When I was able to go to gyms not so long ago, one of my favorite things to do was the spin classes. The group effort and the motivation of the instructor combined with the booming music was just so motivating whereas I personally felt as though it is really easy to give up, especially with cardio if you are working out on your own.
I had owned an exercise bike (that someone gave me) an it ended up being something I put clothes on, just like such equipment normally ends up being used by most people.
I'm pretty certain that there are a bunch of other people out there that have experienced exactly the same thing happening to them. You think "of course I'm gonna use it every day!" but then, just like most other people, you do not. Why? Because it is boring for the most part and unlike riding outside, the scenery doesn't change.
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Spin classes changed all of this. These exciting 1 hour classes incorporated music, excitement, live instruction, and in one or two that I attended a "leaderboard" as well as even light shows. The group mentality of not giving up was incredible and I frequently pushed myself in a manner that I never would do on my own.
Covid changed all of that though and most of these spin-class specific businesses are either already out of business or have laid off all of their staff and are barely hanging one. Flywheeel, which was one of the most popular chains of this sort of activity was taken over by a lender and has shut down all of their operations as they explore selling the company outright.
Of course no one could see Covid coming and in-person exercise businesses like Flywheel (and many other copycats) are likely going to fold. There is one person in this game that is absolutely thriving though, and it is actually because of Covid that they are doing as well as they are.
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Years ago Peloton started marketing high quality exercise bikes for people to purchase and use at home. The bikes are very high tech and are connected to live and on demand classes and this of course comes with a monthly fee. User's stats are tracked and the instructors will from time to time interact with individual members by name as the information is fed to them as well.
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World-class instructors lead the classes with custom music (not sure how they get around the copyright but they seem to) and as you can see on the side of the screen there it shows how you are performing compared to others in the class. This leads to making you want to work harder to improve your "score." I got to try out one of these when visiting a friend and I have to say that this is a really amazing advancement although I didn't feel as motivated as I would if I was there face to face.
I did enjoy the experience enough to consider purchasing one - until I found out how much one of them costs.
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The basic Peloton bike package is going to set you back a whopping $2200 and this doesn't include the $39 a month subscription to have access to the classes which honestly, what good is this bike without the classes? It will just become another bike rack.
There are other options out there for less especially top competitor Myx Fitness, but even then you are looking at over $1000 just to get started. Both of these bikes require that you engage in a subscription of at least 1 year to get involved which suggests to me that these bikes, like video game consoles, might be getting sold for very little initial purchase profit.
I think it is nice that something like this exists because it falls right in line with our current culture of needing to digitally store your progress in order for you to believe that you are accomplishing anything. I know that my cardio regimen improved a great deal once I started using Strava to track my stats so I think if I had the money, i would definitely be interested in getting involved with one of these bikes.
Unfortunately for now, I think I speak for most of the world when I say that spending this much money on a bike is well out of my price range and will likely remain something that I never actually have.
But for those out there with the money to do so, this bike will offer loads of opportunities for everyone who has one, even during lockdowns.
Swift have also got something similar where you log in and actually enter online bike rides. You are right as this is now kind of perfect for Peloton to really cash in. Gyms are never going to be the same after this as any gym users have gone and invested in their own equipment. My son is selling tons of equipment right now and can't get enough. Most of the items are sold before they even reach the port and already the next orders which haven't even let the factory have been sold.
your son is involved in the selling of fitness equipment? That is probably a really good business to be involved in right now!
I have several friends still back in USA that were gainfully employed by the various gyms. They are all out of work now. IT is so sad. I don't think i really want this to take off because well, the bikes are ludicrously expensive and it takes the jobs from thousands of people and puts them in the hands of just a few. It also costs nearly as much as a gym membership just to have this thing. Sounds dumb but I suppose if you are rich go for it!
It is sad to see so many out of work. Considering that even small cities normally have at least one fitness center, this is a tremendous amount of people with no jobs and it will likely be a long time if ever, that they get to return.
get out into the countryside and run or ride! It's free!
absolutely, if you have access to that sort of thing I find it highly preferable.
Goodness...that sounds like a hefty investment. Especially the monthly subscription part. It just feels like a bit much of a commitment for me.
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for me too. If I had 2 grand sitting around I wouldn't spend it on this :P
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awesome, thanks!
Worth checking out Zwift. Can take a regular road bike + used indoor trainer + a couple of sensors, and get an effective at-home spin session / group ride going on. Myself, and some of my buddies were using it at the start of COVID during mandated self-isolation when the weather was crummy. Worked nicely. Probably about a $300 investment if you've already got a bike to use.
this is fantastic advice and I have never heard of Zwift. Thanks for that!
I prefer outside! But, if I had the need and money for this, it does look pretty badass.
That looks awesome but if I was faced with having 2000 bucks to spend on something and then pay $40 a month for it, it probably wouldn't be an exercise bike.