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.