Did you notice that Peloton announced a new ride type earlier this week? Though we did include it in our recent “On Our Radar” roundup of classes, and Peloton CEO Peter Stern mentioned it as a must-try class in this week’s Earnings Call, it flew a bit “under the radar” as it debuted out of PSL with Hannah Frankson. If you know Hannah, you can imagine that this ride would be the perfect blend of fun and effort; and if you don’t know Hannah yet, this ride is a great way to get acquainted!

The Progressive Push Concept

Hannah explained in the preshow and throughout the ride that this new concept will provide a structure to follow, but a single variable that makes each ride unique in its focus. On this premiere, the variable was “time.” She laid it out up front for us that in this particular ride, after a solid warmup, we would do a progressive build on the duration of our intervals. The range would be 1 minute, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 5. Each recovery between intervals after the warmup would be 90 seconds.

In future rides, the variable could be cadence, or resistance, or something else. While Hannah said the overall effort here should feel like something between a Low Impact ride and a HIIT ride, I felt like this particular ride was more “Power Zone Adjacent.” In other words, you’d be well served to know what your efforts feel like before doing this ride. She prescribed that each effort should feel the same and the only thing we change is how long we hold it. Understanding where your body can go and for how long helps prepare when choosing your range.

Seasoned Power Zone riders will enjoy this structure. Today, I chose to stay in my Zone 4 for all the intervals. Knowing ahead of time that this is a place I would feel the right amount of exertion during the final interval was helpful. Of course, new riders were welcome to experiment. Hannah cautioned against coming out too hard at first in the shorter intervals, but was quick to repeat to give yourself grace if you need to make adjustments.

Find Your… Focus

Speaking of the mental side of things, one interesting aspect of this ride, and presumably this structure moving forward, was the focus required. Matt talks about this a lot as well in Peloton’s new Boost Your Base Power Zone classes. (Notably at the end of this ride, Hannah mentioned that this ride was meant to improve your aerobic endurance and “boost your base” for riding longer… we see what you all did there!) Do you tend to “zone out” on these long intervals or do you get hyper focused on your body? Personally I alternate and sometimes it depends on the music playing. Either way, it’s a great experience to practice being more aware of where your head is at when you don’t have to pay too much attention to directions from the instructor.

This ride was a great blend of offering guidance but trusting us to know what we can do on a given day. I definitely appreciated hearing the entire roadmap upfront so I could manage my efforts. I knew that I like and can do long intervals, and I was excited to not have to do them in the Power Zone Endurance Zones 2 and 3. Could I have done this ride in my Zone 5? Probably. But as this was not meant to be a HIIT level of exhaustion at the end, I was happy to be able to choose where to stay. The structure was mostly in the saddle, though she came out for some of the recoveries (optional). And as Matt often suggests, we did the recoveries in a different cadence/resistance combo than the intervals.

What’s Next for Progressive Push?

Hannah did not say if this would be her signature series or not, though she was the perfect instructor to kick it off. I love the way she helps you find confidence to do things that are harder than you might want to do without making you feel like you’re not doing enough. She acknowledges when the work is hard without complaining about it being hard, rather, she’s right there with you, pulling you through.

If this ride type does become a Collection, I do hope that Peloton labels them more accurately so that members can see the variable for each class. Meaning, this class would say “Progressive Push: Time” while another would say “Progressive Push: Cadence” etc. Although, as we are still waiting for better labeling on all Interval rides (I’m looking at you SIT rides!), I’m not too hopeful. Regardless, this class type is a welcome addition to the library. These will be a big hit for riders who like predictability and a little more control than the Power Zone rides give.

Have you taken this yet or are you planning to? Let us know your thoughts!

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