“Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step now.” Tim Ferris
THE PROBLEM WITH PELOTON
I’ll preface this with a personal statement: I think the Peloton is pretty damn cool and I love what they have done for online fitness, especially during Covid.
Peloton’s stock has taken a beating recently due to several issues related to tumbling consumer demand. In fact, it is possible that Peloton CEO may be fired and the company sold. In some ways, Peloton is a competitor, but I’m not happy that they are in this crisis. That said, I and many others saw hints of this situation developing over the last year. Peloton and naive investors truly believed that PTON’s extraordinary growth during the pandemic was sustainable: they doubled down on bike & treadmill inventory and made a massive acquisition of another fitness company (Precor) at a premium price ($420m). They launched a clothing line and created a legal battle with their former partner Lululemon. PTON believed they had fundamentally changed fitness, especially at-home fitness forever.
Yet, despite all of the media & celebrity attention, and initial sales of bikes, Peloton struggled to accomplish the hardest task in the fitness business: keep people coming back. Membership turnover is exceptionally high, requiring significant marketing to compensate for churn. And, used bike sales cut into new bike sales.
At-home fitness has always been a fickle business: new products or methodologies experience a meteoric rise only to plummet back to earth after the fad fades: Jane Fonda aerobics, Bowflex, Total Gym, the Gazelle, Beach Body… Many at-home fitness companies simply repackage or redesign their wares to reignite a new fad.
On a much smaller scale, Diablo and many other CrossFit affiliates had a similar experience with our at-home Zoom fitness classes during the shutdowns. Participation was amazing for the first couple of weeks, then quickly resided as members lost interest. My observation is that at-home fitness has too many obstacles to be truly sustainable: primarily family and home distractions. More significantly, “home” is, for most people, our retreat from “work”. My personal experience is that garage workouts always take longer and are far less intense because I’m constantly distracted by things I need to do in my garage: cleaning & storage.
A consistent at-home fitness program requires significant discipline and a distraction-free environment (ie, no pets and no kids). Peloton (and others) are getting better at getting people started and engaged in fitness, but they have not cracked the code. Diablo, and other CrossFit gyms have built amazing communities which keeps people engaged for longer, but we also suffer from turnover – it is the nature of fitness.
At the end of the day, I am very hopeful that Peloton survives and returns to profitability. Despite their crisis and the challenges of at-home fitness, more Americans must get moving. We need more people to exercise. Our health depends on it.
ROW’D ROYALTY LAST CHANCE (3PM MON!) Row’d Royalty kicked off last Thursday with 22.1: “For A Good Time Call Fran: 21-15-9”. Row 2100m, rest as desired. Row 1500, rest as desired. Row 900m, rest as desired. Scores are: 22.1A) Total Time including rest. 22.1B) Time to row 1500m.
Results are due by Monday at 3PM PT. REGISTER TODAY!
TWEET OF THE WEEK: The first 5-10 minutes of any exercise sucks. Soon, endorphins kick in and the suck fades. Eventually, results happen and the initial suck doesn’t seem so daunting.
WORKOUTS January Focus: Calendar / Newsletter
- Primary: Varied Heavy Lifts
- Secondary: Barbell Cycling
- Skill: Open Prep EMOMs
The week ahead:
- Mon: EMOM work (DUs, Pullups, Pistols). Metcon: 3RFT- 6SPress, 9FSquat, 12HPC #65/95
- Tue: Lift: Power Snatch. Metcon: E3MOMx3 – 400/500m Row, Max L-Hangs
- Wed: 5RFT – 5 RingMU, 12 Alt Devil Press, 400m Run
- Thu: BB Cluster work. Metcon: 15,12,9,6- DB Hang Clusters, K2E
- Fri: Buy-in: 20/30c Bike, then 5RFT 6/9 Strict Pull ups, 30s L-sit, 12 Push ups.
- Sat: Open 14.3…Increasing weight Deadlifts + Box Jumps
- Sun: 800m Run, Rest 2m, 40T2B, Rest 90s, 60 Lunges, Rest 1m, 40/50c Bike
CRAIG’S LIST (Stuff I’m Reading, Hearing, Watching, Using or Buying)
The Alpinist (Netflix) – This documentary was recommended to me by several Diablo members after I posted “14 Peaks”. Wow. This documentary about soloist free-climber Marc-André Leclerc, was difficult to watch simply because of the incredible heights and conditions under which Marc-Andre climbed. Marc-Andre is a purist – he did not crave attention or fame, in fact he avoided the media. He simply loved to free climb in extreme conditions and treacherous terrain. Outstanding film.
Peter Attia MD: Why I’m for COVID vaccines but not vaccine mandates – I really enjoy Dr. Attia’s weekly email and his podcast. This piece is one of his best and frankly, should be high on everyone’s list. He lays out the facts and the known science of vaccines, immunity and CV19. It is an easy-to-read, non-political explanation. Please share it with your friends.
Greg Glassman: Chronic Disease: Key to Covid 19 Deaths (May 2020!) – This video was taken in May, 2020. In it, Greg Glassman literally scripted exactly what we have experienced with CV19. 75% of Covid deaths occured in patients with 4 or more co-morbidities (obesity, diabetes, hypertension..). In this video, Glassman describes his concept of the 5 Buckets of Death: Microbic, Genetic, Kinetic, Toxic, and the biggest bucket Chronic (disease). Chronic disease deaths are responsible for 80%+ of all deaths and consume 86% of our total healthcare spend. Ironically, Chronic disease is the result of a lifestyle choice. The other 4 buckets are the result of an accident or fate. In this video, Glassman talks about how CV19 created a cyto-storm in the Chronic disease bucket which resulted in the deaths of so many.
Make it an awesome week!
Craig
