Homebrewtalk Peloton

[Kent88]

Woke up with a headache. Today I can attain a streak that I have been hoping to reach, and it's the first day of the March challenges, and I'm still not sure if I am going to be in the service after my free trial expires in the middle of the month.

I guess I'm going to pop a couple Aleve and power through it.

 

[Rodent]

Sunday I took it a little easier on the ride because I had already taken the dog for a 3.3 mi walk, so I did Emma's 20 Minute HIIT Ride. Playlist with Prodigy, NiN, Metallica, Radiohead... That was good stuff!

This was my ride today - excellent overall workout and playlist. Not often you get multiple 2-minute cadence/resistance pushes like this one starts with. Almost the opposite end from a Camilla HIIT style ride

And the new March challenges are happening. Based on my workout history, I should be hitting the 2023 3K challenge milestone sometime in early April.

 

[Kent88]

Rode with Cliff again. Kicked my butt again. But I feel like I really earned that streak this way.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

This was my ride today - excellent overall workout and playlist. Not often you get multiple 2-minute cadence/resistance pushes like this one starts with. Almost the opposite end from a Camilla HIIT style ride

And the new March challenges are happening. Based on my workout history, I should be hitting the 2023 3K challenge milestone sometime in early April.

The hilarious part is that I JUST realized that they have monthly cycling challenges.

Apparently on the bike tablet itself, if you go to "Challenges", they show up. If you are on the iOS/Android app, apparently they also show up. But if you're on a PC going to the desktop/browser, app, the cycling challenge doesn't show up. So I didn't even know it was available to me, which is weird as obviously Peloton knows I own a Bike+ and my account is attached to it regardless of what device I'm using.

Luckily I was still able to join the February challenge yesterday and had accrued enough miles to hit Gold, and now I'm officially in the March challenge as well.

 

[Rodent]

The hilarious part is that I JUST realized that they have monthly cycling challenges.

Apparently on the bike tablet itself, if you go to "Challenges", they show up. If you are on the iOS/Android app, apparently they also show up. But if you're on a PC going to the desktop/browser, app, the cycling challenge doesn't show up. So I didn't even know it was available to me, which is weird as obviously Peloton knows I own a Bike+ and my account is attached to it regardless of what device I'm using.

Luckily I was still able to join the February challenge yesterday and had accrued enough miles to hit Gold, and now I'm officially in the March challenge as well.

congrats on finding the cycling challenges. had been wondering if you were intentionally avoiding it. the March cycling challenge came in the last couple of days, weird it was so late in being available. I see it's not yet there for April, though other challenges are already available to pre-enroll in

as of right this minute I see I'm ahead of you on miles ridden - this is probably the only time this month I'll be ahead, so I better savor it while I can

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

congrats on finding the cycling challenges. had been wondering if you were intentionally avoiding it. the March cycling challenge came in the last couple of days, weird it was so late in being available. I see it's not yet there for April, though other challenges are already available to pre-enroll in

as of right this minute I see I'm ahead of you on miles ridden - this is probably the only time this month I'll be ahead, so I better savor it while I can

Hey, you're still there! I'm going to ride tomorrow, but Sat/Sun will be off the bike to keep me from fatiguing since I'm playing golf Sunday, so you might build up quite the lead too ;-)

Today I took Kendall's Gwen Stefani ride. I've had it bookmarked forever, but just hadn't gotten around to it. Good playlist that's a mix of No Doubt and some of her solo stuff, including a track with Sublime that I don't think I've ever heard.

And Kendall? She was more Kendall than I've ever seen Kendall be. I think she was SERIOUSLY in her element with this music, even more than I see her on her hard rock and/or metal rides. It was... A little much.

 

[Rodent]

snuck in a 'customer facing meetings done for the day' ride time with Sam Yo's 15-min New Wave Ride

song selection was OK: there's much better selections from that era to choose from, but it won't turn many away as it's mostly pop type tracks

ride activity was excellent: a significant amount of out of the saddle jogging with class resistance hitting 70% closer to the session end. I was a full suggested range (or even added resistance) for all but a small bit early on (I failed to notice I was under top range) and managed to keep a prolonged Zone 4 heart rate with an occasional tip into the bottom end of Zone 5. Adjusted breathing first and then cadence to keep under 160BPM when in Zone 5

@betarhoalphadelta it's probably an easy ride for you when you want to push hard, but might be reasonable for when you need a short challenge that won't ruin your weekend

 

[Rodent]

I think I'm going to re-take one of my initial beginner cycling classes this weekend - you know, one of those initial 15-20 minute classes that totally killed me to get thru. Idea is to ride it at the levels I'm riding at today and then compare stats to see how much progress has been gained the past three months.

Might be a good test to take every 3-6 months to track personal progress. then again one session may be enough to know that there's no need to visit again as enough progress has happened that there's no realized benefit

 

[Kent88]

Somehow I forgot I rode yesterday after my live arms and light weights workout, and I thought I'd ride for 30 with Hainsby this morning.

I got on the seat and 4 minutes later realized something was wrong and this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. I got through it, but it was a bit more of a struggle than I anticipated.

My back hasn't really degraded over the past week or so. It might be improving slowly. I think I'm going to try to work on my arms every three days

 

[Rodent]

Somehow I forgot I rode yesterday after my live arms and light weights workout, and I thought I'd ride for 30 with Hainsby this morning.

I got on the seat and 4 minutes later realized something was wrong and this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. I got through it, but it was a bit more of a struggle than I anticipated.

My back hasn't really degraded over the past week or so. It might be improving slowly. I think I'm going to try to work on my arms every three days

congrats on staying with it and pushing thru!

I'm with you on the back thing, now that you mention it. after reading your post I got to thinking and realized it's been weeks since I last woke up in the night with back crams/spasms, and that I was OK after hauling in a load of 5G water jugs after refill.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I think I'm going to re-take one of my initial beginner cycling classes this weekend - you know, one of those initial 15-20 minute classes that totally killed me to get thru. Idea is to ride it at the levels I'm riding at today and then compare stats to see how much progress has been gained the past three months.

Might be a good test to take every 3-6 months to track personal progress. then again one session may be enough to know that there's no need to visit again as enough progress has happened that there's no realized benefit

I did that with an Ally Love 30 minute 2000s rock ride. I took it as ride #9, and thought it was a good ride but REALLY tough, so I figured I'd retake it. I ended up doing it as ride #70, and my output went up by a little over 50%.

I definitely recommend doing it. It's a good way to see and appreciate the gains that you've made over time.

 

[Rodent]

@cubalz - I saw your recent 20 min Grunge ride (Charlotte Weidenbach) in the app feed, and gave it a spin this morning. Excellent mix of tunes and activity, but I definitely wasn't expecting the instructor leading in German. Made for a great ride with something different, and got me thinking that I need to uncheck my 'English only' option to see what else is available in music genres I like best for riding

 

[Kent88]

Followed along with Cliff again today. I felt like I did ok. In the middle of a three minute "jog" or however they refer to getting out of the bike seat I did sit back down for 30seconds. But besides that, I think it was ok.

I have the potential to hit a couple of milestones this week. Consecutive active days in a row, and number of rides I've followed along with. We invited my in-laws up for a family thing this week so that could make it difficult to hit that next streak milestone, which is frustrating.

 

[Rodent]

congrats on the achievements (conditioning to endure a jog, and the activity milestones)!

a three minute job is well beyond my current fitness level. I recently struggled to achieve a pair of 90 second jogs that had 30 seconds of recovery between them. did it, but I had noodle legs after the last one.

 

[Rodent]

Hey, you're still there! I'm going to ride tomorrow, but Sat/Sun will be off the bike to keep me from fatiguing since I'm playing golf Sunday, so you might build up quite the lead too ;-)

as of 10 min ago I still have the lead by 0.2mi. Celebrating while I can

 

[Kent88]

And here I am, not tracking the distance/miles my Schwinn credits to me.

When you have identical machines I suppose it's a good way to compare these things. It's just not a metric I find all that helpful when it comes to stationary bikes. But, I've been riding stationary without any kind of group around me since I got it. Actually, I hardly even rode outdoors with company until last summer when my son started joining me. Hopefully this summer he figures out how to ride by himself.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

as of 10 min ago I still have the lead by 0.2mi. Celebrating while I can

LOL. Thought I needed >21 mi to pass you, but it was actually only 20.7. Too bad I only made it 20.5

We'll see what I shoot for tomorrow. I'm on another run through Ben's 5 day split and tomorrow will be leg day, so I might take it easier on the bike.

And here I am, not tracking the distance/miles my Schwinn credits to me.

When you have identical machines I suppose it's a good way to compare these things. It's just not a metric I find all that helpful when it comes to stationary bikes. But, I've been riding stationary without any kind of group around me since I got it. Actually, I hardly even rode outdoors with company until last summer when my son started joining me. Hopefully this summer he figures out how to ride by himself.

Yeah, I don't think this is a serious competition here. It's all in good fun.

BTW for Peloton, even with "identical" machines there can be wide ranges of calibration--at least with the Bike. The Bike uses a physical control for placement of the magnet that provides resistance, and it calculates the output number based upon the cadence and the resistance knob, but apparently bikes can vary widely in their estimation of power (and therefore speed).

The Bike+ (which @Rodent and I both have) actually has a discrete power sensor, so there shouldn't be much difference between our bikes. I read a review of the Bike+ where the reviewer compared the output as reported by the Bike+ to his dedicated cycling power pedals, and they matched within about 1% (with slight ~1s lag during power changes because the Bike+ power sensor is at the flywheel while the pedals measure at the pedal). But we can't even trust comparisons with people who have the non-plus Peloton Bike.

So really the only comparison that is important to me is the comparison to my own past results. That and the sudden appearance of something starting to resemble "abs" on the front of me lol.

 

[Rodent]

Yeah, I don't think this is a serious competition here. It's all in good fun.

Definitely without any seriousness and 100% in good fun!

Interesting info on the Bike+ comparison to the real. I'll confess to wondering how much (if any) of the output metrics were close to anything in the physical world. I'll still keep it as a "well ain't that cool" type reference based on imagination, beers, and smoked meats

Abs?? What are these 'Abs' you make talk of - some kind of alien DNA manifestation?


I'm taking tomorrow off from Peloton - my first time not taking a class of some kind since starting this journey 83 days ago. I have an all-day customer workshop followed by a doc appointment. I've attempted to exercise in the evenings but it impacts my sleeping in a bad way. I also need to reset so I can start a new 60-day workout run.

 

[Kent88]

Abs?? What are these 'Abs' you make talk of - some kind of alien DNA manifestation?

I thought they kept me from ditching my car in the winter?

I'm taking tomorrow off from Peloton - my first time not taking a class of some kind since starting this journey 83 days ago. I have an all-day customer workshop followed by a doc appointment. I've attempted to exercise in the evenings but it impacts my sleeping in a bad way. I also need to reset so I can start a new 60-day workout run.

I am taking a day off after my next consecutive days milestone. We travel to visit family often enough that getting to 60 days just isn't going to happen for me. I don't want to reduce my enjoyment of either working out or visiting family, so I'm going to set attainable goals for consecutive active days streaks, reset when I hit them, do what I can before leaving, and start up again when I get back.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Interesting info on the Bike+ comparison to the real. I'll confess to wondering how much (if any) of the output metrics were close to anything in the physical world. I'll still keep it as a "well ain't that cool" type reference based on imagination, beers, and smoked meats

Yeah, and the other aspect of output is that it doesn't take body weight into account. In the real world, me trying to cycle a certain distance at 265# will be a LOT different than someone trying to push 180# around...

Abs?? What are these 'Abs' you make talk of - some kind of alien DNA manifestation?

I dunno, man! If I disappear, it probably means this happened!

I'm taking tomorrow off from Peloton - my first time not taking a class of some kind since starting this journey 83 days ago. I have an all-day customer workshop followed by a doc appointment. I've attempted to exercise in the evenings but it impacts my sleeping in a bad way. I also need to reset so I can start a new 60-day workout run.

Enjoy your rest day!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I am taking a day off after my next consecutive days milestone. We travel to visit family often enough that getting to 60 days just isn't going to happen for me. I don't want to reduce my enjoyment of either working out or visiting family, so I'm going to set attainable goals for consecutive active days streaks, reset when I hit them, do what I can before leaving, and start up again when I get back.

Enjoy your rest days as well! The body needs them.

I'll admit (as my wife will tell you before I do) that I can be a little obsessive... So maybe I chase those daily little blue circles a little too hard. And the daily streaks are how I hold myself accountable. But that doesn't mean I go hard every day. For me a rest day is doing nothing more than a 10 minute full body stretch. It feels good and it's something that I know I need to do as I age for mobility, so I don't feel bad about getting that little blue circle without sweating like a w#ore in church. We're headed to Paso Robles next week, and all that Peloton is going to get out of me is a 10 minute stretch in my hotel room lol.

So don't think that we're killing ourselves over these streaks. I'm certainly not.

@Rodent you get another day of your lead! I did my weights and then needed to shower before doing a customer presentation (w/ laptop camera enabled), and my wife and I have theater tickets tonight, so I don't feel like riding and then showering again for that.

 

[Kent88]

So don't think that we're killing ourselves over these streaks. I'm certainly not.

 

[Rodent]

Back from my doc appointment, where Peloton was part of the discussion (she's the one who mandated I start this Peloton journey, and was checking up on how it's going) ...

one of her recommendations for " *cough* a man of your age *cough* " was to start taking time to fit in a weekly balancing session or two. she say's it's better to start now before there's any signs of balance related issues than to wait until you start noticing little anomalies and then be late to the game and have a difficult time getting as much as is recoverable back.

 

[Dland]

Anyone else put an endless pool in their basement? Talk about too expensive not to use, even with doing installation myself. . Twenty three hundred gallons temperature controlled water, with a 5HP motor driving a stainless propeller, etc.

I installed in 2005 and my much pained back is holding up to physical work and aging in part thanks to it. It's actually made a huge difference. Swimming was always my sport so it works for me.

The hydraulic motor and propeller make noise, which I prefer to someone coaching. I get some good thinking done there. Also nothing digital about it, which is a plus.

I'll even add a homebrew related comment; I probably could not be brewing all these 10 gallon all grain batches if I did not keep in shape, partly helped by this.

Of course I'd rather have a regular pool, but climate and finances preclude that.

 

[Kent88]

Interesting development here. With my trial membership running out next week I was looking at new discounts I could exploit. Turns out our health insurance might cover an app membership.

So I might not have to answer the question of whether I feel it's worth paying for. Instead it's a question of whether it's worth navigating the insurance company website for it.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

@Dland that sounds pretty awesome! Would love to see some pics!

And when it comes to exercise, swimming is FAR more efficient than cycling anyway. While being full-body and low-impact.

I.e. I know that running is FAR more efficient exercise than cycling. But at 265#, that's just WAY too high-impact for my joints, so I simply don't try to subject myself to it. But I have neither room for a pool in my house or the ability to put one in (as I rent), so something like that isn't even an option for me.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Interesting development here. With my trial membership running out next week I was looking at new discounts I could exploit. Turns out our health insurance might cover an app membership.

So I might not have to answer the question of whether I feel it's worth paying for. Instead it's a question of whether it's worth navigating the insurance company website for it.

Yeah, my company offers reimbursement of up to $40/mo for a gym membership. Previously my wife and I had gym memberships, with mine being ~$37/mo and adding her on being another $27/mo, so mine was covered but we were paying the full $27 for hers. We obviously dropped that when we got the bike. Peloton qualifies for reimbursement, and since the all-access membership includes everyone in a household, we're actually saving some money because I just need to cover the $4 monthly difference between Peloton and the reimbursement.

 

[Rodent]

@Kent88 @betarhoalphadelta thanks for bringing up the topic of benefits coverage. I need to see what our company offers, and assume it's in the ballpark of what most tech companies do.

 

[Kent88]

It's a bit strange, for us I think only one completely covered (no charge from Peloton comes my way) membership per family, and it wouldn't cover the all access membership that I believe one needs if they get a bike, tread, or row. They do offer a discount to that all access membership through insurance, but one would still need to shell out some portion of that membership on their own.

If they'd completely cover an all access membership, I might almost consider some piece of equipment from them.

 

[estricklin]

@Kent88 @betarhoalphadelta thanks for bringing up the topic of benefits coverage. I need to see what our company offers, and assume it's in the ballpark of what most tech companies do.

I'm lucky I guess, my company has a very nice gym at work, and full lockers and showers, towels, the works. There are only around 50 people at our corporate office. I could get a year of Apple Fitness or whatever it's called for free, or 1 year of Peleton, or 3 months of Peleton all access, none of those things interest me obviously. We also have access to a dietician, and some other things, along with company rowing team (which I'm on). My thought process is might as well take advantage of whatever I can.

@Dland that sounds pretty awesome! Would love to see some pics!

And when it comes to exercise, swimming is FAR more efficient than cycling anyway. While being full-body and low-impact.

I.e. I know that running is FAR more efficient exercise than cycling. But at 265#, that's just WAY too high-impact for my joints, so I simply don't try to subject myself to it. But I have neither room for a pool in my house or the ability to put one in (as I rent), so something like that isn't even an option for me.

I started around 275 about 10 years ago now. I originally wanted to get back to running like I did when I was younger, and found out really quick that wasn't going to work, so I took up cycling. I've gotten down to 195 many times, but since I started commuting by bike I end up getting up to 210 or so during the winter. In the spring I cycle way more, and I just can't eat enough calories to keep the weight on, so it all goes back off.

Did you end up doing any MTB yet? I mountain bike some, I don't find it to be very difficult physically, although mentally it is quite challenging. I just hate having to ride or drive to the trail, so unless I'm going with other people I stick to the road or bike trails.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

It's a bit strange, for us I think only one completely covered (no charge from Peloton comes my way) membership per family, and it wouldn't cover the all access membership that I believe one needs if they get a bike, tread, or row. They do offer a discount to that all access membership through insurance, but one would still need to shell out some portion of that membership on their own.

If they'd completely cover an all access membership, I might almost consider some piece of equipment from them.

Well, depending on how much you care about metrics and badges, you could share everyone on one app membership.

They also have the Peloton Guide now, which I'm not sure I see the benefit of, but apparently can help with movement/rep tracking for strength workouts and such... It's pretty cheap ($199) and apparently a Guide membership is only $24/mo, but can support a full household on one account. If they cover the Guide membership it wouldn't take too long to recoup the cost of the Guide and wouldn't be as expensive as buying a full-on bike, tread, or row.

Did you end up doing any MTB yet? I mountain bike some, I don't find it to be very difficult physically, although mentally it is quite challenging. I just hate having to ride or drive to the trail, so unless I'm going with other people I stick to the road or bike trails.

I didn't yet. But I actually played golf with my next door neighbor (plus two of my normal buddies, both of whom MTB). The subject came up and my neighbor does MTB, so we're at least talking about it.

 

[Rodent]

cycled one of Kendall's 20-minute metal classes today and it totally kicked my butt. had difficulties keeping up with cadence for at least a third of the time, but was able to meet or exceed the suggested resistance for the entire class.

planning a 30 or 45 minute low impact type ride tomorrow, then taking a day off from cycling. considering a 3-day cycling routine schedule

1 - 30 min medium difficult ride, stretching
2 - 10 min warm up + 10 min HIIT + 5 min cool down, stretching
3 - 30 or 45 min low impact ride, stretching
4 - no cycling, longer stretching time
back to day 1 on the routine

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

cycled one of Kendall's 20-minute metal classes today and it totally kicked my butt. had difficulties keeping up with cadence for at least a third of the time, but was able to meet or exceed the suggested resistance for the entire class.

planning a 30 or 45 minute low impact type ride tomorrow, then taking a day off from cycling. considering a 3-day cycling routine schedule

1 - 30 min medium difficult ride, stretching
2 - 10 min warm up + 10 min HIIT + 5 min cool down, stretching
3 - 30 or 45 min low impact ride, stretching
4 - no cycling, longer stretching time
back to day 1 on the routine

Kendall can be tough. Kendall w/ metal classes is diabolical. She's got a 45 minute Metallica ride that I'm gonna try someday, but I'm worried it might kill me lol.

Have you considered Power Zone? It's good in that you can take classes that are suited exactly to your current fitness level. It may sound intimidating (it did to me, which is why I didn't start until after 100 rides, and now I wish I'd done it sooner), but outside of the FTP test, it's actually not intimidating at all. A PZE ride is basically a low impact ride but perfectly tailored to your own fitness. The PZ rides are harder than PZE, but nowhere as hard as rides that I've made a PR. So once you get through the FTP, it's nice to know that every ride is going to be indexed to you. And you can actually skip the FTP if you want (especially the first time around), by manually entering your average watts from your 20-minute PR into the FTP field in your profile.

That said, I think you've got a good thought on schedule. I personally don't tie myself to a hard schedule for rides, but it's common for me to ride 3 days in a row (sometimes it's 2 or 4) before taking a rest day. And with golf it becomes 2 rest days (at least as far as the bike is concerned). Often when I come back I'll take a harder ride the first day off rest, and then on the following days do some PZE or lighter rides. This week has been a bit thrown off with work schedule stuff tho.

 

[Rodent]

I'll look into the PZ content. I remember starting to look into it several weeks back but got distracted with work and have forgotten to go back.

 

[Dland]

@Dland that sounds pretty awesome! Would love to see some pics!

And when it comes to exercise, swimming is FAR more efficient than cycling anyway. While being full-body and low-impact.

Here it is, in its decrepit

but functional glory.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I'll look into the PZ content. I remember starting to look into it several weeks back but got distracted with work and have forgotten to go back.

If you have any questions on it, let me know.

 

[Rodent]

If you have any questions on it, let me know.

took my two PZ Week 1 Day 1 rides today (Intro ride + 1st regular course ride)

I used my PR of 219 from last week's 20-minute Metal ride for the Zone number. Took a while to get used to manually adjusting resistance, but it's easy enough to do. Fairly easy to follow along in working to the called out cadence + target zone (not so easy to maintain Zone 4 for 90 seconds at 100 RMP)

Thanks for the tip on this - it's going to be a great addition to my fitness growth

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

took my two PZ Week 1 Day 1 rides today (Intro ride + 1st regular course ride)

I used my PR of 219 from last week's 20-minute Metal ride for the Zone number. Took a while to get used to manually adjusting resistance, but it's easy enough to do. Fairly easy to follow along in working to the called out cadence + target zone (not so easy to maintain Zone 4 for 90 seconds at 100 RMP)

Thanks for the tip on this - it's going to be a great addition to my fitness growth

BTW it won't matter much since the DYPZ program will have you do the FTP test on day 3, but if you used the output number in kJ of 219 instead of the average watts from that ride, you probably have your zones set too high. That Z4 effort you thought you were doing might have been Z5 or even Z6.

I.e. my 20 min PR is my FTP test, which was output of 343 kJ, but that was average watts of 286 W, and the FTP number is further set 5% lower than that, so mine is 272.

 

[Rodent]

BTW it won't matter much since the DYPZ program will have you do the FTP test on day 3, but if you used the output number in kJ of 219 instead of the average watts from that ride, you probably have your zones set too high. That Z4 effort you thought you were doing might have been Z5 or even Z6.

I.e. my 20 min PR is my FTP test, which was output of 343 kJ, but that was average watts of 286 W, and the FTP number is further set 5% lower than that, so mine is 272.

this is great news, as there's no way I can 'hold that Zone 3 for an hour' with my currently input FTP number. it'll be fun to see what the test reveals and how far off on the high side I was

 

[Rodent]

looked at my meeting schedule this week to see I'm going to be challenged to fit workout in before work, and couple that with DST starting today I'll be that much less inclined to get up even earlier for a workout. I decided to take the FTP test today vs waiting a day like the schedule suggests ...

Result was a meager 166 and far from the 219 I had manually set previously. I was starting to have a bit of cramping in my right leg, so couldn't push as much as I would have otherwise those final two minutes. I still increased a bit, but left the test at a 95% of where I think I could have been without the cramping.

Encouraged I didn't attempt this test back in Nov, as I don't really want to know just how bad I was. it's going to be good to see how far I can gain in the coming weeks