Introduction 

By: Chris Perone

Those of you who are big fans of Peloton strength training know that there are a wide variety of strength classes, programs, and collections in the Peloton library. These include several split training programs and over a thousand bootcamp-style classes that incorporate the Bike/Bike+, Tread, and Row.

Introducing the Split+ Concept

Peloton recently introduced the Split+ program – a new type of strength training program that combines aspects of both traditional split training classes with bootcamp classes. Peloton’s traditional split training program classes typically focus on specific muscle groups such as legs and core, or chest, shoulders, and triceps. Thus, the individual classes are not full-body workouts per se, but the program as a whole is. Bike/Bike+ bootcamp classes are traditionally alternating blocks of strength work and cycling that provide a brief transition period to change from workout to bike shoes.

*Note: Each Split+ Program was reviewed by a different member of our staff and is therefore formatted differently.  All thoughts/article layouts are the author’s own.*

Review of Ben’s 4-Day Split+ Bike: A True Full-Body Workout that Doesn’t Disappoint

By: Chris Perone

Shaking Things Up a Bit

Right off the bat, you’ll notice something different about this split program. Its length – four days. All previous iterations of Peloton Split training have been either three or five-day programs.  But before we get to Ben’s new Split+Bike program, here are a couple of our past reviews of Peloton’s split training programs.

Review of Rebecca Kennedy’s 5-Day Split

Review of Ben Alldis’ 3-Day Split

First Things First: Where to Find the Program

On the Bike or Bike+, click on Programs on the bottom of the screen and then select Ben’s Split+ Bike Program.

Let’s Get to the Specifics – A Class Dedicated to the Core!

As mentioned earlier, the Split+ programs are all four days in length.  And unlike other split training programs, they each offer a dedicated core workout class. Previous split training programs have typically combined legs and core into a single workout so it is great to see the core get its own class. With the exception of the core class, the classes incorporate both medium and heavy dumbbells.

Day 1: Class 1: Upper Body Push + Bike (Pecs, Triceps & Shoulders + Tabata Intervals) (30 minutes) 

Just a quick note here. Ever since I completed Andy Speer’s Total Strength: Density Training 2 collection, I’ve been trying to incorporate a weight bench into my strength workouts as often as possible, and I did so with the chest exercises in class 1.

Here’s the workout lineup:

3-minute warmup

Block 1: Each exercise is 45-seconds followed by a 15-second recovery. (The * denotes where I used a flat weight bench during the exercise.)

Wide Grip Chest Press*

Crush Press*

Tricep push-up

Recover: 30-second break, then repeat the block one time.

Block 2: Same 45-second/15-second break interval as block 1.

Wide Grip Chest Press*

Tricep Kickback

Lateral Raise

Recover: 30-second rest, then repeat the block two more times.

Transition: 1-minute transition to put on bike shoes.

Block 3:

Bike – 8-minutes of Tabata-style intervals

Day 2: Class 2: Lower Body + Bike (Glutes, Hamstrings, and Quads + Bike Intervals) (45 minutes)

Class 2 stands out as the only 45-minute session of the program. And you’ll feel this one in your glutes for a few days after you take it. Like class 1, each exercise is 45-seconds followed by a 15-second recovery.

3-minute warmup

Block 1:

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts

Split Squat (left or right leg)

Split Squat (alternate leg)

Recover: 30-second break and then repeat the block two more times.

Block 2:

Lateral lunge (left or right)

Lateral lunge (opposite direction)

Squat jump

Recover: 30-second break and then repeat the block two more times.

One minute demo

Block 3:

Dumbbell single leg deadlift

Dumbbell single leg deadlift (opposite leg)

Dumbbell Sumo squat

Recover: 30-second rest and then repeat the block one more time.

Transition: 1-minute transition to put on bike shoes.

Block 4:

Bike: 13-minutes of intervals with alternating resistance/cadence

Day 3: Rest

Day 4: Class 3: Upper Body Pull + Bike (Shoulders, Biceps, Back/Core + Tabata Intervals) (30 minutes) 

Again, each exercise is 45-seconds followed by 15-seconds rest.

Block 1:

Bent over row

Bicep curl

Renegade row

Recovery: 30-second rest and then repeat block 1 one more time.

Block 2:

Lawnmower row (single arm)

Lawnmower row (opposite arm)

Cross Body Curl

Recover: 30-seconds rest and then repeat block 2 twice.

Transition: 1-minute transition to put on bike shoes.

Block 3:

Bike – 8-minutes of Tabata-style intervals

Day 5: Class 4 (Core + Bike)

The final class in Ben’s Split+ program moves at a quicker pace because there are no rest periods between the exercises in either of the two blocks. The exercises are also done without weights and are only 30-seconds each.

Block 1:

Bicycle crunch

Tuck up

Roll up

V-up

Russian twist

Oblique heel tap

Scissor kick

Recover: 30-seconds rest – then repeat the block one time.

Block 2:

High plank

Forearm plank

Forearm side plank

Forearm side plank (opposite side)

Hollow body

Recover: 30-seconds rest – then repeat the block one time.

Block 3: AMRAP (3-minutes)

Shoulder tap

Mountain climber

Russian twist

Bicycle crunch

Transition: 1-minute transition to put on bike shoes.

Block 4: 

Bike – 8-minutes of intervals with alternating resistance/cadence

A Few Thoughts on Strength Training with the Bike+

With the exception of a couple of bike bootcamp classes, just about all of my Peloton Strength training has been done on the Peloton Guide. In my opinion, the Guide offers a few advantages over the Bike/Bike+ for strength training.

First, the Guide has a built-in camera that allows you to see your own form while doing the various exercises. This is quite helpful for me, especially for moves such as deadlifts that call for keeping a straight back.

While the Bike/Bike+ is equipped with a camera, Peloton disabled that function several years ago. It would be nice if Peloton could somehow incorporate the Bike camera into its strength training to allow us to self-correct posture or form during our workouts.

Another benefit of the Guide is that it allows for rep counting and has a movement tracker. No such features are available with the Bike/Bike+. The Guide display is also superior in that it has a timer that displays the time remaining in each exercise and also displays the next couple of upcoming exercises. I don’t know whether Peloton could add these features to the Bike/Bike+ screen with a software update, but it certainly enhance strength training on the Bike/Bike+

Final Thoughts on Ben’s 4 Day Split+Bike Program

All in all, I think the new Peloton Split+ program is an outstanding addition to its strength training library. Ben’s 4 Day Split+ is an effective and motivating total body strength workout with added cardio that most traditional strength training classes do not provide I love that Peloton has added a dedicated core class to its strength programs and hope to see more of this in the future.

Review of Katie’s 4 Day Split+ Row: Hitting All Muscle Groups in a Unique Way

By: Lori Sayegh and Trish LaLonde (Row contributor)

Day 1

The first day of this 4-day program (which is meant to be repeated for four consecutive weeks and does incorporate Rest Days) focused on upper body push workouts followed by high intensity row.  The upper body push portion was laid out as follows:

• Chest press, narrow chest press, over the head lat pulldown set with heavy weight that was repeated four times.
• Kneeling tricep kickback, tricep pushup with alternating shoulder tap set repeated three times.
• Arnold presses: eccentric, alternating, 10-second burnout

The chest section was a burner!  I found it difficult to use the heavy weights for the narrow chest press and ended up changing to my mediums for this, then back to heavy weights for the lat work.  For the triceps – this was tough.  By the end of the third set, my triceps were just on fire and I could barely push up for the second exercise. The last set was repeated three times and again – shoulders were shaking.  All of that being said, I loved the format of this strength workout.  The organization of it was terrific – chest/back, triceps, shoulders.  You could feel the way it moved from muscle group to muscle group which made it a great, although challenging, well-rounded workout. The strength was 20-minutes in length.

The Row portion was the last 10-minutes of the workout.  This began with an easy warm up with stroke rate ranging from 18-22 up to 24-28 and repeating this cycle three times.  There were some max efforts reaching a stroke rate of 32 in 45-second increments.  The overall feel of this portion of the workout was that more lower body was utilized form the upper body fatigue, which could have contributed to better form.  The shorter drills were great!  We’d like to see a bit more cardio which would probably happen with a longer class, as this entire workout was only 30 minutes.  Overall, a great Day 1 with Katie!

Day 2

A 45-minute lower body + Row awaits us for Day 2 of Katie’s split.  This was divided into four sets as follows:

• Weighted hip bridge > leg lift with weight
• EMOM with a deadlift, suitcase squat, goblet squat
• Unilateral work: reverse lunge, kickstand deadlift, split squat
• Sumo squat, weighted squat jumps

This 30-minute strength portion was truly a lot on the legs.  There is no question that I put down my weights for a couple of the sets of ‘weighted’ squat jumps at the very end.  Katie did mention this as a modification and I always do what my body needs.  That being said, I felt this was a very well-organized full lower body workout.  Dare I even say it was one of my most enjoyed lower body strength workouts on the platform, which makes me even more excited for Katie to become one of Peloton’s newest strength instructors.  I can’t wait to see what else she brings to the table!

Katie announced at the end of the strength portion that there would be no max efforts on the Row today – that was music to everyone’s ears, I’m sure.  The last third of class was spent on the Row with east to moderate efforts, with a max stroke rate of 26.  These easy and moderate efforts included a 1 minute rest time as well.  This was a good way to close out what was for sure a lower body burner and created a very well-balanced workout!

Day 3

Back to 30-minute workouts, we returned to upper body for Day 3 but focused on pulling rather than pushing like we did in Day 1.  The layout for the strength portion is the following:

• Reverse fly, wide bent over row, 3-point standing row
• On knees: row + twist, bicep curl, hammer curl, open the newspaper

Each of the above sets was repeated three times for a total of just under 20-minutes.  I loved this format and found the moves challenging yet doable.  I admit towards the end of the second set, I dropped down to lighter weights than Katie recommended.  I’m sure not everyone will have to do this, but I felt burnt out.

For roughly the last third of class, we took to the Row.  Katie announced that there would not be HIIT, but there would be intervals.  Each interval was 2.5-minutes and ranged from easy (maximum stroke rate 22), to moderate (maximum stroke rate 26), to challenging (maximum stroke rate 28).  This was followed by a 30-second rest, then the cycle was repeated.  The only change in the second cycle is that the challenging portion of the internal had a maximum stroke rate of 32 rather than 28.  Overall, not an easy way to finish out an upper body pull workout but it was certainly effective and enjoyable!

Day 4

Core was the focus for the last day of Katie’s Split+ Row.  I frequent core classes but tend to trend towards 5-10 minute classes, so I was excited for a longer time frame with this workout.  The first two thirds of the class was broken down as follows:

• Bicycle crunches with roll down>traditional bicycle crunches, mountain climbers with pikes>twisting mountain climbers
• Kneeling wood chop with medium weight, side Copenhagen plank

Each of the above was repeated three times.  I did not prefer these exercises at all.  Don’t get me wrong – I do not have to work my core by lying on my back the entire time.  I am happy to plank, mountain climb, do standing core, etc.  These exercises and the way they were executed, however, was not my cup of tea.  They felt atypical and unnatural although that is something that perhaps would improve as I do the split week after week.  My core did feel worked, however, so the moves were effective!

There were three 2-minute intervals for the row portion of this last workout.  The first was 2-minutes at moderate with a maximum stroke rate of 26.  After a 45-second recovery, the second interval began with 1:45 at moderate and fifteen second of challenging.  After another rest, the last interval consisted of 1:30 moderate followed by thirty seconds of challenging.  This was probably my favorite row portion of all four days and I loved the format!

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt I would recommend Katie’s Split+ Row.  I absolutely love her programming and the way she categorizes her workouts, even if I didn’t love the core section and would have chosen different exercises.  I also think the cardio portions could be a bit longer and more towards a 50:50 split rather than 66:33.  Other than that, I am a fan and look forward to taking the other new Split+ program that were recently released!

Review of Cliff’s Split+ Ride: Simple Yet Effective Exercises

By: Tina Fryling

Cliff’s 4 day split + ride (in German) has two arm days, a lower body day, and a core day.  The moves are delightfully basic (in fact, I was able to follow the program with no issues despite not speaking German).    The lower body day is 45-minutes long, and the other three days are 30-minutes long.  After a short warm up, the strength portion of each class runs until about the ten minute mark, with a quick change of shoes leading to an 8-minute bike ride “cardio blast” and a quick stretch ending the class.  Each class is also followed by a short stretch after the bike ride is complete.

First, I will say – I originally thought that ten minutes of biking would seem like nothing, as I usually do 30-minute rides.  However, the strength portion definitely gives you an elevated heart rate, and these ten minute rides are not set up like a warm up or cool down ride – they are definitely created to get your heart moving quickly! I loved the variety of these rides, which included speed intervals or hills depending on the day.

Cliff does a great job of demonstrating the moves slowly, so this would be a great class for people who are new to strength.  The classes cycle through 3 – 4 sets of 2 or 3 moves in succession, with a short break in between sets. There are some EMOMS and AMRAPS  in some of the classes; others are set up to do a specific number of reps (8 – 12).   The core class included a plank series and lots of slow controlled moves, and it was definitely a burner – I could still feel the after effects in my core two days later!

Here’s some specifics about each day:

Day 1 – Upper Body Push

Moves include chest flies, wide grip standing row, overhead press push press, triceps, lateral raise, chest fly, and skull crushers.  There is plenty of time to recover between sets.

Day 2 – Lower Body

Moves include deadlifts, walking lunges, goblet squats, and curtsy lunges.  This class also includes mat work for hip bridge walkouts, and weighted hip bridges.

Day 3 – Upper Body Pull

Moves include pullovers, reciprocating rows, wide grip bent over rows, concentrated curls.  The bike portion of this ride included some challenging hills with pushes every other minute.

Day 4 – Core

This class starts with a plank series and also includes hip bridges, hollow body holds,and twisting mountain climbers.  The class is very slow and controlled with plenty of time to get the reps in but was also challenging.

The recommended schedule for this class is:

Day 1 Class 1

Day 2 Class 2

Day 3 Rest

Day 4 Class 3

Day 5 Class 4

Day 6 Rest

Day 7 Rest

Cliff is so upbeat and always appears so joyous as he leads these workouts, and the warm up portions were fun.  The music he uses are familiar upbeat songs that really go along with lifting.  This class would be perfect for beginners to the bike or to strength, but are also great for anyone who wants to try a split or just try a new split, especially if they’re short on time.  Getting a full body workout done plus four separate bike rides, albeit short, for a total of two hours and fifteen minutes, was truly amazing.  No need to struggle with what kind of ride pairs best with working certain body parts or struggling with whether to do strength or cycling – these classes have everything!  

Olivia’s 4 Day Split+ Run: Get Ready to Sweat

By: Jen Kern

Day 1:  30 minute Upper Body Push + Run

2-minute warm up

18-minute Upper Body

1-minute Transition

8-minute Running

1-minute Cool Down

Upper body

Chest Press, Skull Crusher, Chest Fly, Hollow Body hold

Push Up, Arnold Press, Negative Push up

AMRAP – Chest Press, Push Up

Running

Progressive run to start then 4 rounds 30 secs each sprint intervals and 30 secs off, then 20 secs sprint/40 secs recovery 3x.

Day 1 was pretty good.  I did have to change weights as I can go much heavier for chest press than chest fly and skull crusher.

Definitely needed a warm up before this class as she jumped right into fast running.

Day 2 – 45 minute Lower Body + Run

3-minute Warm Up

27-minute Lower Body

1-minute Transition

13-minute Running

1-minute Cool Down

Lower body

All over the place, throwing in cardio moves and bodyweight.

Goblet squat, curtsy lunges, snatch, dumbbell sumo squat, hip bridge

Hip bridge, skull crusher

Clam shell, donkey kick, straight leg lift, lateral bird dog each side

Dumbbell squat, dumbbell deadlift

Dumbbell squat, overhead press

Squat jump

EMOM – Drop squat, Dumbbell swing, squat thrust, burpee, squat jump for 4-minutes

Bodyweight squat

My opinion, it was way too much thrown in. I prefer circuits that repeat more than a bunch of one off circuits.

Running

30-second jog, 90-second run, 90-second uphill walk to a power walk repeat 2x

Progressive run 60-seconds, 2x

30-second run, 30-second walk or jog 4x

She stated at the beginning that it was going to be a lower intensity run.  It was a little bit, compared to Day 1, but still fast intervals.

Day 3 – 30 min Upper Body Pull + Run

3-minute Warm Up

17-minute Upper Body

1-minute Transition

8-minute Running

1-minute Cool Down

Upper body

Bent over row, reverse fly

Hammer curl, dumbbell deadlift, squat thrust, renegade row, Lat pull over

Repeat both circuits

Renegade row, bicep curl, hammer curl repeat twice

AMRAP – High Pull, bent over row, renegade row

I prefer strength workouts where I can use the same weights or at least have it close.  No transition time so I had to pick the lighter weight which I didn’t like. For example, I use maye 12.5-15lbs  for curls, 35-40lbs  for deadlifts, 20-25lbs for squat thrust, etc.  but since they were in the same circuit I had to use the lighter weight 15lbs.

Running 

HIIT run, 20 on/30 off and then 20 on/20 off but started at really fast speeds (8.0-12.5) and increased each time.

Definitely a run for intermediate levels

Day 4 – 30 min Core + Run

3-minute Warm Up

17-minute Upper Body

1-minute Transition

8-minute Running

1-minute Cool Down

Core

Seated bicycles, crunch, reverse crunch, hollow body hold

Twisting mountain climbers

Single leg stretch, double leg stretch, leg lift, bicycle

Repeat all circuits

Bicycle finisher

Running

She said this was more endurance based with some speed work

90-second run, 30-second jog 2x

60-second run, 30-second jog 3x

Each time started faster and increased speed during the run.

My favorite class of the 4 was Core.  This seemed to be a classic Olivia type class and core work is her bread and butter.

Overall impression is that Olivia tried to throw too much in each strength section of each class.  I think I would prefer more hypertrophy-type classes. To me, Olivia didn’t seem comfortable with most of the strength sections.  She did mess up quite a bit but seemed to find her niche in the core and run sections.

She mentioned to do that for at least 4 weeks. Will I? No.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel the Split+ Programs were a wonderful addition to the Peloton catalogue.  Yes, there are some areas to perhaps be improved, however the concept of combining Strength and Cardio into a program – bootcamp-style – is definitely something that was needed and enticing to us.  Some of the programs shone more as bright stars than others according to our reviewers, but overall these are a great new options to Peloton members and we look forward to see if more are added in time!

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