Month: January 2023
re: Peloton’s 2023 Commercial and the 92% Consistency Rate Claim
You know they say that browsing facebook isn’t a productive use of time but I find good ideas for articles from there. In this case it was someone talking about the newest commercial for Peloton and its claims about a 92% consistency rate after a year.
92% is a big number, and with sales of $4.02 billion revenue in 2021, a 120% increase year-on-year and in 2022 had 2.76 million subscribers. That’s a massive amount of people.
Now this goes on an assumption since there are many reasons for training but typically the main reason people buy home exercise equipment is fat loss, and possibly cardiovascular health. I doubt people are buying it for strength training, at least not anything beyond entry level strength training.
Now, at a consistency rate of 92% of 2.76 million (reference), that would put us at around 2,539,200 people exercising regularly. That a lot of people.
However, Peloton is a subscription service and that doesn’t necessarily mean all 2,539,200 people are actually doing the workouts. In an article I read as I was preparing to write this, I saw the average peloton user uses it 19 times per month. At around 19 times/month the question I ask is “Did it work?”
If 2,539,200 people were consistently training 19 training sessions a month on average, at the end of the year then it should provide a significant dent to the rates of obesity. And while there was a dip from 2020 to 2021 (likely from people finally getting out post pandemic) you can see it’s trending back upwards. I don’t look at fluctuations I look at trends. And obesity is trending back upwards.
The standard gym model is to sell memberships which are actually just granting people access to the equipment and classes during hours of operation. Peloton works much the same way with a membership service via the app.
75% of people with gym memberships at the beginning of the year are never to be seen again, while their accounts get billed anyway. For people that know what to do, how to do it, and are self motivated to do it gyms can work great. But what about everyone else? If you have a gym membership, or a peloton…Did it work?
Well in my personal training studio in Boonton, I have a very high consistency rate and a high success rate and that’s quantified not necessarily with weight loss (not everyone wants that) but with individualized objectives.
Everyone that trains with me gets stronger, regardless of age or gender. As an example, one of my guys who is 29 is training with weights heavier than his all time max. Another woman I train who is in her 80s set a personal record in the “health lift” earlier this week. Her objective was to be able to move freely as she gets older and she’s moving awesome. Some of the touring musicians I train don’t need to lose weight, they just want the strength and stamina to rock n roll all night and for living after midnight.
For those interested in fat loss…well, look at what Anthony achieved training 3x week in the first 6 weeks (March 19th 2022 to April 26th 2022). Did it work? You tell me.
So what works? Tried and true beats trendy and new every day of the week.
You’ll notice that my personal training clients have consistency with training, but more than that they get consistency of results. It’s common for my clients to rep out with weight exceeding their starting max within the first 12 weeks of training across several different lifts. I also have a really good retention rate, with clients sticking with me for years on end, they all get results.
I guess what separates my personal training studio from the standard gym model or the peloton model is I provide guidance (so you know what to do and how to do it), support (so you don’t feel lost) and accountability to keep you on track. There’s something about the pressure of having someone waiting for you that keeps you consistent.
And yeah, a lot of personal training studios also offer guidance, support and accountability. I guess what separates mine from them is well the results which you can see on the success stories page of my website.
If you’re interested in training with me, I offer a free trial so you can see if you like it. Just text me at 973 476 5328 and introduce yourself.
Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and travels across the country doing presentations on goal achievement for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.
How to lift weights without looking like a man
This morning (the morning of writing this not posting it that is) I was training one of my personal training clients and pointed out just how far she’s come. In today’s session, she did 95 reps with 80% of her starting max within a 10 minute timeframe which anyone who knows lifting knows that is a huge amount of progress in a short period of time. It only took us 13 personal training sessions to get here.
She was surprised then asked “This won’t make me into a man will it?” This is a common concern I’ve heard over the years and no, I’m a personal trainer, not a gender reassignment surgeon.
And for the record, I’m cool with whatever you identify as. He, She, They, Them it’s all cool with me.
Now what she’s talking about is body builders like the one below.
First, the amount of work body builders do is insane. It takes years of super-hard dedication where everything you do is toward the end of building as much muscle as possible and being lean as possible on competition day. More than likely can’t get to that level without a whole lot of PED’s as well.
Now even then it doesn’t happen over night. The reality is there is where you are which we’ll call point A. Let’s call Point Z the point at which you are winning every bodybuilding competition out there. At some point in your training journey if you ever get to a point that is too muscular, let’s call it point T or U or V or whatever. Just switch to maintenance at a point you’re happy with like point Q…maybe even as little as point D.
And in reality, you’re not likely ever going to get to a point that you are too muscular for your own liking so you should still train to become stronger. It’s the best way to improve your strength and your physique.
This is a picture of Bret Contreras’ Glute Squad, a group of figure competitors. Bret Contreras has been a big influence on my personal training methods because he’s a mix of a scientist and a coach in the trenches working with real people and getting real results. That’s what I’m about.
Are they overly muscular? Well tastes differ I guess but not in my opinion. They’ve got the toned physique many of my female personal training clients strive for. They’re drug free, and they’re strong. Their average bench press is 135lbs, average military press is 91lbs and their other lifts are impressive too. They’ve been training for years and train to improve their strength and can stop at any point and switch to maintenance mode if they want.
So how do you lift weights without looking like a man? Simple, lift weights and attempt to improve your max strength for reps. As long as you’re not on PED’s you’ll be fine and if you ever get close to the point that it’s too much muscle, switch to maintenance mode at a point you’re happy with.
There’s benefits beyond too. It’ll make you stronger so you can open jars, carry kids or walk down the street feeling safer. Making progress will make you feel happier and more confident. Have a bad day? Take it out on the weights. Have a good day? Celebrate it with hoisting some iron.
You won’t become a man, you’ll become the best version of yourself. The one you’re born to be.
If you need help with this, I have a free trial available at my personal training studio in Boonton. Just send me a text at 973 476 5328 and introduce yourself to get started.
Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and travels across the country doing presentations on goal achievement for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.
Progression is the name of the game
Last night as I was packing up, one of my personal training clients started picking my brain. He’s heavily involved in martial arts and was looking for ideas of training his students and we got to talking about different ways of measuring progress.
We came up with different ways for both the students and the teacher to figure out whether or not it’s working. Things like the national physical fitness tests we did in high school came up and even things that can measure punching power.
When it comes to a vague notion like being “in shape” it’s important to have barometers of progress. How do you know if what you’re doing is working? You have to assess every so often.
In my personal training studio, I assess my clients current strength over a couple exercises that I come up with in order to reach their goals. As an example, if a person comes to me unable to do any chin ups, then in 12 weeks they’re able to get 3, I know it worked. Come again 3 or 4 months later and they’re able to do 5 or 6, I know it’s working. Numbers are the easiest to compare because they’re objective. 10 is a bigger number than 1, as my daughter who is in kindergarten taught me.
Now even though my passion is with strength, a lot of times people come to me because they want to improve the way they look. Well again, I can tell from the numbers because there is no way to turn a 1 rep max into a 10 rep max without looking better (assuming you aren’t eating like a maniac).
In fact if you turned 1 rep maxes across several different exercises and your bodyweight remained the same, it’s a good indicator that you have burned fat and built muscle.
Another measure though it’s not objective is pictures.
When it comes to dramatic changes like these, progress is obvious. In fact when people start my program, I advise them to take a bathroom selfie and not look at it for at least 3 months. It’s hard to notice the day to day change but over time the changes add up.
But what if it isn’t every 12 weeks? What about making this a longterm lifestyle?
I like the ideas from Clarence Bass, a legend in the fitness world where he recommends taking pics every year on your birthday so you know whether or not you’re maintaining what you built effectively. I started doing this when I turned 40 years old.
Now, it doesn’t have to be on your birthday. It could be the start of the new year or any time really. Just make sure you have some kind of way to determine whether or not you’re on track to whatever it is you want to do in life.
If you want my help, I have a free trial available. Just text me at 973 476 5328 and introduce yourself to get started.
Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.