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| I bought a Peloton! | Login/Join |
| Does This Avatar Make My Butt Look Big? Minor Deity  |
I took the plunge yesterday and bought a Peloton. The backstory is that I resisted spinning for years. Hurts my butt. Looks boring. There are other and better ways to get exercise. So I did bootcamp, tennis, running. Now that I've had two knee surgeries and have a bone-on-bone spot, I have to be careful not to over do it and to keep my legs strong. I decided to try spinning about a year ago. My knee improved so dramatically that I sometimes had to think about which was the bad knee. I was faster around the tennis court and faster when I did run, too. Trouble is, spin classes at places like Soul Cycle are so expensive as to be abusive ($32 for one class). To avoid that expense, I was doing classes at my grimy gym instead, but these were just . . . well, you get what you pay for. Good instructors left; bad instructors stayed forever. Instructors played horrible music (country western?). The place is not clean -- I would have to wipe down the bike to remove the droplets of sweat from the last user. Classes were not at convenient times for me during the week. And there was a huge digital clock above the instructor to keep you fully aware of how slowly time can go. So I ordered a Peloton. Thirty day free trial. Zero percent financing over three years. The cost to me will be about $100 a month for the bike payment and the digital membership to access the classes. The digital membership includes their non-bike classes (e.g. stretching, abs), and the whole family can use the bike and the digital membership. It's a lot, but I think I will use it. I was in my bootcamp yesterday, and several people have them and swear by them because of the good music, the convenience, and the competition. I get my bike on June 24. I'll report back. | ||
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
The Mirror is roughly the same cost, the same idea. Mary Anna uses it regularly. I use it occasionally. Great variety of classes. She does yoga, I do boxing or dance. I'm glad we got it, especially in a pandemic. I know someone at a big law firm who does Peloton classes with her partners. She has both the bike and the Peloton treadmill. | |||
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity  |
Cindy - wow!! So, what is "spinning" anyway, is exercising on it different from a regular exercise bike? Do you have to have a special bike to do it? Quirt what is Mirror? I have been trying to teach myself Zumba steps and just generally doing energetic dancing in my basement, but I'm getting closer to the point where I think I could keep up with a regular Zumba class and also I'd like some live instruction from a person...
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| Does This Avatar Make My Butt Look Big? Minor Deity |
"Spinning" means just a bike class. So in a studio you have maybe 30 people in close quarters, in the dark, with an instructor up front. There is loud music, and the instructor tells you to do a variety of things, often to the beat of the music. They try to mimic a real bike ride -- you imagine going up hills, surges, interval training, etc. Your shoes are attached to the pedals, so you can stand or sit, or even alternate between standing and sitting quickly (called "jumps"). The popularity of Peloton is partly because even though you are spinning in your house, you can be in a live class with thousands of people. The bike knows your characteristics (age, gender), and you can "race" against people of your age/gender. You can also race against friends. This motivates you to work harder to catch the person in front of you or hold off the person behind you. All of that interaction is optional (you can "hide"), but it is the sort of thing that would keep me interested. Also, the instructors are supposedly the best and have followings. I checked the daily schedule, and there is a hip hop class and an R&B class, so I can know going in that I will at least like the music. The other thing my friends like is that you are "with" a whole lot of other people who are also taking the class, but you are not with them. You don't have to smell them or put up with any of their annoying noises or habits. The instructor is looking right at you on the screen, with some shadowy participants behind him, and the production values are great. For some reason, I just cannot motivate myself to go to a piece of equipment and work out. Just can't. Never have. But if there is an instructor I like teaching a spin class at a particular time, I will get out of bed to do that class. Oh, and there is a monster library of pre-recorded classes that you can do on your own time. | |||
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Did not know Peloton had classes. That makes it more interesting. Thanks Went to the website. Tried to ask about the pedals and shoes. Got a barrage of questions that kept looping. Adios, Peloton.
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity |
Cindy, thanks for that explanation. So it's basically the same exercise bike as a regular exercise bike, right? Well, except I would imagine it's super high-end. I'm not interested in taking on that kind of expense, esp. right now, but I can see the attraction it terms of the total package.
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| Does This Avatar Make My Butt Look Big? Minor Deity |
Yes. It's just a good-quality bike, and there are a lot of those to be had. Those of you who have the discipline to exercise on home exercise equipment have my admiration and respect. It is definitely the most cost-effective solution. I just cannot do it. | |||
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| Does This Avatar Make My Butt Look Big? Minor Deity |
I did not buy their shoes. I have shoes. I bought their cleats because I understand that those are the only ones that will fit. **Of course** those are the only ones that will fit. They're trying to extract money out of you, after all . . . | |||
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Forum Groupie |
It is pricey, but I can completely understand the need to find something that will help motivate you. I run a pretty decent amount these days. (about 50-70 mpw) I don't need to be pushed to go---it's something I look forward to. Now all those exercises, stretches, etc, that would probably allow me to be more efficient, and ultimately faster. Yeah, I'll get to them when I get to them. Look forward to hearing your report back. | |||
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity |
I totally get this. I think if I had a really good treadmill I would use it, partly because when I've stayed with my mother for extended visits, I always used hers. I just really like walking and I find that it's its own motivator. But we have an exercise bike (which I posted about here when I was shopping for IIRC) and I never ride it. There are various reasons why, but I think if I had a Peloton membership, I might do that more. Esp. the musical part. I love moving to music, that's what I'm having some (albeit limited) success with my self-taught (probably pathetic excuse for) Zumba. So I bet the music part of Peloton would be a motivator as well. You'll have to give us an update/report once you get it and start using it.
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| Does This Avatar Make My Butt Look Big? Minor Deity |
Ah, Zumba. I do Zumba sometimes. I really like it. I think the thing I like most about Zumba is the non-judgy nature of it. Only the few people in the first row are any good at all, and the rest of us are just being . . . enthusiastic. I had to give up Zumba, though. All of the hip swiveling and knee twisting was too much, and by the time I tone it down enough not to hurt my joints I'm not getting a workout. I do love BodyPump, Barre, stretching classes, and any sort of strength training with weights. Cindy -- a hard-core, old school step aerobics veteran who misses it terribly because no one teaches step anymore | |||
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity |
 That would be me!!  Are step aerobics where you actually use a physical step? I have one of those some where... I never used it before but maybe I can get it out now that I'm doing my private exercise thing. I wonder if Mr. SK is using it for something
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Cindy, congrats on the Peloton! As an aside, I didn't know you had a bone on bone spot and two surgeries. Do you care to share more? | |||
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
I heard they sold out fast when the pandemic hit. Congrats for even getting one. I have friends that love it.
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