Hey guys! So today I am here to give you my review of the Peloton app. While I was testing out 12-3-30, my friend mentioned that she was using the Peloton app and was loving it. She told me that they have an offer that I could try the app for free for a month and kept on telling me to try it out myself. So here we are – I have tested the app out for a month and I am here to give you my thoughts.
First, let me explain the Peloton app to those of you who don’t know what it is. Many of you have probably heard of the Peloton Bike. This is a stationary bike that comes with a huge touch screen attached to the bike. Users of the bike can join both live or pre-recorded spin classes produced by Peloton. Peloton also has a treadmill that has a similar touch screen as the bike. Peloton Digital (the name of the app) allows users to connect to these bike and treadmill classes without having to purchase the equipment. The app also offers a variety of other classes such as yoga, strength, HIIT and more. The app is $16.99 a month, whereas getting the bike will run you up thousands of dollars.
I was quite intrigued to try the app. I’ve watched a few Peloton Bike reviews and a lot of people say that the bike is good but the classes are the best part and recommended just getting the app. I asked you guys on Instagram if any of you have tried the app. I’ve had a few people reach out to me and recommend classes as well as my friend who first gave me the recommendation. With that in mind, I decided to use the app three times a week and try a variety of classes.
Week 1
I’m pretty lucky that I live at home right now. My dad prefers working out at home and created an at-home gym since moving into our house 25 years ago. Over the years he’s purchased various exercise machines, so I had access to basically everything, including a stationary bike. So for my first workout, I did a 20-minute Beginner Ride with Jess King. (Note I’ll be putting the names for the classes and instructors for people who are interested in finding classes). I found the workout to be good – I feel like I worked a sweat but I wasn’t exhausted. I liked how Jess gave pointers throughout and I enjoyed the music. Something I noticed very quickly is that if you have the Peloton Bike it will display speed, cadence and resistance. My bike had a resistance nob but no display. So whenever I was told to put my bike to a certain resistance, I just had to guess. Jess usually gave a range of ‘points’ to increase by, say 1 to 5 points. I would just turn the nob 1 to 5 increments so I think it worked. Overall I enjoyed my first ride and it made me want to do more.
Next, I decided to try a HIIT workout. I believe this was for my followers control my day video. I did a 2- minute Pop HIIT Cardio with Olivia Amato. I liked Olivia, I thought she was good at explaining everything and I enjoyed the music. I found a few moves to be too difficult and had to modify them. Especially at the end was a circuit with burpees and squat jumps, two things that can hurt my knees. But I found overall the class was well-paced where I got breaks and didn’t feel exhausted but it wasn’t too easy.
The final workout for week 1 was a 30-minute Slow Flow with Ross Rayburn. I am quite picky when it comes to yoga. I’ve done enough of it that I know what I do and don’t like. And I wasn’t a huge fan of this class. I picked a slow flow because it had been a bit since I’ve done yoga but I’m not a beginner so I didn’t want a beginner class. I felt like Ross talked the whole class. Which was sometimes nice because I learned some new things. But there were many instants when I found him chatting when I just didn’t want it. Chatting is nice when you’re doing something high intensity or difficult to distract you, but for yoga I want some quiet or peaceful guidance. Also, I know it’s a slow flow but it was just too slow. Either way, I was unimpressed. My yoga studio offers online classes and I rather do yoga with them.
Week 2
I decided I wanted to do one ride each week since Peloton is most known for its cycling. I decided to do a 20-minute Beginner Ride with Hannah Frankson. I was looking for a 30-minute beginner, but they were all advanced beginners and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that yet. The 20-minute ride is a good length because I was able to work hard but didn’t feel exhausted after. I decided that I could probably do an advanced beginner after that.
I wanted to try a traditional strength class, so a did the 20-minute Year of Yes Full Body Strength class with Robin Arzon. Unlike the HIIT class that focused on body weight, this class did include using weights. I liked this class. I like Robin as an instructor, she was friendly and gave great pointers. Since it was a beginner class I knew how to do all the movements so I was comfortable and was able to focus on working out than if I was doing the moves correctly. Robin also taught me how to do a modified plank which blew my mind. I hate doing planks and this is something I will use again in the future.
For my final workout day in week 2, I did a 10-minute Intro to Barre with Hannah Corbin. A friend has recommended the barre classes so I decided to try it out. I did the intro because I’ve never done barre before and wanted to learn how to do the moves. I liked it because it was low impact but high energy which is probably my favourite combination for exercise. After the 10 minutes, I felt like doing more since the class was easy and mainly focused on the legs. So I decided to do a 10-minute Arms & Shoulders Strength class with Jess Sims. Wow, that class was good. It was a hard and fast workout. My arms felt like noodles by the end. I did modify a bit because I suck at push-ups but overall it was good.
Week 3
I decided to do a 30-minute ride but made the mistake of not picking an advanced beginner. Instead, I did a 30-minute Classic Rock Ride with Kendall Toole. Don’t get me wrong, it was a really good ride. But I had never stood up on the bike before and there was a lot of that in this 30-minute ride so I was a little unprepared for that. But I loved the music selection since I love some classic rock. I was also impressed with myself because there was an endurance section into a sprint which I didn’t think I would be able to finish but I did it! I liked Kendall and would do her class again. This was the first ride that my butt and legs were sore the next day.
For my next workout, I decided to do a 20-minute Barre with Hannah Corbin. I liked the class but it was the hardest class I’ve done so far on the Peloton app. My legs were shaking and I had to take quite a few breaks. Barre is no joke. I loved the energy and the music, but there is no arm portion so if you like a full-body experience this isn’t it. Also, my calves were killing me the next day. And it wasn’t shin splints where hurt in the bone, but my calve muscles. Not going to lie the soreness has kind of scared me from doing another barre class but I should do it again because I liked it while doing the class. It’ll be good for me to build my leg strength.
Since the barre class was mainly legs, I decided to do a 20 minute Upper Body Strength class with Selena Samuela has my third class that week. It was a good class. I was able to do everything with no problem, just modified the push-ups. By the end of the class, my arms felt tired but I wasn’t exhausted. I liked Selena, she had great energy and gave continual guidance throughout the class.
Week 4
For this week’s ride, I did a 30-minute Advanced Beginner Ride with Leanne Hainsby. I wasn’t a huge fan of Leanne, I found she was always explaining everything over and over again. I do think there is a balance between giving good instruction and talking too much. I like the pacing of the class and felt comfortable. I was able to do the standing portions of the ride.
I hadn’t done a treadmill class so I thought it would be fun to try one since Peloton is advertising their treadmill like crazy right now. So I did a 20-minute Pop Walk with Robin Arzon. It was a pretty easy class. The class has both hills and power walking portions. I felt like I could have done something longer or done a walk-run class. I liked Robin though and I think she gave some really good tips throughout the class. While Robin did give suggestions for the incline (which luckily matched my treadmill) there was none for speed so I just had to figure that out myself. I’m also curious what the running classes would be like because they do have outdoor audio options.
The final class I did was a 30-minute Pilates with Aditi Shah since I was recommended to do the pilates classes. I was feeling tired that morning and this class was the perfect fit. The first 20 minutes were basically like stretching, it was the last 10 minutes that got intense. I felt like the music was a little fast for the class though, the only time that I’ve had an issue with the music the whole time. At the end of the class, I felt like I had moved my body, but it wasn’t tiring like a cardio workout. I’m curious if their other pilates classes are also slow-paced or just this one.
Pros of the Peloton App
I wanted to break down some of the pros and cons of the app just in case you don’t care to read my thoughts on each of the classes and just want to know whether or not to try the app.
So the first pro is that there is a huge variety to the app. There are over 10 categories of fitness classes, and within those categories there are hundreds of classes. For example, there are 218 beginner rides, and they add new ones every day. So you’ll never run out of content.
Next, I really like the instructors. Some of the strength classes I could do by myself. I’m not a newbie to fitness and I know how to create a workout. But the instructors provide guidance such as proper positioning and modifications. They can also be inspiring to continue to push through the workout. Sure there were a few I didn’t like, but that’s the same as a studio. There will be instructors you do and don’t like
I always listen to music while working out. And I find that I usually perform better when I listen to music I like. It’s something I noticed while following Yotuber workouts is that often they have to use copyright-free music and I just don’t enjoy the workouts as much. But Peloton workouts are music-based which I loved. I can see what the playlist is beforehand and it often influencers which classes I pick. Classes are often synced up to the songs which I also enjoy. There is also a huge variety of musical genres so I’m sure you can find classes you like.
Cons of the Peloton App
The app isn’t free. I will say that pre-pandemic I paid for a gym membership and this is cheaper. Once taxes were added, my Peloton Digital membership was $19.20. So I paid about $1.60 per workout. But compared to using Youtube videos or other apps there is a cost. I think it’s worth it and I like to invest in my health, but it can be a barrier for some.
If you don’t own the Peloton bike or treadmill it can be a little harder to follow along with those classes. My bike doesn’t display speed, resistance or cadence so I was just guessing them. I was confused at first but I’ve figured out a system now that I’ve done a few cycling classes. But that’s just something I wanted to note because they talk about cadence and resistance a lot during the classes.
My overall thoughts
I enjoyed using the Peloton app. Out of the 12 classes that I did there were only a few I didn’t like. And there are so many other classes out there that I haven’t tried yet either. I’m surprised at how much I enjoy the cycling classes. I’ve done cycling when I was in high school but never did much of it since. I think it helps that my dad’s stationary bike has a good saddle so my butt doesn’t hurt. I also really enjoyed the strength classes. I’ve always like using weights but this way I get some instruction while doing it.
I have decided to continue using the app. I like the classes and I want to keep on trying out new ones. I’m not comfortable going back to gyms and my yoga studio and it’s still too cold to run outside. So I think at least for the next few months I’ll continue using it. I think if you consistently work out and are looking for something to do at home then the Peloton app is a worthy investment. If you only sporadically work out, then I think it’s not worth the cost.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried out Peloton, and if so what some of your favourite instructors and/or classes are!
xoxo
Lea
Leave it to Lea 