Peloton Blog
Why I love my Peloton
~ Dr. Morgan
When I was in college I started getting interested in doing sprint triathlons. I had done half marathons, 10ks, 5ks, and so on but I wanted to try cross training. My body was really sick of exercising in one plane of motion. When I started training for my first sprint triathlon, I was shocked at how bad I was at the bike. Not like I can’t ride a bike but that my cardio capacity for cycling was poor. I wasn’t expecting this because I had always been an athlete and picked up things relatively easily. I had a hard time understanding how to push myself on the bike in comparison to swimming and running. I think it was more of a mental block, to be honest. I wish back then that I would have had a Peloton to help guide and push me with cycling.
Fast forward to where I’m at now… about 75% of my cardio workouts are cycling. HA! What I thought was my least favorite has now transitioned into what I do the most. About a year and a half ago, my husband and I decided to make the investment to get a Peloton. The product itself was so popular and I felt like it was advertised everywhere. However, I didn’t know if the investment would make sense for my family since I wasn’t a strong cycler in the first place. But like I said, to my surprise, I would consider myself more of a cyclist now than a runner. I have gained a new love for cycling that I didn’t know I had in me.
The peloton is an awesome product because it has so many great live videos and recorded videos that you can use at any time of the day and at your leisure. However in my opinion the Peloton bike itself is not any different than a stationary bike that you may have at home already or seen before. Before we decided to make the investment to get a Peloton, I rode different kinds of bikes at the gym that were very similar to the Peloton and I did the classes through their app on my phone to see if I would actually use it. I am so glad that I did this because I rode all sorts of different brands of upright bikes and I think it is safe to say … I didn’t have more love for one than the other. Sure, some had a couple of features that the other didn’t have but at the end of the day, they felt similar ergonomically.
But I think sets Peloton aside from the rest is the community that they have created. In a world where there is so much craziness (like a global pandemic lol), it is so cool to be connected with people not only across the United States but across the world. I love that the Peloton has different options for classes that include: strengthening, yoga, running, walking, stretching, and more. I use those features more than I thought I would.
So back to cycling and specifically the Peleton. We have had so many questions from patients and clients like, “Is it safe during pregnancy?”, “Is it bad for my pelvic floor?”, “how do I know if my posture on it is okay?”, the list goes on. I’m here to tell you that the Peleton is not the first upright stationary bike invented. This type of workout equipment has been around since the 1930’s!!! (Yes, look it up). My point is, stationary seated bikes have shown to potentially compromise the pelvic floor if you use it incorrectly. Sitting for too long even in a chair at work can do the same thing. It is so important to promote good blood flow to our pelvic floor. This does not mean that we should sit or that we should ride a stationary seated bike BUT we should be smart about it.
Here are 3 pieces of advice when riding your Peloton:
#1: Ease into it. Don’t go from never cycling to doing a 45 minute tabata class every day.
#2: Get out of the saddle. Don’t stay in the saddle for your entire class. Almost every instructor gets out of the saddle to create blood flow during their rides unless it’s a 10 minute low impact ride.
#3: Mobility. Mobility. Mobility. Just because you are cycling doesn’t mean you should throw yoga or mobility exercises out the window. Continue to move your body in different planes and give it what it craves… movement!
I may be biased but I’m being completely upfront with you because I have purchased their product and use it for almost 2 years now. It has been a great investment for my husband and I because it keeps our workouts convenient, thoughtless, and challenging. I think the main thing to take away from this is to make sure you are safe with any of your movement patterns with any piece of equipment that you were using for exercise. You can always find something that is wrong with some type of exercise (running, biking, swimming, lifting, etc.) but if you can do it in moderation and make sure that you are being appropriate with your skill level then you should be good to go.