February 7, 2022

"Everyone in this article is incredibly annoying."

That's the top-rated comment — by a lot — at "Sometimes I Hate My Husband’s Peloton/Yes, exercise is hugely beneficial. But can too much of a good thing cause tension in your relationship?" (NYT). 

Some things people in the article said:

"We know if we don’t get this soothing time in, we become monsters." ("Soothing time" = time spent exercising.)

"I cry all the time on Robin’s rides, because I feel very connected to her." (Robin is an instructor on Peloton.) 

"My husband will walk past and hear this other guy making me laugh." (The "other guy" is a Beachbody instructor.)           

"I had so much FOMO that I paid for the resort’s Wi-Fi and sat by the pool, watching it on my phone...." ("It" = a Peloton class characterized as a "Pride Ride" and led by a favorite instructor.)

56 comments:

Jersey Fled said...

Not being much of a social media derelict, I rely on Althouse posts to keep me up on the latest jargon. Today I learned what FOMO means.

gilbar said...

can we schedule a tsunami for These people, too?

John henry said...

I try to ride my stationary bike 1 hour a night. Usually manage 5-6 nights each week but I feel it when I miss.

I modified mine with a 2x3' piece of plywood so I can get work done while riding. Writing, paying bills, taking care of email or just watching movies.

Mine cost about $300 at sears 10-12 years ago. I don't get the Pelton thing. Seems like another case of more money than brains.

John LGBTQBNY Henry

David Begley said...

Just got finished rowing. The people quoted by Ann are plain weird. Cried? Please!

Howard said...

FOMO YOLO YOYO

Fernandinande said...

But can too much of a good thing cause tension in your relationship?

By the definition of "too much", "a good thing" can have some negative effect.

farmgirl said...

FOMO: fun on my own?
I’ll googleit. Well, doesn’t it sound like one word?

It seems the void of entitled vs- idk, uneducated in FOMO- I’ll really have to googleit now- is growing.
And not in a good way.

Bill Peschel said...

This sounds passive-aggressive: "Ms. Roach said her husband doesn’t always get her Peloton obsession but still surprised her with fancy doughnuts when she completed her 150th ride."

"Congratulations on working out to lose weight, dear. Here's some fat bombs!"

As we've gotten older, my wife and I have been trying to work out more. Daily walks, working out on the WiiFit, and watching our calorie intake. It's difficult, but watching people who didn't keep fit grow old and lose their muscle tone is a great motivator.

richlb said...

@John LGBTQBNY Henry

The benefit of the Peloton over a conventional bike is the feedback (or at least the illusion of it). The instructors give the workout a human connection. It might not work for everyone (like you I prefer to multitask while exercising and watch movies on my treadmill) but a lot of people benefit from the group workout feel. I don't have a Peloton but a good friend does. She was already a stunner before buying it but her body is next level now - tone without being too muscular.

farmgirl said...

Haha- I’m grateful I’m not a FOMO sissy.

Lucien said...

Begley: rowing rowing, or erg rowing? (Love my Concept 2 D)

Assistant Village Idiot said...

I'm not sure why people think their exercise experiences are something the rest of us want to know about. It's like people sharing photos of their restaurant dinner. I make exceptions for people who are trying to share legitimate science information or just have suggestions that might be helpful to others. For example, I take rail trail hikes, but only mention it if there is some problem with conditions or parking, and then only on a local FB site on my wife's FB. I tell my children my mileage because I am fat and they like to know I am still losing weight. I can't think of anything else about my exercise that I think would be of the least interest to anyone.

rehajm said...

I won't bother breaking the paywall to read but are they talking about the lusty relationships people have with these Peloton instructors? There's one bike in the gym I frequent, it is always in use and unless you avert your gaze passing by you immediately learn the kink of whoever is using it.

A couple of the high mileage second wives have a thing for Jess King. Jess King is who you think she is...

Temujin said...

In my gut I've wondered if those people seriously addicted to Peloton were actually just lonely or horny people who got attracted to their online 'coach' and felt it was the most important relationship in their lives. I guess my gut was right.

When it becomes a more important relationship to you than your spouse, you need help. Or a new spouse.

Iman said...

All these mofos with their fomos are bringing me down…

Ann Althouse said...

I don't see the attraction of riding a stationary bike inside the house. I guess if the weather is bad or the roads around you are dangerous, it's a decent fallback, but I can see why other people in the house would find your indoor striving and straining to be annoying, especially if you were emotionally attached to a particular instructor. Then you're annoyed plus you feel you're doing something wrong by being annoyed, because your housemate is working on their fitness.

Michael said...

Row 20 minutes a day on Concept2, walk an hour. Tempted by Peleton, a beautiful piece of equipment but know I wouldn’t use it. I row 10k on water in a single scull weather permitting.

Achilles said...

The peloton class also believes that face diapers will keep you from getting COVID.

They have been trained to be this ridiculous and venal.

J L Oliver said...

I personally am glad that all the fancy stationary bike people stay indoor and off the footpaths.

Jamie said...

We have a Peloton bike. I get why people don't understand riding indoors, but I will say that I've found the "leaderboard" competitive aspect surprisingly motivational. (Plus I don't live in a particularly picturesque place to ride a bike, so.) It's been the only form of exercise I've ever stuck with, until we acquired our COVID dog who benefits from a very long brisk daily walk.

Now I walk the dog and my husband rides the bike - though I ride too, occasionally, when I'm feeling the need to move a muscle differently.

Sebastian said...

"Everyone in this article is incredibly annoying."

It's fine if NYT target readers annoy each other. It becomes a problem when they take it out on the rest of us.

One Eye said...

I looked into Peleton at the start of the pandemic. Determined all the instructors were too young and annoying. Seems like they could have more instructors on the whole range of decrepitude / attitude and get more subscribers.

I started doing the 5 Tibetan rites after seeing Harry Dean Stanton do them in "Lucky" at age 91... Harry with the cigarette going of course.

That's the Peleton instructor I want. Harry's gone but I'm sure they could deep fake him.

Howard said...

I'm with David. A rowing machine is the only one true indoors human hamster wheel. No numb dick syndrome. A 10K is about 1000 strokes which are very similar to the weight lifting exercise called the "clean". It turns you into a hill climbing animal and a snow shoveling machine.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Kind of funny when you realize there have been a couple of popular TV shows that have had characters drop dead after a Peleton session. I saw a news article saying that it was hurting the company's sales.

John Borell said...

I go to my basement gym and do barbell training. My only FOMO is the fear of not getting stronger.

Wince said...

Isn't Peloton currently the subject of buy-out talk, including Amazon (WaPo)?

Is that the reason for a NYT story?

tim in vermont said...

"My husband will walk past and hear this other guy making me laugh."

I bet she laughs extra hard during the fertile part of her cycle.

typingtalker said...

Ann wrote, "I don't see the attraction of riding a stationary bike inside the house."

I bought a stationary bike after I crashed my "real" bike leading to an interesting ride to the ER and some reconstructive surgery. Our son, over the years, has had three wrist fractures from bicycle accidents. A friend (a mature adult) broke his neck and almost died in a bicycle accident.

The CDC reports, "In 2015 in the United States, over 1,000 bicyclists died and there were almost 467,000 bicycle-related injuries ... Data from 2010 show fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries to bicyclists resulted in lifetime medical costs and productivity losses of $10 billion."

CDC

reader said...

I run on the treadmill almost everyday. It is a stress reliever for me.

Also, if Covid is so bad that the government should be allowed to force us to vaccinate why aren’t they mandating exercise? Three hours a week to flatten the curve. Get control of your curves to protect our emergency rooms’ curve.

There could even be religious/medical exemptions for those unable to exercise/lose weight. Just like for the vaccine.

Jefferson's Revenge said...

I have acquaintances who were very into spinning. The in-person classes were very social events that combined a fun group activity with reasonable serious aerobic exercise. It was old-school, a class at the local gym and was built around 1 or 2 good instructors. I would be there playing basketball and it looked like they were having fun. Too repetitive an exercise for me. It was a mixed group- all around 40 to 60 years old, female and male. I believe there was some extracurricular hanky panky involved with some of the people as well.

That was a real life, living breathing social/physical event. What is being described in this article is one step removed from a virtual world with pseudo relationships and maybe flirting that leads to a phenomena like sexting. A poor substitute fr the real thing.

rcocean said...

i forgot what Pelotron did, but they crossed some liberal/leftist party line and they got their shit list. I remember talk of a boycott. So, we get ANOTHER indirect attack on them by the NYT's. Basically, telling the cool kids this sort of exercise isn't FASHIONABLE. And to go do something else.

Anthony said...

Indoor bikes can be good in bad weather (i.e., 4 months of the year in Wisconsin), plus you don't have to deal with bad roads, traffic, etc.

A friend of mine was a dedicated Pelotoner for a while, until the company decided to become political. You can, for example, have a BLM Ride, but not a Let's Go Brandon Ride.

Fandor said...

So many are spinning their wheels and getting nowhere.

JAORE said...

If "the roads around you are dangerous".

ALL the roads are dangerous. Texting drivers, makeup appliers, people who dropped a french fry....

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

…until we acquired our COVID dog

Hmm. Are “COVID dogs” a thing now too?

Temujin said...

The beauty of living in Florida is that I can walk/jog outside almost every day. The downside is that in the summer it's already steamy by 7:30 am, so you'd best be out there earlier to get in a good exercise that doesn't leave you dead for the rest of the day.

My wife uses the Peloton app on our TV without the bike. Their app has a slew of different exercises for different results lead by a beautiful man or woman. We don't have room for a bike in the house nor do I want to make room for one, but she gets it done working out hard with their app. I do wonder why I sometimes catch her just staring at the screen, while it's on hold, smiling and softly talking to herself.

Carol said...

I still use the Schwinn stationary that I bought 35 years ago, and it's been a lifesaver. It has a homemade setup for a laptop or book but it's still incredibly boring.

But my blood pressure and glucose have miraculously stayed down all these years and I didn't have to go out in 10 degree weather to do it. No way I'm going to pay for a Peloton and subscription tho.

I'll be so glad when this snow melts.

ALP said...

"Mine cost about $300 at sears 10-12 years ago."

I too have a low tech stationary bike, a Schwinn purchased in 2002. Would replace it in a heartbeat if something happened to it, but it's so robust I can't imagine what could happen. Have put thousands of miles on it, and it mitigates the effects of Netflix addiction. Bike + "Better Call Saul" = 90 minutes goes by in a flash.

I prefer to exercise outside but a full time job + short winter days make that impossible for part of the year. Just yesterday I was telling my partner that if it wasn't for riding the stationary bike all winter, there is no way my cardio fitness would be this good with spring around the corner. If you have a busy lifestyle, you can always count on getting in your workout as it is always there for you.

MadisonMan said...

Everyone in the article is also likely solidly Democratic. Correlation or Causation?

Sebastian said...

"The CDC reports, "In 2015 in the United States, over 1,000 bicyclists died and there were almost 467,000 bicycle-related injuries"

Outdoor bikes are much more dangerous to healthy adults than Covid. As are many ordinary risk factors.

Bruce Hayden said...

“The benefit of the Peloton over a conventional bike is the feedback (or at least the illusion of it). The instructors give the workout a human connection. It might not work for everyone (like you I prefer to multitask while exercising and watch movies on my treadmill) but a lot of people benefit from the group workout feel. I don't have a Peloton but a good friend does. She was already a stunner before buying it but her body is next level now - tone without being too muscular.”

To be a complete sexist, my guess is that there is a bit of a gender thing going on here. Women, in general, seem more in need of community approval, and exercise more easily in a group setting. I think this is reflected by the predominance of women working out in their commercials.

McSavage said...

For the real "phycoist" subculture check out zwift https://www.zwift.com/

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

If Biden is the new Carter, is Peloton the new disco?

Fred Drinkwater said...

My wife and were lifetime serious cyclists up until a few years ago when she was hit by a car. She's ok now. We bought a keiser spin bike which gets regular use. We both have multiple "incidents" on our record, so yeah, roads are dangerous.
My cardiac rehab routine was 40 minutes spinning, 2Km rowing, and free weights until cool down time. Keep the heart rate below 135 so the nurses won't frown.
We both use a video series for flexibility, called Aging Backwards or Classical Stretch, done by an ex-ballerina named Miranda Esmund-White. I HIGHLY recommend her stuff for everyone over forty.
Is that enough detail for ya?

Ann Althouse said...

I have no idea what these motivational speakers are saying that people are finding so compelling. I used to go to aerobics classes, but in the end, I didn't like being part of a group that was being exhorted to do one thing after another.

I have done Pilates lessons where it's just me and the instructor, but that was individualized and very focused on doing the movements very accurately, not on having a hyped up attitude.

Ann Althouse said...

"Indoor bikes can be good in bad weather (i.e., 4 months of the year in Wisconsin), plus you don't have to deal with bad roads, traffic, etc. "

Wisconsin is for people who like to get outdoors even in the winter. There are no 4 months when you can't go out. You can go out year 'round. There are some days where it's too cold just like there are some days everywhere where it's rainy (or too hot). I don't think the really cold days add up even to 1 month, and the variety that you get from the snow makes outdoor exercise better. We love hiking in the woods in the snow — and there's also cross-country skiing. That's so much better than an indoor stationary bike. Going out when it's cold is a challenge in itself, so for those who want to build up their strength and mental toughness, it's a plus.

JaimeRoberto said...

I much prefer to ride outside, but this time of year it's too dark after work to do so. I use an app called Rouvy that lets me select different routes from around the world and it communicates with the trainer so that the pedaling required matches the terrain in the video. So far I've "cycled" on every continent except Antarctica. It's a nice escape from working at home.

MadisonMan said...

There are no 4 months when you can't go out.
Agreed. The challenge is that it gets dark pretty early (we're just emerging from this dark part of year), and I find it hard to go out and do stuff after the sun sets. It's pretty easy to get out during the sun lit part of the day however, except for 1 or 3 exceptionally cold and windy days.

Joe Smith said...

It's a cult...like being a vegan or a Tesla owner...

Gerda Sprinchorn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Yancey Ward said...

She should just hire someone to do her Peloton workout for her.

tim in vermont said...

It's easier to get outside in winter in high latitudes when you are retired. When I was working, it was begin my commute in the dark, and drive home in the dark.

ALP said...

Tim in vermont:

Same here in WA state. Exercising outside in the dark? I've had enough broken bones - I can't even imagine how annoying it would be to try and hike in our big park in pitch dark with a headlamp. Methinks some retired people have forgotten how little light is available to us in the winter for us working folks in northern latitudes.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Nice to see some C2 ergers.

Severely Ltd. said...

Is addiction to the misuse of the word addiction itself an addiction...
D'oh, dang it.

Shawn Levasseur said...

Forget about it Jake... It's a NY Times trend piece.

Worse it sounds like a "trend" based only on the author's own life.

I may be misinterpreting, but I really don't care to read the article.

Chalk it up to GIMO (Glad I Missed Out)