A few weeks ago, my friends and I—women ranging from our mid-thirties to mid-forties—all started weight lifting.
This is for several reasons. In general, strength training and functional fitness are more popular. But also, women between the ages of 30 and 50 lose about 3 to 8 percent of their muscle mass per year, and the drop in estrogen that happens during menopause can accelerate this. I no longer care about bulking up; I just don’t want to collapse in a rickety bag of bones when I’m 50. Lastly, I’m not saying that my sudden desire to be able to, say, fireman’s carry a body across state lines has anything to do with the results of the US presidential election. Then again, I’m not saying it doesn’t.
Courtesy of Peloton
That makes the launch of Peloton’s latest app very timely. Today, the company launched Strength+, its first stand-alone app apart from the core Peloton app. It will be available on iOS devices with a limited number of introductory memberships for $1 per month for the first six months. After the introductory period, memberships will be $10 per month, and at no additional cost for All Access, Guide, and App+ Members.
Ambient Noise
The Strength+ app is designed specifically for use in the gym, so it may look slightly different from the core Peloton app or other apps with similar offerings, like FitOn, WorkoutWomen, or even Apple Fitness+.
I’ve been using Strength+ for a week. When you open it, you can select from several different types of workouts. A workout generator lets you customize a strength workout, with six different inputs that include how long you want to work out, which muscle groups you want to target, what equipment you have, or whether you want to include a warm-up.
You can also click to follow specific training programs. I’m currently enrolled in instructor Andy Speer’s Ignite Your Strength 4-week program, which is kicking my butt. You can also watch short instructor clips, which range from everything like gym procedures and etiquette—how to load and unload a barbell, or what a plyo box is—to watching Speer look at old pictures of himself. A progress-tracking tab gives you data about your journey, showing your total lifting volume, which workouts you did, and which weights you’ve lifted.
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