Of course you’re not overly competitive – it’s just that it’s quite nice to cycle harder and faster than someone you don’t know in another county.
That’s the human instinct that made spin classes so popular and drove the growth of Peloton, the interactive fitness craze that allows you to compete with cyclists around the world from the ‘comfort’ of your own home.
Peloton launched in the UK in 2018 and has a growing number of retail showrooms where customers can experience the Peloton Bike and Peloton Bike+ in person. The bikes are fitted with a screen and software that delivers either live or on-demand classes that range from a 20-minute low impact session through to climb classes and Power Zone training.
Ian Spencer, Field Operations Manager at Peloton’s Northampton based warehouse, said: “Peloton brings the benefits of studio-style workouts into the home, which makes it really convenient and accessible. This year in particular, with lockdown, both the class content and the community aspect have really been a haven for many people. Spin classes are popular, but we offer the opportunity to take part in an interactive class any time of the day and at a level that suits you. The interactivity means that you stay motivated – it’s a very competitive world and when you’re on a bike and you can see someone on the leaderboard and you’re not, that inspires you to work harder and push yourself.
“At the same time, if you’re not used to spin or cycling, or you want to get back into exercise to lose some weight or improve your fitness, it’s ideal because you set your own level and you’re not in a room full of people with an instructor where you might be self-conscious if you feel you can’t keep up.”
There are two Bike options available. The Peloton Bike, which connects riders to live and on-demand workouts, and is fitted with a 22-inch screen that connects to your wifi. All classes are archived so that they are available at any time, and the subscription allows more than one person in a household to log in. Recently introduced is the Peloton Bike+ which has a 24-inch rotating touchscreen, a four-speaker sound system, as well as other features which make it easier to complement a cycling class with Peloton’s other content. There is also the option to have an App only membership, which provides access to all Peloton content anytime, anywhere.
“What is great to see is that there is a fantastic Peloton community growing up around the classes,” said Ian. “No one can see you working out – so you can roll out of bed on a morning and just clamber on the bike – but others can see how you’re doing and give shout outs when someone is doing well, or if it’s their tenth ride, something like that.
“It’s all very positive and very encouraging, with riders messaging to swap tips and encourage one another, and I’ve never heard any of the negativity that sometimes comes with social media platforms.
“It’s positivity all the way through, but with a lot of competitiveness thrown in. People do want to beat their rivals or have a challenge to beat someone else’s ride, but it’s all done in the
right way.”
Peloton currently has 3.1 million members globally and, in FY2020, 164 million workouts were completed by All-Access subscribers.
Since moving into Northampton, Peloton has seen a steady increase in business. Bikes are delivered to the home with full instructions on how to get set up. Support from Peloton itself and through other users on the online platform makes that simple and straightforward as there’s always someone to ask for help if it’s needed.
“Northampton is a great base for us,” said Ian. “We have tried to return that support by using local companies ourselves wherever we can, despite being part of a large international organisation, for services like recruitment and catering, and we very much feel like part of the business community now.”
Find out more about Peloton at www.onepeloton.co.uk
