TexAg2001 said:
aa4136 said:
Just started with the Peloton. Is there a post somewhere in this massive thread about advice for beginners or any tips from those of you who are experienced?
I recommend the "Mastering the Basics" cycling program for new riders. It introduces you to different types of rides and instructors, as well as a few different workouts like bike bootcamp and yoga. It's like 6 weeks long and can help you learn what you like/dislike.
After that, I started the Power Zone program and fell in love with it. I quickly went through the first 2 PZ programs and am on the third one now. PZ rides tend to be rather long, but I feel like I get the most benefit out of them since they are tailored to your individual fitness.
When traveling for work or away from my bike, I use the app to do other classes like strength, stretching or outdoor walks/runs. I got my bike in January of this year and haven't missed a single day of doing some kind of Peloton activity since. The variety of instructors and options keep me coming back every day.
This is good advice. My advice would be similar and that is don't get too caught up in the programs yet (other than the basics one mentioned above). Just take a few of the beginner/low impact type rides to kind of learn about the bike and how everything works, then take a little bit of everything. Try out the different ride types, different instructors, etc. and see what you do and don't like. Like TexAg2001 I really like the power zone programs because your power output is specific to you and the zones you will ride in are specifically tailored to your output once you establish your functional threshold power (FTP).
I tend to like the power zone challenges run by the Power Zone Pack folks (PZPack.com), but some folks just hate the longer intervals and steady power output and would rather do higher intensity rides. Either way, get on and ride for a while and figure out what you like. There are quite a few videos out there from the peloton instructors about getting properly fit to your bike and how to work a nice round pedal stroke, so I recommend spending some time looking at those.
A few things I will note (sorry it is kind of long-winded) that you will probably hear from some of the instructors, but are worth repeating:
1) I am not sure what your workout regime has been like or your level of fitness, but if you have not previously been riding or exercising much, don't jump on and try to ride for 20 days straight. People get excited about it and enjoy the classes and all, and can overwork themselves into an injury really easily. It is ok to start slow and ramp up your frequency and intensity over a period of a few weeks.
2) Work on your pedal stroke smoothness. By pedal stroke smoothness, I mean to pedal in a circle instead of up and down. If you think of the face of a clock, the easy part of the pedal stroke is pushing down from about 1 to 5 o'clock. That is the part that uses the big muscles and you don't need to focus to make it happen. But the parts that engage your hamstrings, glutes, and other parts of your calves come from about 5 to 9 o'clock. Think of scraping mud off the bottom of your shoe or a bull pawing at the ground. You will hear people talk about "lifting up" from the back end of the pedal stroke, but studies with power meter pedals have shown that doesn't really happen, even with a pro cyclist trying to do it. For the back end of the pedal stroke from 9 back to 1, try to make your foot light, and for me, what works is trying to imagine throwing my knee forward up over the top of the pedal stroke. Focusing on that back half of the pedaling circle is what will help make a smooth cadence possible at higher rpms.
3) Work on increasing your cadence (how fast you are pedaling) at lighter resistance to achieve the same power output. When people start riding, it is common to be able to produce more power with a lower cadence (60-80 rpm) or even standing, but you are most efficient for long-term (longer than 5-10 minutes) output seated and pedaling in the 80-100 rpm range. When you pedal with a low cadence and high resistance, you are fatiguing the big muscles of the legs faster, loading them with lactic acid, and depleting your glycogen stores quicker. Pedaling a higher cadence at a lighter resistance will reduce the rate at which you fatigue those muscles and transfer the "work" to your heart and cardiovascular system instead. You can work that system hard over and over again as long as you allow your heart rate to recover for a period of time. Once you run out of glycogen in your muscles and load them up with lactic acid, the recovery from that takes much longer. So for longer duration rides (45+ min), it is important to try to make your cardiovascular system and heart do the hard parts while preserving the muscles in your legs. And the way to do that is increase your cadence and decrease you resistance to achieve the same output. Just be patient though, fast cadence doesn't come easy and will take time to develop, but with a smooth pedal stroke, it will eventually develop.
4) Recovery is important. I know when people start, they can't stand to see themselves drop down the leaderboard when they recover. But if you really want to get something out of the workout, particularly when doing short duration high intensity intervals, the recovery is critical. You are teaching your body how to do a big effort and then return back to base state as quickly as possible, so working too hard during the recovery efforts sabotages that and will limit your capabilities on the subsequent intervals.
5) Low and slow is important. Pro cyclists do what are called LSD rides during the offseason and early in the racing season to build their aerobic base. LSD stands for long slow distance. Your aerobic base is what power output you can do while fueling your muscles solely with the oxygen from your blood. Once you exceed the output you can produce while just burning oxygen, you start using energy pathways that are only available for shorter efforts and that will build up lactic acid in your muscles. The FTP everybody works with is a measure of that aerobic capacity. If you stay aerobic, you can maintain that pace for an hour or more. Once you go above that into anaerobic efforts, your duration will become more limited. Long slow rides should form a big chunk of any program to "build" that aerobic base. So if you get into a power zone endurance ride and it is all zone 2 and zone 3 and it feels WAAYYY easier than the HIIT ride you did with Robin or the thrash metal ride you did with Kendall, don't be surprised. That is by design and it is a design that works if you stick with it. Those HIIT and other high intensity rides have a place in your training program early on, but to get the most out of your program, they should be limited and you should spend a lot of time riding well below your max effort level.
Other than that, have some fun. Give high fives, find some accountability groups to share with, try out the different rides and instructors, but keep in mind the "why" of what you are doing and don't get so caught up in chasing the leaderboard that you over-exert yourself to the detriment of your long term goals. Killing it on the leaderboard by standing and crushing a 45 cadence for a 20 minute ride may feel good at the time, but not if it gives you Achilles tendonitis that puts you off the bike with your heels on ice for the next 2-4 weeks.
Oh, and welcome to the cult!
