1,000 Peloton Rides: My Plus Size Experience

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on my Peloton Bike experience, so I thought hitting 1000 rides is a great excuse to check-in!

Yes, that’s right – 1000 RIDES! *cue airhorns and confetti*

If you’ve missed my previous posts about being plus size and a Peloton user, here’s a quick recap. Don’t want to get into all that? No problem, skip ahead.

Hitting a Major Milestone

If you’ve read about my Peloton journey in the past, you’ll know that I’m not one for numbers. I don’t stress about getting the highest output, hitting personal records (PRs) all the time, burning the most calories, or finishing high on the leaderboard. I ride the bike because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good. So why have this post dedicated to 1000 rides if I consciously avoid metrics around Peloton? It’s just a good reason to recognize and celebrate the consistency I’ve had with this bike and the community.

I ride with joyful movement in mind – what will fit my needs, schedule, and interests at any given time. Is it always “joyful?” No. But it is always intentional. This is why many people prefer to use the term “intentional movement” over “joyful movement.” Whatever you use, I hope you understand what I’m getting at as its been the key to consistency so far. In the past, my workout plans revolved around calories burned or weight lost. If I didn’t see the scale move, I’d get frustrated and give up. Removing all of that measurement and shame allowed me to rediscover movement for movement’s sake – not for trying to change my body into something different.

So which ride did I do for Ride 1000? One of my favorite instructors had a ride the day I wanted to hit the milestone, so I did the 45 Minute Power Zone Ride with Christine D’Ercole on 2/16/25. The main set was Tabata style, with 20 seconds in Zone 5, 10 seconds in Zone 1, rinse and repeat. It was tough, but went by so quickly! If you’re not familiar with PowerZones, check it out. It’s billed as “personal training at scale” because your workouts are queued to a scale of effort from 1-7, with one being easiest and seven being hardest. Everyone, regardless of size, shape, or fitness level, is riding at the same effort. There are a lot of technical jargon/terms in the program, but I promise it’s easy once you get the hang of it!

1,000 Rides as a Plus Size Person: What It’s Really Like

The most common questions I get about Peloton are 1) the weight limit/stability and 2) the small seat. This doesn’t surprise me at all because those were my top 2 questions before buying the bike. I’m happy to report that I haven’t had any issues with the quality of the bike and I am still using the stock bike saddle. I made a video on TikTok about the seat and different things to try if it’s not working for you. The TL;DR is that you have many options and can change the seat and make adjustments to fit your anatomy. If you want a longer blog post dedicated to this topic, let me know.

What’s Next After 1,000 Peloton Rides?

I don’t really have any goals other than to maintain the consistency. I feel better physically and mentally after every ride, so it’s easy to keep going. Currently, I’m starting week 2 of the current PowerZone Pack challenge with my #Peloforpower (short for Peloton for Power, not Pant Size) group. We’re not strict with the challenge like other teams, so I do the rides that work for me and my schedule and skip ones that don’t.

Peloton also just introduced kettlebell programming, which I’m excited to try. I’ve done quite a bit of kettlebell work when I was in semi-private training, so hopefully the form will come back to me. The last thing I want is an injury!

Also, I’m sure I’ll do the Wicked: The Movie ride with Sam Yo at least three more times before getting tired of it!

Have questions about Peloton? Let me know in the comments – happy to help if I can. Find me on the Leaderboard: #AuthEmmie