Any Peloton bike users here?
Discussion
It really mostly depends on the time you have to train, you will hear of lots of pro cyclists and decent amateurs working to a generally 80/20 ration, but they’ll likely have 10-25 hours a week to train. It is very different when you have that much riding time - I trained probably only average 10-12 hours a week for 6 or 7 years and without really trying you kind of end up at that kind of ratio as its really all you can do and still recover.
If you have a few hours a week (most of you guys seem to do 0-1 hour a day?) then you may find that doing a bit more intensity is the best use of that time, the one issue you’ll find doing either z2 or vo2 stuff is that it’ll kind of raise the ceiling but you’ll not be pushing up to it if you’re only doing one or the other.
I’d personally say with limited hours that you’re better off doing more sweet spot type stuff (about 90% effort) with a vo2 session thrown in once a week. Sweetspot is repeatable, and brings most of the benefits of training at FTP without as much of the damage.
Whatever way you cut it, you’re not going to get much endurance or adaption at lower intensities only riding for such short periods. A decent z2 ride is going to be measured in hours rather than minutes. But even a decent cyclist would class a 5x5 vo2 max session on the turbo as a decent days training even though it would only take an hour. Popular sessions for time crunched racing cyclists are 2 or 3 x 20 minute at sweetspot, 10x1 min with 1 min rest, 4 or 5x 5 min vo2 etc. You wouldn’t really find much z2 stuff in any plan from a coach for someone that only had a few hours per week really - it is a classic thing of what pro’s are doing filtering into what amateurs are doing - however usually due to the time each group have, they’re not really that cross compatible.
If you have a few hours a week (most of you guys seem to do 0-1 hour a day?) then you may find that doing a bit more intensity is the best use of that time, the one issue you’ll find doing either z2 or vo2 stuff is that it’ll kind of raise the ceiling but you’ll not be pushing up to it if you’re only doing one or the other.
I’d personally say with limited hours that you’re better off doing more sweet spot type stuff (about 90% effort) with a vo2 session thrown in once a week. Sweetspot is repeatable, and brings most of the benefits of training at FTP without as much of the damage.
Whatever way you cut it, you’re not going to get much endurance or adaption at lower intensities only riding for such short periods. A decent z2 ride is going to be measured in hours rather than minutes. But even a decent cyclist would class a 5x5 vo2 max session on the turbo as a decent days training even though it would only take an hour. Popular sessions for time crunched racing cyclists are 2 or 3 x 20 minute at sweetspot, 10x1 min with 1 min rest, 4 or 5x 5 min vo2 etc. You wouldn’t really find much z2 stuff in any plan from a coach for someone that only had a few hours per week really - it is a classic thing of what pro’s are doing filtering into what amateurs are doing - however usually due to the time each group have, they’re not really that cross compatible.
Time isn't really an issue as I'm retired... it's more the motivation to sit on the bike for 2 hours a day... it's just boring.
It does feel a bit odd just sitting there at 150bpm/170w... a good 30/45mins session for me previously would see ave HR at c.164 & 240/250w. But the YT video I linked says a min of 45mins 4 times a week is sufficient to see gains... my intention is to do 5 x 1 hr Z2 and 1 x 1 hr or 2 x 30m HIIT... or even do 10 mins HIIT at the end of the Z2 hour.
I'm waaaaay off being an expert on the science, but as I understand it, the program isn't directly about endurance gains, but about increasing the threshold at which your body metabolises fat as an energy source as opposed to sugars... which has benefits to liver health and insulin resistance. It might be more suited to someone who older (I'm 55) and not super fit (my FTP is c.3w/kg).
Obviously it would help endurance as fat is a lot easier to store than glucose.
I did a mix of sweet spot/threshold and HIIT/tabata earlier in this year... just fancy a change... and I'm not trying to get super fit as much as improve my overall health
It does feel a bit odd just sitting there at 150bpm/170w... a good 30/45mins session for me previously would see ave HR at c.164 & 240/250w. But the YT video I linked says a min of 45mins 4 times a week is sufficient to see gains... my intention is to do 5 x 1 hr Z2 and 1 x 1 hr or 2 x 30m HIIT... or even do 10 mins HIIT at the end of the Z2 hour.
I'm waaaaay off being an expert on the science, but as I understand it, the program isn't directly about endurance gains, but about increasing the threshold at which your body metabolises fat as an energy source as opposed to sugars... which has benefits to liver health and insulin resistance. It might be more suited to someone who older (I'm 55) and not super fit (my FTP is c.3w/kg).
Obviously it would help endurance as fat is a lot easier to store than glucose.
I did a mix of sweet spot/threshold and HIIT/tabata earlier in this year... just fancy a change... and I'm not trying to get super fit as much as improve my overall health
No bike... I would quite like a mountain bike (I did some around 15 years ago), but no interest in riding on the roads round here.
I have no need to lose weight - my weight is now where I want it to be after losing the 8kg I gained through illness last year... if anything I'd like to put a few KG's on as I lost 3KG with Covid and I'm now 81kg at 191cm.
Simply want to optimise my overall health without it taking over my life... I'm not prepared to give up what I enjoy eating or the daily beer/wine (though I did give up a pack a day smoking habit and joints a couple of years ago).
Previously, a 'normal' training week for me would be 4 or 5 Peloton classes (1 or 2 x 30m high intensity, 3 x medium), 2 x 1km swims (22-23mins), 3 or 4 x 30min weight sessions.
I have no need to lose weight - my weight is now where I want it to be after losing the 8kg I gained through illness last year... if anything I'd like to put a few KG's on as I lost 3KG with Covid and I'm now 81kg at 191cm.
Simply want to optimise my overall health without it taking over my life... I'm not prepared to give up what I enjoy eating or the daily beer/wine (though I did give up a pack a day smoking habit and joints a couple of years ago).
Previously, a 'normal' training week for me would be 4 or 5 Peloton classes (1 or 2 x 30m high intensity, 3 x medium), 2 x 1km swims (22-23mins), 3 or 4 x 30min weight sessions.
Origin Unknown said:
New to Peloton bike and I'm really enjoying it so far. Is there a way I can see the schedule for live classes on a specific day? I can see the pre-recorded classes but not the schedule for the live ones.
Being thick, you do it on the bike not in the mobile app. Solved. Chris Stott said:
Time isn't really an issue as I'm retired... it's more the motivation to sit on the bike for 2 hours a day... it's just boring.
As a Peloton newbie I've only done 1 x 45 min ride so far and I was worried about the boring factor so did it whilst watching a half of football and the time whizzed by. I notice there are scenic rides (with and without a trainer) that might be an option for limiting the boredom factor. But for now I'm concentrating on the classes, just moving up from 20 min beginner to 30 min advanced beginner around 5.8/6.4 on the difficulty and dipping my toe in to some of the "main" classes. Must confess I don't understand a lot of the jargon on this thread but I have a heart rate monitor and seem to hover in zone 2/3 with occasional foray in to zone 4 so I assume that's doing me some good. Will see how I get on over the coming months.You’ll pickup the jargon as you do more classes… a lot of it will be power zone related… which are classes based on your specific level of fitness.
But do not confuse power zone with heart rate zone.
On heart rate… unless you’ve done a test and know your own max HR, the bike will use an estimate based on your age (220-age). This can be out by 15%, which is a zone and a half. Eg; I’m 55, which gives me a theoretical max of 165. My actual max is 192. On really a hard effort class, my average HR can be more than my theoretical max… for 45 minutes. You’ll also get a more accurate calorie burn if your HR is accurate.
Once you know your max HR you can more effectively manage how hard you’re working… HR zone 2 is only really useful if you’re doing longer efforts (>45) multiple times per week. If you not have time for 20 or 30 mins, much better to do more intense efforts (HIIT/climb/tabata) and get your heart rate up to 90% on the pushes.
People who haven’t done hard aerobic exercise before tend to initially over estimate how hard they are working… they think they are working hard but their bodies can actually go much harder! Took me a good 2-3 weeks to understand this.
But do not confuse power zone with heart rate zone.
On heart rate… unless you’ve done a test and know your own max HR, the bike will use an estimate based on your age (220-age). This can be out by 15%, which is a zone and a half. Eg; I’m 55, which gives me a theoretical max of 165. My actual max is 192. On really a hard effort class, my average HR can be more than my theoretical max… for 45 minutes. You’ll also get a more accurate calorie burn if your HR is accurate.
Once you know your max HR you can more effectively manage how hard you’re working… HR zone 2 is only really useful if you’re doing longer efforts (>45) multiple times per week. If you not have time for 20 or 30 mins, much better to do more intense efforts (HIIT/climb/tabata) and get your heart rate up to 90% on the pushes.
People who haven’t done hard aerobic exercise before tend to initially over estimate how hard they are working… they think they are working hard but their bodies can actually go much harder! Took me a good 2-3 weeks to understand this.
Chris Stott said:
Time isn't really an issue as I'm retired... it's more the motivation to sit on the bike for 2 hours a day... it's just boring.
It does feel a bit odd just sitting there at 150bpm/170w... a good 30/45mins session for me previously would see ave HR at c.164 & 240/250w. But the YT video I linked says a min of 45mins 4 times a week is sufficient to see gains... my intention is to do 5 x 1 hr Z2 and 1 x 1 hr or 2 x 30m HIIT... or even do 10 mins HIIT at the end of the Z2 hour.
I'm waaaaay off being an expert on the science, but as I understand it, the program isn't directly about endurance gains, but about increasing the threshold at which your body metabolises fat as an energy source as opposed to sugars... which has benefits to liver health and insulin resistance. It might be more suited to someone who older (I'm 55) and not super fit (my FTP is c.3w/kg).
Obviously it would help endurance as fat is a lot easier to store than glucose.
I did a mix of sweet spot/threshold and HIIT/tabata earlier in this year... just fancy a change... and I'm not trying to get super fit as much as improve my overall health
I know I’m a bit late but those being bpm/W measurements seem off to me.It does feel a bit odd just sitting there at 150bpm/170w... a good 30/45mins session for me previously would see ave HR at c.164 & 240/250w. But the YT video I linked says a min of 45mins 4 times a week is sufficient to see gains... my intention is to do 5 x 1 hr Z2 and 1 x 1 hr or 2 x 30m HIIT... or even do 10 mins HIIT at the end of the Z2 hour.
I'm waaaaay off being an expert on the science, but as I understand it, the program isn't directly about endurance gains, but about increasing the threshold at which your body metabolises fat as an energy source as opposed to sugars... which has benefits to liver health and insulin resistance. It might be more suited to someone who older (I'm 55) and not super fit (my FTP is c.3w/kg).
Obviously it would help endurance as fat is a lot easier to store than glucose.
I did a mix of sweet spot/threshold and HIIT/tabata earlier in this year... just fancy a change... and I'm not trying to get super fit as much as improve my overall health
I think we’re all agreed that the Peloton power figures are largely nonsense but regardless, I’d expect cycling at your “threshold” to give a greater gain in bpm than you’re experiencing versus the 70% (170W) figure. I would suggest that the power measurement at 150bpm is too low but that the power at 164bpm is reading too high.
Because of these errors, you won’t be calculating Z2 properly - I think your bpm for Z2 is too high for your age. And, as already mentioned, Z2 training needs much greater load to be effective.
MrBarry123 said:
I know I’m a bit late but those being bpm/W measurements seem off to me.
I think we’re all agreed that the Peloton power figures are largely nonsense but regardless, I’d expect cycling at your “threshold” to give a greater gain in bpm than you’re experiencing versus the 70% (170W) figure. I would suggest that the power measurement at 150bpm is too low but that the power at 164bpm is reading too high.
Because of these errors, you won’t be calculating Z2 properly - I think your bpm for Z2 is too high for your age. And, as already mentioned, Z2 training needs much greater load to be effective.
Err, no, we don’t all agree that peloton power figures are nonsense. I own 2 peloton (an original and a + with a power meter), have access to a 3rd (in laws bike) and also to my mates non-peloton bike with power meter I think we’re all agreed that the Peloton power figures are largely nonsense but regardless, I’d expect cycling at your “threshold” to give a greater gain in bpm than you’re experiencing versus the 70% (170W) figure. I would suggest that the power measurement at 150bpm is too low but that the power at 164bpm is reading too high.
Because of these errors, you won’t be calculating Z2 properly - I think your bpm for Z2 is too high for your age. And, as already mentioned, Z2 training needs much greater load to be effective.
My in laws peloton is hilariously easy… I can do outputs around 25% higher than on the others (>300w for 45 mins, 55 years old and 82kg).
On the other 3 bikes my outputs are pretty much consistent.
I’m not sure what you’re reading in to my post above… When I posted that, an hour at a constant 75-80% of max HR was around 170 watts average. As I’ve further recovered from Covid, I’m now up to 190w for 90 mins at sub 80% max HR.
My last FTP was 259w, but I lost a lot of that with Covid and I’m still a chunk off that.
My Max HR is correct.
48k said:
As a Peloton newbie I've only done 1 x 45 min ride so far and I was worried about the boring factor so did it whilst watching a half of football and the time whizzed by. I notice there are scenic rides (with and without a trainer) that might be an option for limiting the boredom factor.
I would start with the shorter 20-30 minutes, or even just jumped into one of the program sessions like 'Discover your powerzone'. The best thing about Peloton for me anyways is the instructors and engagement, if you are just going to watch something else when doing a ride you can save alot of £££ by just getting any stationary bike and watching football.I have to say 18 months in and I've yet to get 'bored' on any of the classes, getting knackered and wanting the class to end yes.....but never bored, quite the opposite, addiction isn't too strong a word at times in our household when both me and my wife 'negotiate' who is gets to do what/when.
If you haven't already done it, try the strength based stuff. I now do more strength sessions than the bike, and for me saw much faster results. The equipment you need is minimum a pair of dumbells and a mat, even the body weight stuff is really good to do when on holiday. I've got a series of them downloaded now on my phone, and do them literally anywhere, but this session below I did this week is a killer!!
https://members.onepeloton.co.uk/classes/strength?...
Just like the bike session, its quite easy I think to think the Peloton strength classes are just a 'gimmick' with flashy presentation. But actually if you do them, you soon realise they aren't and most important deliver results. My arms/chest is visibly different now compared to Jan of this year when I started doing the strength classes 3+ times pre week. No gyms or equipment just a set of £30 weights from Argos.
The one thing I still cannot bring my self to do though is running.......the Tread looks tempting, but I just hate running, managed a half marathon once, never again.....But who knows what the power of marketing can do
.gangzoom said:
48k said:
As a Peloton newbie I've only done 1 x 45 min ride so far and I was worried about the boring factor so did it whilst watching a half of football and the time whizzed by. I notice there are scenic rides (with and without a trainer) that might be an option for limiting the boredom factor.
I would start with the shorter 20-30 minutes, or even just jumped into one of the program sessions like 'Discover your powerzone'. .As for the cost, I bought my Peloton off eBay for just under half current retail so it's still expensive but not as bad as it could have been. I think the £39 a month for the classes is decent value considering the quality of the instructors and the accessibility.
Two Questions:
1) I've found out about the Netflix "hack", any reason why I shouldn't use this? Trying to find ways to keep it interesting for my wife and this would certainly help. She doesn't care about measuring her ride.
2) Zone 2 training. Does anyone use their Bike for Z2 training?
1) I've found out about the Netflix "hack", any reason why I shouldn't use this? Trying to find ways to keep it interesting for my wife and this would certainly help. She doesn't care about measuring her ride.
2) Zone 2 training. Does anyone use their Bike for Z2 training?
okgo said:
What do you mean Z2 training?
I'm sure you can use the bike for training in any zone, no?
From here: https://www.asics.com/gb/en-gb/frontrunner/article...I'm sure you can use the bike for training in any zone, no?
Article said:
Zone 2 is steady training just coming above the easy zone, It’s not moderate or anything above. The main benefit form zone 2 heart rate or zone 2 power is that it builds aerobic base and endurance. By Improving aerobic capacity this improves your ability to maintain a faster pace for a longer period of time. Of course you still need to do the higher intensity efforts but zone 2 is the basis and foundation from which to begin to build your faster pace. If you have a strong aerobic capacity it will also allow you to recover quicker between those higher intensity efforts. For example, with a better aerobic fitness, you will be able to perform intervals with a shorter rest in between and hit pace stronger.
This article does a thorough job https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/zone-2-training...Asked the question as I cannot see any specific z2 training classes, wondered if anyone was doing the same and have some ideas to keep it interesting. Prob the netflix hack is the answer!
k all, and it’s boring. Origin Unknown said:
This article does a thorough job https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/zone-2-training...
Asked the question as I cannot see any specific z2 training classes, wondered if anyone was doing the same and have some ideas to keep it interesting. Prob the netflix hack is the answer!
Pretty much all the PZ 'endurance' classes are zone 2/3 for 45 minutes. Also the 'recovery' rides are all nearly z2 if you stay at the lower limits.Asked the question as I cannot see any specific z2 training classes, wondered if anyone was doing the same and have some ideas to keep it interesting. Prob the netflix hack is the answer!
Netflix is fine, but you can do that on any excerise bike. It's also pretty unstainable longterm due to sheer bordem, otherwise Peloton wouldn't exist in the first place.
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