After hearing the ‘Ask a Cycling Coach’ podcast where Jonathan interviewed Derek from Dialed Health I decided to give it a try. I’m wondering who else here is using it and how you like it so far.
It looks like there a lot of content on there, which is great. Each movement/exercise has a nice video to show how to perform them properly.
I imagine that being on the podcast gave them an influx of new members like myself, which probably explains my complaint. They have a questionnaire to fill out when you start, which asks details about your situation so that Derek can help guide you on where to start. They advertise that they’ll respond within 1 business day. 4 weeks later I haven’t heard a response, despite reaching out to Derek and to support twice. Support promised a response right away, but then I never heard back and they’re not answering my emails. I’m not asking for anything unusual - literally asking for feedback for where to start based on the questionnaire that they encourage you to fill out when you start.
I’ll say that the content looks pretty good, and I’ve tried some of the movements that they have in there and found the instruction to be really clear. The support piece is frustrating though, enough that I’ll cancel and look elsewhere. I’m sure after being on the podcast Dialed Health got quite busy, but the lack of response or even an update from the support team is pretty disappointing.
I had the same issue when I signed up for the trial about a year ago. I had a specific thing I wanted to work on and needed pointed in the right direction but like you, crickets.
Also, just getting into some of the workout positions was tough, let alone if I wanted to do the movement in it. Just seemed like there was no easing into everything and I was just going to end up hurting myself so I gave up on the idea.
They have this issue on and off. I’ve had times when Derek replies almost immediately and is extremely helpful and I’ve had times when mail goes unanswered. He has publicly mentioned that he is aware this is a weakness before and I watched or read something very recently where he said they were making another attempt to solve it. Maybe by hiring additional help? Can’t remember exactly.
Yeah, for a while (still?) it was just him answering the onboarding and support emails. He mentioned that in the past several months he was on a bunch of popular podcasts and the number of new members just far outstripped his one-man system for answering these emails. I think he recently hired another person to help so maybe he’s getting on top of things. But from what he said his business 3-5x’d the number of new members so it might take a little for his systems to catch up to the new demand.
Been using Dialed Health for a month or so. Derek or someone from the team, replied to me right away after my survey. I was doing the shred 30, but have stopped tracking food. Drinking a gallon of water every day I found out was very difficult.
The workouts take a while, especially if you are new and need to watch the videos, so if you’re a bit time crunched just an FYI. Though once you get in the flow after a week, you get the workouts memorized and get through them. I will say I am worked after doing a workout. Minimal weights, mostly body, and can feel the fatigue. Good stuff.
Overall I’m into it. I mix the Dialed Health workouts with my strength stuff from Dylan Johnson.
The mobile app is a bit hit or miss when tracking, completing, and uploading. But not a deal breaker.
I’ve been using the Dialed Health platform since June 2023. I signed up before the recent boom from his TR podcast. I appreciated Derek’s quick response and attention. I’ve traded emails with him a few times and he’s been good to respond.
The exercises and programming are great. The instructions and videos are helpful. I really like the guided mobility, core, and kettlebell workouts. I started with the body weight program, moved to the cross country program, and am now doing a dumbbell program. I mix other workouts in once a week or so (mobility, core, kettlebell, etc.). I’ve done a variety of programs and have nothing but good things to say about the programming.
I really like that I don’t have to put much thought into planning the workouts and programming that need to be completed (similar to my TrainerRoad programming). I take a quick look at what’s on the schedule before I go to the gym and my time there is efficient.
The app experience is less than ideal - slow, clunky UI, etc. Nearly all workouts follow a warm up, 3 or 4 set circuit, and a cool down, so it doesn’t require a highly interactive experience. I don’t track weights or reps in the app. I think I would if the app experience was better.
Overall, I really enjoy all that Dialed Health provides and would (and do) encourage others to give it a shot. I feel significantly better on the bike and enjoy strength training much more than I expected.
did you noticed a clear improvement over the last 6 or so months in your general fitness after starting with dialed health? I have been thinking of giving it a try, in the past I used enduro mtb training and I was in the best shape of my life so far at the time, but then after covid I really gave up strength training but want to go back now and considering dialed health because Derek seems to be really aware of some of the limitations with gym and equipment that people might have so seems more flexible
I started on the Dialed Health Shred and I did get a response back from the man himself withing a couple of days of emailing. There are a good number of programs and I’m currently using the gravel program.
The best part of his offering are the simplicity, the number of routines, the video tutorials, and being able to view them all pretty easily on his website.
His app, as has been mentioned is buggy and doesn’t work that smoothly. I’ve managed to make it work but it’s the worst part of the experience.
Overall, a decent value for the money.
Yes, definitely noticed a clear improvement over the last six months. I don’t track weights in the app and the programs are progressive and dynamic, so no empirical data to quantify strength improvements across exercises, but I can absolutely feel it on the bike. I can also bang out more push ups, sit ups, etc.
I ride cross country and gravel and my body feels more durable after 3+ hours on the bike. Back, arms, core, etc. all feels stronger than before I started strength training.
I also signed up for Dialed Health and never received responses to my questions. After the trial period and paid for two whole months, still with no responses. I navigated the plan options myself completed the body weight program and wanted guidance on the next plan I should do as those were pretty easy by the end. I started a kettlebell plan, but have some mobility issues and was looking for modifications for some of those exercises. Again, weeks went by and I got nothing. I did receive support on the Dialed Health Android app within one business day.
I have switched to free follow-along workouts on YouTube. Many are great, but you kind of have to navigate your own progressions. This was what I was looking to get out of Dialed Health, but wasn’t willing to pay for it any longer if I wasn’t getting that guidance.
I looked it up and he did send an email last week saying he’d hired another coach part time to help out, so hopefully replies improve.
I haven’t used DH in a while, but I did like the body weight and kettlebell programs. My only criticism was that some of the moves felt overly complicated and required me to do some contortions my body isn’t used to that made it difficult to feel confident I was doing the exercise properly. I’ve told people it felt like he wanted me to be a breakdancer! It’s a small complaint though, and overall I did recommend his service to many friends.
I felt this way about the kettlebell program, where some of the exercises seem overly complicated and a couple I could not do because of an old injury. Feedback or variations would solve this. Plus the app on a mobile device makes things far more difficult to follow along for the complicated exercises. I asked tech support if it was possible to cast the demonstration videos to my TV and they said that is not possible.
I had really good experiences with DH when I signed up a year ago or so. Derek got back to me right away and recommended me some programs to start with at home based on the equipment I had and provided me with some feedback on progressions in a later follow up.
He’s clearly gotten overwhelmed since then, hence hiring the 2nd coach, but regardless I think there’s a likely mismatch in expectations over what the service really is.
On the plus side, I really dig that there are programs you can do at home with limited equipment and that it’s focused on functional strength and mobility geared specifically for cyclists.
On the cons, clearly it’s not a replacement for an in person coach if you need someone to watch and help you establish form/technique to avoid injuring yourself, and the overall interactivity with the coaching staff doesn’t sound like it’s been keeping up with expectations for a subscription.
After I got through the basics and established routines I liked, I wrote down some notes and/or memorized enough that I could cancel my subscription and keep up the habits without the tracking. I’m thankful for DH helping me get started, but don’t feel the subscription pricing has the value prop to keep it indefinitely with the current pricing.
Looks like the expectation from a subscription service is to get a decent tracking app as well as support, the website mentions 1:1 Support and seems like it’s failing to provide that. On the other hand in the past I used Enduro MTB Training now I think it’s called Train to Ride and the 6 months program costs almost as much as a full year subscription of Dialed Health, so not much different compared to paying to get started and then moving forward by yourself after you get familiar with the programs.
I’ve had fast responses and good recommendations twice from Derek, but a couple of unanswered mails too (for minor questions).
The programs are really, really good for cyclists and triathletes. I can really feel how the exercises target and strengthen all the good places that I’ve managed to neglect for a few years. I’ve regained some upper body muscle too, to the point that a couple of my shirts are now too tight on the arms! As others have said, I feel stronger and more solid on the bike, but there are also good effects for swimming and everyday life, like carrying heavy sofas… The programming is good too - if you only do the two DH workouts a week (plus one or two mobility things) and nothing else then they’re a bit easy, but if you ride/run/swim most days then the workouts fit right into that nice “hard without destroying you” spot.
But yes, the Android app is as shonky as hell. Buttons not working, getting upset if you lose wifi for a few seconds, uninitialised variables (displaying “null” !)… It speaks a lot to the quality of the programs that I keep using it.
Just signed up. iOS app quickly began crashing, but I found a few work-arounds to get to the content. So far, good stuff. Biggest problem? Not the app… my consistency. Yes, good content helps, but in the end, it’s up to me to take advantage of the off bike days. Here goes…
I started in December 2022. I had had persistent lower back spasms for a few years and also a hernia repair, so I figured it was time to work on my overall body instead of just pedaling all the time. He was very responsive to a few initial emails and I haven’t needed to contact him since then. At his recommendation, I did
the bodyweight program to get started and ease in
the dumbbell program for basic strength and more controlled movements
the kettlebell program to introduce more dynamic motion and technique
and I’ve basically been alternating some form of those since then. They’re serving my needs and require minimal equipment.
The results for me have been quite literally life-changing. My back problems were an annoyance level of 7 out of 10, and they’re down to 1 or 2 now. I rode my bike somewhat less to allow for the strength training time, but I was still performing at a good level for me while also just feeling better in my daily life. I’m stronger and my range of motion is much better–I was even able to resume some field sports at age 47 without specifically training for them, just because my overall mobility had improved so much.
The app does indeed suck. I just use iOS Safari to follow the workouts on dialedhealth.com, which basically works the way the app is supposed to. He suggested this on the podcast a while back and I suspect he’s kind of given up on improving the app.
Bummer to hear that he’s been less responsive to email. I’m fortunate enough that I haven’t needed mods to the programs or movements, and I can see how that’d be really frustrating if you needed his help to do things safely.
Overall I’m extremely happy with it and have recommended it to lots of riders who need to improve their overall health and quality of life. I’m not here to say it’ll specifically make you a faster rider, but the benefit in injury prevention and general functionality is completely worth the $ for me. I’m sure there are other strength solutions that would also work, but because of this program’s specific awareness of the cycling athlete, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Are there any particular ones you recommend for triathletes? I looked into DH a while ago and didn’t sign up because they didn’t have any tri-specific plans (and still don’t, as far as I can tell).