How to Get the Most Out of a Peloton Class If You Don’t Have a Peloton
Even if you don’t have a Peloton Bike or Bike+, the home fitness giant’s app can help you get started with an effective and safe cycling workout. The instructor-led classes available to Bike and Bike+ users on their devices’ touchscreens are also available on the Peloton app , which works on iPhone, Android, and streaming devices like Roku. Taking one of the company’s famous spin classes is a little different without the accompanying branded equipment, but it’s still a solid workout.
Make sure you can see the class
When you take a Peloton spin class using the mobile or streaming app, you still see most of the same things on the screen as when you take a class on a Peloton bike: recommended cadence and resistance, a leaderboard that can be hidden, and, if you have a heart rate monitor connected , your heart rate. It doesn’t look exactly the same as it does on a Peloton device — it’s much simpler, as you can see in the screenshot above — but it doesn’t matter as long as you see cues about how fast you should go and what resistance your bike should be set to.
Here’s the first key: You need to be able to see the screen. Instructors will occasionally call out recommended cadences and resistance settings, but you’ll be better off if you can see what’s on the screen. I tried two different types of non-Peloton bikes in a Peloton class at the gym this week, and I found that a recumbent bike with a small shelf for my phone worked better for me so I could see. Streaming the class on your TV is smart if you have the option, but Amazon also has all sorts of phone holders for under $20 that you can attach to your bike.
Choose the best bike
If you already have a spin bike at home, you’ll have to make do with what you have, but if you’re looking for a home exercise bike or have multiple options at your gym, here’s what to keep in mind if you want to go Peloton.
First, I highly recommend a stationary bike that displays RPM (revolutions per minute). I first tried a Peloton mobile class on a spin bike in a commercial gym cycling studio, then went out onto the gym floor to find a recumbent bike I could try for an experiment. I’ve been teaching spin bikes for years in a variety of settings, and not all of the bikes I’ve taught on have a digital component that shares RPM information or visually displays the resistance level. They’ve become more common over the years, but you may still find yourself in a place where the spin bikes you have access to don’t show any information at all. It’s not the end of the world; you just won’t be able to track your cadence and match it with what the instructor and screen are telling you.
When testing the mobile app’s workouts, I used two fairly basic bikes. They didn’t have many of the usual bells and whistles, but they did have basic displays that at least gave me an idea of my cadence.
Don’t try to guess your RPM unless you have access to a bike that shows it to you; I’ve been teaching for a long time and I still can’t accurately estimate my RPM even if I try. If you spend too much time trying to guess your RPM, you’ll be distracted from your form, the music, and the workout. If you can’t see your RPM displayed as you ride, just try to ride in time with the music. Watch your instructor closely and try to match their cadence. Most of the time—not all the time, but most of the time—riding in time will put you in the middle of the recommended cadence.
I also recommend choosing a bike that displays the resistance level you’re on. It’s much easier to ride knowing your resistance level than to just guess based on how the tension feels. However, resistance isn’t as important as you might think. When I teach classes, I make sure participants know that if they’re having a hard time riding, say, a resistance level of 14 out of 25, they can knock off a few resistance points, even if I tell the class to aim for 14. Do your best to reach the resistance levels your instructor tells you to, but understand that—especially if you’re new to spinning—what’s easy or doable for someone else may not yet be easy or doable for you.
Be prepared to do some math
This is the suckiest part about taking a Peloton class on a non-Peloton bike. Instructors will tell you the recommended resistance level you should ride at, but they’ll give you numbers from one to 100 because that’s how the Peloton bike’s resistance is set. If you’re on a bike that doesn’t display resistance levels, that’s not a problem. If an instructor says your resistance should be around 50, you can feel out what 50% effort means to you and be done with it. But if you’re on a bike that displays resistance levels, you may have to do a lot of math on the fly.
The bikes I currently teach on most often have resistance levels ranging from one to 25. That 25 feels and works like a Peloton 100, while 12 or so on that bike would be similar to 50 on the Peloton. To take a Peloton class on one of those bikes, I’d have to do some math to make sure my resistance matches what the instructors suggest.
But wait, it gets worse. While testing the mobile app’s classes, I was at a new gym I’d never been to and using a bike brand I wasn’t familiar with. That bike’s resistance, for some reason, was listed on a scale of one to 35. That calculation was much more fiddly than the comparatively simple calculation required for a bike that uses a 25-point resistance scale. Some bikes list tension on a scale of one to 50. Others list it on a scale of one to 10. Before you hit play on a Peloton mobile class, crank the resistance on your bike up to max just to see what number appears on the screen when it’s at its highest. Be prepared to do the math from there.
Why I Love Being Able to Take Peloton Classes on Any Bike
The math is annoying, and it can be frustrating to take one of these classes if you don’t have a way to measure your cadence, but overall I think the ability to take a Peloton class on any bike is great. A full membership costs $44 and gives you access to everything from walking to stretching to meditation , making the app valuable even if you don’t have one of the Peloton Bike, Bike+, Tread, or Row devices. The cycling classes, which are all the same as those available on Peloton’s touchscreen devices, make it even more valuable. You get guidance and support from a trained, reputable professional. The classes are rigorously vetted and put safety first, and the playlists are varied and fun. Even just following along on your phone is better than trying to put together a workout yourself, especially if you’re new to cycling.
I also like that they are expanding the range of people who can use Peloton classes. For example, I tried Peloton’s mobile class on a recumbent bike and it worked great, which is fantastic news for people with joint issues, mobility issues, or wanting a lower-impact workout.
I recommend pairing your Apple Watch or another heart rate monitor with the Peloton app if you’re going to try taking a spin class on a bike other than a Peloton. Sure, you can rely on the heart rate monitors that might be in the handlebars of your gym’s bikes, but in general, gym equipment is much worse at giving you accurate information about your workout than wearables. The Peloton bike itself tracks your distance, cadence, and all sorts of metrics as you work out, but if you take a class through an app on another brand of bike, you’ll get absolutely no data unless you have a wearable.