For those that aren't yet using the Peloton app -
The stock experience is that you get the same class library as the connected fitness subscribers.
The instructor will say, "Get to 65 resistance and 65 cadence," and you will have no idea what that means.
You can connect an aftermarket cadence sensor and heart rate monitor to the app and those values will display on the app. However you are still left guessing where your resistance should be set.
You'll match the cadence and 'feel out' the resistance.
Which works.
Sort of.
To learn about the shortcomings of 'feeling out' the resistance - see that topic in the learn more section.
This means that when the Peloton instructor tells you to ride at a resistance level between 40-50 the resistance levels provided by Dialed Resistance will feel appropriate at level 45. Level 40 will be a little easy. Level 50 will be a little tough.
This is true regardless of your age or physical fitness.
We pioneered 'Tailored Resistance Levels' which not only feel accurate to the instructions provided, but are calibrated to you as a person.
We would love to go on and on about Tailored Resistance Levels but we cover that in a dedicated topic in this section.
Tailored Resistance Levels are a patent pending hybrid between Heart Rate Training and Resistance Level Training - taking the best from both worlds and none of the downsides.
Tailored Resistance Levels capture the unique intersection between your health and your exercise bicycle.
This allows you to train in a method where the resistance levels are scaled to your fitness level (like heart rate training) but you still get the precision, responsiveness and metric tracking functionality provided by resistance levels.
...and Tailored Resistance Levels line up with Peloton resistance levels?
Yup.
We would argue that they actually line up more effectively than Peloton's own resistance levels.
Peloton instructors often give ranges of resistance, "Resistance between 45-55". This is done in-part to account for the ranges in rider's fitness. Stronger riders will ride with more resistance. Newer riders will ride with less. However this breaks down quickly as soon as you deviate away from the 'average' rider. Lifetime cyclists will find that they have to add much more resistance and similarly there are large segments of the population who need to ride below the lower recommended resistance levels. Not only does this mean that the rider is constantly 'converting' the instructor's levels into personal levels - but for those who ride below the lower end of the range - it erodes motivation.
Since our Tailored Resistance Levels scale to the rider's fitness - the user always feels like their effort is appropriate based on the instructor's prescribed ranges.
You can estimate the effort that the instructor is asking for - but at best - it's an educated guess.
Which is why, in the middle of the 3rd interval, when you are dying for breath, you take some of the resistance off. You think "I must have added on a little too much resistance. ".
That's the problem with feeling it out. You don't really know.
The moments that make you want to collapse, are the same moments where you grow the most. Those are the moments when you improve your strength, your endurance, your self image. Without the confidence that your resistance levels are accurate - without the knowledge that the instructor wants you to feel this way - you most likely won't sustain the effort. You will take the resistance off - and rob yourself of the defining moments of that ride.
You will also miss out on of one of the most valuable tools in building a lasting exercise routine. Without resistance levels you can't metricize your workouts. You won't earn Personal Records , or see the increases in resistance that you've accomplished over the last 6 months. You'll miss out on seeing how far you've come.
Heart rate training offers a personalized workout, but it doesn’t translate well to resistance level callouts during a ride. You’ll find yourself mentally translating instructor cues into what they mean for your heart rate and corresponding resistance.
Heart Rate training also has qualities that don't mesh well with resistance level workouts.
Your heart rate lags behind resistance changes and stays elevated long after the effort ends, making it hard to follow the timing of the instructor's cues, especially in certain styles of rides like interval training.
Most importantly - heart rate training does not lend itself to tracking your performance improvements. There are no Personal Records. There is no ability to see the % change in average resistance compared to 6 months ago. Resistance levels - which directly monitor the amount of resistance applied - are used to help calculate output. A ride's output allows you to compare rides over time and see your improvement.