Ed Sheeran shares his approach to exercise in Peloton’s new mindful walking sessions

Ed Sheeran is no stranger to collaborations, releasing songs with Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Eminem, among many others, but his latest team-up comes out of left field. 

The Thinking Out Loud singer has worked with connected fitness brand Peloton on a series of mindful walking sessions which features songs from his latest album, Subtract, released today, 5th May. Between tracks, Sheeran shares anecdotes revealing the inspiration behind his lyrics, and discussing topics including mental health.

“Movement has become an important part of my overall mental and physical health, especially when I was working on this album,” says Sheeran.

He also spoke about his approach to making music and how that informs his attitude to exercise. “It’s quite easy to master the acoustic singer-songwriter thing if you do it for long enough, and I’ve been doing it since I was 11," Sheeran told Peloton instructor Jon Hosking. "I made my first album then I moved to America and Pharrell [Williams] wanted to work with me, and Rick Rubin and David Guetta. All these different people. I didn’t want to put up barriers and say, 'no, I’m a singer-songwriter and I just play with acoustic guitar.'

"I feel like it’s boring doing the same thing all the time—variety is the spice of life. It's the same for workouts, it's good to do different things on different days. If you just run all the time, it's not going to do anything. If you just do the bike all the time, it's not going to do anything. But if you do a little bit of this here, a little bit of this here, a little bit of this… it's good to have variety and moderation."

As well as experiencing Sheeran's new album in a unique way, the classes are a great, low-impact way to add activity to your day, and enjoy the many benefits of walking which include improved joint and bone health, burning calories and lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease.

It won’t just be your body that benefits, either. Mindful walking can also boost your mood and have a positive impact on anxiety and depression, LDN Mums Fitness personal trainer Sarah Campus previously told Fit&Well. 

There are 30-minute and hour-long walks with Sheeran available in the Peloton app, Pick the longer one and you’ll to listen to Subtract in its entirety—all the more reason to lace up your walking shoes. 

“We’re embarking on a completely new way to collaborate with an artist with this drop,” said Peloton SVP Gwen Bethel Riley. “Ed Sheeran will bring his entire album to life with support from [Peloton instructors] Jon Hosking and Tobias Heinze and take our members on a fully loaded musical experience.”

These walking classes are part of the Peloton Outdoor collection, encouraging people to head outside to get their fitness fix. The classes can be found on the Peloton app, but you’ll need a membership to access them. If you’re not a subscriber, a 30-day trial period is available on the Peloton App.