonalities i.e. #pelotonmoms #craftbeerdads, you name it! I have done a lot of rides with friends throughout the pandemic, which has been so fun and motivating! I also made a fun yard sign that would move from house to house once a friend hit a milestone, a neat way to celebrate if you ask me!
My top go to disciplines:
Cycling (369 rides in!)
Their lineup of teachers are all SO impressive, motivating, personable, and unique. Even within the cycling category, you can choose between a low impact class, a climb, intervals, and more. I also LOVE that you can filter by music. Their themed classes are my favorite, love the Pitbull ride, XOXO Cody Series, holiday rides, Pentatonix ride and genres like hip hop and 2000s and 90s pop…you get the idea!
Fave instructors: Alex Toussaint, Cody Rigsby, Kendall Toole
Strength (402 on the books!)
LOTS of options here. If you don’t have anything but a mat, choose a bodyweight or pilates class. If you want something low impact, go for barre or core. Or if you want to pick up weights and go for it, check out their full body, upper body, and lower body classes.
Fave instructors: Jess Sims, Ben Alldis, Adrian Williams
Running (77 of these!)
I use my non-Peloton treadmill (once that things bites the dust, you better believe the Tread is on my list…I’ve heard AMAZING things), and I love the 20 minute runs and great cardio before a strength training session. From intervals to fun listening games, I know my endurance and speed has definitely improved.
Fave instructors: Adrian Williams, Matty Maggiacomo, Olivia Amato, Jess Sims
Tread & Bike Bootcamps (120 under my belt!)
These classes combine the best of both worlds: running and strength. It’s a one-top shop covering everything in a single workout. They split the workout with sessions on the bike or treadmill then on the floor for strength work, back and forth. SO good!
Fave instructors: Jess Sims (THE BEST!), Adrian Williams (a close second), Matty Maggiacomo, Olivia Amato
In addition to the workouts themselves, Peloton really creates this amazing sense of community. There are entire Facebook groups dedicated to Peloton users with various interests (I was in a Peloton Whole 30 group for example), as well as podcasts like The Clip Out for all things Peloton related. For Peloton users, they also celebrate your milestones, like the Century Club when you reach 100 rides and are send a coveted t-shirt, like a badge of honor. They also have an amazing apparel line too. #takeallmymoney
Our workout space, including the shoe/accessories holder and Peloton sign my husband and I made!
Have more questions? Something I missed? Happy to help answer! And if you are looking to purchase a Peloton Tread or Bike, use my code KCSBNB for $100 off accessories!
What a great post! I’m a newbie (50 classes in) and I can’t wait to try all your recommendations!
You are going to be in the Century Club before you know it! Can’t wait to hear your fave classes!