Homebrewtalk Peloton

[Kent88]

I joined that challenge a little bit ago, but now remembered that my spouse is now trying out the occasional yoga video on this account, so that could mess with time stats.

If she keeps up with it for a couple months, I'll leave the challenge. Time won't be a good metric for me to use.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

For no other reason than wanting to get to round numbers, I knew that taking a 75 minute ride today would get me over 250 miles logged for the month. So I did it.

5 minutes later, I was seated at my kitchen table for a work meeting, which was supposed to be 30 minutes but ended up being almost an hour. On a typical kitchen chair.

When that meeting ended, I could barely stand up lol. My legs were STIFF!!!

 

[Rodent]

@betarhoalphadelta I learned my lesson on jumping off the bike and running into a meeting several weeks back. I started cramping up 45 min into the call and couldn't doo anything since it was video.

congrats on the big 250 this month!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

@betarhoalphadelta I learned my lesson on jumping off the bike and running into a meeting several weeks back. I started cramping up 45 min into the call and couldn't doo anything since it was video.

congrats on the big 250 this month!

Thanks. And congrats on 275!

Used my lunch hour to take the dog on a ~2.8 mi walk b/c my wife and I are doing our anniversary dinner tonight, and I wanted to wear him out.

I had big ideas about actually trying to do some strength work today too, but.... NAAAAHHHHHH! Screw that. I'll try to get in a stretch this afternoon after all that, but no more actual exercise.

 

[Rodent]

Dug holes by hand and planted several fruit trees today. Bonus is that we live on 30' of glacial silt so there was not so much as even a small pebble to be seen.

Bummer that I didn't think to grab my phone and turn on the app to generic 'Strength' to claim the two hours of exercise towards my workout goals. Lugging a 5 gallon bucket of water around (hole soaking water) and a 30 gallon garbage can 1/3 filled with water (bareroot tree soaking water) should have counted for some good strength activity. Similar story for the trees planted yesterday. There's another 14 bareroot fruit trees to go, so maybe I can remember next time.

Hindsight is 20/20

 

[Rodent]

I found another difference between a session on the bike and a session using the Android app on my Samsung Tab: high-fives with others in the same session. The Android version doesn't have the ability to hi-5 others in session, or provide notification when I've been hi-5ed by another in the session. Not a critical difference, but it's nice to recognize somebody who has just passed me in a cycling ride, or acknowledge others who are hitting key milestones during that strength or stretching session.

I now see there's a valid reason that some people don't hi-5 during a session, and that it's not just non-social behavior choices.

 

[Kent88]

I noticed you had high-fived me almost a week after it happened. I looked around for a way to say thanks or return it in app, but I saw no means to. Edit: so now I am saying it, thank you!

Nasty headache today. Might not make it on the bike because of it. I have a 10min low-impact Hainsby ride bookmarked for rough days, so there's still a chance. We'll see.

 

[Kent88]

I'll be traveling later this week, so I thought I'd try out a beginner Arms and Shoulders Strength vid in case it seemed like something I could do while on the road. I usually do Arms & Light Weights, which aren't labeled for difficulty.

I haven't taken an intermediate strength vid yet, but think the Arms & Light Weights videos might be intermediate. Tricep kickbacks aren't easy for me, but everything else she asked me to do today was fine.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I'll be traveling later this week, so I thought I'd try out a beginner Arms and Shoulders Strength vid in case it seemed like something I could do while on the road. I usually do Arms & Light Weights, which aren't labeled for difficulty.

I haven't taken an intermediate strength vid yet, but think the Arms & Light Weights videos might be intermediate. Tricep kickbacks aren't easy for me, but everything else she asked me to do today was fine.

I know that they also have "bodyweight" strength classes that might be good if you're on the road w/o access to weights.

I hear you on the tricep kickbacks. As I've been getting into this, anything tricep (i.e. kickbacks, skullcrushers, overhead extension) I end up taking lighter weights than I use for pretty much any other muscle group. But it's improving as I go... It's still the lightest weight I use, but that weight has at least been increasing over the weeks.

 

[Rodent]

@Kent88 if you'll be flying, note that TSA has a limit of 2 pounds per weight that can be included in your carryon bags, and that the weight can't look like it'd be usable as a weapon. when I travel I pack a pair of 1 pound light weights and am prepared for the conversation with the TSA agent during screening. it was my first trip with these weights that I learned the rules I need to work with for carryon bags.

I carry this style without issue on multiple trips

and not this style (below), which I was told had a higher chance of not being allowed as carryon

YMMV of course

 

[Kent88]

I know that they also have "bodyweight" strength classes that might be good if you're on the road w/o access to weights.

If the weights can make it into the jeep, great, if not I'll just deal with it. Lately it seems like we might need a small school bus. Last time we met my in-laws to go ice fishing for a few hours we somehow seemed to fill it up, even though there are only four of us and we only drove about 90 minutes. I assume it'll get better when the youngest is out of diapers, but then we'll just be trading her seat covers for more fishing gear.

I hear you on the tricep kickbacks. As I've been getting into this, anything tricep I end up taking lighter weights than I use for pretty much any other muscle group. But it's improving as I go... It's still the lightest weight I use, but that weight has at least been increasing over the weeks.

I'm worried about poor form on those, and the triceps videos seem to work my back as well so that also makes me really nervous. I don't want to lift wrong and screw up my back.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Coming late to this, but as someone who has rowed on/off for most of my life :

I wouldn't want a treadmill (from any brand), and I already own both a real/outdoor and a stationary bike, so I don't really want their bike.

Is the Row more focused on upper body or something?

It's one of the great myths that rowing is primarily an upper-body thing, I guess it's from rowing on fixed seats in the tubs in the park. But rowing on sliding seats is an all-body exercise, most of the power comes from thighs, glutes and back. Supposedly it uses 85% of your muscle mass, and that's reflected in eg the VO2max as eg found by Kim et al ("young" group average age 27, "old" group averaged 58yo)

I'm not trying to ding cycling (least of all in this thread!) - the big disadvantages of rowing are that it's not something people do as a normal part of childhood, and it is a lot more technical, and if you do it wrong then you can wreck your back. But personally I love it, and it's my preferred cardio exercise.

The Peloton rower isn't available here but just looking at it, I really like that it claims to give feedback on your rowing technique based on sensors. I don't know how well it works, but in principle that answers one of the big problems with rowing. Otherwise, meh. I get how the Peloton model works for some people, and the power of staying within an ecosystem once you're already in it, but I'm more of a numbers guy so I don't really need the pretty graphics or people shouting at me to do the work, as long as I'm given good numbers.

I'd also note that simulating the real world is less interesting for rowing - by definition you don't row up and down hills so the scenery is less varied, and you're rowing a lot slower than on a bike (but a bit faster than running) so the scenery changes more slowly. And you're looking backwards! While having someone shouting at you might work for short blasts, it's primarily an endurance sport and the way to be quick over those long pieces is to find a good rhythm, which is something that comes from within. I seldom get bored as it's technical enough that I'm always thinking about my technique, or targetting some number or other like stroke length (which comes from optimising technique), and at times I will close my eyes during a piece just to really concentrate on my technique or heart rate etc.

Concept2's are the default machines in the on-water rowing world and coming from that background that's what I've used since I was at college. So they predate the idea of having to pay monthly fees after you've bought the hardware, and have had a lot of time to get things right. For instance they've had internet recording for >20 years (by comparison Strava only came along in 2009) - and any app that caters to rowing, has to work with Concepts (eg Strava and Garmin can grab data automatically from the Concept app). And then once you're in the ecosystem you end up using the other kit - my standard cardio round is a warmup on the Concept bike, then a long piece of aerobic threshold on the rower, then a blast on the SkiErg to finish up.

In fact, if you're looking for something that's more upper body cardio, then the SkiErg might be an option - effectively it's a Concept rower tipped on its end, you can either do it with two hands in sync for more of a mixed workout from arms to thighs that's closer to rowing, or alternate arms to push more of the work onto the arms alone. Since I've usually just come from a long session on the rower, I normally do alternate - it's definitely my love-hate thing! Another option might be a Watergrinder which is a cross between a Waterrower and a sailing winch.

 

[Kent88]

I'm not trying to ding cycling

You are and how dare you!

For real though, thank you for sharing. I think that kind of affirms how I feel about the Peloton equipment. If I was to actually buy something, I think it would be either a Guide, as it's less expensive and helps with form, or the Row, as it's more of a whole body workout and I don't have any other gear that does that sort of thing. My stationary Schwinn does enough that I don't need Peloton's bike, I just wish I had grabbed my cadence sensor from my outdoor bike after I started with this service, and I have a dislike for treadmills that I just can't explain and never want to own one.

Nasty headache again today. I think I'm just going to skip and get back to it Monday or Tuesday. Last night I did an arms & intervals ride because I thought so little of the previous nights arm workout. That was a bit of a mistake, but I got through it.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Great writeup, @Northern_Brewer - I definitely learned some new stuff from it.

@Kent88 I'm like you in that treadmill isn't for me. At my size/weight I don't run; it's far too much impact for my lower body. I enjoy walking, and hiking, but I can do that outside and don't need a treadmill to do it in the house.

The Row might have been a good option for us especially because it folds up and I think in that configuration may occupy less floor space when vertical, which helps as we've got very limited space. But it hadn't been released by the time we got the Peloton. That said, I think my wife is REALLY happy with the bike, and unless Cody Rigsby started doing rowing classes, I'm not sure she'd be into it lol...

 

[Rodent]

I still see a Row in our future when finances allow

Definitely not a treadmill or elliptical lover. I wanted to love an elliptical, but I just can't find a way to do so. My bum knee is a factor is disliking treadmills and all of the pounding it gets. Yea for the Bike and the low impact it has on my knee, but I can also tell when my form pedaling is getting off thanks to that same bum knee

 

[Kent88]

Just finished up the beginner Arms & Shoulders video a little bit ago. I think I've found it's use in my life, to finish a streak while I'm in a situation where Arms & Light Weights isn't an option.

@Kent88 if you'll be flying, note that TSA has a limit of 2 pounds per weight that can be included in your carryon bags, and that the weight can't look like it'd be usable as a weapon.

TSA was not involved in my travel arrangements. Two pounds per weight, that's pretty restrictive. My weights look like these:

 

[Rodent]

Had quite the Arms & Upper Body workout today - digging holes and planting another four fruit trees as part of the ongoing 2023 Orchard Expansion Project. Today I remembered to click on the Outdoor Strength (seemed most appropriate given I was digging the holes, carrying water, etc ... all by hand sans backhoe.

Potted trees were in 10G pots, so the holes were quite a bit wider/deeper than a typical 5G 'Homer' bucket

and the soil volume removed easily filled a medium sized garden trailer (that's one of the smaller holes today)

Result will be some lovely fruit once these trees begin bearing crops in a couple years.

Planted today:

- Bing sweet cherry (semi-dwarf) for both the famous dark red fruit, but also as a pollinizer for the 10 Rainier cherry trees that were here when we bought the place.

- Superior European plum for both the outstanding fresh fruit, and also as a pollinizer for several of the other plum and plum-hybrid trees being added. I will likely add a Santa Rosa plum to be certain I have excellent pollinizing potential every year

- Flavor Supreme Pluot (a plum - apricot hybrid)

- Cot-n-Candy Aprium (an apricot - plum hybrid)


Why also include this gardening stuff in this post you ask? Well, last year each of those trees would have been my physical limit for the weekend. I'm a week away from my 6-month Peloton Bike+ arrival anniversary, and the physical efforts since its arrival have resulted in me being able to do all this in just under three hours while feeling like I still have another 3-5 trees left in me before I putter out and need to hit the easy chair with a tall glass of wine. Never thought I'd be able to complete this kind of activity, and super excited to see how the next 3 and 6 months build upon an ever increasing ability to do physical work again.

Thanks to the group here who share encouragement with each other and celebrate even small victories with each other. You all are a true blessing to me, and have played a part in me celebrating this activity today.

 

[Kent88]

Gosh @Rodent , you kicked butt today!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

If you all aren't doing stretching, holy crap let me tell you how great it feels...

I did martial arts all through my tween/teen years, so did TONS of stretching. Then, for the better part of 30 years, did none.

Now that I'm spending time on the bike, with the weights, with exercise in general, stretching has just made my body so much happier.

ESPECIALLY with the bike, where your hips, glutes, calves, etc all get tight. A 10 minute full-body stretch just opens everything up.

I don't often stretch with the female instructors, because quite frankly their bodies can do things mine can't. But the 20 minute full body stretch with Rebecca is accessible to me (as is a 15 minute Jess Sims full body) and I did that one today after doing a 30 minute upper body workout and a 10 minute core. Every ounce of tension I had in my body after those workouts has just evaporated.

If you haven't checked them out... Do so.

 

[Kent88]

I finally did a Peloton stretch Sunday night / Monday morning because I spent a bunch of time driving, and when I got back I lifted dumbbells after bringing everything in from the Jeep. IMHO the lady was moving a little too quickly and I just don't understand why one would want to hurry through a stretch like she was.

 

[Rodent]

I started dedicating time to stretching a couple weeks back, and did multiple stretches after last weekend's tree planting workout. game changing for how I felt the following morning. no joke.

I've stretched for 10ish min a few times before heading off to bed and slept wonderfully those nights. I need to do this more often. Thank you for the recommendation to stretch more than I do

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I finally did a Peloton stretch Sunday night / Monday morning because I spent a bunch of time driving, and when I got back I lifted dumbbells after bringing everything in from the Jeep. IMHO the lady was moving a little too quickly and I just don't understand why one would want to hurry through a stretch like she was.

Like a lot of Peloton workouts, the longer ones often seem less frantically paced than the shorter ones.

Try one of the 20 minute full body stretches with Matty. The pace is very relaxed. The ones labeled "evening" are basically designed to be so chill you do them before bed, although I haven't tried one of those.

 

[Kent88]

The climate here is pretty cold, too. I'd say that it starts getting reliably warm in May and it usually stays warm through enough of September that I count that month. There are sometimes outlier days as early as March where one can get the bike outside, but don't be fooled.

It's pretty darn convenient. And it's private enough that if people around you would give you a hard time about it then you can just not say anything about it and how would they know? If I could've activated the code for a year from our insurance without letting my wife know I probably would have.

 

[Rodent]

finished the 6-week intro to FTP course and retook the fitness test yesterday morning. after five weeks of work I gained a bit over 10% on my FTP score, bumping up from 166 to 183.

I took a regular 30-min cycling workout this morning and can see the results in how I was able to execute. portions of today's ride would have totally killed be five plus weeks back, but today they were just a solid effort to accomplish

@betarhoalphadelta thanks again for recommending this Discovering Your Power Zones program

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I also didn't really like going to a gym. I work 8-5 M-F and that means getting up, getting dressed, driving to a gym, changing into workout duds, doing whatever workout, changing again, driving home, ****/shower/shave, get dressed again, and off to work. About an hour is eaten up unnecessarily.

The Peloton bike changed all of that. I get up, get on the bike, do a 45 minute ride.....and the workouts are amazingly tough, are either live-streamed from a studio in NYC, or you can take one of nearly 10K On Demand recorded earlier rides......cool off for 15 minutes, jump into the shower, get dressed, go to work. Way way way less trouble.

Welcome! Yeah, this is what helps me the most as well. I had a gym membership. It was 0.9 mi away. I never went. Hell, I have a monthly "players club" membership at a golf course that's about 1.5 mi away. I get a bucket of range balls every day with that membership. Do I go and practice? No. It just seems like so much to leave the house to do it.

But I do something Peloton every single day. 4-5 times a week, that's a ride.

It's pretty darn convenient. And it's private enough that if people around you would give you a hard time about it then you can just not say anything about it and how would they know? If I could've activated the code for a year from our insurance without letting my wife know I probably would have.

Does your wife give you a hard time over doing it?

I realize that class you mentioned with Olivia showing serious cleavage might have gotten an eye roll, just like the first time my wife took a class with Kendall she's like "you just ride with her to look at her butt, huh?"

But I'd figure that if it's getting you do to actually put in the exercise time, she'd be supportive.

finished the 6-week intro to FTP course and retook the fitness test yesterday morning. after five weeks of work I gained a bit over 10% on my FTP score, bumping up from 166 to 183.

I took a regular 30-min cycling workout this morning and can see the results in how I was able to execute. portions of today's ride would have totally killed be five plus weeks back, but today they were just a solid effort to accomplish

@betarhoalphadelta thanks again for recommending this Discovering Your Power Zones program

Congrats! Do you think the FTP increase was primarily due to increasing fitness, due to more experience at what to expect from the FTP test, or a bit of both?

I can definitely say that all the longer PZE rides I've been doing over the last 4 months have been absolutely awesome for improving my cardio. I wish I had found PZ sooner.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Took the dog for a 4.5 mi walk this morning and then did day 3 of the "Beginner Yoga" program, and that put me over 5K minutes for the year! My goal is 15K, so I'm about a half-month ahead of schedule for my goal.

 

[Rodent]

Congrats! Do you think the FTP increase was primarily due to increasing fitness, due to more experience at what to expect from the FTP test, or a bit of both?

I can definitely say that all the longer PZE rides I've been doing over the last 4 months have been absolutely awesome for improving my cardio. I wish I had found PZ sooner.

I'd estimate it's 95% increase in fitness (and of the increase, it would mostly be endurance) and 5% experience in having taken the test once before. I plan to keep a PZE schedule of 3-4 rides per week and add in a themed ride (like a 20 or 30-min 80's Rock) to round out my riding week. when I started the 5-week PZ class I struggled to do a 30-min session, but now a 45-min Zone 3-4 endurance session is very doable. a 60-min session is also mentally doable whereas I just couldn't get there before the class.

 

[Kent88]

Does your wife give you a hard time over doing it?

Nope. She has started doing yoga videos. Not regularly, but I'm hoping.

I realize that class you mentioned with Olivia showing serious cleavage might have gotten an eye roll, just like the first time my wife took a class with Kendall she's like "you just ride with her to look at her butt, huh?"

I don't think she mentioned it at all. I made a mountain of a molehill that day.

I'm the kind of guy who intentionally avoids the classes where the lady instructor would show a little too much because I wouldn't want her picking classes with dudes showing too much. So I haven't gone back to that Olivia video, or any of her others since then.

Also, how do you stare at Kendall's butt when you ride? I guess some of those sets have mirrored backgrounds, but I don't think the camera ever really focuses on their posterior.

 

[Kent88]

In other news, I rode bike outside with my son this morning. I also went for an almost significant walk (probably longer than 20 minutes) around a marshy/boggy area looking for places to fish. I captured the ride on Strava, but not the walk. I think I'll just do a stretch tonight to get the blue circle and indicate I did something active today. It probably won't hurt anyway, since I was stuck driving for almost three hours.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Also, how do you stare at Kendall's butt when you ride? I guess some of those sets have mirrored backgrounds, but I don't think the camera ever really focuses on their posterior.

That's pretty much what I said! "How can you look at her butt? She's facing the camera the whole time." She responded "in the mirror."

I mean, I never really noticed it. But now that she brought it up, I do notice it lol ;-)

 

[Kent88]

Most of my rides are low impact or cool down rides, so usually their butt is on the seat, so even when there's a mirror there probably isn't much to see.

 

[Rodent]

in my Power Zone ride today I saw a new enhancement to the display that I had been wanting since starting the Power Zone Discovery program: a highlight of the target Zone currently being worked. I typically have my mix set to 'More Music' and occasionally miss what the instructor has said was the target Zone and/or cadence. The new enhancement highlights the Zone color bar in a white box, making it really easy to glance down and see what the target Zone is to be working. There was an occasional 3-5 second lag between when a Zone was called out and when the Zone was highlighted on my display, but no prob since it was significantly easier to keep track of where I should be working while blasting the tunes

this might be something that's been available for a while on newer PZ rides, but it wasn't a feature I saw on any of the PZ Discovery sessions including any I took last week

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

in my Power Zone ride today I saw a new enhancement to the display that I had been wanting since starting the Power Zone Discovery program: a highlight of the target Zone currently being worked. I typically have my mix set to 'More Music' and occasionally miss what the instructor has said was the target Zone and/or cadence. The new enhancement highlights the Zone color bar in a white box, making it really easy to glance down and see what the target Zone is to be working. There was an occasional 3-5 second lag between when a Zone was called out and when the Zone was highlighted on my display, but no prob since it was significantly easier to keep track of where I should be working while blasting the tunes

this might be something that's been available for a while on newer PZ rides, but it wasn't a feature I saw on any of the PZ Discovery sessions including any I took last week

Yeah, I've read this was added in late 2022, and they implemented it on all PZ rides starting at the beginning of 2022. So anything 2021 and older won't have the indicator.

I don't know why they didn't implement it for DYPZ, because you'd think that the program being the key introduction for riders new to PZ, those would be the *most* important rides to add it. But those rides are older than 2022, so they didn't.

 

[Kent88]

I've been having a little trouble doing the videos in the morning, and then at night being too tired or having something come up. My wife and son doing yoga together is what's keeping the streak going this time (they saved me twice this streak). Odd things come up through the morning and early afternoon lately, which are usually when I get time to follow along with a vid. I think things will be calmer this coming week, though, so I'll see how it goes.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I've been having a little trouble doing the videos in the morning, and then at night being too tired or having something come up. My wife and son doing yoga together is what's keeping the streak going this time (they saved me twice this streak). Odd things come up through the morning and early afternoon lately, which are usually when I get time to follow along with a vid. I think things will be calmer this coming week, though, so I'll see how it goes.

I hear you. My wife works from an office M->F, and for her trying to wake up to exercise, do all her morning "put herself together" stuff, is difficult. And then when she gets home, it's time for a glass of wine and to relax before we start cooking dinner. She's trying to work in a daily morning habit, and she's saying she might want to start that tomorrow.

I'm the same way as you. The later in the day, the harder it is to motivate myself to exercise. But luckily for me (vs my wife) I have a lot more flexibility in that I work from him *most* days, and even the days I don't I have more flexibility about what time I go in (and my morning "put myself together" routine is a lot less involved), so it's easier to get something done in the morning.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I hear you. My wife works from an office M->F, and for her trying to wake up to exercise, do all her morning "put herself together" stuff, is difficult. And then when she gets home, it's time for a glass of wine and to relax before we start cooking dinner. She's trying to work in a daily morning habit, and she's saying she might want to start that tomorrow.

I'm the same way as you. The later in the day, the harder it is to motivate myself to exercise. But luckily for me (vs my wife) I have a lot more flexibility in that I work from him *most* days, and even the days I don't I have more flexibility about what time I go in (and my morning "put myself together" routine is a lot less involved), so it's easier to get something done in the morning.

I'm with you both. It's hard. My wife and I both work full time and have a 4 month old. Trying to get up early enough to work out before leaving for work is hard, and then immediately when I get home, evenings are filled with taking care of the baby, dog, cooking dinner, yard work, and everything else lol. Just really need to start getting up earlier.

 

[Rodent]

I was firmly a "you'll never get me to get up earlier to exercise" type for decades, but I finally came around end of last year. won't say it's always (often?) easy, but it's the only way I'll have the needed consistency for increasingly impactful change. I couldn't consistently do the additional 90 minutes earlier if it meant I had to head out to a gym somewhere, so equipment at home is key for me.

I tip my hat to all of you making the effort to get exercise in and also accommodate chillins as part of the arrangements.

 

[Rodent]

had an excellent outdoor workout on Sun afternoon planting another 10 bareroot fruit trees. a solid 3-1/2 hours of shovel work applied towards misc strength workout. had 2-3 more tree plantings in me but the wind kicked up hard to where filling the freshly dug hole was no longer a 1-person effort. all that PZ Endurance work is paying off

 

[Kent88]

Got a 45min arms & intervals ride in, and a cooldown ride before midnight to make up for my recent miss where my wife's yoga had to keep my streak alive.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Completed my fourth 60-day streak today. So I'm doing squat tomorrow. (That's jack squat, not dumbbell squats.)