What I’ve learned from my first 30 days with my Peloton
So I bought my Peloton during the black Friday week sale. That basically gave me some free accessories with my purchase and 0% financing. Before purchasing I had tried out the bike during a visit home at my aunt’s house. I had belonged to a Spin gym since the beginning of the year and was in love. I love mountain biking, but I really thought it would be helpful to have my own bike that I could ride through the winter and have unlimited 24-7 access. I won’t lie, the price really made me nervous and I was super afraid I couldn’t sustain or stay motivated and would end up with a really expensive clothes hanger. For example I’ve always wanted a treadmill again. But both my husband and I have had previous ones that we never used so we are shy about it. I finally justified the purchase by breaking down what I spend monthly on fitness memberships and what the payment on the bike would be. I calculated that between my spin gym and an online workout membership I was spending $147 a month. My payment with Peloton for the bike and the monthly membership is $88.50 (I put a couple hundred down on the bike before financing). So that quick calc helped me justify that I would still be saving money even if I didn’t use it as much as I had hoped for.
During my first 30 days with the bike I have used it soooo much. I really look forward to the classes every day and it hasn’t worn off yet. You really feel like you’re doing a live class even when you use the on demand pre-recorded rides. The convenience has been awesome as well. I don’t have to plan a class on my way home before picking up my daughter or scheduling around when my husband is home to watch her. We have already had some snowy weather and not having to leave the house is great too. I usually ride after my daughter goes to sleep, and just rolling down to the basement in whatever mismatched outfit I want is so nice.
I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you all all the other things I’ve learned in the first 30 days that I didn’t foresee or know about before purchasing. I plan to also follow up with a post on accessories and gear that I’ve purchased or used to make the bike experience even better as well. So here are the surprise benefits and tips I’ve discovered after my purchase that has made the investment even better.
Facebook groups are awesome
Ok I fully admit I wasn’t really paying attention to facebook leading up to this purchase. I prefer instagram and would just post pictures on facebook to keep family updated on out lives. A friend of mine told me to look at a couple Peloton groups online and a whole new world of information and motivation opened up. Here’s a quick overview of some I belong to.
I use this group for searching for an answer to a question I may have only. And do not post in group a question without searching first. The community will rip you a new one if the question has already been asked. I actually don’t like this group because the people are rude and downright scary in it, but i keep my membership going because i really does have pretty much any answer to a technical topic you may have out there. Just beware!
This group is amazing. The member’s are hilarious and encouraging and it’s just a great uplifting community. This is the place you can post a photo of your PR, a new cocktail recommendation, or get feedback on a new outfit. I have found so many recommendations for new rides to try for whatever mood I’m in. Uplifting, chill, funny, challenging, you name it. They also have different group rides scheduled from time to time and it’s a great group to gain friends from.
I love this group for all things mom related. It’s a great place if you need some extra motivation to work out after a long day of work and mom duties, vent if you need to, ask parenting questions, and get a boost if you’re feeling working mom guilt. Super supportive place and I love it.
Great to have a local group to feel more connected to a community. This group is another great source of friends for your account (or any group local to you). They have also had in person meet-ups which is such a wonderful idea in this digital space.
Adjust your cleats and shoes
So I immediately changed out my pedals for ones compatible with my SPD cleats. I already had my mountain bike shoes and a pair of spin shoes and just like them a lot more. Pedals are easy to change so don’t feel stuck with what Peloton comes with. They come with the Look compatible system and it’s just not my thing. Once you have the shoes and pedals you are comfortable with make sure you adjust your cleats to align properly for your form and gait. Usually you are told to just make sure the pedal and shoe are all in a straight line so your knees face forward. That’s a good starting point but you’re not locked into this. Everyone’s anatomy is different. I have had two ACL surgeries on my left knee so i have mine set so there is just the slightest turn out to my feet. It’s just what’s comfortable and after I ride I have no knee issues. It has taken me lots of tweaks to get comfortable but it's easy and worth it. You can get a professional to help you with this and do a fit in home or go to a bike shop to have them help you. Youtube also has some great tutorials.
Friends matter
At first I only had a few family members and friends that I followed on my profile. As I kept riding and seeing the badges you can earn I realized why friends matter. Not only can they give you virtual high-fives (butt slaps) and make you feel good to ride with a group, you get badges for the number of friends that have taken the same ride. You don’t have to take it at the same time either. Thus began my following of friends from the above facebook groups.
You can video chat during rides
My bestie and I have done this a few times. Ok it’s kinda creepy. The angle is weird, the lighting is weird, we are usually sweating in just our sports bras. It’s pretty hot. It’s hard to actually “chat” on the video while trying to concentrate so we usually just start a ride together and compete. If you like the live chat though I suggest doing it only during a live ride. Even if you try to sync up and start a ride at exactly the same time the sound and ride are always just a little off and that messes with the audio.
You can add unlimited users for a household
This was super surprising and a great way to introduce friends and family to the app before purchasing. You can be an app member for I believe $19 a month but you can use the app for free and have your own profile on someone elses account. I am trying to convice my brother to make a purchase so I created him an account and now he can use the app for free. You can even use another stationary bike and do rides. There are facebook groups dedicated to app riders as well and pretty cool to consider before making the big purchase. You can also create a guest account for you home for others to ride and even use it as a bonus for airbnb rentals.
Credit and discount codes
You can offer a code to others to give them a discount when purchasing. When someone uses your code they get the discount and you get boutique credit. I figure if you use that enough you could make quite a bit back in apparel. The apparel is also always updating in the shop and Peloton partners with some pretty big names. I wish I had known about the credit before because I probably would have ordered earlier instead of waiting until black friday sales. I really didn’t need all the accessories we got especially since I replaced my pedals, but I sold my shoes quickly and kept the rest of the stuff.
If you all want a discount code mine happens to be PV8C8V.
All the other workouts
Obviously I bought the bike because I love mountain biking and I love spinning. I knew about the other types of workouts available but my past experience told me I wouldn’t really use them that much. Well the one I’ve used most after the bike is actually the treadmill workouts. I don’t have a treadmill at home but I do at my work. It’s nice to take a break and hop on and follow a workout for variety. I also like the foam roller stretch routines and the mediation. I’m looking forward to exploring the outdoor workouts and running ones once it actually warms up around here.
If you want to try the app, Peloton is offering 2 months free at the time of this post. Sign up for the digital access on Peloton's page linked here.
Have questions? comment below! Have tips and tricks of your own? Let me hear them!