As you likely already know, Peloton bikes are the hottest exercise bike that everyone seems to want or already has! Especially during the pandemic when we don’t have access to a gym, it seems to be a great motivator to get people moving. Our innovative care strategies at For Health’s Sake will help you find quick relief.
How popular are Peloton Bikes?
This company is set to make roughly $1.8 billion in sales for 2020. That’s about a 100 percent increase from the $910 million in sales the company made in 2019, which itself is another doubling of annual sales for the company from 2018 (1).
The company said it ended the quarter with a connected fitness subscriber base of more than 886,100 people, up 94% year over year (2).
Peloton last month said it held its largest class ever with more than 23,000 people streaming it from home!
We love any reason to get people moving! However, we want to highlight some of the warnings that should be considered when using a Peloton bike that isn’t talked about enough.
Warning:
For those who have a desk job, you are then choosing an exercise that also requires you to sit. When you sit, your hip flexors are in a shortened position, your shoulders are internally rotated, and you likely have a head-forward posture. Then you go to do your workout and you jump on your Peloton bike, which puts you in the same position you have been in all day.
Note: In the workouts, you can go from sitting to standing and at times you may be standing on the bike for a significant amount of time. However, even when you are standing on the bike, your hip flexors are still in a shortened position as you are not standing completely straight and therefore you are still bent slightly forward.
This post is not to discourage you from using or buying a Peloton bike but to educate you on how you can minimize the biomechanical imbalances that are happening.
Hot Tip #1: Because your glutes are not activating throughout most of the day (for those who have desk jobs), when you use your Peloton bike, your glutes likely still won’t be activating.
So, we recommend you do 5 minutes of glute activation exercises before you get on your bike. Exercises can include bridges, clam shells, or other banded glute exercises.
(if you are unsure which exercises to do, YouTube is an amazing source– just search, glute strengthening exercise or resistance band exercises for glutes)
Also, the Peloton subscription comes with a wide range of other exercises such as mat workouts, body pump, yoga, etc. So be so to incorporate these exercises into your workout routine.
If you activate your glutes before your Peloton bike workout, you will be activating and using your glutes more throughout the workout.
Why is using your glutes important?
If you are not using your glutes, that means that your hip flexors are over-activating (doing all of the work). This is a common cause of low back pain.
Hot Tip #2: When you finish your Peloton bike workout, end with some chest opening exercises (pectoralis stretches) to help counteract your forward posture. Also, add in some chin tucks to help counteract your head forward posture. Lastly, add in a few strengthening exercises that stimulate the back and posterior shoulders.
These quick exercises will prevent pain and injuries from occurring.
If you want to learn certain exercises to do at home and make sure you are doing them correctly, book in with one of our Physiotherapists.
Furthermore, soft tissue release on the short muscles such as hip flexors, pecs, and the front part of our neck (scalenes) can also significantly help prevent injuries from occurring. Book a massage, chiropractic, or acupuncture appointment to help correct these common imbalances.
By: Chloe Tudor, Registered Massage Therapist