FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) ABOUT PELOTONS

Definition of HIIT for Peloton Bike or Run

HIIT stands for high intensity interval training. With HIIT, intervals can be of varying lengths, which are done at either high or max intensity. What makes a workout HIIT is repeating short duration, high intensity blocks of work, with some active recovery / moderate work in between each interval. The high intensity work blocks can be anywhere from 10 seconds to 2-3 minutes. Sometimes the active recovery block will be the same amount of time as the HIIT interval (i.e. 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off), while sometimes they will be varying lengths. HIIT is sometimes referenced as a 1:1 workout ratio, for example when doing 30 on 30 off. Peloton HIIT workouts are usually described as either “bursts of effort followed by active recovery” or “short bursts of anaerobic exercise mixed with recovery periods”

The following is an example of what output might look like for a HIIT workout. You’ll see bursts of effort, followed by periods of rest. Note that the exact format can vary greatly – don’t read too much into the structure of this single example!

Definition of Intervals

Whereas the intervals of HIIT are done at max or high intensity, with generic “Interval” training, the work is usually done at a more moderate intensity. This allows work blocks to be longer length, since the intensity isn’t at such a high level.

Definition of Tabata for Peloton Bike or Run (What does Tabata Mean?)

Tabata is a specific form of HIIT – defined by doing 20 seconds of work (also at high or near max intensity, like HIIT), followed by 10 seconds of rest/recovery. This can also be said as a 2:1 workout ratio of effort to recovery for Tabata. In the textbook definition, this should be done for 4 minutes total. Peloton Tabata workouts usually stick to this textbook definition, but every now and then a class might appear that slightly modifies these time – but keeps the 2:1 workout ratio.

The following is an example of what output might look like for a Tabata workout. This is one where Peloton calls it Tabata, but rather than 20 seconds on then 10 seconds off, the workout is 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off (still that 2:1 ratio).

Wondering where the name Tabata came from? A team of scientists in Japan, lead by Dr. Izumi Tabata, conducted a study looking at two groups of athletes. One group worked out 5 days a week for 6 weeks, with each daily workout being one hour of moderate intensity work. The other group mixed some moderate/low intensity work with an added daily HIIT workout that was 4 minutes and 20 seconds total (consisting of 20 seconds of high intensity work with 10 seconds of rest). At the end of the study, the first group (moderate intensity only) saw gains in aerobic systems, but no anaerobic gains. The second group (short high intensity) had slightly higher aerobic gains than the first group, but also had gains in their anaerobic systems. Based on this study, the 2:1 workout ratio of HIIT (or 20 seconds on 10 seconds off), was named after the lead scientist – Dr. Izumi Tabata.

Difference between Tabata & HIIT & Intervals for Peloton Bike or Run

The difference between Tabata & HIIT for Peloton is that Tabata is a specific type of HIIT with a 2:1 workout ratio (i.e. 20 seconds on then 10 seconds off, or 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off) while HIIT intervals can be of varying lengths of work to rest. The difference between those and intervals is that the intensity level is generally lower for regular interval training, which allows for longer duration of work blocks.

One frequent question is “What are the usernames of the Peloton coaches”. Peloton instructors will occasionally ride along to rides like regular users, and you’re able to see their stats, and give and receive high fives. The following is a list of Peloton instructor’s usernames, that is correct at time of publishing. If one has changed, please let us know! Like any other user, the Peloton coaches are able to change their usernames at any point, or make them private.

One common question people have is they start out by trying Peloton through the Peloton Digital app. After the free trial expires, the Peloton Digital subscription is only $13 a month. They then purchase a Peloton Bike or Tread, and find out their cost has jumped from $13/month to $39/month. What is the reason for this big difference in price?

With the app, you get no metrics (besides heart rate), are limited to one user using the subscription, and don’t show up on the leaderboard.

With a full subscription through a Peloton device, you get full metrics (power, cadence, heart rate), are able to compete via the leaderboard, and can have multiple logins through your subscription (so you and multiple people in your household can work out on Peloton digital through the same subscription).

Some people have reported that when they go to ride their Peloton they get an error screen with a message that says “No Command”, and has a picture of a dead Android icon (sometimes also referred to as the Peloton Dead Robot or Peloton Sad Robot). The bike obviously won’t work when this is happening. The first step would be to try turning it off and on again, as well as unplugging it from the wall, waiting 1 minute, and plugging it back in again.

If those steps don’t fix the “No Command” issue, try the following steps:

1. Press and hold the power button and “volume up” buttons at the same time.
2. Once the screen turns on, let go of both buttons at the same time.
3. Use the volume down button to scroll to the menu item that says “Wipe Cache Partition”. Press the power button to select it.
4. Once this process completes, use the power button to reset your Peloton.

If the steps above don’t work, or you don’t get to the system screen to select “Wipe Cache Partition”, try again, but only hold the power and volume up button for 3 seconds.

All your data is stored on the cloud, so you won’t lose any rides or history by resetting the cache partition. You will have to re-add your user profiles again, but once those are added, it will import all your history again!

The Peloton app, website, bike and tread allow you to “Count Me In” for upcoming classes. At this time, there is no way to import that list of upcoming classes you are scheduled for into a calendar of any sort (Outlook, Google Calendar, iCal, gCal, etc).

However, if you visit the Peloton schedule from a desktop web browser and click “Count Me In” for a specific class, the popup then gives you an “Add to Calendar” link for that specific class. Your options are iCal, Google, Yahoo, and Outlook. You have to repeat this for each individual class that you want to appear on your calendar.

If you want an upcoming list of all classes for specific instructors, there is no native way to do this that Peloton provides. However, the team at reddit has created individual calendar links for each instructor. These are not updated dynamically or automatically, but rather once a week or so as the moderators have time.

The short answer is after 100 workouts of the same type, Peloton will email you a code for your Peloton Century club shirt. We have a whole guide just for the century shirt though, including topics like shipping, sizing, eligibility, and more. Check out the full guide here!

While not officially announced, it is very likely Peloton will have a Black Friday sale in 2019. Previous years have seen Black Friday specials where you get a free “The Works” accessory packages with the purchase of a bike. You can find details of any specials & sales here once they are announced!