after receiving so many questions about my spin workouts, I recently did an Instagram stories and took everyone through the bikes I use everyday to spin. there were still some follow-up questions, so I figured I’d devote a blog post to it, so that in the future, I can direct everyone here!
and to preface, this was NOT sponsored by Peloton Cycle. I genuinely love their brand, their bike, and I’m just a personal fan (I have been for almost 2 full years.)
SO. let’s get started. spinning (aka indoor cycling) is my all-time favorite type of workout. I’ve always loved it, but I was never obsessed with it until I saw the Peloton Cycle bikes.
in my apartment building in Jersey City, we have a gym. in the gym, there are FOUR Peloton bikes setup. one day, Lu discovered them in the gym and I hopped on, and the rest is history. I was instantly hooked!
the photo at the beginning of this post shows me three months apart. I discovered the bikes in June 2014, and by my photoshoot a few months later for my cookbook, I had lost the weight I wanted to lose for it – and toned up. I was spinning about 5 days a week – it was addicting! it’s such a powerful sweat, it’s entertaining, and you get out of a ride what you put into it. and NO, it doesn’t make your thighs thick – if you get thick thighs from spinning, that’s probably genetic. your body is going to thicken and build muscle mass where it’s supposed to. unless you’re a power lifter or whatever. I’ve felt the opposite – spinning has shaped my legs and thinned out my core!
you literally hop on the bike, log on, select your ride, and GO. it’s seriously that easy. I plug in my headphones to the bike, because we have to since it’s a community gym.
I have my favorite instructor and I rarely ever take any else’s rides – Robin Arzon. I’m a super fan of Robin’s. if you follow me on @getinspiralized, you’ve seen my give her shout outs multiple times. I’ve met her a few times IRL and she’s a bad ass. she’s very raw, real, and motivating. she’s super fit and her story is super inspiring (she’s a Type 1 diabetic and an ultra-athlete!) if you ever need motivation, follow her on IG here. her music selection is also amazing, I always know I’m going to make it through the class through the music. she’s also gorgeous and is JLo’s doppleganger, I swear (#goals)!
what do I love about the Peloton bike?
- it’s comfortable – WAY more comfortable than any other spin bike I’ve ever rode in a class before (and I used to spin at all the popular studios in NYC.)
- it’s convenient – I can literally come down to my gym whenever I want, clip in (you don’t need clip-in shoes, but I find they make for a better, more comfortable workout), and do an exhilarating ride, get an amazing workout, and be done on my own time – there are hundreds (maybe even thousands?) of “on-demand rides” which means you can scroll through all the pre-recorded rides and pick whichever one you want to ride in that moment and ride it.
- if you aren’t in the mood for a full 45-minute spin ride or want to just get a little cardio in before you hit the weights, they have shorter rides – 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes. I LOVE doing these as my warm up (the 20 minute rides) and then finishing my workout with HIIT or lifting.
- you can ride LIVE or on-demand. I love Robin’s 45-minute Friday night (5:30pm) live DJ rides – she records the class alongside a DJ that’s in the studio. so, I’ll hop on the bike a couple of minutes before, clip in, get ready, and go.
- the screen on the bike is so easy to use and user-friendly. you can search my instructor, class length, class type, etc. SO, if you want to do a “20 minutes arms & abs” ride, you can sort quickly to find which classes have been recorded.
- if you want to get competitive, you can. there’s a leaderboard on the screen, so you can see how you’re performing against all the other riders (whether live or on-demand). I usually tend to swipe it off, because I’m NOT a competitive person, but I know people love this as a way to push themselves harder.
what’s great about Peloton and how I relate to them as a business is that they take a lot of pride in their community of riders. you get a t-shirt once you hit a certain number of completed rides, they have a private Facebook Group community, and they give you shout-outs on the bike. I love when I hear my favorite instructor saying, “come on, Ali, you’ve got this!” I feel like I’m in the studio, but I’m really in the convenience of my own home – er, apartment.
and I know what you’re going to ask – would you buy the bike if your gym didn’t have them? 100000%. I joke with Lu and say that if we ever move out of this building, he has to figure the Peloton bike into our rent budget. maybe one day they will gift me a bike. Peloton, are you listening? 😉
note: all of the Peloton images were taken from their website, PelotonCycle.com.