A Working Mom’s Review of the Peloton Bike - The Bossy House

A Working Mom’s Review of the Peloton Bike

4 reasons you need the Peloton bike

Four months ago I got the Peloton bike. And now, after four months and 50 rides, I'm here with a working mom's review to help other moms who are considering the decision to get the Peloton bike. 

I can't tell you I've lost a lot of weight (because I haven't), and I can't tell you I'm exercising every day (because I'm not). But the Peloton has totally changed my relationship with exercise, and taken the stress, overthinking, and dread out of working out. For me, that's HUGE. 

Read on to see if the Peloton bike is for you! 

What is the Peloton bike?

The Peloton bike is a compact stationary workout bike that fits in your home. It's made of carbon steel, has a magnetic flywheel, and four ways to adjust it to your height and body shape. It weighs 135 pounds and measures about 4 feet long by 2 feet wide. 

It's on the high end of exercise bikes because it's such a high quality bike. Reviews have been very positive in terms of quality and durability. 

Is the Peloton right for you? Find out here!

And in case you're wondering "I'm a beginner-- do I want such a complicated bike," the answer is, yes, if you're going to buy it for the long haul. Compact, sturdy, and quiet, this is a great bike if you're looking to give one a "forever home."

Unlike most exercise bikes in the gym, this bike does not create a workout for you by increasing the resistance. Instead, the bike is connected to exercise classes on its 21 inch touch screen, and provides a resistance knob for you to adjust as the class prompts you. 

Peloton Classes On Demand

The REAL reason to get this bike is the online, on demand classes that are running all day, every day. 

Each bike's screen becomes a window into live or pre-recorded classes that allow you to connect with other riders and experience the closest thing you can get to a live spin class without actually being there.

Is the Peloton right for you? Find out here!

There are dozens of types of classes, from HIIT to Groove to Intervals and Arms (my fave) to classes with a Live DJ. They've also always got theme classes going on, from a Maroon 5 themed class to Black History Month and Women's History Month rides. 

You CAN just get the Peloton classes for $39 a month. Here's a tutorial on how to try that out.  

Best Reasons to get a Peloton Bike

I am so seriously happy with my decision to get the Peloton bike and I have narrowed it down to four distinct reasons that the purchase was worth the cost. 

It's worth it if you're looking for a way to simplify the work that goes in to planning (and showing up for) workouts, if you want to track your progress, customize your workouts, and keep yourself motivated. 

You Customize Your Experience

I love how easy it is to customize your experience with the Peloton classes. 

Every day, there are dozens of classes that are offered, either with a live instructor or as "encore" pre-recorded classes that are run as live classes. That means that 12 times a day, you can show up for a class and ride along with other live riders. 

The Decision to get the peloton

There are dozens of types of classes, from HIIT to Groove to Intervals and Arms (my fave) to classes with a Live DJ. They've also always got theme classes going on, from a Maroon 5 themed class to Black History Month and Women's History Month rides. 

This makes the leaderboard extra exciting since everyone joined the ride at the same time and is along for the same experience.

In addition to that, you can pick a pre-recorded ride from the hundreds of courses they offer.

The filter feature allows you to sort by time of class, class type, instructor, weights or no weights added, and genre of music. This makes it SO easy to make the experience match exactly what you want. I have my favorite instructors, my favorite types of classes, and (of course) my favorite music to ride to.

When you select a class, you can see ahead of time which songs will be playing during the ride. You can even search for a musical artist and find all the classes that are available with that artist's songs. Sometimes I'm in a Janelle Monae mood, you know?

4 reasons you need the Peloton bike

More custom features include the ability to bookmark rides you are interested in or love so you can quickly find them next time. You can also immediately see which classes you've already taken in case you wanted to repeat a great experience. 

The huge benefit to this machine is that you ALWAYS have a good ride with instructors you love, music that gets you moving, and exactly how much time you want to spend. And on days when you don't know what you want, there's plenty of variety to surprise you. 

No Overthinking Needed: Peloton is a One-Stop Shop

If you struggle with all the THINKING and PLANNING that goes into working out, this is a great reason to make the decision to get a Peloton. 

The number one reason you should make the decision to get a Peloton is that it is SITTING THERE IN YOUR HOUSE and you can RIDE IT WHENEVER YOU WANT.

Do you want to pay for (and, let's face it-- spend the time to schedule) a babysitter to watch your child which you work out? Do you like the commute to the gym and the potential skeezy guys grunting in the weigh area?

Having a workout machine in your house means you can squeeze in a workout into way more parts of your day, avoid babysitting costs, and cut WAY down on the time it takes to get a workout in. 

I don't know about you, but 5 years into parenting I had lost my will to workout. My daughter at 2 was perfectly amenable to riding along on the back of the bike, toddling around during a yoga session, or watching a body-weight workout session while we were at the park. Now at 5, it's impossible. She doesn't fit in the bike seat anymore, but more than that she is just unwilling to give up the stuff she likes so I can get a workout in. 

Having the bike in my basement means I can sneak in a workout when she's asleep or even while she's awake if I play my cards right. 

The other amazing improvement in my life is that I don't spend any time outside of exercising THINKING about exercising. I just show up on the bike and let the instructor guide me. No more lists of weight exercises for a custom HIIT workout (and the tracking of which ones I did when). 

If you're ecumenical about exercise, as in you just want to get it done and you're not all that interested in the theory and planning that goes into it, this could be a great choice for you. The decision to get the Peloton bike means, for me, that I get back all that energy wasted on worrying if I'm doing the right exercises at the right intensity. Peloton tells me what to do and I do it. 

Peloton Tracks Your Progress for You

 I used to note down weight exercises for a custom HIIT workout, track my progress and which workouts I did when, and attempt to motivate myself by keeping a fitness tracker. No more. 

Peloton bike

Peloton does a great job of showing you your workout history. It also tracks your metrics, showing you your output over time. My first ride on 2/4 had an output of 95. My latest 20 minute ride had an output of 136, meaning I'm spending more time on the bike at a higher resistance. It's so cool to see progress over time!

It's great to be able to see some non-scale victories, to be able to track how much stronger I'm getting, and to let go of all the manual tracking I was doing on my own. If your decision to get the Peloton is partially about seeing progress over time, I can't recommend it highly enough. 

Peloton Keeps You Motivated

Finally, Peloton keeps you motivated like no other workout program. 

No matter what your reason for riding the bike is, Peloton has a way to keep you coming back.

If your goal is to exercise more, Peloton tracks your rides and rewards you for your milestones. There are badges to earn for completing milestone rides, a special Century t-shirt for completing 100 rides, and shoutouts from instructors during live classes. 

If your goals is to increase the intensity of your workouts, Peloton is always tracking your metrics and showing you your progress. If you're trying to gain strength, watch your resistance numbers. If you're trying to increase speed, watch your cadence numbers. 

If your'e competitive in general, Peloton is MADE for you! You can watch the  leaderboard and see yourself move up as you work harder. You can even filter that leaderboard by age and gender, so sometimes on a live ride I like to filter by "women in their 40s" and see how I stack up with my peers. 

4 reasons you need the Peloton bike

On any of the pre-recorded rides, you can filter by "here now" and just compete against the live riders, or you can see how you perform compared to everyone who has ever taken that ride. I'm NEVER going to be in the top 100 on any leaderboard, but I still find it fun and motivating to try to get higher in placement. 

Competing against yourself is super easy too! Your personal best is always on the screen and you can ride with the goal to beat yourself. (And then you get a cool badge when you do!)

Finally, Peloton allows you to "high five" any of your leaderboard buddies as you ride so you get the true feel of a real live class. 

If you want a SUPER experience that, for me, hits all the motivations, try a live ride WITH A FRIEND! Peloton has a feature where you and a friend can see each other during a live ride. My highest output yet (or since) was when me and my dear friend all the way in North Carolina discovered we both had Pelotons and took a live ride together. Cheering on your bestie from 2000 miles away is super fun. 

How to Make the Decision to Get the Peloton

Start with your goals. What do you want out of an exercise program? 

Maybe it's better to say: start with your problem. And then see if Peloton can fix that problem. 

If you are an elite athlete and want a way to track your metrics, Peloton will do that for cycling. But my guess is that, if you're an elite athlete, you don't need all the other features that makes Peloton REALLY worth the money: the motivation, the simplicity, and the community. 

Speaking of cost: the Peloton is expensive. But affordable. 

On the website you can sign up to be pre-approved for 0% financing, which means the $2,245 cost gets split up over 2 years. My cost comes out to $100 a month for the bike. The online classes and community are another $39 a month. 

Is the Peloton Bike Worth It? Ask yourself these questions:
  • In two years, will I still be riding this bike? If not, spending $100 a month to own a high-end bike might not be worth it.  
  • How much am I spending NOW on working out, and will this bike eliminate those costs? If you are going to a gym and you think that this bike will completely replace your gym membership, it's totally worth it. 
  • Will this be cheaper than a spin class? If you are planning to work out 3 times a week, the bike is WAY cheaper. 
  • Will the decision to get the Peloton improve my ability to get more workouts in? If you have kids or work a full schedule, the answer is already yes. 
  • Will I get sick of spinning? Only you can answer that, but I would say that Peloton has all the rest of the bells and whistles to make sure you don't get bored. 

If your goals are around increasing the frequency of your exercise, this program is a no-brainer. And if there are two of you at home, it's even more cost effective. You have to decide if the monthly cost is worth it to you to meet your goals in this way, but from my experience as someone without a lot of disposable income, this was the best decision I have ever made about exercise

Start with your goals. What do you want out of an exercise program?

My Decision to Get the Peloton

I had a knee surgery in January, which is my third knee surgery (my second on this knee). I just have bad knees. So much so that my doctor told me that following the surgery I had to scale down workouts. "I don't even want you walking hard," he said. Oh boy. 

I don't love indoor exercise. I had taken exactly one spin class. And I didn't even love it. I actually prefer yoga on the back porch among the trees or long walks. Outdoor swims, a challenging hike.

So this wasn't the surest bet. But I took the leap because of three things:

1. Leading myself through my own little weight exercises was boring.

2. Arranging to get to a class or the gym (or, let's face it: even a walk or a bike around town) was impossible as a single mom. What mom is willing to organize babysitting for an hour workout 3 times a week? NO MOM, that's who.

3. From here on out, no jumping or running on these knees. And yoga is not cutting it for the kind of good workouts I need.

decision to get the peloton

I needed something new. I needed something accessible. And I needed something with intensity.

My brother told me to wait because what if it was a bad idea. (FYI actual text convo with him on the left.) 

My take on it was, why NOT the Peloton? Ultimately, I decided that waiting wouldn't help me make the decision, and that it was only expensive if I didn't ride it six times a month since the Peloton monthly cost was the same as six spin classes. It was rash, but I was sure about it.

I ordered the Peloton to arrive the day after my knee surgery, but it was only three weeks later that I could actually remove the ice pack from my knee and ride it. But now, after four months on the bike I'm feeling mighty proud.

I love that I can walk downstairs to the basement and get a 20 minute workout in after bedtime. I love filtering hundreds of workouts by music playlist, and I'm developing my favorite instructors. I sometimes do 5 workouts in 7 days, and I'm working out more intensely than I have in years.  

If you're a working mom who needs to put yourself (and your workouts) at the center, consider these tips!

Working Mom Peloton Tips 

Before you buy: get a code

All Peloton members get a code they can use to help new folks save some money on their bike. If you use a code (and mine is ENKRY2) you save $100 on any accessories or boutique purchases you make. 

peloton leggings

You're probably going to need some accessories: the shoes alone cost some money and, if you don't have any, you might as well go ahead and get the Peloton shoes.  

The upside is that YOU get $100 and I also get $100 and now I think I need these leggings (don't we all need these leggings?) so go ahead and use my code!

Get the heaviest weights

I got the 3 pound weights. At first, they were heavy, but after only 4 months I'm used to them. I actually also use the 5 pound weights I have at home too.

Don't bother with the 1 and 2 pounds weights since soon you'll be strong enough to need new weights. Just do fewer reps at first. 

And my suggestion is to always do the class with the arm workouts. In 30 minutes you're done with the workout and you've toned your arms. Multi-tasking!

Adjust Your Shoes to Your liking

In the beginning, adjust your shoes several times so you're perfectly comfortable. 

At first, my feet would get numb because of the way I had them placed. Once I moved the ball of my foot back a bit, I was much more comfortable. 

The shoes and clip-in system might seem complicated at first, but all you need is one of those IKEA wrenches to make adjustments. 

In terms of the difficulty getting in and out of the clip-in system: I leave my shoes clipped in. Because of my knee surgery, I shouldn't torque my knee, and leaving the shoes on the bike makes it easier for me to get in and out. 

Just showing up should be your goal

Don't make this about anything but showing up on the bike. Set a goal for how many times you want to show up each week, and then execute on that goal. 

Don't worry about not being as fast or as fierce as any of the other die-hards on the leaderboard. I am often number 2,500 on the board and I DON'T CARE. I showed up and that's what matters. 

At first, don't make this about anything but showing up on the bike. 

When I am pressed for time, it's super-easy to get in a 20 minute workout and give myself props for showing up. And overall, I am working out SO much more than I was before. That is a huge victory for me.

Let it be a victory for you too, and the rest will come if you just do the hardest part, which is showing up. 

Get involved in the community

Peloton community groups on Facebook have been so fun, and have connected me to a huge group of folks also trying to make fitness work fro them. I particularly love my Working Moms of Peloton Facebook group

If one of the instructors motivates you, follow them on Instagram or Facebook. All of this positivity in your social media every day helps get you on the bike when you're feeling unmotivated. 

Workout when your kids are awake

Figuring out how to get a workout in when the kids are awake is a big challenge, but if you can make it work it can give you way more options of workout times and increase your time exercising each month. 

One strategy I use is that my daughter's Legos are in the room where the Peloton bike is located. She doesn't have access to this room if I'm not around (since it's in the basement and also has things she shouldn't touch like sewing supplies and files, etc.)

4 reasons you need the Peloton bike

But when I want to do a workout and she's around, I can get her agreement by reminding her the Legos are down there. It's not something she plays with every day so she's excited to go down and pick up where she left off last time.

Find something that your child likes to do and locate it where the bike is located. That'll keep them busy while you're on the bike and make them more likely to agree to let you have your 20 minute workout uninterrupted. 

The Decision to Get the Peloton is YOURS now!

Now it's up to you! 

The novelty of the Peloton wears off after a few weeks, but the whole experience is so rich and motivating that I am still as excited to get on the bike as the first week I had it.

You should definitely run the idea by someone like my brother who can give you all the reasons it might be a bad idea to make such a big purchase. But you should also go with your own mind and your own sense of what your priorities are. And then you should send your brother a picture of you on the bike every day just to prove him wrong. 🙂

For me, it didn't actually matter WHAT kind of exercise machine it was. Peloton offered so much in terms of variety and motivation that I knew it was right for me. Start with your fitness goals and work backwards.  

I hope you get as much out of your Peloton as I'm getting out of mine! Happy riding!

  • Kristine Nicole Alessandra says:

    It looks like a nice piece of equipment to have at home. I know it may be pricey, but to invest in our health and fitness is worth the price.

    • Julie says:

      Yes totally, especially if the investment means you are working out more frequently and more intensely!

  • Anagha says:

    I think this will work well for everyone. Plus the classes offered are best thing to carry on under right guidance. I would think of buying it for my family.

  • Julie says:

    SO worth the investment!

  • Marjie Mare says:

    That bike will keep me motivated to exercise more if I have it at home. I should get one.

  • Ana says:

    What a comprehensive review! The Peloton bike looks perfect for working out at home when you have got a busy lifestyle. My mom is always fussy about working out. I think she is going to love this bike!

  • Julie says:

    It truly is the best just going downstairs for a workout.

  • Ivan Jose says:

    My wife and I are thinking of getting a stationary bike at home. I think we might just proceed with our plan.

  • Aria says:

    I really want to own a stationary workout bike but my apartment is so small. I get to use the gym’s stationary workout bike. If I transfer to a bigger apartment maybe i could this to my list of things to buy.
    Great review!

    • Julie says:

      If you want to get some of the benefits, you could get the Peloton membership and online classes ($39), and then use them on the stationary bike at the gym!

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