When I first heard of Peloton, it was because they had a controversial ad. Their ad sparked a nationwide debacle over the company…they were labeled as sexist and dystopian. Then Peloton blew up in 2020 because it did something that many people were forced to do – connect over the internet.
An article was written by Citron Research, predicting that the bike/treadmill company’s stock would fall to $5 at some point. The reasoning was because Peloton doesn’t actually have a unique advantage—it sells hardware and software that can be reproduced for much cheaper by bigger companies that are already doing so.
In more recent news, their *stock plummeted to under $40 (it was trading at $140 one year ago) because of a post workout death of an HBO drama television star a few days ago.
Whether the stock falls doesn’t matter to me; I’ve got no skin in that game. But between Peloton, Mirror and other emerging tech companies, I’ve been thinking a lot about this growing trend of technology + fitness and working out at home, and how they’re really just today’s version of the Bowflex and P90X. Same product, different packaging.
Working out at home seems so convenient. You don’t have to drive anywhere, you can work out on your schedule and you can customize how long you work out. The problem is that no one sticks with it long term. I see Pelotons pop up on Facebook Marketplace all the time (I was thinking about buying one for early morning rides). Or worse, people end up buying themselves a really expensive clothes hanger (no lie, my bike erg has been for one on occasion)… Just as those who did P90X for 90 days and then said, “Now what?”
Home workouts can definitely save time, but only those disciplined enough will stick with a routine. And frankly, most of us (myself included) are not disciplined enough to do things on our own. So what’s the trick? Accountability through community.
We are social creatures. Even self-described introverts need to be around others. If you simply look at human history, community matters a lot. At first, it was to simply survive (a few of us will hunt for the tribe while others take care of the kiddos, etc). and now it’s built into our DNA to connect with others face to face.
Look, many of you are very smart people. But you wouldn’t have put yourself through a college education by going to the library and reading textbooks on your own. You went to a physical place where you had professors guiding you through the curriculum and correcting you when you needed it. You had peers surrounding you for both the academic push and the social interactions. And you progressed a heck of a lot faster because of both.
At Reason, you have coaches to guide you through our workout curriculum and correct you when you need it. You have peers surrounding you for both the physical push and the social interactions. And you will progress a heck of a lot faster because of both.
At Reason, we push each other to do more in workouts; we create accountability to show up (in an obvious “Hey, see you tomorrow!” or a less obvious “I RSVP’d for the 4:30 class—I can’t back out now!”), and we relieve stress when we’re able to laugh and connect with others.
When you’re chatting with others before and after a workout and have people that genuinely care about what’s going on in your life, you experience a connection that can’t be made through a screen.
This is what Peloton and many other companies are missing—and it’s what we pride ourselves on.
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*https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/peloton-stock-drops-just-character-152555215.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANq-VmKbGT0BkAaHTUFI0FEsA3-DBzfPrYh3f7bqAnOWCkZYxmAwaI9tMUK8fWUw81eZmil9PDyedU8USEXJfaEOhOB74eC3cVFQpgpbAE6rDzhyUWAmTtouFq8duIRPKyCPLH9OJxPnJq3o9r5sA2IoDI3gQ7tUOQWn23rOuYS8
Inspiration provided by Chris Plentus at CrossFit Kanna.
