Welcoming a new addition to your family is an incredibly joyful and rewarding experience, but it can also bring significant changes to your body and lifestyle. As a new mom, it’s essential to prioritize your health and well-being during the postpartum period. Therefore I was happy when Peloton gave me to test the Bike + to help me during my fitness.
Regular exercise has numerous benefits for new moms. It can help you regain your strength, boost your mood, increase energy levels, and aid in weight management. Exercise can also reduce the risk of postpartum depression, improve cardiovascular health, and enhance overall well-being. Personally, it also allowed me some me-time.
Also, one of the biggest challenges for me as a new mom was finding the time and convenience to exercise. With the Peloton Bike+, I could bring the gym experience to my home. It allowed me to work out at any time that suited my schedule, eliminating the need for travel or daycare arrangements. The Bike+ offers a variety of live and on-demand classes, ranging from 5 to 60 minutes, ensuring that you can fit in a workout even during the busiest days.
Postpartum fitness requires special consideration to avoid any undue stress on the body. The Peloton Bike+ offers low-impact workouts that are gentle on your joints while still delivering a highly effective exercise session. With a range of classes like cycling, scenic rides, and yoga, you can customize your workouts based on your fitness level and preferences. The Bike+ also provides a variety of intensity options, allowing you to gradually increase the intensity as your strength and endurance improve.
Staying motivated was hartd sometimes, especially regarding how tired you are during postpartum but the Peloton Bike+ offers a supportive community that kept me motivated and accountable. While participating in live classes I enjoyed the real-time encouragement provided by instructors but I also enjoyend competing with other riders through the leaderboard while participating in offline classes.
Talking about instructors, we asked German Peloton instructor Erik Jäger known as Hauptstadttrainer some questions.
Since when are you a Peloton trainer?
Known as “Hauptstadttrainer” I began my career as a personal trainer and coach in Berlin. I
have had a number of different clients and have trained well known personalities such as
actor Florian David Fitz, model Lena Gercke, and singer Andreas Bourani. In the beginning of
2020, I started as a Peloton trainer which has been a great experience. Since joining Peloton,
I started with Cycling and I teach a variety of rides, everything from intervals, endurance, HIIT,
cand climbing. I also teach strength and stretch classes too. I try to bring a lot of diversity to
my classes and I spend time creating my playlist as music can really enhance a workout.
Is it enough to train only with the Peloton bike if you want to train your whole body?
The Peloton Bike is a perfect opportunity for a cardio-vascular workout which also helps you
to build a Better general fitness. However, strength training should always be the basis for
every workout and should become a part of the weekly training routine. In the Peloton app, we
offer a wide range of strength training workouts to include in everyone’s training plan.
What tips do you have to motivate yourself to work out at home?
First things first: Set yourself concrete goals and ask yourself “What do I want to achieve by
when?” For example, running a marathon is a wish and not a concrete goal. A goal is only
created by linking it to a training plan. Anyone can train with Peloton and we have recently
introduced new tiers for the Peloton App, even a completely free option. I also recommend
that you look for training buddies to help you reach your goals. We’ve found that with Peloton,
working out with a community really helps people stick with a workout. The German
community is quite active and many of them have been Members for years. I always
recommend that you find someone with whom you can exercise together and follow through
with your workout routine. Then you can support each other, remind each other of your goals.
That’s motivating! It also makes sense to find a good instructor in order to stay on the ball
and achieve training success. With the Peloton App, you can filter by instructor, course type,
duration, music and level – live or on demand to find your preferred workout type.
What tips do you have for pushing yourself beyond your limits?
Having fun while working out is important to push yourself. This is where top-notch music
that corresponds with the workout helps. At Peloton, we design our workouts to match the
music, so the beats fit the pedaling speed when you’re riding your bike. You can choose from
a wide variety of music styles to create your own personal, motivating workout routine. Saying
that, it is also necessary that you build a workout plan to keep you on track. If you don’t have
any motivation for the upcoming workout on one day, you can change 1-2 exercises if
necessary. Often it makes a big difference to let out that “hate exercise” and you won’t miss
the whole session. Also, training buddies help to motivate you, such as the Peloton trainers
who accompany you virtually during your exercises via the app to push you to your limits.
Also, lots of people get motivation from the Peloton community, they have training groups
and interact with one another on social media and of course on the Leader Board.
How often should you work out with Peloton?
It should never be the number of workouts or the amount of time you work out per week that
comes first. In my experience, you get the best results when you exercise regularly over a long
and consistent period of time. The best way to do this is to find sports and workouts that you
enjoy. But it is necessary that the plan and the goal match. For example, if I want to run a marathon in six months, I should probably go running three to four times a week. Two
workouts per week would be too little. If you want to start strength training and have perhaps
only been active once a week, you can do a 30-minute workout twice a week. Doing so, you
can also use the Peloton app to put together your workout plan from different sports, such as
strength, biking, meditation or outdoor, and share and vary workouts. Training-free days are
very important to give the body the necessary recovery. Also, it helps you to stay motivated.
When will it be possible to do a session with you in Berlin?
I’m in Berlin from time to time, also e.g. in our Peloton showroom on Rosenthaler Straße 34-
35. On the German Peloton Facebook channel and on the website you can stay informed
about upcoming events with German instructors. We just announced our Peloton on Tour
series and I, along with other Peloton instructors will be in Berlin on October 19-21 2023. And
we have regular German Member Weekends in London, where me and the 10 other German
instructors give classes in German.
More information can be found on the Peloton London Studios website.
The Peloton Bike+ is a valuable tool for new moms looking to prioritize their fitness postpartum. With its convenience, customizable workouts, community support, and progress tracking features, the Bike+ provides a comprehensive fitness solution for the demands of motherhood.