For years I had been trying to find a workout that can get me excited. Do I run? Sure, but begrudgingly. Luckily I gave spinning a try at a local studio and I haven’t looked back. I enjoyed it so much I bought the formal Peloton bike, but more on that later. If you have access to an at-home exercise spinning bike and use an iPhone to iPad, then the Peloton mobile app is for you.
Peloton came on the scene in 2012 with their own stand alone bike with an attached touchscreen. The allure of Peloton comes from their live NYC studio where they stream upwards of 14 classes daily with thousands more on demand. Their bike is integrated with the experience in real-time. Now, Peloton has an iOS app and the same content is available to you on iPhone, iPad or stream to Apple TV to use with your own bike at home.
After creating an account you have a 14-day trial ($12.99 a month thereafter). Within the app experience you have access to a lot of content:
- Featured: Shows you top rides, top picks, popular rides
- On Demand: Full catalog of rides for using any time
- Schedule: Join a live ride!
- Profile: See your stats
- More: Subscription, FAQs, etc
A typical class works like this: pick ride, either live of on-demand, and start riding. You have a lot of filters you can use to determine the right ride at any time. You can filter by instructor, length, type (such as beginner), music genre and more. The instructors are all fantastic and you will likely find a few favorites (Cody and Ally are mine!) They instruct you every step of the way on cadence (how fast you are peddling per minute RPM), resistance (how hard the effort is), and output (how much power you are exerting). You can use this information with the metrics from your own bike and correlate them. For example, Cody might say “Let’s push above 80 cadence and 60 resistance for 25 seconds out of the saddle.” This means you are peddling faster than 80 pedal strokes a second through what would feel like mud for 25 seconds.
The instructors are all very encouraging. If you join a live class, they will often call you out with specific milestones such as your 100th ride! They do a fantastic job of keeping you motivated. Sometimes I just don’t feel like doing a ride, but I jump on for 10 minutes and get it done.
Peloton doesn’t stop with bike riding either. There are several stretching and workout exercises the instructors provide in addition to bike rides; even yoga classes. Many are offered in a bundle such as this one from Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby:
- 5 minute plank workout
- 5 minute pushup workout
- 5 minute lower back toning
- 5 minute glute toning
- 10 minute cardio
- 10 minute lower body stretch
I purchased the Peloton bike back in January of 2017. If you decided to move up from the Peloton iOS app, this is your next destination. I was nervous paying for the bike because (after all of the taxes, setup fees, etc) it runs around $2200. However, this pales in comparison to the pricing of many spinning studios over the period of a year or more. Peloton also charges $39 a month for the live rides on their bike. They likely charge more because unlike the iOS app and your own bike, all of the metrics I have discussed here such as cadence and resistance are synced to your Peloton account automagically. This gives you historical metrics to measure against and has great value for you to see where you have grown in your spinning experience.
The huge 21.5″ 1080p custom Android screen is an amazing sight to see. It really immerses you in a ride. Whether you’re using a casual scenic ride through the mountains of California or doing a competitive ride with one of the instructors, you wont be disappointed. As a bonus, the bike also supports Bluetooth for wireless speakers or headphones, as well as supporting ANT complaint heart rate monitors.
If you use your own bike with the Peloton app, $12.99 a month is a great value if you are a dedicated home-rider, or need to fill the gaps between classes in a cycling studio. The mix of live and on-demand rides create an almost limitless variety of potential classes. Even if you are pressed for time you can find 10, 15 or 20 minutes rides (many typical rides are 45 minutes).
When you are ready to step it up to the full-fledged Peloton Bike, I do not believe you will be disappointed. I have really enjoyed my experience with it and I have come to rely on it for solid workouts that are fun and engaging. On a side note, I follow all of the instructors on Twitter and Instagram. When you workout with these people 5-7 days a week, you get to know them a little bit. Just another reason of what makes the Peloton experience – whether you’re an iOS app user or purchased the bike – so special.
Peloton Cycle: Live Fitness Indoor Cycling Classes for iOS – FREE – Download
Let us know in the comments below- do you use Peloton for iOS or use their own branded bike? Did you buy the bike from Peloton? Do you want more articles around Peloton and their tech integrations?
