• John Mills joins us to discuss the Lizzo ride.
• Christopher Meloni stars in a Peloton commercial…naked.
• Dr. Jenn – Maintaining fitness when your summer schedule is over.
• Matty Maggiacomo was interviewed for Broadway World.
• Jenn Sherman was on the Dear FoundHer podcast.
• Adrian Williams partners with Hexclad.
• Susie Chan crewed an ultramarathon.
• EDM.com talks to Jess King about her new EDM series.
• Jess King gets a new house.
• Angelo has tips for a no-carb breakfast.
• In-Studio class booking is back…kinda.
• The Wall Street Journal writes about how Netflix ads might effect Peloton.
• Lexology outlines the battle between Peloton and Lululemon.
• Choosing Nutrition talks about Power Zones and weight loss.
• The latest artist series features Andrew Lloyd Webber.
• We have past guest updates on Carey Socol and CJ Albertson.
• New barre classes have arrived.
• There are new levels on Lanebreak.

All this plus our interview with Adam Clous!

—

Watch the episode here

 

Listen to the podcast here

 

Lizzo Makes Surprise In-Studio Appearance Plus Our Interview With Adam Clous

Can I interest you in some parsnips?

Yummy. I don’t know that they are yummy. According to one person who posted, they are a cross between a carrot and a potato. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’m iffy on carrots. I do like potatoes.

You’re Irish. It’s the law. Not to further any stereotypes, but it’s true. 

You’re more Irish than I am.

I like potatoes. I don’t like anything and I still eat potatoes.

That’s because they taste like nothing. It’s right up your alley.

If people have been noticing people talking about parsnips in the Facebook group, and they’re wondering what the hell is going on, you missed out because the deal is now over. We were joking at the end of the previous episode. I was like, “Just leave it in. Don’t edit it out. Nobody listens at this point anyway where the interview is over. We’re just saying where to find us and they probably already know,” then Crystal was like, “If you say the word parsnips, I’ll give you a free button.”

People have been parsnipping up to join.

They’re parsnipers.

I’m pretty sure we have parsnips now in every state in the country except Hawaii. I didn’t see Alabama or Mississippi.

If you saw the parsnips and you were wondering what that’s about, that’s what that’s about, but it’s too late now. By the time you read this, it will be closed down. We are accepting parsnipers through Thursday, July 21st, and then we are shutting it down, so no more parsnipers.

It has been a blast. I have enjoyed reading everyone’s cute messages. It made me very happy.

Anyway, what pray tell do you have in store for people?

I am so excited to talk about Lizzo. We’re going to do that. We’re going to talk about the Christopher Meloni ad. Dr. Jenn stops by and talks about maintaining fitness even when the summer schedule is over. There’s a ton of instructor news as always. Angelo stops by and talks about a no-carb breakfast. There are all kinds of insanity happening at Peloton that we got to talk through.

Before we get to all that, shameless plugs, don’t forget we’re available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Wherever you find a podcast, you can find us. While you’re there, be sure and follow us so you never miss an episode. Maybe leave us a review. We have a new review and the review says, “Parsnips.” Some of us do listen to the very end. “I love this podcast for all things Peloton. It helps keep me motivated and I appreciate the variety of interviews.” The Apple name is Miss Shorty.

You can also find us on Facebook, Facebook.com/TheClipOut. While you’re there, like the page and join the group. YouTube.com/TheClipOut. We do have a Patreon. If you’d like to join our Patreon, for as little as $5 a month, you can get all these episodes ad-free, and for a little bit more, you get some bonus content thrown your way. In the previous episode, we got the episode early. We were done early and we pushed it out to the Patreon subscribers a day early. It went out on Thursday afternoon instead of Friday morning. I can’t promise that’s going to happen every week because we’re at the mercy of our editors and sometimes they are merciless.

They’re busy.

When it’s available, we’ll push it out a little early for you. It’s a little surprise for you.

You never know what other kinds of things we’re going to throw out there.

Finally, we have a newsletter. All the links and stuff we throw at you fast and furious, if you don’t know where to find them or you don’t want to scroll through the Facebook page, you can get them all sent to you in one digest if you sign up for the newsletter at theclipout.com. It doesn’t cost you a dime. We don’t sell your address. You’re good. There’s all that. Let’s dig in. Shall we?

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We shall.

—

Joining us once again is John Mills from Run, Lift and Live. How’s it going?

How’s it going?

We’ll jump right into the big news. Who would have thought Christopher Meloni being naked would be the second biggest story of the week, but Lizzo showed up in a Lizzo class.

I loved this so much. When she walked out, I screamed so loud.

I was late as usual to arrive. It was my birthday. I was going to take a birthday ride, but I was too late. I couldn’t get in. By the time I got there, you couldn’t get in that class.

Everything went down. We interviewed somebody. We’re going to have the actual interview up in a couple of weeks. Be ready because we had somebody who was actually in the studio that day that we’re going to be talking to in a couple of weeks. She was saying that the technical difficulty started before Lizzo got there. In the studio, there were already issues. We just didn’t know at home yet. I was one of the lucky people that got to stay on the whole ride, but I tried my best to send photos to everyone. I was trying to document as I rode.

Do you know why you were able to stay on the ride? Because you are 100% that bitch.

That does make sense.

They know. They’re like, “Clip Out Crystal, 100%.” John, you were like 97%.

That is not enough.

Do you know what they don’t have? An emoji that says 97. They got an emoji that says 100.

That’s right. That’s exactly it. It was already a hype ride. It’s a two for one with Jess Sims.

Ir was supposed to be Cody but at the last minute, Jess Sims substituted. Everybody was excited. Everybody loves Cody, but everybody also loves Jess Sims because don’t forget, this was Jess Sims’ first ride on the bike. She has done bike bootcamps, but this was the first time she has been on the bike. What a first ride to teach.

I caught all the clips that everybody was sending around. I saw all the big girls come in there and they did that dance thing. That was pretty wild. I liked that. That’s exciting stuff.

I feel like it has been a while since Peloton has done something next level like this.

I agree. Robin said on the ride, “When we did the last Lizzo collaboration in 2019, I said then that we need to get Lizzo in here on a ride.” She was very happy that it happened. I think Robin pushed for that. The big question is, do you think we’ll see more of these in the future?

That’s where I was at. Do you follow this up? It can’t just be a one-time thing.

You also can never match that energy ever again. I don’t care who you get because it doesn’t matter. The surprise element will be gone. Every single time they have a big artist collaboration, Everybody’s going to be looking out.

 

Right now on the OPP, everybody’s like, “Is Andrew Lloyd Webber showing up?”

We’re going to camp out. We were planning to sleep there and wait. I’m seriously wondering, the next time they do a two for one, is there going to be craziness trying to get in that ride? People are hanging out in front of the studio. What is this going to cost them?

It’s going to be chaos because it was already chaos. We’re going to talk about later trying to get into the studio rides. They only post these things a week out, so drama every week. It’s going to be like Jersey Shore every week trying to book a ride.

It’s about to be nuts out there to book a ride.

You can’t recreate that surprise element. That was next level. That was my favorite ride that I have ever taken at Peloton.

That was my favorite ride that I ever got kicked out. I couldn’t get back in ever in my favorite one.

I feel like you’re a little salty, John. Look at it this way. You get to go to the studio all the time. If we had to compare, you’ve been in the studio like seven billion times more than I had.

I can’t complain because I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff. You’re right.

You were saying, Crystal, that you were going to take a ride the other day. It was on a Monday at 3:00 in the afternoon and there were 2,000 people on that ride.

It was on Lizzo. I went to do a Lanebreak ride because Tom was doing his Tonal. I wanted to do something to flush my legs out. I was like, “I’m just going to take the Lanebreak,” and I see it. It’s most popular right now with 2,000 people, 3:00 in the afternoon on Monday. That never happens. I’ve heard it either has rivaled or beat Beyonce’s record of most rides taken in the shortest time period. That’s insane.

I always ask the question when they do these artists series or when they do any of these big collabs. What does it do? My mind is always thinking subs. Somebody is going to go, “You know what? That’s pretty crazy.” Someone who’s not in an ecosystem yet, then decides to get into that ecosystem. This is one of the few ones where I go, “I could see that.”

I could too because if Lizzo loves it that much and you’re a fan of Lizzo and she loves it so much that she went to the studio and took the ride, I could see that being enough to be like, “Let me try out this Peloton thing.”

The next day, you see it come up on the morning news shows and they’re showing Lizzo walking in. This is one of the few times I can see somebody going, “Let me check out that Peloton.”

Do you think this idea originated with the Peloton camp or the Lizzo camp? She’s a big proponent of Peloton.

I always wonder about that. For example, the Android Lloyd Weber thing. I wonder, did they come up with that or did someone in the industry come at Peloton with something like that?

It’s this constant conversation of who do you have next? Who’s coming out with this? Who’s doing a new thing? They want constant new content. I think this is an ongoing conversation between the industry people and Peloton. I don’t know if you listened a few weeks ago, John, but we had a whole discussion about a post that DJ John Michael did. He talked about the fact that everyone is like, “I want X artist in,” and an X could be anything, whether it’s Lil Nas or I don’t know.

He’s like, “It doesn’t work like that,” because even if we contact the artist and even if the artist is like, “Yeah, we’d love to,” that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen like that. They want to time it to maybe they have a new album dropping or they have a book dropping or they’re going to be on a tour. There are all these things that take place in the background.

It’s like being on the Tonight Show. They go on the Tonight Show because they got a movie coming out.

They’re doing the rounds. It’s not that simple. I don’t know who started the conversation. Robin took credit for it like, “I want to have this happen the next time we can,” then Lizzo comes out with a new album and it happens. I don’t know how it all went down. I would love to be a fly on that wall. Even though it would probably be boring and lots of contract talk, I would still look.

There will be not a lot of excitement, but I still love to be there.

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She’s like, “It must be a Bike+. I’m not doing a regular bike. I’m Lizzo.” I was surprised her bike wasn’t bedazzled or something.

I don’t think that they’re going to make that many changes, but she was still decked out in her Yitty wear, her line of clothing. I loved that Robin and Jess Sims both had the Yitty on. I thought it was interesting that she was dressed all in black because that studio is so dark. It’s hard to stand out when you’re wearing all black.

If you’re Lizzo, you stand out.

That’s fair. Her personality shines. I think she exudes joy. I love her so much.

She was singing during the class. I mean, as I saw from the clips.

She was singing and it was organic. They were playing her music and she started singing along with it.

That’s what I heard because I wasn’t actually there.

It’s on-demand, John.

That’s right. I should stop all this salty stuff.

I do get it. I see all these people that are like, “I got into this class and I got into this class. I am salty about all of that like I never even got a chance. I could go on for days, but you can’t please everybody when you have six million people on this platform.

The platform can handle things like the turkey burn, which brings in a lot of people simultaneously. How many people must have been trying?

That’s the other thing. Since they were already experiencing issues before the ride started, I don’t know if that’s all that was going on. It might have been because there were rumors that she was going to be there. I didn’t post about it because I was scared to death to be wrong because I would get dragged. I did not want to hear it from people if I was wrong.

Even without the idea that we’re doing the two for one, the thought that it was going to be Cody and Robin is going to generate some excitement.

Before Lizzo even came out, there were already 15,000 people on the ride. That’s where the leaderboard froze. I can’t remember what the record is, but I know it’s significantly higher than that.

Hold on, “Get in before 15,000.” I wrote that down so I can remember next time. I got to get here.

We should also say if people want to know what it was like being in the room with Lizzo, we have an interview coming up in the next few weeks with someone who was lucky enough to be in there. She’ll tell us her story from the first person perspective, boots on the ground or boots on the pedals. Can you ride a bike with boots on?

Technically, I wouldn’t but with that particular ride, it wouldn’t matter because nobody was paying attention to metrics. We were all just singing and dancing, except John.

I saw the people singing and dancing afterwards. I was trying to get it, but then I couldn’t get in. Erica starts sending me like, “Crystal posted this. Someone posted this,” and I’m watching the clips.

I started getting messages from people like, “Stop rubbing our face with it, Crystal.” It’s too much joy, I can’t stop.

It was cool. Moving along, we had a naked Christopher Meloni singing the joys of Peloton in their latest ad, which was from the Ryan Reynolds marketing team.

Of course, it was.

I got all kinds of stuff in my group about that from people saying, “We need the version of this without the blur on the dark web.” I had other people going, “That is the most creative ever.” I had all kinds of responses.

 

In the bend-over scene, I’m like, “Who had to film that?”

He’s got something on. I do know that. He’s not really naked. He is pretty much on, but he’s wearing something.

I love the ad that it surprised people. This is something like that Lizzo realm. It surprises you. Nobody was expecting this.

No one ever expects Christopher Meloni naked.

I had no idea who this guy was.

He’s in Law & Order.

You had to tell me. I know, John. I don’t know. I’ve never watched Law& Order. It bores me. I don’t know what to tell you. It has been on for 25 years. I see it. I zone out. I can’t even focus on it, but I didn’t know who he was. I had no idea.

He’s been in tons of other stuff. He’s also very funny. You wouldn’t expect it if you only know him from Law & Order

He clearly has a sense of humor.

He’s in the cult classic, Wet Hot American Summer as well.

I’ve never seen that either.

He’s actually very funny as well. Apparently, he likes to workout naked. Part of the joke is that that’s how he does it.

I was doing my research for this episode and I saw that the Today Show took credit for it. They think they might have been the ones that made this happen because I guess Hoda Kotb made a comment. After he said that he likes to workout naked. She was like, “Can you imagine on the bike?” They think that maybe they started this whole thought process for Ryan Reynolds thinking about it as a commercial.

I didn’t even know that whole backstory, no pun intended, before I saw the ad. When Hoda Kotb said that they thought they might be the catalyst for this, when he said that he worked out naked, was it on their show or were they referencing a story?

I think they were referencing a story, and then Hoda went down the rabbit hole. She talks about like, “How would you clean up when you’re done? How gross that would be?” I think they went down the rabbit hole, no pun intended. It was also National Nude Day or Naked Day or something like that. It was tying into that.

I think I was one of the only people or a very small minority because there were other people, but it was a little off-putting to me. It made me a little uncomfortable. I get the humor in it and I love that people thought it was funny, but because I didn’t know the backstory, I was like, “What the hell is happening? Why is there a naked man doing Peloton? Why is there a naked man running down the street? How is this okay?” This was my initial reaction. It felt very thirsty.

It felt like, “Let’s create something that will go viral.” At the same time, it did. You had some numbers on your site.

People loved this commercial. People were watching it that don’t normally interact with my posts. There was a lot of feedback on this. Most of it was good. It was overwhelmingly good.

When you look at the numbers of views that Peloton tends to get on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, this blew all of those others away with the numbers they got. This one was the leader. In my group, they’re saying they’re doing what a lot of other companies are doing. They’re going into funny pop culture like irreverent ads. I don’t know if Peloton was doing that before on social. I’m not sure.

I don’t feel like they were, but we’re seeing more of that. The one that always comes to mind for me is Wendy’s. Wendy’s does a lot of that. They took a more abrasive tone like they’ll flat out insult people. It’s funny but I don’t think that’s the tone that necessarily Peloton should take, but it’s a way to cut through the clutter. You have to be careful navigating that space because there’s such a thin line between “That was a good dig at somebody” to “That was offensive.” That’s a delicate balance to walk. If Peloton needs anyone who knows how to write jokes like that try my superpower.

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I can appreciate the delicate nature of it. SoulCycle started their whole new campaign a month or so ago and it’s called, “Fuck it, let’s ride.” It’s like, “Forget COVID, let’s go back to the studio.”

That’s trying too hard.

If you take the context of COVID out of it, I like it. It’s when you add the COVID that it feels gross, especially given the issues they had in their studios. Maybe that’s not the best.

I’m not quite not sure who was writing that campaign. I don’t know.

I guess we should say in closing for this segment something that I don’t think we’ve said in a long time. Peloton had a good week.

Yes, they did.

Also, the stock was up.

The stock was up a lot. The last I looked, it was up some 16% or something.

It has been a good week. Maybe our tarot card reader was right. They are going to end 2022 on a high note. We never know.

Please let this be.

Wouldn’t it be great? That would be great.

Maybe the lesson too is what Barry has been saying, “Focus on your brand.” They had a good week and what did they do? They focus on the brand.

That’s a good point. I want to say so I don’t get a thousand comments that even though I didn’t like the ad at first, it grew on me. Please don’t try to convince me that I need to like it. It’s okay if we have different opinions anyway. You don’t have to convince me. It’s okay.

It’s okay if you don’t like the ad. It’s like what you say about the artist series, not everything has to be for everybody. I don’t think it did any damage to the brand.

Maybe it isn’t your cup of tea and that’s okay.

I didn’t know anything about the backstory, but I knew who Christopher Meloni was. The idea of linking the end of it to a Law & Order episode, that guy was funny.

Didn’t they always say that at the end of the show, like there are two kinds of people in this world?

That’s how the show starts. It’s like there are the police officers who apprehended the suspects and the judicial system.

I didn’t even get that. That made you appreciate it, John.

If I had been coming in and I have never seen Law & Order before, I didn’t know who Christopher Meloni was, I didn’t know the backstory, if I had been coming in fresh like the way you were seeing it, I don’t know what I would have thought.

 

You would’ve been like, “What is happening?”

I’m like, “Why is that dude running down naked in Central Park? I might’ve been like that too.

I watch Law & Order pretty regularly the first fifteen years it was on, then I drifted. I never did SVU. I never found SVU interesting because for me, Law & Order was always about murders. There are a million different reasons you might kill. SVU is all sexual assault. There’s only one reason that you sexually assault somebody.

There’s never a good reason.

To me, the level of tension wasn’t there because a murder could be revenge. They could be crazy. They could be self-defense. There are so many different motivations that could lead someone to murder that isn’t there for sexual assault. I was like, “This is the same thing every week.” I bailed after three episodes.

I told you the story about the fact that I’ve been a big fan of that show for many years, then I was called to a jury and then they asked me if I watch crime shows at home? I’m like, “No, never.” I got home and started watching Law & Order. I guess I was wrong.

I wonder what they think that says about you. Why is that an important thing for them to ask?

The case I was on had to do with attempted murder. There’s a gun, some bullets, and shells that were left behind. They selected me for jury duty. Once I got into it, it sounded like an episode of Law & Order.

They wanted to see how into it you were going to be.

It’s like, “This guy is going to be looking at this episode and coming to conclusions.”

John, thank you so much for joining us again. Until next time, where can people find you?

They can find me on my Facebook page or group, Run, Lift and Live. They can find me on Instagram @RunLiftAndLive. They can find me on TikTok, Run, Lift and Live, or they can find me at RunLiftAndLive.com.

—

Joining us once again is Dr. Jenn Mann, licensed marriage, family and child therapist, and sports psychology consultant. You may know her from VH1’s Couples Therapy with Dr. Jenn or VH1’s Family Therapy with Dr. Jenn or her long-running radio show, The Dr. Jenn Show. She’s written four bestselling books including The Relationship Fix: Dr. Jenn’s 6-Step Guide to Improving Communication, Connection and Intimacy. It’s Dr. Jenn.

Hello.

Christina Erin is looking for some advice. She says that eating/alcohol as summer vacation grows nearer. She’s a teacher and that’s concerning her. Also, she’s worried about not being able to keep up her fitness schedule in September when she heads back to the actual classroom. She’s been online for two years.

First of all, her concern about alcohol and food is a little unclear. I don’t know if you have more details anywhere. Is she worried that she’s overdoing it?

Maybe I feel this in my bones, but I hear it as summer vacation. There are all these temptations that aren’t necessarily there whenever you’re in school because everybody has more structure. Vacation means party.

To me, alcohol and food are two different issues. When it comes to alcohol, we don’t need alcohol. If you’re finding that you are overdoing it with alcohol, it’s always time to reassess. Do I have a problem with this substance? Is this something that maybe I need to be in a 12-step program? Maybe I need to spend some time not drinking and seeing how that feels, and experimented with that like when people do a dry January. Maybe you do a dry July and see how it goes. If you find that you can’t do it, then that’s the first big red flag that says, “There’s a bigger problem here.” If it’s like, “I’m invited to so many parties and there’s beer, barbecues, daiquiris and this and that,” then that’s a whole other thing.

When it comes to alcohol, maybe what you do is you pick one event a week that you’re like, “For that event, I’ll have a couple of drinks and I’ll Uber home or get a ride home.” The other thing is you want to make sure that you’re being safe when it comes to drinking and driving. Regarding the food, I’m a big fan of intuitive eating. If you find that you are eating excessively, then you want to look at what’s going on. I’m not tuning into my body. How can I tune in better?

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Am I using food to deal with emotions that I am struggling with? Maybe I’m going to a social and I’m feeling uncomfortable socially, especially after working from home for so long, being in a pandemic, and being in quarantine. A lot of people are struggling more socially that maybe if you’re out at that barbecue and you find yourself eating excessively, you may be using food to deal with any social anxiety that you’re having.

I like to get to the bottom of what’s underneath it because a lot of the time, when you resolve that, then the other thing tends to be a little better. Regarding going back to school in the fall and being able to fit in your workout, you’re going to have to schedule it. You’re going to have to do it realistically. This is the key because so many people are like, “I’m going back to work. I’m going to get up at 5:00 in the morning and workout for two hours, and then take a shower and have my coffee. I’m getting up at 4:00 AM.” You need to know yourself well enough to know, “Am I a morning person or am I a night person? When do I like to workout the best? What am I most inclined to do? How do I motivate myself?”

I’m a big fan of put your clothes out the night before. There’s a class that you know you’re going to take. Sometimes you can get yourself psyched up so that you’re like, “I can’t wait to get on the bike and take that class. I’m excited for that song or that instructor or I’ve read great things.” We all give reviews on Instagram like, “This was a great class. Check this out. By the way, Bradley Rose had a 30-minute ‘80s ride. It is more serotonin than I’ve had in years. Make sure that you schedule and that you also are realistic. You can’t assume that your pandemic workout is going to work well for you when you are back at school probably from 8:00 until 4:00. You’re going to need to be selective and create a program for the fall that is realistic.

You can always add to it. You can add layers, but look at what is the bare minimum that you will feel good doing and schedule that in and put it in your calendar, whatever system you use. Block it off so that you don’t end up going out for drinks afterwards with other teachers or doing something that you come home exhausted. You’re not fresh the next day. You missed your workout and feel terrible. Figure it out realistically and help yourself to find that balance.

That’s good. I like that. Start small, layer and get more.

You are such a project manager still the way you synopsis that. She was like, “To recap here are your next steps.”

Summarize the takeoff.

Thank you so much for joining us. Until next time, where can people find you?

On all social media @DrJennMann and I post all of my Peloton workouts on Insta Story.

That’s wonderful. Thank you.

—

 I don’t know if I fully spell it out here about how I was lucky enough to get to write for Mystery Science Theater 3000. I say that only because I think that’s probably how Matty Maggiacomo must have felt about getting interviewed by Broadway World because he loves Broadway so much. He’s got that IG show where he’s interviewing different people from Broadway all the time. That has to be super exciting for him. That would be my guess.

That makes sense. I’m happy for him. I think it’s cool. I love that they highlighted the Andrew Lloyd Weber Peloton class that’s coming up. They highlighted Matty for that, which is wonderful. I feel like he had a lot to do with this Broadway series happening because he was doing Broadway classes before there were Broadway classes. He was like, “If these go over well, you might see more.” I remember that. It looks like it took.

It’s very exciting.

This article talks about Matty’s favorite musical song, the musicals that he hasn’t seen but wants to see, his top three musicals, and all kinds of things like that, including what inspired him to become a Peloton instructor.

Also fitting enough, there was an ad on the page for MJ The Musical, which has another Peloton connection.

It does because that is Rose’s husband. He’s the director. It’s not like he owns it, but he had a lot to do with it happening. It’s his play in my head.

When we’re talking Peloton, it’s his. Jenn Sherman was on the Dear FoundHer podcast with Lindsay Pinchuk. I thought it was interesting. I feel like we don’t see a lot of Jenn Sherman out and about making the rounds.

We don’t, which is a shame because she’s funny and she’s very down to earth. The title of the episode is called JFDI: Motivating Yourself to Just F*ing Do It with Jenn Sherman from Peloton, which is great because that is her thing. I also thought it was funny that the woman who hosts this podcast was on her Instagram live and her stories. She was talking about the question she keeps getting asked over and over again. Is Jenn Sherman the way she is in class in real life? We’ve interviewed her. She’s absolutely that way. That is who she is. Lindsay was saying the same thing. Jenn Sherman is a wonderful instructor. She has so much to do with the community being a community. She does not always get recognized for that. I’m happy to remind people of it.

Adrian Williams has partnered with HexClad.

 

Apparently, these pans are amazing and people are excited that he is teaming up with them. I don’t know HexClad. We don’t use HexClad here, but I’m hearing good things. Maybe we’re going to have to switch it up, Tom.

Maybe they should buy an ad.

HexClad, come on over here.

We’ll take your money.

That’s what you get. When you have listeners and you have an audience, people want to advertise with you. That’s how it works.

Thank you for listening.

I bet Adrian was excited about that. He hasn’t had a ton that he’s been showing off, but he has had a few. It’s another one to add to his list. That’s awesome.

Susie Chan took part in an Ultra Marathon, but not the way you might think.

She was crewing. She does this often and she was in Death Valley. She was helping Debbie, I don’t know what her last name is, but she is one of the UK’s best Ultra runners. Susie was one of the crew people for her.

This place is called Furnace Creek.

It’s one of the hottest places on earth at one of the hottest times of the year. In front of us, there is a thermometer saying it’s 117 degrees Fahrenheit, 47 degrees Celsius where they are.

For our UK listeners, and Canada.

They did 35 hours of running in this place.

That’s insane.

I was asking Susie about it on social media because I truly don’t know what goes into crewing one of these things. Susie was saying that she does both crewing supporting one runner through the desert run by supplying water, ice to cool them and food, and also running alongside them on occasion and also helping the race organizers. She’s done this for a while and I thought it was cool. That’s neat.

I guess you have to be in good shape to even help. If they’re doing an Ultra Marathon and you’re running alongside them, sometimes you’re probably doing a marathon or at least a half marathon.

You got to be ready for the heat. It’s crazy. I love that. I love learning little things like this about the instructors.

EDM.com has an article or an interview with Jess King talking about her EDM-focused fitness series.

She launched this and it’s called EDM EDU. It teaches you things like what to wear to a festival, how to approach the club, and what the different kinds of EDM music are. There are a lot of different kinds. To me, these are never things that I would use. Do you see the quiz right there? That’s the thing that she talks about in her class.

“Which category of the house does Rüfüs Du Sol fall into? How many people are in the group?” I don’t know what any of that means.

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I know that Rüfüs Du Sol is an artist.

“In which category are you most likely to find someone shuffle dancing?”

I don’t even know what that is.

Is it in a nursing home? “How do you know if you’re listening to slap house?”

People are slapping each other?

Do you have red marks on your face? “What’s the most important thing to consider when getting dressed for a dance party?”

Layers? Probably glitter. I feel like glitter is in there somewhere, body glitter.

“What type of candy does Rebecca Kennedy keep in her fanny pack?” Jolly Rancher, that’s my guess.

That’s a good guess. You can learn all of this and more in Jess Sims’ class. I’m clearly not the demo for this.

Nor am I. While we’re talking about Jess King, she had a post about getting a new house, we think. It’s so poetic, “Soon, these shelves will be full of memories in this home filled with the giggles and cries of an infant. For now, all I hear is a faint echo of three beating hearts filled with gratitude for all that it took to arrive at this moment, to arrive home.” I think that means she got a new house.

I’m pretty sure. That’s how I took it. We think so and if so, congratulations.

When I’m writing it up and I’m like, “She got a new house,” then I’m like, “Did she?” She never actually says, “I got a new house.”

We’re just too literal here in the Midwest.

Congratulations on what we think is a new house.

—

Joining us once again is Angelo from that MetPro here to answer all of your fitness and nutrition questions.

It’s good to see you again.

It’s good to see you too. I’m curious how you’re going to answer this question. This one comes from Ronnie Joy Parker and she says breakfast. She’s never quite sure what to have that does not require cooking and not into a carbs meal.

Help me out. Not into a carbs meal?

No carbs and no cooking.

 

I’m shooting from the hip here, Ronnie. I’m a big fan of these cases. If you’ll do some dairy, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt, no cooking. This is bending the rules. You said no carbs, but berries are going to be the lowest glycaemic and very low in total. They are carbs, but they’re very low. If you want to throw some blueberries, some raspberries or some strawberries in with that, you’re still going to be a lower-carb meal.

A lot of people like to mix, and I see this more with cottage cheese than with yogurt, some vegetables and you can make it savory. I like it salty in cottage cheese. Lots of people love that. A little bit of garlic, a little bit of salt, and then you can mix them with some vegetables. Think of this, at the salad bar, there’s always cottage cheese on the end that you put on the side with all the vegetables in the salad. It does go. That is common. I see Crystal is cringy.

It’s proving I don’t spend a lot of time at the salad bar. I’m like, “Really? That’s a thing?”

Speaking of the salad bar, we can rip off a few good ideas. The other thing they have is hard-boiled eggs. I know you said no cooking, but you could do up a whole batch of hard-boiled eggs. When they’re done, there’s no cooking involved. You can also go to stores like Trader Joe’s and other places, and you can get those egg white mixes that are already cooked. They’re pretty good and they’re ready to go. That’s a simple option. There are lots of protein powder options out there that are going to be either low-carb or no-carb versions.

My only gripe there is that most people that are coming to us, not everyone, are coming to us because they need a technical intervention to help them with a plateau. They’re trying to lose weight. The last thing I’m going to do is have a liquid diet. That’s going to leave them hungry. If that is not a factor for you and appetite control isn’t a major issue and you just want something that’s quick and simple, a protein shake will fill you up at the moment. It’s just that it’s a liquid. There’s very little digestion time.

An hour later, it’s almost like it never happened from an appetite standpoint, but there are great protein powders. I’ll be honest, that’s sometimes one of my go-to when I get busy. Those are some great protein sources. For a vegetarian source that’s not protein, you can do some tofu. That’s something that doesn’t require a lot of cooking. There is some controversy with high amounts of tofu on a daily basis, but in moderation, you’re probably pretty safe. That’s another go-to that’s quick, simple and not messy. It doesn’t take a lot of preparation.

Finally, in that vegetarian or vegan realm, you can do beans. Beans have carbs. The majority of the carbs in beans are going to be fibrous in nature. The net impact of those carbs is not going to be specific. If you were trying to follow some sort of ketogenic arrangement, that might not be an option for you. If you’re simply trying to control blood sugar, reduce carbohydrates and manage them, beans are a great option. Any type of beans that you like, except refried. That doesn’t count.

Jelly beans though are okay. I’m always looking for the loophole.

Always. I’ve come to expect it.

My jelly beans were not refried. I feel like I’m going to be okay.

I’m reading between the lines. I’m not thinking this is what you’re looking for, but you can prep breakfasts in advance, opening all your options back up to you very similarly to any other meal. A simple low-carb breakfast is those egg white muffins that you can bake in a tin. You can put all kinds of different healthy ingredients in it with eggs or egg whites, depending on the combination. Usually, I’ll tell people to throw 1 or 2 yolks in, but the majority of whites if you’re trying to reduce calories as well. Throw in whatever veggies you like. I like to do it with mushroom and onion, and a little bit of low-fat feta cheese. It’ll give it that pop and taste without a ton of extra calories. You can make a whole tin up.

My wife will sometimes do those for me when I’m a good boy and behaving. She’ll make me a batch of them in advance. I love them. I can go over and grab it and they’re portable. They’re not messy and they’re quick. Those are the qualities you’re looking for when you’re talking about items for convenience. The same thing I recommended last time, especially if weight loss is a principal goal, you want to avoid the processed options. I know people say, “There are low-carb bars.” There are and they can serve some purpose.

Generally speaking, there are going to be ingredients in those bars that are less desirable than a more natural option, or even than a protein powder would be. That’s the gambit of a handful. Nuts are another good source where you will get protein though they are dominantly a healthy fat source. Nuts have protein in them. It’s very simple and quick. These are all ingredients you can make mainstays for a lower-carb breakfast that’s quick and very little preparation.

Lots of great ideas.

Thank you so much for all that. If people would like these sorts of tips and tricks tailor-made for their personal fitness journeys, where can they find you?

Got to MetPro.co/tco for The Clip Out.

Thank you.

—

You can now book classes in the studio, kind of.

That’s the best that you can say. They announced that the studio is officially opening on August 19th. There are still classes that are taking place on Fridays between now and then, but that’s their official opening weekend. They posted a whole thing about how you could go in and book your spot. Instantly, unfortunately, the entire site was inundated with people and nobody could book classes for a good 48 hours, then once people could book classes, they were all full.

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Somebody could book a class.

It was just chaotic and frustrating for a lot of people. It’s one of those things where I get why people are frustrated because it is frustrating that it’s not working, but it’s also like you pretty much have to be somebody living nearby or already have been planning to go or just have a lot of money that you can drop on travel, and have the schedule that you can drop on travel anytime you want. It would be difficult for most people, but I don’t need to be there the first weekend.

At least in the short term, you’re going to need to look at booking a class at a Peloton studio like attending a taping of SNL. You either decide that you’re going to drop the money and drop everything on a moment’s notice to go do it, or it’s not something that you’re going to get to do.

They’re only opening classes up one week at a time for you to be able to book. If a class goes live at noon on Monday, the Monday previous to that at noon is when it goes live for booking. Everyone knows that and it’s posted in their FAQs and that’s what everybody does. In theory, they have their little concierge services where they will help you, but I’ve already tried reaching out to them and no one will answer me.

That’s unconcierge-like.

I called customer service, and that’s where they told me to go. At any rate, I think that it’s only one week out, and then you only have to schedule up to two weeks out. You don’t have a lot of time. I don’t know. I see it being like this forever, quite frankly. It may not always have issues with the website going down, but you’re going to have a hard time getting a class. Just accept that. You’re going to need a friend to get you in.

As our parents used to say, “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”

You’re going to need to be open because here’s the deal. They’re only doing weekend classes. If your instructor that you want to go see doesn’t teach on Saturdays at noon and that’s the only time you can go, then you’re taking a class with whoever is there Sunday at noon, or you’re not taking a class at all. Maybe you’re not taking a bike class. Maybe you’re taking a yoga class. Maybe you’re taking a running class. You’re going to have to be a little more open-minded than you’ve been in the past if it’s important to you to get in. We’ll see. People, in general, were excited about the prospects. They were more excited about the prospects than they were upset about the website.

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about Netflix and how they’re going to start having ads on their platform, and how it could benefit Peloton.

They specifically call out that Peloton hopes to have their product featured. I thought that was interesting.

It sounded to me less like they wanted to buy ads and more like they wanted to be a part of product placement.

That is how I read it as well. We will see. That has had mixed results in the past.

I wonder if maybe the thought process now is, “We’ll pay for it, but we get input over what you’re going to do with our product.”

I don’t know. We shall see how that comes out. That’s an inside joke. For those of you who watch Teen Mom, you might get it. Anyway, I’m curious to see if this does anything and what shows they end up on. In theory, it’s going to be product placement in shows that Peloton feels is a good mix of potential people to be in their services or be in their realm.

They want to show whose viewers are more likely to purchase a Peloton. Netflix is going to have all that sort of data and they probably have an inside track on the first bite at brokering a deal like that because of who their current CEO is.

That is fair. Maybe Barry’s doing more than I gave him credit for. Good old Bear Bear. He’s still curmudgeonly.

As long as he gets his job done. Lexology has an article about an overview of the battle between Lululemon and Peloton.

Also, with a British slant. That’s the other part of this that interested me and this makes sense when you think about it. The thing that caught my eye here was that they mentioned in this article that the patent laws in the UK are slightly different from the patent laws in the US. I would need to read it much closer than I actually did to give you the details on that. I’m sorry, but it was boring.

It seems like they know what they’re talking about but it’s pretty dry.

They are thinking that it is possible that whatever happens in the US will affect what happens in the UK, but it also could still turn out differently.

 

Like a split decision.

I thought it was interesting. I hadn’t thought about it being in multiple countries and affecting multiple countries.

It’s a lengthy article with a lot of details. If it interests you, you can get the link for that if you sign up for our newsletter at theclipout.com. A website called ChoosingNutrition.com had an overview of Peloton’s Power Zone and how it impacts weight loss.

I thought this was interesting. Supposedly their team consists of registered dietitians, nutrition coaches and chefs. As the owner of the site follows a health-conscious lifestyle, the goal is to help you through your nutritional journey. This particular article is all about Power Zone. I guess the person who wrote this does a lot of Power Zone training. They talk about everything from what Power Zone training is, how you can get better at it each week, and a number of classes you should take. It’s a comprehensive guide. It interested me that nobody has written anything to this degree of specificity for Power Zone training that’s like a how-to guide that you don’t have to join a challenge to get to or pay for a website.

It’s like it’s just here and it’s interesting information. Power Zone is not my thing. I was reading here that it was talking about how the best results are four different classes a week. That’s where they lose me because it’s too much commitment. I like to do other things, but there are a lot of people that do and there are a lot of people that get motivated by being able to see the consistent gains that you do see in your FTP, particularly the weight-to-power ratio. I thought this was worth telling people about. I hope that if you are interested in Power Zone, you read about it and educate yourself if you’re not as familiar.

—

This shouldn’t be a huge shock to people that have been listening to the whole episode because we’ve referenced it twice now. There is a new artist series/Broadway series spotlighting Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Many people are excited about this. There are going to be songs from Cats, Evita, Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar and more. The classes are going to be with Christine. There’s going to be a couple of German classes with Tobias and Benny, and then there’s a one with Sam, then Ross Rayburn seems appropriate, as does Matty Maggiacomo. They all started on Wednesday, July 20th. If you missed it, go back and make sure that you’re listening. You go back and watch them. Take the classes and enjoy.

—

We’ve got a couple of past guest updates.

Our beloved Carey Socol posted in the JSS Tribe that she got to spend a little time with Jenn Sherman catching up. For those of you who don’t know, it is Friday when this episode drops. This is the day that Jenn Sherman is doing her first ride within studio riders. I am so excited that the Jenns Men Crew got to be there. Carey was unfortunately out of town. Although, I have to say, when I talked to her, she is so sweet. The way she thinks through things like her ability to process is amazing.

She was talking about how maybe it’s even better that she’s not there because she wants the focus to be on Jenn and the love of all the riders, not on her and not on Howie. How sweet is that? At any rate, there’s going to be tons of people there. There’s so much love for JSS in that group. There’s going to be a ton of fun. I am sad that I cannot be there. I’m so jealous but so happy for everyone to get to see each other. Some of these people have never met each other, which is crazy.

Jenn’s Men have been supporters of her since the very beginning. I’m glad that that group of people got to take part. The people that mattered got to be there. We also have a past guest update from CJ Albertson, marathon runner extraordinaire.

I am shaking my head at this. I cannot even comprehend this. CJ Albertson was asking Peloton for a faster tread. The reason he was asking for a faster tread is he ran 21 miles on the Tread. Just to be clear, on miles 10 through 21, he ran at a max speed on the treadmill. He wanted a faster treadmill because he could only go to 12.5 miles per hour, which equates to 4.49. That’s 4 minutes, 49 seconds per mile. He maxed out the treadmill from miles 10 through 21. How is that even humanly possible?

Mile 9 was 4.55.

You might as well throw that one in there too, but he increased his pace each mile up until then. He started a lowly 7. Come on, CJ, whatever. It is insane. The dude is gifted. He is going to keep doing amazing things.

He may be sprinting a marathon.

I’m excited to see what’s next for this gentleman. He is a superstar, just incredible. I hope Peloton can get him a faster treadmill. He needs to keep training.

—

We have new barre classes available.

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Seven of them dropped this week and they all feature Ally Love and Hannah Corbin, one of the two, in each class. Peloton made them into a collection. If you go to your app or you go to your equipment, you can go to collections and it’s right there at the top, barre classes.

We also have new levels on Lanebreak.

I am digging this Lanebreak. I know I keep saying that, but I did another one the other day and they now have low-impact rides. I haven’t taken it for a while, so I know they’ve been out there. You don’t need to correct me on my timing, but they dropped some new levels. They have Tropical House Mix, Lush EDM Warmup, and a Lush EDM Cool-down. I liked the fact that they have the game 30 minutes of a low impact, so I could enjoy it and bliss out listening to the music. It was great. I like Lanebreak.

You do. You hop on there all the time.

—

Joining us in this episode is Adam Clous. Adam, how’s it going?

How is everybody?

We are good. How are you doing?

I’m doing well. Thank you.

Adam, how did you originally come across Peloton? How did that hop into your life?

It is an interesting story. I used to work as a group fitness instructor. When the gyms closed due to the pandemic, I was starting to lose my mind being at home. Within a few days of being sent home from the gym and not being able to engage with people and workout, I found Peloton. I ordered my bike right away before the supply chain issues started to arise. I got my bike in early June of 2020. It was delivered in about six weeks. That was pretty good.

That was great for that timeframe. Depending on where you lived in the country, it was starting to stack up at that point. You said you were a group fitness instructor. What kind of group fitness did you do?

I’ve worked in the fitness industry since 2004. It is when I got started. I’ve taught cycle classes since 2006. The first fitness format I learned to teach was step aerobics. I’m a little embarrassed about that, but it was fun to teach. That was the first format I taught. Since then, I’ve added on a whole bunch of other different formats. I’ve taught kickboxing, yoga, strength classes, and all types of different muscle endurance. Also, plyometric-type strength classes like bootcamp style and all that kind of stuff. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot of different formats. I just started adding in some mobility classes especially since I’m getting up in years now. I’m understanding the importance of doing mobility and stretching.

As for the step aerobics, look at it like this. The math teacher who taught you addition probably also knew calculus. Everybody has got to start somewhere.

Did you guys see the post over on the OPP? Somebody requested step aerobics on the Peloton platform. Adam, this is your big moment.

It’s your time to shine.

I’m ready to join in at 128 beats per minute.

That’s like if the Beatles reached out and they’re like, “We’d like you to be in our band. Could you play the tambourine?”

I’ll play the tambourine. I’m good with that.

For the Beatles, yes.

 

There is no harm in that. You said you’ve been in fitness your whole life. Does that mean from a little kid? Does that mean in high school? What does that mean for you?

It’s not my whole life. I worked for the University of Michigan football team when I was in school. At U of M, I worked for the football team from ‘95 to ‘99, which was a phenomenal experience. I had a great time and if you know anything about Michigan football, those were good years to be there because we won the national title in ‘97 and the Big 10 title in ‘98. I had a great time with that. I met my wife at school and then settled down after I got out of school. I gained weight pretty much.

Right around 2003 was when I was like, “I’m getting pretty heavy.” That was when I had my epiphany moment. Anyone who’s dedicated to fitness can usually tell you when they had their epiphany moment when they’re like, “I need to make a change. I need to commit to this.” In 2003, I got a new job and I went shopping for new suits. I measured my waist at over 40 inches. I was like, “What? No. I’m not buying anything now. Forget it.” That was my epiphany moment and from that point, literally the next day I went and signed up at the gym and started working out. About eighteen months later, I got certified to start teaching step aerobics and here we are.

You were all-in though.

What made you go from, “I’m going to start working out and taking care of myself” to “I now need to be certified and know all the things.”

My wife and I had been planning to start a family. We got married in 2001 and around 2003 was when I was getting pretty heavy. I was finishing up my Master’s in Business Administration at the time. Once I got done with my Master’s, I had some extra time on my hands, and that was right around the same time when I was starting to workout and get a little bit more fit and lose body fat. I had started taking some of the group fitness classes at the gym as a participant. We had decided, “As soon as we get done with the Master’s program, we’re going to start our family.

I got done in September of 2004 and shortly thereafter, I got certified to teach group fitness classes because I knew with a little one on the way I was going to be having a difficult time staying committed to the gym. It was a selfish thing. It was like, “This way I have to be there.” I also came to the realization that the person that’s teaching the class is not only required to be here but they’re getting paid to workout. I’m like, “What’s a better deal? I’m getting paid to have to come here and stay committed to my plan.”

Your wife can’t yell at you at the gym because it’s like, “It’s a side hustle. I’m supporting our family.”

There were a few times when it was like two hours of sleep and I got to go and teach my group fitness class at 5:00 AM. Those are the days when you have a little extra scoop of the pre-workout, a little more caffeine.

I thought you walked around the class, “You need to go faster. You need to do more.” Those are the days when you’re invested in everybody else’s form.

“They’ll be teaching from a lawn chair.” You were losing weight and your wife was gaining weight. That had to be fun.

It’s dangerous.

I’m doing my best anyway.

Was she supportive of your journey? Was she envious of your journey or not invested in one way or another? How did that work?

Not invested to supportive. I think she appreciated the fact that I’m getting fit again and losing some of the weight that I had gained. The interesting thing is she’s not excited about working out, but once we got the Peloton, she started doing it a little bit in the basement and riding on occasion. It’s funny because, for work, she creates online training courses for a company. Part of their big thing right now is to gamify everything, so having badges as rewards and everything. She finds it silly that people are motivated by getting a badge for their training. Lo and behold, as soon as we get the Peloton and she started using it, she was like, “I love all these badges. I need to get the new badge.” She is very motivated by the badges.

She joined the rest of us badgelors over here.

I wasn’t going to say that, but that’s exactly what she said.

Let me try and create some more strife in your marriage. You’re a spin instructor and she doesn’t care for it. You get a Peloton and now she’s doing it all the time.

Explain how that went over.

She found that she enjoys it. We have a little workout area set up in the basement. I got a bunch of equipment and at about the same time they ordered the Peloton. She’s embraced it. She does all her workouts in the basement. We have a bunch of dumbbells and stuff and there’s the big screen TV, so she can do the broadcast of different arms and core classes. She’s committed to it.

 

You’re not upset that she’ll take classes with other instructors but not you.

She likes doing it at home where she can do it by herself. I’m a real extroverted person. I like to go to the gym. I’m happy to be back in the gym and teaching classes again. I still ride the Peloton a lot and still workout a lot on my own but I like the social engagement too.

You should hack her bike and put a feed of you instructing.

That’s a good idea and a special badge.

That only she can have. I also get that as much as you love Peloton, Crystal, I’m sure you’re fine if Denis Morton tells you what to do. You would not be so fine if it was me telling you what to do.

That is so true.

It’s different.

I don’t know what I’m talking about.

There’s that, but even if you did, there still would be a difference. It changes a little bit of the dynamic of the relationship. In all seriousness, I think that it works best for anybody’s particular relationship to have it separate or together. I understand either one. I have heard that you have legendary outputs on the bike. Supposedly, you’ve never changed any calibration on your bike. Yours is “real.” I’m not calling you out like that didn’t happen. I’m saying supposedly because every bike is a little bit different. If you were to come to our house and put it on our bike, it would be the only way for me to know that these are legendary outputs.

Even then, your bike might not be perfect either.

Agreed. I meant that’s the only way you get an apples-to-apples comparison.

This is a multi-step answer here because number one, all the bikes are a little bit different. Number two, that’s not true. I have had to calibrate my bike. When we had the original one, we had a couple of replacement frames because we’ve learned our lesson. I sweat a lot and I’ve learned that the seat posts, that little handle thingy rusts easily no matter how well you clean it. I weigh a lot so I need it to be really tight. Long story short, I’ve had a couple of replacement frames. When one of them arrived, it was wrong. The calibration was way too hard.

A 30 resistance was super hard, which is odd. I had ordered the calibration kit. I did the calibration. I will say that for anybody that’s reading, the calibration on the original bike, the reason why there are so many that are wrong is it’s easy to make a mistake. It’s a huge long process where you have to be careful. If you’re not careful, you can maybe purposely or maybe accidentally mess up the calibration.

It’s like entering this big string of numbers. When you’re typing things in and if you missed one number, it changes everything.

Now that I know that and I know how they work, I’m a little bit more aware. In any case, as I said, I’ve taught group classes and cycle classes for a long time. I’ve taught on a ton of different bikes and different brands. I’m a really big guy. I weigh 235 right now and that’s at my leanest. In the winter, I’m 260.

How tall are you?

I’m 6’3”. I’m a big guy. I always tell people that when the calibration question comes up, it’s like saying somebody benches 315 pounds. It’s possible and it’s hard to achieve. Anyone could do it, but it’s a lot easier for a big guy than it is for a very small frame person, whether it’s a man or a woman. If somebody weighs 240 or 250 like I am, benching 315 is impressive, but not that impressive. Benching 315 when you weigh 150 is insane. That’s world-class.

The 400 output number or the golden number everybody refers to, I know I can do 400 output because I’ve tested it on a lot of different bikes, but it’s like benching 315. It’s not as impressive when you weigh as much as I do and you’re as big of a guy as I am, as it is for the world-class bikers who are doing the Tour de France who only weigh 150. The power-to-weight ratio thing is the key. Having been on a lot of different bikes, I have a good understanding. I know that my bike might not be perfect, but I’m pretty confident that’s within 5% to 10% so I’m pretty good.

Let me be clear. I don’t think any of the bikes are perfect because they could all be shipped at the exact same moment. One little thing changes and they’re all different. I have a Bike+ now, but my original bike was always hard from day one. Everybody would talk about it. You go into the studio and the bikes in the studio are so hard. I went into the studio and I was like, “These are the same as my bike at home so I’m good.” I appreciate that you said that. A lot of people don’t understand that the more that you weigh, the taller you are, you have more torque and power behind every pedal stroke. I appreciate that you explained that because not everybody understands that.

Here’s the thing. I ride outside a lot. I’ve done outdoor races and stuff. I can tell you that I’ve ridden with some females who weigh 110 and they probably can only do 120 average-wise, but they can kick my ass outside because they’re super fast because they’re this big. It’s more so about that power-to-weight ratio thing. The fact that the leaderboard is only measuring output, it’s strictly measuring a measure of strength, period. It’s not measuring strength to body weight so that’s a little bit misleading.

 

To answer your question, my numbers are pretty high, but I also know why and I’m 100% genuine when I tell people that I’m proud of their accomplishments. I always recognize people on the different Peloton pages and everything. I’m like, “You’re doing an awesome job. That’s fantastic.” I’m 100% genuine when I’m saying that because I have enough exposure and understanding of different classes as I’m teaching them so I know when people are doing a great job.

I have to say though, it must be fun regardless to be at the top of the leaderboard.

Sometimes and sometimes not.

Do people come after you?

Yeah. What’s funny is I have my Instagram handle as my top hashtag because I have had so many people accuse me of having a faulty bike. I’m like, “Look at my Instagram and look at everything I’m doing because I post stuff not only from Peloton, but I post all my workouts I’m doing for strength. I post all the different stuff I’m doing for my group fitness classes at the gym. I’m like, “I did 411 average output on a Stages bike, not just on a Peloton bike.”

The proof is in the pudding because it’s consistent. Do people come in and seek you out to have those conversations or do you see it every once in a while? Is it like some side comment that you happened to realize is about you?

It’s both. After I started riding the Peloton, I joined the Peloton Dads group on Facebook. At that time, the Peloton dads were about 4,500 guys or so. As I said, in June or July of 2020, right around that timeframe, I was losing my mind because I’m such an extrovert and I need engagement with other people. I started looking for those different opportunities to connect virtually and that’s how I landed on the Peloton Dads group.

I quickly started getting to know some of the guys in the group. Being the type of person that I am, I’m always looking for those opportunities to lead and motivate and inspire people. I started a competition called the Peloton Dads challenge. The first week I did it, I put it out there in the group and said, “I want to have a competition. I’ll put you guys in teams. Here’s how you’re going to sign up.” I did it with Excel spreadsheets for the first week and I had six guys.

I was like, “I’ll start it,” and it took off. It went from six guys in the first week to I ran four seasons of it. I call them seasons because they are nine weeks long. By the end of the fourth season, I had over 800 guys that were competing in this group. Many of the guys in the group contributed their expertise to improving the process. It went from, “Signup on Excel spreadsheet to a full website.” You sign up on the website with your leaderboard name and it goes into a Smartsheet. The Smartsheet sorts all the data for me. Another guy did an automatic software thing that pulls everybody’s data for us.

Long story short, it went from this little thing to this huge massive 800-person competition. It was a lot of fun, but because everybody’s results are out there, going back to your original question, people were starting to be like, “Wait a minute. How the hell are you getting those numbers?” I had to explain myself several times. It was a lot of fun and it got everybody engaged, but I think it also helped. For while, I half-jokingly started using the hashtag #Normalize400Watts because it is possible. People can do that.

It’s such a realization that regardless of where you are in life, whether you’re trying to improve, whether you’re feeling like you’re already super fit, you always have other people coming at you asking questions or trying to put you in a box, regardless. People always have things to say.

That’s the beauty of the internet. No matter what your accomplishments are, there’s someone out there to s*** on you.

Anytime I’ve posted on the Official Peloton Page on Facebook, I know that there are going to be a few people who are going to be coming at me. I welcome it at this point. I’m like, “Come at me. I’ll show you the evidence.”

We’ll say an unpopular opinion when we’re recording and be like, “Don’t at me. If you’re going to, at Tom because he doesn’t read his s**t. Go at him. I don’t want to hear it.” It gets exhausting explaining things over and over again. Your Instagram account, you mentioned that a while ago and that you have all kinds of stuff on there. What motivated you to start it? Did you have this started before the pandemic or before you moved over to Peloton? Is it something you’ve done for a while?

I started it back in 2018 before the pandemic. Since I was teaching group fitness classes at the gym, I was looking for more ways to engage with the people who were coming to my classes. It wasn’t that long ago, but the world has changed a lot. In 2017 and 2018, it was getting started. The people that were coming to the gym were just starting to connect virtually. People were nervous about it.

I was welcoming people to connect with me through Instagram so that I could recognize their achievements in the class. If somebody was coming in and they said they were going to try to come for four straight weeks. I would recognize and say, “Susie came for four straight weeks. That’s her first four weeks and congratulations. Here’s Susie.”

You were giving shout-outs.

I was, on Instagram. That was my way of motivating members and recognizing people who had specific goals in mind that they were working toward and getting people to know each other because it was crazy. I would have sometimes 40 people or 50 people in a class, and they would sit next to each other week after week after week. Susie didn’t know Mark. They’re sitting right next to each other for years. I was like, “This is silly. We should start to get to know everybody.”

It was my way of trying to get connected and start to use Instagram to connect with people. I started it in 2018, but it was only used for that purpose for a while. When the pandemic started, it took on a whole new meaning for me. I started using it to stay connected with all the people who I had lost contact with from the gym. It took off. I started having a lot more followers that started using the hashtags and stuff. People started finding me.

I have several thousand followers now. I usually post once a day or so, just a different workout idea or something I’m doing or a Peloton ride that I did or something to stay top of mind and stay engaged through it. It has become really fun during the pandemic for the first few months when we were challenged with the equipment before we got all the cool stuff we have now. It was like, “What can I come up with?” I was doing videos of me doing workouts with my kids at the park and stuff like that. It was fun.

 

He’s got five milk bottles in each hand.

We are doing all sorts of sprints and jumps.

Do people start questioning your children’s output?

Are your kids’ bikes calibrated?

We haven’t asked yet, but what is your leaderboard name so if people want to follow you and question your output.

My leaderboard name is @NonDadBodDad. I came up with it because originally my leaderboard name was just Adam Clous and it was boring. I never got a shout-out. As I joined the Peloton Dads group, there were all the guys with the hashtag dad bod. I’m like, “I don’t have a dad bod and I’m proud of it. I’m proud of the fact that I’m working the Non Dad Bod Dad. That’s going to be my leaderboard name.” Sure enough, as soon as I did it, I started getting a shout-out all the time. I’m like, “This is awesome.”

I kept the leaderboard name and the funny epilogue here is my wife, as I mentioned, when she started getting into doing the Peloton, she also had her name as her leaderboard name and then she changed it a little bit. She still wasn’t getting a shout-out so she was frustrated. She was doing one of her milestone rides and she changed it to MrsNonDadBodDad and she got a shout-out. Now you can find my wife too because now, she’s MrsNonDadBodDad.

How many characters do you get? That seems like a lot.

At least fifteen.

It’s right on the dot. Do you have an instructor that’s your go-to or do you mix it up? How does that work for you?

I mix it up quite a bit. After two years, I’ve settled on my favorite being Emma. Having the experience of being an instructor, I appreciate the fact that Emma has an awesome playlist and the format of her class is so well-coordinated with the playlist that she puts together. That takes work and I can tell you as an instructor, that doesn’t just happen by accident. She’s pretty awesome at that. She’s definitely my favorite.

I like Kendall’s playlist and she’s fun. I like how wild she is sometimes. Cody is hilarious. I take Cody’s class when I need some laughs just because you sit there, enjoy and laugh through it. I like some of the other instructors too for different reasons. Tunde does some great formats. I appreciate that. As an instructor, that’s awesome. I can’t even breathe when I’m taking one of Ally’s Tabata classes. I love that because that’s a big challenge for me to follow along on the Tabata and push myself. I’ve got little things I like for each one of them, but Emma is my favorite.

How is it being a spin instructor and then taking other instructors’ classes? Do you find yourself comparing how you do it? Does it change how you teach?

Do you judge them?

I judge them. It would be funny because if you were able to connect with any of my friends, they would be able to tell you who I can’t stand. I won’t go there, but I don’t like it when the music and the playlist don’t match the format of the class and I’ll leave it at that. I have some people that I judge and I’m like, “If you put in a little bit more effort, you could format the music to match it. Even with the music you don’t like, you could still format it.

Here’s the thing. Not all of us have the ability to hear it. It’s legit. I love music of all kinds, but I have no appreciation for the beat. If I were putting together a class, I could not do it. Unless it has a strong drum line that’s repetitive, I cannot hear it. I feel like some people are and maybe the person you’re talking about could be like that where it’s they can’t hear it in the same way.

I agree wholeheartedly, but there’s software now that does it for you.

He’s a multi-billion dollar company. It’s fair to get a consultant.

There’s a free website. If you have Spotify, here’s a plug for a free website. I don’t get anything back from it, but it’s pretty awesome. If you go to SortYourMusic.com, you connect your Spotify account and you can download all your playlist to it. It tells you what the beats per minute are. All you have to do is look at a graph and say, “I’m going to move this one here and move this one here and I’m good. It takes five extra minutes.

I tried but you make a good point.

Do you have any advice for people just entering the world of Peloton that’s not beats-per-minute related?

 

Maybe this is my bigger answer as an instructor. I always tell people to set a specific goal and whatever your specific goal is, work on that goal alone. The reason I say that is that some of the guys, especially in the Peloton Dads Group at one time were reaching out to me to say, “You seem to know what you’re talking about. What about this?” Frequently, what they’re trying to do is they’re trying to increase their output and lose body fat at the same time. They’re reducing their calories and doing different diet ideas. At the same time trying to get stronger and naturally do more outfits. I said, “You’re doing two things that are conflicting with one another. That doesn’t even make sense.

If your goal is to increase output, then you need to eat enough calories to get more muscle. I won’t go into the details, but there’s a whole bunch of resources on nutrition to help you understand what you need to eat to build muscle. If your goal is to lose body fat, then it doesn’t matter what your output is. As long as you’re doing something that keeps you in that zone where you’re not out of breath, but working hard, you’re going to burn body fat.

I get on my soapbox and talk to people about setting your goal and make sure that your workout plan is there to support your goal. Whatever the timeline is, if it’s 30 days or 60 days, then re-evaluate and say, “Did I get my goal? Am I happy with the result?” If not, set a different goal and say, “Now, I’m going to do this.” I always have a goal in mind. I usually do my bulk-up period from September to February.

I purposely gained 20 pounds between September and February every year. My goal is to gain as much muscle as I can within that 20 pounds within that 5 to 6 months. From February to April, I cut back down and I lose about 15 pounds. My end game goal is to net about 5 pounds of lean muscle. People are like, “Really? You do all that work for stupid 5 pounds. I’m like, “That’s what it takes. It takes a long time.”

That is so true and I think a lot of people underestimate how much work it takes to build muscle and how much you need to eat. To your point, you have to eat a lot of calories to be able to build muscle. That’s why people don’t need to worry about getting bulky from lifting weights because it’s hard to do. It takes you a whole year to gain 5 pounds of muscle. The rest of us that are casually lifting weights, you’re going to be fine.

I would say when people were like, “I don’t want to get bulky.” It’s like, “If it was that easy, we would all look like Chris Hemsworth.”

Don’t I wish.

I’m like, “Come on, come on.”

Adam, thank you so much for joining us t. Before we let go, remind everybody where they can find you in all the places.

On Peloton, my leaderboard name is the NonDadBodDad. I’m one of the admins now for Peloton Dads group because my little competition got so big that they asked me to help manage it. On Facebook, I’m also one of the admins for the Peloton Dads Facebook group. On my Instagram, my personal account is @AdamClousfitness.

I do have one more question for you regarding the Peloton Dads group, is that only open to men who are dads? I say that because somebody was going to want to know about this challenge. They’re going to come looking and they’re going to ask me who can join so let’s address that.

We do ask that they be dads. What I mean by that is at some point, we do have some people who identify as dads who are either adopted dads or things like that. We’re good with that. We’re fine with that, but the key is that they have or have had children. We have some dads who unfortunately have had children in the past and no longer have children. We want people to identify in a similar way to us where they either had experiences as dads that they can share or are currently looking for advice and help on how to deal with all the challenges that come with being a dad.

Those are the different aspects that are what we’re looking for. We have some questions that we ask right up front when people are signing up to ask them to answer so that we have a good understanding. We do ask for the Peloton leaderboard name so that we can verify that they truly wanted to be part of the community and that they’re interested in health and fitness so we don’t get people that are just joining at random.

I appreciate you clarifying that. Thank you. Thank you again for your time. This was a lot of fun getting to know you.

Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I look forward to hearing this episode.

—

I guess that brings this episode to a close. Until next time, where can people find you?

People can find me on Facebook at Facebook.com/crystaldokeefe. They can find me on Instagram, Twitter, and the Peloton leaderboard @ClipOutCrystal.

You can find me on Twitter @RogerQBert or Facebook at Facebook.com/tomokeefe. You can find the show online at Facebook.com/TheClipOut. While you’re there, like the page and join the group. If you’re still listening and you send Crystal a message that says sarsaparilla, she will send you a free Chrysler Cordoba.

That is going to be tough to find packaging for, Tom.

They have to cover the shipping. Just in case, no, we won’t. Just from the outside chance that there’s some attorney listening like, “I’m getting me a free Chrysler Cordoba,” You’re not. Anyway, that’s it for this one. Thanks for tuning in. Until next time, keep pedaling and running.

 

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• Broadway World – Interview: Matty Maggiacomo of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Peloton Class
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• EDM.com – PELOTON INSTRUCTOR JESS KING LAUNCHES EDM-FOCUSED FITNESS SERIES
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About Adam Clous

Group Fitness Instructor at @lifetimetroy. PRbreaker.com 💥10% discount code: AdamClous Peloton Leaderboard Name: NonDadBodDad

 

 

 

 

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