I only have 75% of my meniscus in each of my knees. My left knee meniscectomy in 2006 was followed by the same surgery on my right knee in 2019. Years of running on pavement took its toll. I now know that running exerts over 1,000 pounds of force to my knee with the meniscus absorbing up to 80%. After the 2nd knee went, deciding never to run again, I feared I was doomed to traditional “low-impact” cardio exercise forever.
The 2020 Peloton Experiment
In the years leading up to my September 2019 surgery, my workout routine was anchored by running as my primary form of cardio. Running was always my way to destress and jump-start my metabolism. Running contributed over 50% of my active calories per my Apple Watch Workouts. I complimented running with weights and machines until February 2019 when I first tweaked my knee. Searching for low-impact alternatives, I introduced yoga and swimming, but also kept trying to run again each time the knee healed a bit. Finally I tore the meniscus and had to shut down exercise for a couple of months to rehab the knee.
Post-surgery I shifted from running to speed walking (can you say “lame”) and continued yoga, strength training, and elliptical. To my surprise, my wife gifted me a Peloton cycle for Christmas 2019. The Peloton cycle (and the Peloton app for other workouts) changed my workout trajectory in a major way in 2020 as the data shows.
Increased Activity: I worked out 39% more days and 42% longer duration workouts
Improved Efficiency: My average workout was 26% more intense (calories burned per hour)
Active Calories: I increased my Calories Burned (during tracked Workouts) by 149% in 2020, setting a personal record
The Peloton cycle is working for my knees due the bike’s controlled leg movement, snapped-in feet and lower impact than running. With over 142 rides in 2020, my knees became inflamed only a few times. Thankfully, with a few minor mechanical adjustments to my bike positioning, my knees have felt really good.
I had never used a spin bike prior to Peloton, but I absolutely love this bike due to these key features.
On-demand classes on a bike that “just works” with no commute to the gym
High quality instructors (thanks Jess King!) who engage and drive you with a variety of workout styles and pacing
Dashboards, leaderboard competition, and Apple Health integration provide rich tracking and stats for the data obsessed
The 149% increase in tracked Workout Calories Burned helped offset about a 7% decline in non-workout active calories (tracked natively by Apple Watch) due to COVID-19 immobility and limited movement during 2020. Combining both workout and non-workout, my total active calories increased by 26%.
Is Peloton Cycle better than Running for cardio?
For me….yes. While I certainly miss running outside in the fresh air, cycling is proving a superior form of cardio based on my data. Converting 3-years of all workout types to Calories Burned Per Hour, the Peloton cycle is the clearly best form of cardio for me. Peloton cycle beat running by 15% (815 calories/hr vs. 706 from my running days). The Peloton cycle also crushed the gym elliptical, stairs and swimming, see the bar chart below.
What also amazed me was Peloton’s impact within a workout type, per the chart above. Prior to Peloton, I’d sometimes jump on the stationary bike at the gym but this form of exercise never motivated me. My gym-based stationary bike rides averaged 405 calories per hour - whereas Peloton instructor-led cycling sessions were 101% higher! Even in strength training and yoga, the Peloton instructors proved 37% and 21% more effective respectively, at pushing my workout pace than when I’m on my own.
This box plot above of Calories Burned Per Hour clearly shows the middle 50% range of Peloton cycle workouts exceeding the middle 50% for running. The faded blue dots represent individual workouts over the past 3 years. Even the lower whisker (Quartile 1 less 1.5 * InterQuartile Range) for the Peloton cycle was just under the median running workout of 707. The Peloton cycle has resulted in a consistently better distribution of calories burned than my particular pattern of running. It’s nice having a form of exercise that can aggressively burn the calories.
In context of my Peloton cycle average statistics for 2020, a few observations I’d make relative to running after knee surgery.
My average heart rate of 135 was slightly lower than my average for running, likely due to the running in heat (versus A/C) and outside terrain
At higher cadence, my knees felt more exposed so I usually traded off heavier resistance as an offset to cadence to keep output (KJs) steady
Cycling for a full year strengthened my lower body in a way that running never has, increasing muscle mass
Any Negative Effects From the Peloton Cycle?
It has taken some iterations for me in 2020 as I strive for equilibrium. While my knees have been fine, I have been tracking soreness and tension in my hip, glutes and lower back (all on a connected line through the IT band). Over the 12 months, I’ve had four pain spikes in my low back - hip area that have forced me to take between 5 and 15 days off each time.
From January through March, I found myself driving harder and harder on the Peloton cycle until my hip, glutes and lower back spasmed. Over the year, I’ve been learning about muscle overuse, stretching techniques, and cross-training leg and back muscles to find balance. Balancing my workouts has resulted in lowering my cycle activity run rate by about 20% with less frequent and intense rides, as I listen to my body over my desire to push myself.
In 2021 I’m continuing to find the right balance, but am grateful to have a cardio exercise that is working for my knees post-surgery. I’ll be looking for some leading indicators that can predict my low back pain issue as to prevent or minimize future spasms.
Please note my situation and experience might be different than yours. I am also not a trained medical practitioner so not advising any solutions to your health problems…just sharing my success story.
Wishing you all the best…and thanks to Peloton!
Data Sources
Data for this analysis was supplied from three iPhone apps: Apple Health, Peloton and Symple Symptom Tracker. Apple Health metrics and workout data were converted from XML format to CSV leveraging an existing Python script. All data combined in Tableau for exploration, linking and visualization.