I’m Learning to Do the Splits As an Adult and Peloton Stretching Classes Are Helping Me a Lot
I’m always working on a side quest, from getting certified in an obscure field (airbrush tanning) to learning a new skill (just because I live in Manhattan doesn’t mean I can’t learn to golf or fish). Since March, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of doing the splits, and I’ve given myself until August to do it. I’ve never been what anyone would call a flexible person (at least physically), so at first, the mission seemed unreasonable, even far-fetched. But then I discovered that my favorite app, Peloton, offers stretching classes.
It’s June and I’m still a long way from my goal, but practicing professionally guided stretching has definitely helped me make significant progress. Even if I weren’t trying to randomly contort my body into weird new ways just for the thrill of achieving a goal, I know that stretching is important; I start and end every spin class I teach with stretching because the warm-up and cool-down contribute to any workout. Whether you’re trying to become significantly more flexible or just want to improve your own fitness, Peloton’s guided stretching classes are a good option.
Why You Should Follow a Guided Stretching Program
The Peloton app offers all sorts of classes, some of which I’ve covered before. With an All-Access subscription ($44 per month), you can access the fitness company’s famous at-home cycling classes, go on guided walks , and even meditate . Peloton also offers several strength training options.
Some of these activities—like cycling and weight lifting—are obviously suitable for guided exercise, especially for beginners, but you might think that stretching is too easy to waste time on guided exercise. After all, it’s as simple as bending over and seeing if you can comfortably touch your toes. But that’s not true.
As Peloton notes in its blog post on the topic , stretching can not only help you prepare for or recover from a workout, but also improve your overall fitness, circulation, and even posture. But just as it can be helpful, stretching can also be harmful if you use improper form or overexert yourself. Listening to a certified trainer walk you through not only the exact stretches you should be doing but also what tools you can use to make them easier (like yoga blocks), how long you should hold them, and what adjustments you can make if something doesn’t feel right can help you stay safe and get more out of your efforts.
Peloton offers targeted stretching classes to help you reach specific goals
You can find stretching classes in the Peloton app by searching for “stretching” on the home screen. (“Stretching” may also appear as a separate button on the home screen, depending on what the algorithm suggests when you open the app.) Like all of its offerings, from running to yoga, Peloton’s list of stretching classes is varied. You can filter results by duration (anywhere from five minutes to 30) and by class type. Here are the types of stretches you can filter:
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Full body stretch
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Upper Body Stretches
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Lower Body Stretches
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Stretching the core muscles
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Stretches for mobility
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Foam for rolling
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Boxing stretching
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Dance Cardio Stretching
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Stretching before and after cycling
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Stretching before running
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Stretching after running
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Stretching before and after rowing
You can also filter by music genre and instructor, and add stretching classes to your Peloton Stack version of the app playlist (your Stack will play your pre-selected workouts in order). Add a stretching class to the beginning and end of your workout to make it more balanced, safe, and beneficial.
How Peloton Stretching Classes Helped Me
As others have noted, I’m not flexible either. I’ve never been flexible. I remember dreading those days in grade school gym class when the teacher measured how far everyone could stretch and I could barely get past my knees. Early in my splits mission, I started doing a vague stretching routine on my own every night, maybe Googling for ideas, but not really feeling much benefit or seeing much progress. Peloton’s more structured classes have changed that — I can look at my phone screen and see exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, and hear brief verbal cues telling me how I should feel as I stretch.
I’ve definitely noticed that since I started following the lower body stretching workouts on the app, I can go lower in my stretches with less pain and friction. Physically, this is a benefit in itself, but mentally, it’s both calming and motivating – calming because I’m less afraid of accidentally hurting myself by stretching incorrectly, and motivating because I actually feel like I’m making progress toward my goal.
The instructors are encouraging and knowledgeable, as is typical of all Peloton classes. They explain what’s coming next, tell you when to rock back and forth or stay static, and detail the function of each stretch, whether it’s to help with posture, make daily activities easier, or achieve a specific workout goal. I’ve even stolen a few stretches I learned to incorporate into the ones I teach in my spin classes.
While it’s easy enough to do a few impromptu stretches before lifting weights, after a cardio workout, or just when you’re feeling tense, it’s helpful to open the Peloton app and go through a more targeted program with the help of an expert, and that’s another way the app has become absolutely indispensable for me in my broader quest to improve my fitness.