Peloton, Mr. Big, “Sex and the City”
In the first episode of the continuation of the series “Sex and the City” called “And just like that”, the audience was in for a shocking moment. Additional spice and public outcry were added by the fact that fitness was involved in this. And the brand of the simulator (Peloton) was shown in close-up.
We analyzed the dangers of these machines and high-intensity training in general and talk about the situation and the massive impact of the series on the real world. It will be interesting not only for the fans of “Sex and the City”!
What is Peloton?
Peloton is an American brand of very expensive (from $1900 to $4300) exercise equipment with built-in screens from which you can watch video workouts.
To view workouts pre-recorded with instructors, you also need to buy a subscription.
According to Peloton, they gladly agreed to the brand’s mention in the series, but the HBO plot was not revealed to them.
And there, as in a joke, “there is a nuance.” In the story, we see the characters after a couple of decades. They are still young at heart, but they suddenly meet a tragedy: the windy cavalier and love of the life of the main character, the sex symbol of the series Mr. Big suddenly died during a training session with a virtual instructor.
Impact on the Company
Advertising in the popular series was, to put it mildly, quite expensive. After the premiere, the shares fell to the very bottom.
The brand had to lower the price of the equipment, and the company’s “expert” un-ironically stated that it was not the equipment that was to blame for the death of the hero, but steaks and an unhealthy lifestyle. But Mr. Big (surprise!) is a fictional character, he is not alive, and only the scriptwriters decide to blame for his death.
In continuation of the theater of madness, Peloton released an ad in which the character was resurrected, apparently got a young Asian wife in a fitness paradise and says that life is too short, offering “one more time” with a hint of sex and a focus on the exercise bike at the end of the video.
Now, by the way, the advertisement has already been removed: the actor was accused of harassment and canceled.
Peloton’s Problems Started a Long Time Ago
It can be assumed that everything that happened is just a viral advertisement. The new video was shot very quickly, and the company had been doing so-so before.
In April 2021, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported more than 70 accidents (including one fatal) in children and posted a video of a child who was sucked under the track.
Everything is fine with the child from this video, do not be afraid!
The point is in the design of the simulator: it uses separate rigid rubberized plates, linked together and moving along rails, instead of a thinner, continuous canvas, the US authorities said.
And between the floor and the tape, there is a large gap into which objects or small children can be pulled. In addition, there was also a display that was poorly fixed and fell. The company had to withdraw more than 120 thousand treadmills.
Perhaps the corporation thought that compared to the fall from the news about it (first by 5%, then by 7%), the heart attack of the character of the series would be a small loss, but they miscalculated. Mr. Big worries Americans more.
Can Training Be Dangerous?
It is important to understand: such terrible situations can happen to anything, leaving children unsupervised is generally dangerous. However, the design also contributed.
In principle, too intense training (HIIT, CrossFit) can really be harmful if used incorrectly.
The same cycling (group training on exercise bikes with a noisy motivating instructor, which Peloton imitates) is contraindicated for people with heart disease.
And then there is the exercise by an elderly person all alone at maximum speed, despite the deterioration in well-being.
Don’t believe it? Look at the CrossFit mascots that illustrate the common negative symptoms of overtraining.
Pukie the Clown: a symbol of vomiting after or during a “good” intense workout.
Clown Rhabdo: from “rhabdomyolysis“, sharp destruction of skeletal muscle tissue, extreme myopathy, life-threatening, develops with acute muscle overload
Motivates, right?
Of course, on the one hand, this is a joke and at the same time a warning for skilled athletes that they need to save their strength.
But overly zealous beginners or unlucky trainers who sell to the client what they ordered – “weight loss workouts” up to a sweat, can lead to bad things, especially older people.
If, when training live, there is still a chance that the coach will understand that the client is not just fooling a coach, but they really got sick, then the instructor from the screen is not real, in principle they cannot have pity and sympathy, so all responsibility is on the client.
Over to You
Was it a viral advertisement and “black PR” or a mistake of marketers – it doesn’t matter anymore. Public discussion, I’m afraid, will only further harm the corporation.
But this does not mean that training is harmful and it is safer to drink whiskey and smoke a cigar than to exercise.
You need to understand that the principle “the worse I am, the better the training” does not work. In training, the system and regularity are important, but you don’t need to work out super hard. Check out this one for more.
Especially if the real reason for this is the desire to get rid of your health in 10 minutes and only spoil it for the rest of the day.
See more topics:
- Bodybuilding Without Steroids: How Big Can You Get
- 4 Ways Gyms Can Attract and Retain Great Trainers
- Principle of Variety in Fitness: Important or Not?
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