Todd Smith - Surreal Cycling

It depends on the workout! TL;DR: There’s something for everyone — regardless of equipment — to help you get in shape.

Surreal workouts are designed for spin bikes — BUT they can be done just as easily by walking or running, or using other cardio machines like rowers, stair climbers, etc. We have TONS of members that use the coaching cues and music to direct their running workouts and they LOVE it.

Additionally, Surreal Cycling on Playbook gives you access to hundreds of other trainers for FREE — and there are a lot of workouts that require no equipment or minimal equipment (like resistance bands or foam roller). If you want guided workouts that use full gym equipment, we have those too!

If you need any recommendations (we get asked this a TON), you can check out our Surreal Recommended Level-Ups here.

Great question! One of the BIG reasons we chose to use Playbook for our platform is the MASSIVE value it brings to all of our subscribers. When you subscribe to Surreal Cycling on Playbook, you ALSO get complete and total access to absolutely EVERY creator and trainer on the app.

There are several hundred creators right now, with more joining every day. For just the one tiny monthly price, you will be able to train with some of the best Pilates instructors, yoga instructors, weight trainers and bodybuilders on the planet. And that’s just for starters!

In addition to all of that, you also get early access to all new Surreal content, as well as access to ALL content (YouTube only has limited sessions available!).

If you haven’t had success with other workout apps in the past, you may be skeptical about ours. But we’re here to tell you, we guarantee you’ll get the results you want with Playbook. Why? We have hundreds of experts who are ready to train you. We don’t give you one-off programs of PDF documents with no assistance. Our creators add new programs (with interactive, explanatory videos) on a daily basis. Our content is new, fresh, and ever-changing to keep you motivated and ready to work!

Plus, if you need help, creators are always here for you. You can message any and all of them directly if you have any questions, feedback, or simply want to share your success.

No matter where you are in your fitness journey, Playbook can help you succeed. Workouts and programs posted in the app are for any level of fitness. Plus, trainers walk you through all exercises with easy-to-follow videos and simple written instructions. This means you’ll be able to do all the moves easily, accurately, and safely.

1. Conversational Pace: 80% of your workouts should be at a “conversational” pace, not feeling in the red zone. This means you could hold a conversation — maybe winded, yes, but you could still speak freely. This is a great way to benchmark a fantastic workout!

2. Sweat Rate = Fluid Intake Needs: This is about understanding how much fluid you should take in per hour of exercise based on how much you lose from sweat. Everyone is different!

How do you figure it out?

Simply weigh yourself naked, work out for an hour with no liquid intake, then weigh yourself again.

Take the number of lbs lost and multiply by 16.

That equals the number of ounces you sweat per hour, and so this is also the number (at a minimum) that you need to be sure to replace by drinking water.

3. Average Exertion Over Time: Be sure to not push it too hard every single ride. The body isn't meant to go 90-100% more than 3-5x's/wk max. You’ll get FAR superior results by recognizing your body’s need for balance and recovery!

4. Super important: Not every ride is meant to be completely draining. You want to end the ride WITH ENERGY!

5. Recovery is CRITICAL: Your body MUST be allowed to recuperate after any workout — especially the really intense ones. Get adequate sleep, take recovery walks, take saunas if you have access, do cold plunges, and get healthy nutrition. Your progress will be lightyears beyond!

6. Remember — FLOW is Your Goal! Without going deep into the science here, by getting yourself into a deep flowstate, everything in your body and mind is optimized to increase your progress exponentially. It’s neuroscience and biochemistry to put it simply. Trust us on this one! Unplug from the monitors and plug into FLOW! Every Surreal ride is designed for this specifically!

1. Fasted Workouts: Do most of your rides, except long rides, in a fasted state — meaning don’t eat before these rides so that your body can learn to burn fat more efficiently.

2. As an ADVANCED Tactic: We are not “anti-metrics”, We are anti-mindless-metrics! As a powerful advanced training tactic, train exclusively with a heart rate monitor for 3 to 6 months. Continuously monitor how your PHYSICAL STATE AND FEELINGS correlated with the data on the monitor.

After a while you’ll be able to tell what heart rate you’re at WITHOUT your monitor. This is an super powerful advantage to have out on a course or in training because heart rate awareness is the most effective way to get in incredible shape and be very fit.

Note: In general, especially for newer athletes, we actually recommend against using a heart rate monitor so that you learn to listen more deeply to your BODY, rather than rely on what a screen tells you! But when you use the monitor to speed up your physical awareness, it can yield crazy results.

3. Always Be Asking Questions: One place we see experienced riders get “stuck” is that they get siloed into always doing the same thing, the same way. Catapult your level of fitness by getting ideas and feedback from OTHER athletes. The moment you stop learning, you stop growing.

With Surreal on Playbook, you can get in touch with me anytime and get new ideas and new feedback to help keep your passion for fitness ALIVE and GROWING!

RPE is a scale that allows us to tailor the ride perfectly to YOU. By giving you a percentage of how hard you FEEL like your body is working, it allows everyone to benefit at the maximum levels for THEM.

For a downloadable graphic of our RPE and Teaching Scale, please click below:

Image file you can save to your photo gallery for quick reference:

👉 https://srrl.one/rpe-image

PDF if you want a high-quality printout:

👉 https://srrl.one/rpe-pdf

Flow is a state of mind. Literally, it is a brain state where everything else falls away except the present moment and whatever activity it is that has created the flow state inside of you. You forget about the past — grievances and concerns. You forget about the future — worrying about tomorrow, about jobs, about duties and responsibilities. You become so engrossed in what you are doing that it is just YOU and whatever it is that you are engaged in.

How does Surreal help me with FLOW?

There are a number of critical pieces to this:

1. We create visuals that draw you in and capture your attention and imagination.

2. We interlace the ride with music and beats that encourage your brain to "sync up", which helps to induce a natural, rhythm-based flow state.

3. We remove all tracking devices (heart monitors, ergs, watts, RPMs, etc), and encourage you to pay attention to your internal "tracking device"... your BODY. By disconnecting you from screens and readouts, you are able to then intentionally connect with YOU. This is one of the most critical aspects of flow, and it allows #1 and #2 above to take hold and draw you into the experience deeply!

Yes!

Download the Lit 60 Guide here:

👉 PDF for print: https://srrl.one/lit60-pdf

👉 Compact for Phone: https://srrl.one/lit60-mobile

Once you go through it a few times with the Playbook video guide inside the app, you’ll be able to just use these guides to jog your memory anytime you want to use Lit 60!

Yes, it’s SUPER easy. One of THE most popular aspects of Playbook is that you can directly message me or ANY trainer on the app directly through the app. You will get personalized support from not only all of us at Surreal Cycling, but every other one of the 1000+ trainers on Playbook. Cool, right?