Peloton Tips: One Month Later
So it’s been a month since our Peloton was delivered, and I wanted to share some tips and tricks I learned the hard way! In no particular order…
1. Try your shoes on before the bike comes.
This seems obvious — but I didn’t get around to it until the bike was almost here, and my shoes were way too small. Peloton was great about shipping out a replacement pair ASAP, but it would have been a real bummer if I had waited 6 weeks for the bike and then couldn’t ride it because my shoes didn’t fit.
2. You can adjust the tension on your pedal clips.
I am pint-sized, but even my hubby had trouble clipping in and out until I released the tension on the pedals. (I literally had to kind of bounce on the pedals with all of my weight to clip in, and the first time I did a ride, David had to come take my shoes off of my feet because I thought I was going to pass out and I was stuck on the bike. Heh heh…) Even when I wasn’t dying and realized I could take my feet out of the shoes if I needed to, I (legitimately) couldn’t clip out until I released the tension. You can adjust the tension by using the same Allen wrench that comes with the shoes. When you look at the bottom of the pedal, it makes it super clear which way to turn (righty tighty, lefty loosey and all that). It makes a nice solid “click” feel when you make the turns. I think I did 4-5 turns on each side, and it’s still not easy to get out.
3. You’re going to want some bike shorts.
Okay, I’m gonna be blunt here: The elastic and seams on your running shorts are gonna rub your poor lil butt in a way you will find regrettable. I was prepared for a bike seat adjustment period (it gets better after a couple of weeks!), but I didn’t think about how uncomfortable certain bottoms would be.
I wound up getting a couple pairs of shorts from Aerie (these laser-cut ones and also these mesh ones, which I’m wearing in the photo). They’re so cute, the colors are great, and as I’m writing this, they are less than $15 (!!!!). The reviews (which I didn’t read until after the fact) say that they run small, and I guess they do, maybe a little bit. I got my normal size, and I could probably go up a size and be fine — but I feel like they’re supposed to be good and tight so they don’t move/chafe. (All this to say, if you teeter between two sizes, choose the larger one. If you are pretty solidly in one size, I’d say stick with your typical size.)
4. Make sure you have a fan.
Maybe the rest of the world understands this, but I wasn’t prepared for how freaking hot I would get on this bike. Get you a fan that will blast out cool air. We have this one, and it creates a veritable wind vortex. I like that it can be moved easily out of the way when not in use or hidden in a closet if needed.
5. The Peloton heart rate monitor doesn’t turn off on its own.
David doesn’t even use his heart rate monitor, and less than a month in, both of ours died. This is because they were constantly “on” when I just assumed they were going to sleep after a few minutes of not being in use. That apparently isn’t the case (to turn it off, at least one side has to be unsnapped from the strap) and I had to order replacement batteries. Womp womp. This leads me to my next tip, which is…
6. Wearing (or not wearing) a heart rate monitor affects your “calories burned” data.
When my heart rate monitor died, I did a ride with my all-time highest output and lowest-ever number of burned calories. Say what? My assumption here is that it wasn’t tracking my insanely high heart rate, and so I didn’t get as much credit. (Yes, if you’re wondering, I manually calculated it based on previous experience and changed it in my fitness tracker. I ain’t doin’ this for fun, y’all.)
7. Compete against yourself — not everyone else.
So if you’re already a fitness goddess, maybe this won’t be a problem for you. But we had pretty much been out of the gym since December when David had ankle surgery (it was dark times). I have never had any cardiac stamina to speak of, so getting started was hard! (Also, the “output” numbers don’t take bodyweight/size into consideration — there is literally no chance I can crush the output numbers my husband is achieving, even if I go as hard energetically as he does.) I resolved myself to just be proud of what I can do, and my goal is to keep outdoing my own personal best. Don’t beat yourself up watching other people on the leaderboard, and keep at it! You got this.
8. Remember to stretch it out.
So as I just mentioned, I was wildly out of shape before the bike arrived. I really feel like I’ve made some gains since it came, and I’ve hardly been sore at all. I think that’s because I was already in/have maintained a pretty decent quarantine yoga regimen. I don’t do anything extensive, but I do try to get in a quick session at least every other day. I’ve noticed that I feel a bit more tense after a ride (I tend to carry all my tension in my upper back/neck/shoulders). Admittedly, I haven’t done any of the Peloton yoga classes because I was already addicted to Yoga with Adrienne. The class below is my favorite for an easy-breezy evening wind-down. It’s got just enough in the way of leg/hip stretches, lots of general tension relief, and it’s only 28 minutes!
Ready to take the Peloton plunge? Use my referral code ZADDHD for $100 off your order!