Peloton Instructor Jess Sims Reveals Her Secret For An Effective Workout

Just as Peloton is a phenomenon on its own, popular instructor Jess Sims is a Peloton phenomenon. However, to her surprise, Sims discovered just how influential she was when the world shut down in 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

In the fall of that surreal year, as Sims was walking in Manhattan feeling (as so many people were) – very alone, she realized two women were doing one of her on-demand Peloton strength workouts outside where people safely gathered to exercise. As she told Shape magazine, "People are always working out at that park, but I saw they were looking at something. I took my headphones out and heard my voice!"

She later added, "I just had this beautiful moment where I'm like, 'I'm not alone. They're not alone.' And especially during the pandemic where folks are feeling exponentially more alone, Peloton is literally uniting us."

Sims notes that those moments are when she realized her workouts combined with her personality and teaching techniques brought people together and that she wasn't alone, and neither were those two people she saw in the park. And while she's one of the best instructors for others, many of her fans wonder exactly what Sims does to give her body in shape. 

While Jess Sims has spent a lifetime keeping as fit and active as can be, teaching people to do the same is not what she had in mind as a career goal. As a kid and all through college, she participated in various sports, including tennis, softball, and soccer. She even played college basketball, according to Shape, but chose a different path when she graduated: teaching children.

The Massachusetts native taught in both New York City and back in her home state where she was an assistant principal, but eventually she realized that fitness and teaching were both her callings and that she could do both things at once. Sims told Shape, "I had this epiphany where I realized, I could still be a teacher — just in a different setting."

The decision prompted a move back to New York City where Sims started teaching in different gyms across the city before being approached by Peloton to audition as an instructor. She turned down the opportunity at first, per Shape, but a year later she gave it a try. Now Sims designs workouts for millions of people across the world. So what is her secret for getting that perfect workout in?

When Jess Sims designs a workout for any of her myriad of Peloton classes, she thinks about how to keep your head in the moves and the moment rather than letting your mind wander somewhere else. She also uses basic moves because they never stop being effective. The Peloton instructor told Forbes, "You could do squats, lunges and planks every day for the rest of your life and be in fantastic shape. So you don't want to stray too far from the basics."

But that doesn't mean Sims doesn't like to try something new every so often as well. That's what keeps people interested and motivated. "The way I try to spice things up is with music or in a more advanced class I'll try to teach a new move," she revealed. "That way people can feel like they're working towards something."

She later added, "This is why I love EMOMS [every minute on the minute] so much. Working towards your rest keeps you present and excited for the next time you're going to do it. I don't want you holding a weight and wondering what you're eating later. I want you in the zone."