Why A Peloton Bike Is The Best Way To Exer-Size Up Your Home Gym

By Kelly Castillo

I’ve owned my Peloton for 4 years now so I feel like I can give you a very honest, very thorough review on whether buying one is a good investment. I will start this by saying that obviously since I’ve owned mine that long, I own the original version of the Peloton bike. There’s a newer version now available with a larger, swiveling display screen and more connectivity. I also pay monthly for the Peloton membership which automatically loads my bike with new content every month for $39. So that’s my basic setup; now for my full Peloton bike review!

When I first bought the bike, I wasn’t that familiar with cycle classes although I loved to ride my bike around my community and considered myself pretty physically fit. I definitely have a “mom bod” though, so I can always use more muscle tone and cardio. I have the finances and ability to go to pretty much whatever fitness class I want to or to have a trainer come to my home, but what I have found is that the easier I make it for myself to work out, the more likely I will. Meaning, if I don’t have to leave my house or make it to a scheduled class time, I will probably find time to do the workout.

“…the easier I make it for myself to work out, the more likely I will.”

It helps that the Peloton is a bit of an investment which may be a motivation for a lot of people to put it to use. I would have LOVED to have this in the house when my kids were small and it was impossible for me to get to the gym — I probably would have hopped on every night to ride out my frustration and anxiety over raising all those little monsters at once! But that was back in the 90’s so I was stuck with DVDs and step aerobics, lol.

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I think one of the things that surprised me about the Peloton is how many people in my family actually use it — my husband has used it sporadically, but my daughters and son used it regularly when they were living at home. They love the variety of classes and trainers including all types of music, intensity levels, time durations, and gender of trainers to fit everyone’s preferences. It’s easy to fit in as short as a ten minute ride when time is tight, or you can do a sequence and compete with riders around the world if you’ve got a bit of a competitive streak and that motivates you.

There’s not just cycle classes included with the Peloton library though — there’s yoga, HIIT, stretching and arms classes plus many more. One of MY favorite features of the bike which I use even more than the classes is the Scenic Ride feature. It’s basically drone footage at bike height of interesting locations from all over the world, so it’s like you’re riding your bike along The Great Wall of China or through Tuscany wine country or many of the National Parks. I love it and find it super relaxing.

If you have a crazy work schedule or small kids at home, the Peloton is a no-brainer in my opinion. Work out at your own schedule, get a killer workout, and over the life of the Peloton you’ll save money versus a CycleBar or SoulCycle membership. However, if the Peloton is out of your budget, you can use the Peloton App membership with a different, more affordable stationary bike. That’s a good cost-saving tip if you’re not concerned with having the exact Peloton bike.

However you want to work out, the Peloton and Peloton app are the best on the market, not only in terms of quality, but the sheer amount of flexibility that you have for your workout. Whether you go for the whole bike and app package or just the app with a cheaper bike, the Peloton is well worth the investment.