Fans of the Peloton bike finally got their collective wish when the home fitness company sprinkled in a few “Bike Bootcamp” classes earlier this year. Previously the workouts which feature a mix of time on the bike alternating with time on the mat next to the bike working with weights were only available to Treat customers.
Now Peloton is taking it even further.
In addition to being in the on-demand library Bike Bootcamps will also be offered live — a popular social option given shelter-in-place edicts and the inability to workout at the local gym. Given their popularity it’s no surprise that the company has also announced that “Bike Bootcamp will now be an official Peloton discipline.”
Indeed, here’s the new logo you’ll find on the Bike/Bike+ and Peloton Digital App to denote the Bike Bootcamp section:
Live Bootcamp Classes start this week. Today, in fact. Jess Sims leads an all levels 60 minute class 11/16 2PM PT/5PM ET. Later it’s Robin Arzón with an intermediate 45 minute Bootcamp 11/18 8:30AM PT/11:30AM PT, with Cody Rigsby closing out the week with an intermediate 30 minute class 11/20 4:30AM (!) PT/7:30AM ET.
Stark Insider Take
Not the biggest news in the world, but a small indication of where home fitness might be headed. Bootcamps are similar to interval training classes. I used to take “Fire Classes” at our local gym which featured an hour-long mix of rowing, weight station cardio and elliptical. We’d rotate in intervals that differed every class — 4 min, 6 min, 12 min, etc. — coached by our instructor with blaring music to get us pumped. The variety among the stations kept things interesting. And because each type of exercise worked out different muscle groups in unique ways the overall experience felt balanced and effective. The sweat was real.
While a class like Bike Bootcamp — or something similar with just cycling and strength training combined over a short period of time — won’t quite match a large gym environment with large workout spaces and equipment, it does afford a different in-home experience. While I’ve only taken one Bootcamp on our Peloton bike I was instantly sold. When you jump off the bike to hit the mat you need to take a minute to switch shoes, from cycling to running/normal, and it’s that in between moment where things are momentarily zen. You can reflect on the intervals you just finished on the bike, (try to) catch your breath, and look forward to some fun mat work. All the time the instructor is chatting away. Just like you’d experience at the gym alongside other actual human beings.
