Successful Aging with Peloton

Want to live longer? Get active. Want to make it easy? Get Peloton

The case for exercise has been soundly proved. Retaining health and fitness is the foundation of any aging plan. To age successfully there are some agreed-upon not-negotiables.

We need...

• Cardio/aerobic fitness to increase the strength of the heart. According to the Cleveland Clinic, cardiovascular fitness is associated with a reduction in blood pressure, lower resting heart rate, and lower fat mass. Combine that with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease and diabetes. Add some resistance for increased bone and muscle mass and round it all out with improved energy levels and greater resistance to illness and fatigue. What's not to love?

• Stability, Strength and muscle mass to maintain bone density, reduce injuries and fatigue. Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass directly related to aging and is a significant problem. It is associated with increased adverse outcomes including falls, functional decline, frailty, and mortality.

• Flexibility to maintain good posture and balance preventing the risk of falls, fractures and muscle strains that affect everyday living. Flexibility keeps joints supple preventing the pain associated with stiff joints.

• Quality Sleep to prevent attention lapses, reduced cognition, delayed reactions and mood shifts. Additionally, chronic lack of sleep has been linked to a higher risk for certain diseases and medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and early death.

Queue my secret weapon to cover all bases - Peloton.....

In case you live somewhere Peloton hasn't moved into yet, like Antarctica, you can choose from Bike or Treadmill for Cardio/Aerobic fitness. The bike or a treadmill comes with an app that is stuffed to the brim with classes.

• More aerobic fitness classes are available only through the app:

• Outdoor Walking/Running module,

• Cardio module (HiiT, Family or Dance focus),

• or the dreaded Bootcamp module which is exactly what it implies.

• Get Strength from the Strength module (Upper/Lower/Core/Full Body, Resistance Bands, Pilates, Barre)

• Get Flexibility from the Stretching or Yoga modules (Flow, Power, Restorative, Yoga Basics),

• Get Quality Sleep from the Meditation module (Mindfulness, Sleep, Fitness, Breathwork)

• Everyone is catered for. A mountain of workouts, degrees of difficulties, instructors and music tastes ensure anyone can create a rounded workout plan to cover any fitness as we age needs.

I first experienced a Peloton bike in 2019 while visiting my daughter in London. Their bike was in the guest bedroom. It was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. Never previously interested in Spin classes at a gym, I finished my first Peloton ride that day exhausted but exhilarated. I couldn't wait to do it again the next day. I recently saw a post from someone who said she was hooked on the second ride, and I wondered what took her so long!

After 6 months in the UK, I was Peloton obsessed. At the end of 2019, we reluctantly headed for home in Australia, the land of 'no Peloton'. Back to riding my very ordinary push bike on the trails near home in the sweltering summer heat and humidity.

2021 finally saw Australia brought into the Peloton family and I became the proud owner of probably the millionth bike off their production line but who cares, it's mine.

My sleek, black and red bike occupies prime real estate in my office, marked out by a two-metre by one-metre mat with its trademark 'P' in the corner. A workout bike with attitude. Inside its screen, hundreds of classes across numerous domains, created by the best of the best fitness instructors in the world are poised, waiting for me to select my workout or workouts of the day. Under the bike 2 pairs of equally sleek red and black bike shoes, brightly coloured weights from light to medium, a water bottle and wipe-the-sweat towels ready for action. Earphones loop around the handlebars, primed to make sure the ramped up workout music doesn't wake the neighbours. Aircon controller close by. Powerful fan pointing directly at the bike prepared for action.

Can you tell I love my Peloton bike as much as my Apple devices? Unboxing the bits is up there with unboxing a new Apple product. The aesthetic packaging for shoes and accessories still sits on the floor. In fact, the empty Peloton boxes will probably be moved to inside the wardrobe next to the elegant Apple boxes, too beautiful to part with.

Peloton - Why do I really love thee so much?

Control and data are my biggest drivers. It's just who I am.

With a Peloton bike, weather can never be the excuse. I watch people in the Northern hemisphere snowbound, not wanting to endanger themselves on icy roads; I watch people riding the narrow English country lanes and think 'no way'. I get the Peloton phenomena over there.

In this part of the world, however, outdoors is always available but I prefer the peace and calm of my space where I can crank up the aircon, turn on a fan, put in some pods and tune out the heat, humidity and crazy world to just focus on me. Rain, Hail, or Shine, there are no excuses. I control my workouts.

I am a tracker and number cruncher from way back but I'll tell you about that passion in another story. I just love to measure my numbers, revel in good numbers, challenge my numbers. How far can I push the numbers as I age? Peloton delivers all the numbers I could possibly need to satisfy my n=1, geek, bio-hacker mind.

Consistency, a key to successful aging, has become my friend through Peloton. Habits become streaks and then I look for 1% improvements.

I found Power Zones Training and haven't looked back. If it's good enough for Tour de France elite riders, it's good enough for me. Mind you my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) is minuscule compared to the real athletes but the process is the same and personal improvement is the game.

Challenges keep life interesting. Every month brings a new set of challenges. Currently, 1.15 million people have committed to the 2022 Peloton Annual Challenge to measure how many minutes they spend across all disciplines. Then there are badges and awards for various achievements. Without a bike for 3 weeks over Christmas, I scoured the platform looking for workouts where I could earn pretty badges. Peloton knows it works! I love it.

When I get a little ho-hum about the consistency of Power Zones rides, I might spice it up and crank out a Queen, AC/DC or Beatles ride and let the endorphins flow. I know, showing my age now, but there is a ride for every music taste.

I appreciate different instructors, especially yoga instructors, giving different snippets of information so I am always learning something new.

A bike in the house saves so much time. I can step from my bedroom to my office first thing every morning ready to go. I don't have to drive to a gym. Having to find a spot in the class, fight for equipment, mix with people, catch COVID. No siree!

In addition, if I have a sticky problem at my desk, I can jump on the bike for 10 minutes or do a 10-minute yoga workout on the mat permanently beside the bike, giving my brain some feel-good chemicals to be able to work through my knotty problem.

I love the feeling of toned muscles. There was a time recently when I felt the beginning of muscle mass loss in my upper body. I'd been a bit lazy with upper body strength workouts. Happy to report that I am slowly building back muscle mass doing Peloton full-body weights sessions 3 times a week. I still chuckle at the puny size of my weights as the beginner class instructor tells us what weights she is using. Who are these beginners she is talking to?

My sleep has improved immensely from overall cycling, stretching, yoga and meditation programs. I have committed to a 10-minute yoga every day as a minimum but often find myself indulging in 20 or 30 minutes if I have time. Meditation close to bedtime winds me down for sleep.

The leaderboard was a revelation to me. Filtering for my age (60s) and gender to see who I am competing with, I was shocked to see some very fit grannys out there in my demographic. My new inspiration, though, is the 76-year-old cyclist who was featured on Peloton's blog recently. She says she's in the best shape of her life. I'll have what she's having!

And then there's the Peloton community. 'Together We Go Far' has always been the company's catch-cry. Over time, self-organising sub-communities formed to support each other, compete, and even head to Peloton HQ for a weekend get together and a studio ride with a favourite instructor. And you think I am obsessed!

It sounds like an ad for Peloton, you say, but when I show you my numbers next week, you will see why Peloton just works.

I ride as AgewithAttitude. See you on the leaderboard. Feel free to connect.

Fitness is ageless, period! - Denis Morton (Peloton Instructor)