I recently tried something new on my fitness journey by completing my first “challenge” within Peloton. The challenge I chose to do is by Peloton’s instructor, Ben Alldis and it’s called The Stronger You. The program is a 4 week progressive strength training program that is designed for ALL levels from beginner to expert. He keeps things simple yet efficient so it’s suitable for everyone.
How Long is The Stronger You program?
Peloton’s The Stronger You program is 4 weeks long.
How Many Days a Week is The Stronger You program?
Peloton’s The Stronger You program has 4 workouts each week to complete. You can choose to follow their schedule or manipulate the days to work best for your own hectic schedule. I chose to start my workouts on Mondays and added a little cardio on my off days. By starting Monday, I followed his classes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Optionally, I chose to add in some cardio on Wednesdays for some active recovery by doing a 15-30 minute cycling session but that is totally outside of this program and you don’t need to do that. You just need to complete those 4 days in order to mark the program off as completed each week.
In total, there are 38 classes in those 4 weeks but don’t be scared! Ben adds an AMAZING stretch workout at the end of each day so even though it says 38 classes, many of them are stretching/recovery.
What Equipment is Needed for The Stronger You?
You will need a workout mat and some medium and heavy dumbbells. That’s it! I personally did this program with 8lb and 12lb dumbbells and saw great results! By the way, if you’re looking for cheaper dumbbells, I’ve found the best dumbbells here which are a fraction of the cost of the ones you can find at Target or in person most places. They are almost half off regular priced ones in store. The workout mat I use (here) is also super squishy and soft which makes all the core exercises much more enjoyable.
What is the Benchmark Test?
Peloton’s The Stronger You program starts day one off with something called a Benchmark test. This is a workout where you will record how many of each exercise you can do and how heavy of weights you used. You will do the benchmark test on the first day and repeat it again on the last day to see your progress.
How Long Are The Workouts?
The workout days are from 25-40 minutes long (4 days a week). I’ve included a breakdown of the workouts each day below WITH LINKS directly to each class!
Week 1 –
Day 1 – 5 minute benchmark test warm up, 20 minute benchmark test, 10 minute full body stretch (35 minutes total)
Day 2 – 20 minute upper body, 5 minute stretch (25 minutes total)
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – 15 minute lower body, 5 minute core, 5 minute lower body stretch (25 minutes total)
Day 5 – 20 minute full body, 10 minute full body stretch (30 minutes total)
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 2 –
Day 1 – 20 minute upper body, 5 minute upper body stretch (25 minutes total)
Day 2 – 20 minute full body, 10 minute full body stretch (30 minutes total)
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – 15 minute lower body, 5 minute core, 5 minute lower body stretch (25 minutes total)
Day 5 – 20 minute full body, 10 minute full body stretch (30 minutes total)
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 3 –
Day 1 – 30 minute upper body, 5 minute upper body stretch (35 minutes total)
Day 2 – 30 minute full body, 10 minute full body stretch (40 minutes total)
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – 20 minute lower body, 10 minute core, 5 minute lower body stretch (35 minutes total)
Day 5 – 30 minute full body, 10 minute full body stretch (40 minutes total)
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
Week 4 –
Day 1 – 30 minute upper body, 5 minute upper body stretch (35 minutes total)
Day 2 – 30 minute full body, 10 minute full body stretch (40 minutes total)
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – 20 minute lower body, 10 minute core, 5 minute lower body stretch (35 minutes total)
Day 5 – 5 minute full body benchmark test warm up, 20 minute benchmark test, 10 minute full body stretch (35 minutes total)
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest
My Overall Thoughts
My results from Ben’s The Stronger You – 4 week program were great! I was able to drop a few pounds and really tightened up my body. When I completed my second benchmark test I was able to see on paper my progress. I definitely was able to do more reps at the end AND with heavier weights!!! I can’t believe how much stronger I feel after just 4 weeks doing this program. To be totally transparent, I was only doing cycling workouts prior to this so I was at a very beginner level when starting but by the end of the 4 weeks I absolutely see more tone in my arms and my husband has commented on it as well that I look thinner overall! Woohoo!
Pros:
- I love that no thinking was needed, you just show up, turn on your peloton app (I usually streamed it to my TV) and workout.
- The workouts aren’t too long – 40 minutes is the max
- Ben seems like such a great dude and his calm demeaner was great. He isn’t someone who you’ll get annoyed with like some other instructors who may be a bit more extreme. He’s just a hard working nice guy who teaches the foundation of strength training.
- He focuses on improving strength for life, not just a quick workout. He wants to teach the foundation for a youthful life forever.
- Only dumbbells are needed, no fancy equipment.
- THE STRETCH WORKOUTS! I can not believe how much these helped and they were such an amazing ending to a hard workout. I have never been one to add stretching workouts into my strength training and I’d always be SO sore afterwards. By adding a quick stretch to each workout day, I found myself being much less sore on a daily basis. I will absolutely be adding more stretching to my life going forward after this program.
Cons:
- I don’t have many cons at all other than maybe Ben says “crushing it” too many times lol. By the end of my 4 weeks it was like a drinking game where I’d count how many times a workout Ben said “you’re crushing it!” haha – sorry Ben but it’s funny and cute!
I would absolutely recommend this program to anyone who’s interested in getting into weight training or just wants to challenge themselves for 4 weeks with this pre-made schedule and no thinking needed!
My Next Steps
I loved this program so much I plan to continue onto Ben’s next program called The Stronger You 2 for another 4 weeks! It’s almost identical to this plan where it’s 4 days of work each week for 4 weeks and a max of 40 minutes a day (That’s a lot of 4s!)
Have you tried The Stronger You by Ben Alldis? If so, leave a comment below on your thoughts!