Use Technology to Get a More Effective Workout
You've probably heard the brand's name kicked around quite a bit in the fitness space. Some people speak its name with reverence, others with condescension, depending how you view this elite brand of products. But what is Peloton?
Founded in 2012, Peloton is a company best known for its innovative take on a stationary bike. Since then, they've added another piece of tech-infused cardio equipment to their roster of products — a treadmill. In addition to their equipment, they offer a variety of fitness classes via the Peloton app.
Peloton provides immersive workouts that can be done in your home, on your time, whether you're into cycling, running, yoga or strength training. Let's take a look at what you can expect from Peloton's offerings.
The Peloton Bicycle
The stationary bike has been around since the late 18th century. There have been a lot of variations since then, and that continues to be the case when you look at the wide array of options available today. However even the most professional of exercise bikes are able to mimic what the Peloton Bike can do.
The Peloton Bike is an indoor stationary bike that comes with two features that really help to stand out: WiFi connectivity and a 22-inch touchscreen tablet. The latter functionality is what brought this relatively young company into the spotlight, since it allows users to stream live or recorded classes.
Since it's connected to the internet, it also allows riders to challenge and compete with other people across the globe in an effort to improve their cardio. It does weigh 135 pounds, so if you need to move it around, you'll definitely need help.
Few other companies in the world offer exercise connectivity features such as these, so the Peloton Bike is not surprisingly quite expensive. The Bike alone costs as much as $2,400 USD for newer models (not including tax) and will set you back an additional $39 USD a month for a subscription to the training classes.
The classes are not mandatory to use the Bike, but that single feature is what put Peloton on the map. Without a subscription, you own a hyper-expensive piece of exercise equipment that doesn't do anything special.
The Peloton Tread
In the same spirit as the Bike, the Peloton Tread is a high-end piece of equipment that does everything you'd expect a treadmill to do, just with a number of extra features.
If you intend on getting one, it will set you back a stunning $4,000 USD. The cost is spectacularly high because the product is described as "a treadmill for people that hate treadmills."
On top of that, you need to pay a $39 USD subscription fee if you really want to get the most bang for your buck. It's not a professional piece of equipment by any means — there are better treadmills out there with more power and better comfort that cost much less than the Peloton treadmill. However, its appeal is the feature set.
It comes with a 32-inch touchscreen that's connected to the internet, allowing users to stream content either live or on-demand. It allows interested people to compete against each other at events and provides a number of useful analytics for anyone seeking to improve their time.
If it's your first time running a 5K, 10K, half-marathon or a full one, there's a dedicated set of classes to help you with just that.
Benefits of Peloton Products
So, what gives Peloton products their reputation? The company has a cult-like following on the internet and all over the world, so there has to be some merit to all the hype that's around it, right?
Live Instructors
The most important feature that makes Peloton different from traditional stationary bikes is the instructors.
Rather trying your best to stay motivated and push yourself while peddling away as you stare at your basement wall, the Peloton instructors act as virtual fitness buddies. If your username is easy enough to pronounce, you might even get called out and congratulated by an instructor during a live event.
There are currently 11 different instructors on the platform, each of which has a different personality and approach to exercise. Viewers are encouraged to switch around between them in order to find one they resonate with best.
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Ergonomic Design
There's a lot to be said about fitness and aesthetics, but that's an argument for a whole other day. Peloton products are made to be small enough to fit in an apartment, but comfortable enough for the average user to enjoy. For instance, the treadmill is coated with fabric to ensure smoother landings, rather than a single plain rubber belt.
Comfort
Another great aspect of the machines' design is the fact that they make little to no noise, which is a welcome feature for people who live in an apartment.
The result is a piece of equipment that can be used early in the morning while everyone else is in bed with little to no disturbance.
Variety
Peloton manages to keep 200,000 paying customers around because they offer variety on their platform, as opposed to the simple and dated "ride 10 kilometers" or "cycle at 20 kilometers per hour for a minute" instructions. There are tons of different challenges, instructors, exercises and features to constantly keep things interesting.
The Peloton Digital App
Finally, the newest stride the company has taken to battle competitors like SoulCycle is their mobile app, available for both Apple and Android.
It has been dubbed Peloton Digital and makes available a whole suite of recorded videos and audio recordings to subscribed users. At $19.49 USD per month, the app is the cheapest of their products and is available to anyone, even if they don't own a Tread or Bike.
The app includes a slew of videos for a variety of types of exercise including strength training, yoga, stretching and cardio routines. Outdoor running exercises take the form of audio cues instead of videos.