Australian_Mens_Fitness_2016_08_

98 MEN’S FITNESS AUGUST 2016

in front of a giant video screen that hauls you

through mountain vistas or far-of solar systems.)

But what we’re seeing today with at-home

spinning bikes — just about all VR tech is geared

toward bikes for obvious, practical reasons (ie,

the participant is stationary) — is reaching cultlike

devotion. And no single company has capitalised

on the virtual craze like Peloton.

Peloton inhabits a sector of theitness industry

that can best be described as augmented reality

or “streaming itness”. When MF irst looked into this phenomenon

late last year, it was in its infancy. Though you aren’tlying on

a winged Pegasus, you’re still on a bike, plugged into a reality that

exists mostly in a digital space — in this case, that digital space

being a streaming spin class delivered to you on a 22-inch tablet

mounted on the handlebars. Every day you can plug into 10 live-

streaming workouts complete with real riders taking the same

workout in a real studio in New York, a live instructor, and a

huge digital leaderboard that shows how you stack up against

anywhere between 100 and several thousand virtual and in-studio

riders. (The app can be bought through iTunes.) There are dance

and Flywheel-style classes, metrics-based classes, classes based on

particular types of music, even classes taught by former pro cyclists

George Hincapie and Christian Vande Velde.

Originally launched as a Kickstarter campaign

in 2012, Peloton’s become a darling of both Silicon

Valley and theitness world. Since its inception, it’s

raised $120 million in capital, $75 million of which

came late last year from Catterton, a consumer-

focused private-equity irm. And since January

2014, it’s sold nearly 20,000 bikes, primarily to

auent 40- to 50-year-olds who, thanks to kids and

work, can’t always get to the gym or summon up

enough motivation to work out alone in the basement.

Which is why VR holds so much allure for theitness world —

including less-gym-oriented young guys who’d rather be playing video

games than hitting the weights. By using virtual wizardry to ill the

dead cognitive space of a traditional workout, the hope is that exercise

can turn into an activity that’s as far from drudgery as possible. Which

begs the question: Does it actually work? Or is Peloton the latest

itness fad, doomed to occupy the space in a dusty corner next to the

old Chuck Norris Total Gym?

I interviewed several actual Peloton users and was surprised by how

positive the reviews were. “The digital leaderboard on the Peloton

screen, that competition, for me it just changes the workout,” says

John Bernstein, a 52-year-old investment banker. “If I’m in the top 10,

Virtually

anything can

happen

(and does!)

Virtual spin classes are a whole new
world, as we learnt from Peloton
instructor and former Broadway
dancerJessica King.

A virtual ride

on “Shadow” is

pretty cool — but

canitbeatareal

ride across the

Sydney Harbour

Bridge?Ineed

to find out.

So what’s it like to

teach a class when

no one is actually in

the room?It can be

really fun. I go into

an imaginative space

and play games with

myself: Who am I talking

to? What do I want

them to feel or know?

There’s something to

be said about looking

through the camera

and being able to speak

to someone you’ve

never met. Some of

them have really funny

leaderboard names,

like Soggy Waffles and

Magic Panties. There’s

one whose name is

Dude, and his location

is “In My Basement.”

I’m always talking to the

dude in his basement.

What do we need to

know to get a really

good virtual workout?

Remain open. If you can

immerse yourself by

putting the headphones

on or dimming the

lights, changing the

environment to match

what you see on the

screen, then it brings

you in to what’s

happening on our side

of it. And honestly, just

trust us.

What should someone

look for in an

instructor?I’d say to

look for an instructor

who not only engages

you physically but who

can keep your attention

and captivate you. An

experience that would

feel successful to me

as a rider would be one

in which the instructor

had the ability to

transport me out of

whatever’s going on

and into this 45-minute

experience. I’d be able

to lose myself.

What’s it take to gain a

following in the virtual

space?I think leading

by example is one of the

most motivating things.

Walking the walk and

having the aesthetic

that complements that.

Nine times out of 10, the

reason people click on

my ride is they think,

“Wow, she’s hot,” or “I

want to look like that.”

I get it. If all you have

to go on is a photo to

choose your workout,

a hot body is it.

What should you never

message to a virtual

instructor?What

really blows my mind

is when people make

comments on Facebook

and think that I can’t

see them. A woman

once commented, “No

wonder my husband

rides Jessica’s rides.

He can get lost in her

cleavage.” And then

a whole thread, 60 or

70 comments, goes on

about my boobs. It’s like,

Hello?! I can read this!

Try not to forget that

we’re people. It’s

a really vulnerable

thing for us to be on

the stage, sweating, half

naked, baring our soul.

Sometimes feedback is

welcome, but whatever

you do, don’t talk shit.

Thespinqueen.

Jessica King

leads a

virtual (and real)

Peloton class in

the company’s

New York

headquarters.

This page: Isaac James. Oppositepage,fromtop:Courtesyof

Phi ips Corporation; Brand X Pictures/Getty; Courtesy of Morton

Heilig estate; Courtesy of VPL; Courtesy of Virtuality Corp.; Maurice Savage/Alamy; Levi Brown