Sharing my Peloton Bike v. Peloton App Experience

Happy Wednesday, lovelies! With the new year kicking off, I know that a lot of people are taking the opportunity to acquire some positive changes in their lives. I knew y’all would enjoy this post since it’s something we’ve been waiting for FOREVER! I am going to share my experiences with Peloton Cycling Classes! The Peloton app, the Peloton Bike and other stationary bike options will be discussed in GREAT detail .There are a lot of things I loved about both experiences!  Sit back, this is going to be a long one! 

First things first, if you haven’t checked out my quarantine Quarantine friendly Fitness Tips, now is a good time to bookmark it! This post has a lot of info about the peloton app and amazon stationary bike options!

When this whole social distancing thing started, I took the plunge of buying a stationary bike. Initially, I wanted to order a Peloton right away, but the price and my history of lacking the commitment for exercise made me think otherwise. After searching for a LONG time, I decided on the Sunny P8150 (also available here) because it seemed very similar in body style to the peloton…and it was pink! Eventually, I wanted to share my peloton experience with my family. Since I had shown enough commitment to my exercise routine, I ordered my peloton! My sister uses the pink bike and we get to do rides together now! Below are all the goodies I used while I had the stationary bike (again, check out that original post for more details!).

Peloton in General

There’s a whole lot to say about the peloton app and classes in general. Aside from what device you chose to access it on. I’m going to touch base on some topics of interest.

Price: The numbers I’m about to share are a little overwhelming, but it’s what you want to know!

        • Peloton Bike: $1895 (Available for $49 a month, no interest)
        • Peloton Bike +: $2495 (Available for $64 a month, no interest)
        • Peloton Tread: $2495 (Available for $64 a month, no interest)
        • Peloton Tread +: $4285 (Available for $111 a month, no interest)

I added the tread prices for those of you who may be interested in running rather than cycling. For each of these peloton machines you will have to pay an ADDITIONAL $39 for the app fee. This allows MULTIPLE USERS to utilize the app with their accounts on the bike and on their personal devices. I won’t go into more detail than this because I feel like a million hearts probably sank. Keep reading!

The phone application is only $12.99! Whoooo! This is the price for one person! This also means you can take your phone and the classes to the gym with you and HAVE AT IT! Because of the situation we’re in, I opted to buy my own bike. Regardless, this option is the most affordable if you aren’t sure Peloton is for you.

The App

I will sing the praises of the Peloton app over and over again if you ask me. There are so many instructors that offer a variety of styles of coaching. I’m a big fan of silly instructors, but sometimes I need to be pushed. I’ve familiarized myself with which instructor will be best for me on what day and that has brought continued motivation.  I’ve explored the majority of the app, but consistently utilize 4 types of classes:

Cycling

Before quarantine, I was frequenting the new cycle studio, TrybeTrybe, in the RGV. If we weren’t in COVID times, I’d probably be visiting a few times a month because their classes are LIT (They also hooked me up with my cutie cycling shoes- shop local!)! The Peloton style is very different (less choreo- the dance moves, if you will) than Trybe, but I always feel like I’m putting in work and breaking a sweat. They offer HIIT classes, themed classes (my fave!), Arms & Intervals, and even low impact rides. The variety lends for flexibility. Not feeling it: take a low impact class.

Cycle Bootcamp

My OTF loving heart screamed with JOY when Peloton announced that they’d be pairing strength blocks into their cycling classes. This means you get off the bike at one point of the class and do a strength-focused block. This is great if you’re short on time, but are interested on increasing your strength.

Barre/pilates/yoga

We love a low impact work out. I’m a retired (sad day) dancer. It will always be important for me to be able to move my body with fluidity. Think: long and strong muscles with flexibility included. Formerly, I hated all of these types of classes in an online format because I lacked motivation and I really care about developing a good foundation (dancer much?). The instructor’s corrections are AMAZING and spot on. I feel like I’m actually growing rather than cheating my way through a class.

Meditation

Y’all, I’m a very anxious person. Believe it or not. I’m always a little nervous or have A LOT going on in my mind. Distance learning has not helped this. I’ve used the Peloton meditation app to help me: focus, calm down and fall asleep. If you’re skeptical, these classes don’t make me feel silly. I would check ‘em out!

There are several other categories in the Peloton app including, treadmill, treadmill bootcamp, outdoor running & walking (included with training programs), strength, cardio, and stretching. Access to this many classes and different instructors assures that you will never get bored in the app!

Pros of Each Bike

I was going to do a pro/con list, but I really couldn’t think of actual Cons. They’re more of differences. So I’ll start with the Sunny Bike/Peloton App pros first!

Sunny Bike/Peloton App

      • Price: Obviously, the reason why I went with this option first is because it was more cost efficient. I was lucky to grab my bike for around $300. For a long time, it was out of stock, but it’s finally back on Amazon and on the Sunny site.
      • Portability: Okay, so you’re not necessarily moving the bike around, but the peloton needs to be plugged in for the screen to work. You can move this bike around to wherever you can fit it in your home, which is nice.
      • SPD Clips: Like I said, the “cons” of each bike aren’t really cons. One of the things I had to update on my Peloton were the pedals. The Peloton comes installed with Delta clips, which aren’t as common as SPD Clips. I updated these because I love visiting my local cycle studio and wanted to only have to buy one pair of shoes for all of my cycling needs! Luckily, the Sunny bike already comes with these pre-installed!
      • Color Options: Sorry not sorry that I decided to purchase a bike because it was pink! There are also red and yellow options that I’ve seen. I know it doesn’t make any difference in your effort, but I feel like its the equivalent to wearing your favorite color. It just feels right.
      • Pause Button:  OH MY GOODNESS. Very early on I joined a Peloton member group on Facebook. The amount of times that the desire for a pause button comes up is INSANE! I didn’t know what I was missing until I upgraded to my Peloton and lost my pause button. Trust, I’ve had a water bottle fall MANY times, ha! With that being said, not a big deal if you’re used to taking class in real life. Once you get used to this app life though, you get comfortable with that button.

Peloton Bike & Bike +

In the recent months, Peloton released an updated version of their standard bike. This bike allows the screen to pivot so you can utilize the bike’s GIANT screen for strength, pilates, yoga, and/or barre classes! I’m pretty sure they’re offering 2 months free of the Peloton App

      • Metrics: Unless you’ve done your research, this means nothing to you. I’ll try and break it down as best as possible. In a regular cycling class (and on the peloton app), the instructor will call out numbers for resistance (how much weight you feel on the pedals) and cadence (how quickly you’re pedaling). The reason why this is a pro for the peloton bike is that you are able to SEE an actual number for each of these areas. You’re also able to see the range that the instructor calls out. Feeling tired? Stay close to the lower range of each area. Already doing the most and not hitting the numbers they called out? It’ll be okay! Do what you can because the NEXT TIME you do this class (live classes are later put on demand) you can RACE yourself and try to do better than the last time you took that class! This also creates a RANK for you among other people who are taking or HAVE taken this class (You see this on the “leaderboard”). You also get rewards for achieving certain goals based on these metrics! This is the first thing on the pros list for the Peloton bike because this is what moved me to purchase the bike!
      • Social Aspect: I already talked a little about competing with other people while on the peloton bike. Aside from moving up and down the “leaderboard” you can add friends! You can still add your friends on the app, but you won’t be able to “high five” them or filter to only see your friends on a leaderboard. This has been my favorite feature lately! There is a local group of girls that list a specific hashtag on their profiles and we can ride together if we plan it out. The bike also informs me if any of my friends are taking a class, so I can join them! I have a ton of friends from college that I don’t get to see often that have Pelotons, and in 2021 I want to make it a goal to exercise together! There’s also a camera feature on the bike. Yes, I said it. You can video call a friend who is doing the same class with you! Hilarious, I bet. I haven’t tried it yet, but my best friend just got a bike…stay tuned!
      • Sound Options: The trainers on the peloton are SO motivating or hilarious! For some people, the talking can be a lot though. Peloton thought of this and offers an option to raise the music of the class and lower the volume of the Instructor. It also offers the opposite option for those of us who are in class for the inspiration…or the laughs!
      • More Search Options: I didn’t know that this would be such a big deal until people suggested I “search” for something and I couldn’t! The app allows you to be uber specific about the class you’re looking for. The bike allows you to search classes by keywords which is helpful when you’re looking for “the greatest showman” ride or “Hamilton” ride!
      • Accountability: If you collect blue dots, you may have a peloton. For every exercise, be it pilates, barre, a run, or ride, you can collect a blue dot for the day. This is one of my favorite ways to stay motivated and stay on the bike- I even collected 31 in a row when social distancing was very new. The app has these features as well, but on the bike you can view your profile as a whole and SEE all the metrics, all the blue dots, and what your friends are doing! I love looking at my profile page after or before a work out. It just does something for me and keeps me excited to keep working towards a better me!

Phew! Now, that’s a blog post! I know y’all were impatiently waiting for me to finish this post, but as you can see, I had a lot to share! If you have more questions or want a different kind of information session (you tube, reels, stories, etc.), LET ME KNOW! I want y’all to make an educated decision before taking any sort of plunge. I also have to add that I have an accessory coupon code that I’m willing to share if you think a peloton bike is the right choice for you! What are your fitness goals for this year? Let me know and maybe I’ll join you!

Love & Fitness,

Aly

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