Not sure if this will get buried or not, but I wanted to make an appreciation post about Jess Sims.

We went to high school together on the North Shore of Massachusetts back in the late 2000's. She was 2 or 3 years ahead of me, so I was not really acquainted with her until the spring of my freshman year. That spring, I made the varsity lacrosse team as a freshman, which, naturally, upset a lot of the older girls on the team that did not get as much playing time as I did. I was the youngest one on the team, and therefore not really in the "clique" and often felt out of place on the bus to and from games, while on the field, and at team events.

However, there was one upperclassman that was nice and kind to me, and that was Jess Sims. She took me under her wing, made sure I was included (even if it was just talking to me on the bus rides to and from games), and eventually helped me become more accepted by the older girls. Being a young freshman in a huge school (4 grades had 2,000+ people), I was naturally timid and worried about not being accepted. However, Jess made sure that I felt right at home on the team.

It's amazing to see her on Peloton now, and I want you all to know that her personality is 10000% AUTHENTIC. She as just as nice, kind, caring, and personable in real life as she in when she is teaching classes.

Not sure if the instructors read this thread or not, but Jess, if you do, you probably know who I am (we've talked on Instagram about moving from our town to NYC!)

EDIT: Thank you for the awards, you beautiful beautiful strangers!!!

They will not be pulling classes that already have his music, but they will not be using any Kanye songs moving forward and they will not put classes with his songs in your recommended classes.

She has posted on Instagram that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2022. She shared some details of her treatment on IG.

She's completed 12 weeks of chemotherapy after surgery. She was fortunate enough to undergo a cycle of IVF before her treatment. She's been teaching and riding throughout. I can't imagine how much strength that takes.

Leanne's IG post

If you're trying to decide what ride to do today, why not do a ride with Leanne?

Denis Morton just spent three minutes in a PZ class talking about a secret fugees show at pier 17, then said he wasn’t cool enough to get invited, and then after a long pause said “…maybe one day.” 😂

I can’t figure out why I love him. How is he so uncool AND so compelling? I think it’s a mix of: triceps, being generally hot, riding on the beat (cool), 8th grade caesar haircut, painful lip synching (both uncool), music taste that’s somehow both exceptionally informed/good AND sort of bad? Also a general sense of chill…you know you won’t have an EDM-induced panic attack.

It’s the late 90s and someone’s hot other brother is giving you a ride to school, he’s playing Dave Matthews in his car and he starts crying to the lyrics. That’s a class with Denis.

Did I get it? Is it something else?

UPDATE: Thank you all for the wonderful questions. It was so much fun to get to answer lots of them. Find me on Instagram & Facebook and can't wait to see you on the leaderboard soon!

ORIGINAL: What's up team, Ben Alldis here saying hi from London. Super excited to be hosting our first ever Peloton and r/pelotoncycle AMA! 

Verification photo to prove it's me

For those of you who I am yet to meet, I was one of the first two instructors that Peloton hired here in the UK and I teach cycling and strength from our London studio. I’m a passionate dance music fan, an ex-finance guy and an accomplished athlete, so working as an instructor at Peloton is an absolute dream.

I'll be back tomorrow (Weds Jan 27th) between 1-3pm ET / 6-8pm GMT to answer your questions. Drop your questions down below and make sure you use the upvote button too!

After riding for 75mins with Matt this morning I had to make this post. His approach to fitness is so grounded and makes it attainable to anyone. He completely changed my mindset. One of the things that stuck with me early on, during a PZE ride Matt said "you can always work at this intensity and still see results. It might take a bit longer but you will, there's no need to push hard all the time."

I don't see any other instructors talk about creating plans, preparing for the week, emphasizing the importance of a good diet and sleep. He tells you that he expects at least 4 rides 30-40mins long and 3 sterength workouts and you should space them out. Matt never makes a plug for his own classes, If anything he recommends you go take other instructors classes. He reminds you, if you're doing more strength work you have to cut back on riding and vice-versa because you can't do it all sametime.

Every ride you can tell how much he cares about the riders and he's the only instructor asking to hear about your goals and progress. Even when you take a LI or 5mins cool down, he is coaching you through form and improvements in pedal strokes.

I can go on and on, Matt Wilpers is a treasure!

That's all folks!!

I’m 40+. Been training on my Peloton bike for almost 7 years. I’m never going to be the fastest, fittest or strongest. Never gonna run a marathon or cycle 100miles.

Took the family to Disney World and walked 172.5k steps, over 72 miles in a week pushing my girls in the double stroller in 100 degree heat. Feet are sore but I felt good all things considered.

This is why I do it. Training for life.

I just have to share as encouragement for my fellow newbies.

I am a 43 year old man who was easily 30 pounds overweight and zero athletic endurance.

3 months ago my wife and I got a peloton and the first ride was 20 minutes, 84 total output and it almost killed me.

I quickly discovered that Matt Wilpers was my kind of trainer and soon after that went through the Power Zone program. #PowerZonePack

Since I started I have almost 75 rides under my belt and have lost over 15 pounds, still have at least 15 more to go.

This morning was my greatest achievement yet…. I completed a 90 minute power zone endurance ride and I am just so proud!

Thank you Matt and thank you Peloton. You have changed my life forever.

I have been an avid peloton user since 2020 and have also been dealing with fertility issues since 2020. I had my first miscarriage when Robin was pregnant and hated seeing the prenatal and postnatal series. I had my second miscarriage just a few months ago and now every peloton post and pregnancy announcement feels like a stab in my heart. I know I am still struggling to accept what happened to me and it can be hard to be happy to see others have successful pregnancies.

So I wanted to write this post to any other couples experiencing pregnancy/baby loss and/or the inability to become pregnant. It can be such an isolating experience that so few are willing to talk about. Sometimes you feel so disconnected with your body and this can either become more or less evident through exercising.

You are allowed to feel angry and upset and not okay. You’re allowed to avoid taking classes with pregnant instructors. You are allowed to share your grief or keep it private. You are allowed to heal in your own time and in your own way. But I do hope that you know you are never alone. Sending love and support to you all ❤️

Ok- I joined during the pandemic so I’ve been a bit spoiled. I LOVE the classes without an audience.

I find the classes that I have taken that did have an audience were too distracting. The peoples necklaces reflecting in the mirrors, or seeing too much of the class, instructors not speaking to the home audience but distracted and too focused on the in room people. I think they are horrible.

I am REALLY hoping that they continue to produce a bunch of content without people in room. Has anyone heard anything? Please give me hope!

Do you think there is any way to block the prenatal content from being all over my screen?

I imagine I am getting it because they see my age and that I’m a woman but I have also struggled with infertility for years and recently had a miscarriage and don’t really feel like looking at a happy pregnant woman every morning.

Do you think they would consider adding a toggle switch preference for people who really don’t want to see that?

Edit: My heart goes out to all of you who are also dealing with stress in this area of life. I support you in your struggle from afar.

I had a chat window with the Peloton people yesterday and I think if you want to send them a message they will be receptive! The pinned post below has great instructions!

I have read so much about how people love Cody and his rides so much. I had never taken a class of his before though.

Today, when I hopped on the bike it was just a couple minutes before his intervals and arms ride started so I decided to join it.

Let me start by saying the music choice was not necessarily in line with what I like the best (I am a big punk rock and rock fan) but oh my gosh, I absolutely loved everything about this ride. Cody is such an entertainer - I think I had just as much fun doing the bike ride as I did watching and listening to him.

I am definitely going to have to check out some of his other rides!!

Edit: I'm pretty new to the peloton subreddit, follow me at SmileThruPain and I'll follow back 🙂

Edit 2: Wow I never expected such a great response! This is truly the best subreddit!! Thank you for the awards, they're my first ever😊 love you all!!

Per a statement on their official Peloton FB page, Peloton has paused the use of all Sean Combs (Diddy) music, as well as removed the Bad Boy Entertainment Artist Series. Per the comment made by the official Peloton account, this means that the instructors are no longer going to be using his music in any newly produced classes. This comes after a member posted a request to remove it, following the recent release of a video of Sean Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend.

As we have seen with prior music artist removals, this does not mean that Peloton will remove all prior content featuring his music, or stop recommending workouts featuring his music in the UI. But, we can at least see that they are going to discontinue recording classes with his songs.

Hi everyone! I’m a little over 60 rides in and, without sounding dramatic, Peloton has changed the way that I think about fitness. I wanted to share my experience so far in case anyone, especially people that are overweight/obese, are considering buying a bike. I first had the Schwinn IC4 and now have the Bike+ . Both are great bikes (and if anyone has any specific comparison questions let me know), but I’m really happy that we upgraded to the Bike+. I am currently 250lbs (down from 282 last year). It can be really hard to start something new when you are very overweight. We have a treadmill, but every time I would start exercising, even just trying to walk on an incline, after a few weeks I would end up with really painful feet or calves. When I began riding the bike, I was able to push myself WITHOUT injuring myself. It was the first time in my entire life that I felt like I was able to accomplish something daily while also working towards larger goals. Below are some of the key things that I’ve learned in my experience so far. I really hope this helps someone. :)

Seat: For most people, riding on the regular bike seat is rough for the first week or two, but then they slowly acclimate. I'm not sure if it's my weight or anatomy, but I cannot stand 30 seconds on this seat. It was unbearable and I would not be able to complete a ride. I decided to buy a noseless saddle (I bought the Schwinn Comfort Noseless Saddle) immediately and haven't looked back. Riding with a noseless saddle is a little different (for example, if I'm two sloppy in 2nd position the backs of my thighs will hit the seat) but overall it has been fully successful. We asked peloton if we could buy a second slider to make switching seats really fast. We did have to pay for it (I think it was $30 with shipping), but well worth it. I may start trying to sprinkle in a warm-up or cool down with the regular seat, but I'm content with my noseless one.

Heart rate monitor: You are going to want to make sure that you have a heart monitor to gauge how hard you are pushing yourself. There are times where I am in the zone mentally and then I look at my heart rate and it's a little too high, which is mainly because of my current weight and cardiovascular health. I use that as a gauge to make sure that I am not pushing myself to the point of causing damage. It also is great for measuring progress as you retake classes.

Advanced Beginner Classes: The advanced beginner classes are great because they give you a variety of ride types and have you focus on form. As Tunde would say, you can "season to taste," which is what I've been doing as I progress. The great thing about these classes is that I know generally what to expect and don't feel anxious about not being able to finish a class, even if it's a brand new class. I'm 60+ classes in and it is a great feeling to see progress! I will bump up my resistance, maintain cadence a little longer (gauged by my heart rate), etc., to make each ride the best I can do. I really enjoy these classes and honestly while I plan to try out some of the regular classes, this is my home base and I know I will still get a sweat-soaked workout and feel empowered while doing so!

More specifically, Hannah Corbin’s Advanced Beginner Classes: Hannah has, by far, the best advanced beginner classes for people that are overweight or beginning their fitness journey. Now, I am not saying that these workouts are easy, but I can tell that she put in a lot of thought into the stages of the classes. I can push myself in each song because I know there will be a shakeup to either the speed or cadence in the next song. This is not to say that other instructors aren't great, but I have really found that her advanced beginner classes are the best for people that are true beginners. I started with Tunde and I love her enthusiasm, but in some of the classes I feel like the structure was a lot of push-push-push without a moment of respite. I need a break from high cadence or high resistance, even if the output is still the same.

Edit: I was hoping for a positive reception to this post, but as usual with this group you all went above and beyond showing your support and sharing your own experiences. If anyone had a question about my experience so far or if you have questions that you don't feel asking publicly, please reach out in a message. A few things from the comments: I am definitely going to check out Powerzones. I've heard of them but have been shying away because I thought they would be too intense. I'll check some out! I will definitely post here for my century ride! What has been so great in the comments is hearing that I'm not alone. Thank you all for this support and I'm looking forward to many rides ahead!

Also Edit: If anyone wants to support each other on Peloton, my name is erinleighpil. I'd be happy to share this journey with anyone and help each other get better and stronger!

Possibly the most important edit that I forgot to add to the original post! One thing that used to deter me from working out was wearing a bra. Either they didn't work, hurt, or were too tight. I now use this band over my shirt and I don't even wear a bra while working out. I cannot recommend this enough...it keeps the movement to a minimum with no irritation or restriction. This band is great for running too if that's your exercise of choice!

4/15 update: The past few weeks have been rough. We received our covid vaccines (yay!) but right after our son tested positive. He's doing great and thankfully we've been able to balance work, but I haven't been able to get the time to ride. I hit my century ride this week though and I was so happy and proud. He should be back in daycare next week and I'm looking forward to riding more regularly again! Still using my favorite seat and loving the advanced beginner rides! I've explored some other rides too but I really do love the variation of those rides.

I used to ride with Alex all of the time. I generally love his music choices and the way he hypes me up. However, I stopped riding with him months ago because he includes a Chris Brown song in almost every ride. As a woman, i found it incredibly offensive.

Anyways, today I decided to do a club bangers ride after months of riding strictly with Cody and Matt. There were TWO Chris Brown songs in this ride and what I found most offensive was how he introduced the second song: “now a song for the ladies.. gotta include something for the ladies.” I’m sorry, but screw you, Alex. I have a feeling if another instructor included songs from a singer who was openly racist and anti BLM, Alex would be overtly pissed.

Chris Brown beats women and has continued to prove he’s a giant piece of trash. I just don’t get why Alex has to include his songs. It’s disappointing.

Does this bother anyone else?

Edit: A lot of other instructors play Chris brown music. They’re all wrong. The blame lies with Peloton being willing to license his music in the first place.

She will miss out (just barely) on joining the Olympic team, but she set a massive personal best in the marathon. She was the top overall non-elite woman in the 2019 NYC Marathon (2:37:01), and today she beat her personal best by 5 minutes. The qualifying standard to make the Olympic team was 2:29:30 and she finished 2:32:01.

I run and cycle, but running is my first and biggest love. Becs is an absolutely incredible runner, and I am so inspired by her.

Congrats, Becs!

She's like your childhood best friend's cool sister. She knows about the best music before anyone else (check out her Spotify playlists). She's 100% authentic. She has an old soul. In a Peloton world of Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga, she's Tame Impala and King Princess. For me, Peloton is all about music and Emma is my musical spirit animal. Her listening party rides are unlike anything else on the platform. She's turned me on to several artists who've become favorites. She's a beast. Her rock rides kick my a$$ and she never stops pedaling. Oh, and she was in a SUPER BOWL commercial.

In 2021, I set out to cycle or run for 365 consecutive days on the Peloton. I was extremely out of shape and overweight, and had a hard time even playing with my kids. I know that I had to made a change for my mental and physical health. As Ben Alldis says in his rides "We work out now, so we can continue to live a healthy life in to our later years".

I started small, just completing January, but it quickly grew into something else.
It was an amazing journey that I wanted to share my appreciate to this community and to all the instructors for being extremely motivational and helping me achieve this insane (yes, I said it) goal.

For me, it was never about the weight loss - it was ability to feel healthy again. The feeling you get when you finish a workout, is more to me than focusing on the output of losing weight. It's about getting strong mentally and being able share that energy with loved ones!

I started the year and end the year with the same ride from Cody Rigsby and saw a jump from 76kj to 237kj, which was amazing to see! Not only did I get in cycling, but Peloton helped me fall in love with running, which resulted in doing many 5k and 10ks near the end of year.

This journey is not over for me even though I hit my goal of 365 days in row. It has primed me for something greater, running a half marathon, which I plan to do this year. Here are the things I learned about myself, getting healthy and completing a challenge:

Focus on the outcome, not the output

A lot of times people workout to lose weight, and after a short period of time without seeing meaningful results, they quit. For me, the greatest joy of working out was the feeling you got after you stepped off the bike. The mental emotion and endorphins that were generated for me kept with me throughout the day and motivated me to keep getting on the bike. I became addicted to that feeling which was more important to me than actual weight loss. The power of moving your body can lead to incredible things in your life. While you may not drop 50 pounds in one week, you can start to move toward a more healthy lifestyle that will eventually shed those unwanted pounds. 

Weight-loss isn’t just about Cardio, it’s about Diet

Many people reading this are probably thinking that I lost a ton of weight, just by biking every day in 2021. That sadly is not true - I did lose about 30 pounds, however, I could have lost a lot more just by changing my diet and eating healthier. The first 10-15 pounds went off pretty easy after about three months of work, but the rest took a lot more time. Don’t go on your fitness journey with the tunnel vision for dropping weight every week, it will make you mad and frustrated at your process. If you start by using exercise as a way to feel good about yourself again, the rest will come.

Working out can be fun, if you apply your passion

For me, I’ve always been into data, analytics and technology, and those things drive my passion. With Peloton, those aspects that I enjoyed gave me the motivation to keep on riding. I got detailed analytics after every ride, I started tracking my metrics deeper and it made me very excited with every ride. Even if you are not into these same themes, find something you are passionate about and apply it in your workouts. Perhaps you enjoy riding to 90s music, or riding while listening to your favorite podcast. Whatever it may be - if you attach a passion to your workouts, it becomes less of a chore and more of something to look forward to.

Set Reasonable Goals, not Year Long Journeys

When I started out, I set a 30 day period to be my goal and didn’t shoot for the moon right at the bat. Give yourself some wins under your belt, it makes sticking to your plan much easier and gives you motivation to continue. Having a large goal that isn’t quite attainable at the start, puts a lot more stress on you to complete your task at hand.

Listen and Learn About Your Body

For the first three months, I felt no exhaustion or pain working out every day. Near the middle of the journey, I started getting really tired by the end of the day as I increased my daily mileage from 9 to 23. I started to throw in low impact rides, which didn’t get me the same mileage, but gave me the ability to continue to work each day at the highest capacity. I’ll admit I was a little OCD about completing this streak, but without taking these “breaks”, I’m not sure I would have made it. Always listen to your body and learn what it needs. Sometimes you may need a break, and that’s OK, your body will respond with an even better workout with proper rest.

Embrace your Support System

With every challenge there are going to highs and lows to your journey. There are going to be days that you feel like you are on the top of the world, and other days that you don’t even want to jump on your bike to workout. Having a great support system to encourage you to keep going, is incredibly helpful to achieving your goals. Don’t push them away when they offer advise or support, embrace them because with people like my family, wife and kids, I’m not sure I would have the energy to keep on moving in my yearly quest.

Get a Professional Bike Fitting!

If you are riding regularly, you will greatly benefit from a virtual bike fitting. I followed the instructions on the bike from day one for my measurements, and I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort. However for the holidays, my wife got me a Virtual Bike Fitting, which changed a lot of my settings. The results were amazing, I crushed 15 personal records in December, including some records that were standing for over 8 months. It’s funny how a small change can really affect your overall results!

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You can find me on Peloton at #gregavola.

Thank you to everyone on this subreddit for posting their progress and keeping me motivated. I hope this post does the same to you!

Just wanted to make a post. Starting in February 2020 I was about 260 pounds and just not happy with where things were going in my life. I decided to start hitting my diet extremely hard and managed to get down to 175 by November, no real exercise, just clean dieting. Coming into 2021 I wanted to get in shape, I had lost a lot of weight but I wasn't fit at all. Beginning of February I ordered my Peloton bike after seeing that you get 30 days risk free. In my eyes that's enough time to figure out if I like it. My bike was delivered on March 3rd, and I've ridden it every day since then. Starting out I just did beginner and low impact rides, borderline terrified of what I would be like out of the saddle. Now I'm doing 30 minutes to an hour a day plus warm up and cool down rides. I love going out of the saddle and actually love pushing myself. It's been hard to not use the bike more, as I'm limiting myself to an hour to avoid soreness and keep getting after it every day. I've never been able to motivate myself to consistently do high intensity cardio, and now I'm getting up before work to get my work outs in. I always thought Peloton was just a fitness cult, but the reality is that it works for me and keeps me motivated to keep getting after it and keep trying to be better. I love the leader boards and motivating myself to finish higher. I love the bike as a whole and am definitely keeping it moving forward.

Peloton newbie here! I've been taking all new & recent classes for about a month and a half. Yesterday I decided to take a class from 2019 and could not get into it with the ppl in the background. Anyone else feel this way? I had no idea that classes were held this way before the pandemic.

They are both instructors I take quite often and they met at peloton and are now engaged!

So happy for them especially for those who've been taking Ben's classes for a while how much be talks about exercise is for his future family, kid and now seems to be on his way to fulfilling his goals.

https://instagram.com/stories/benjaminalldis/2633097133781380036?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&utm_medium=share_sheet

She announced it over on her IG page. Excited for her, as she's been my favorite female instructor for awhile and as a fellow 80's baby, I tend to like her music choices in class.

On the Peloton Scenic ride “Andalusia Mountains” between 4.25 and 4.35 there is a happy shaggy DOGGO running on the right in the field trying to get your attention. Give him a little wave!!