All You Need To Know Before Subscribing

Peloton Workout Classes

Peloton offers a variety of classes on their equipment and off. The majority of their classes are filmed in a studio with top-notch lighting, sound, and video quality.

Peloton started out doing indoor cycling classes, so they’ve stayed true to their roots but now have several different types of indoor studio virtual classes.

They have trainer-led running, cycling, strength, cardio, yoga, boxing, meditation, stretching, tread boot camp, bike boot camp, walking, outdoor audio, and scenic classes. The app allows you to access most of Peloton’s classes, except the scenic classes. Those are only available on bikes, tread, and the Peloton Row; there are only a few currently.

I find it handy that when you click on a class, there is a description box that will give you a bit of insight into what to expect, such as whether you need equipment like weights for the strength classes, the music playlist, and the level of difficulty it is rated as.

Another feature we like is the Auto-Resistance feature available on Bike+. It lets you lock the bike to the trainer’s cues for the resistance level and changes the bike’s resistance for you. Unfortunately, this is only available on the Bike+ on-demand cycling classes right now.

The treadmills have an Auto-Incline feature. The grade of the treadmill’s deck adjusts based on the instructor’s cues.

The Peloton digital app also offers outdoor audio classes, in which you can listen to your Peloton instructor on your phone as they guide you through a class while you walk or run outside.

The classes range from 5 to 120 minutes, so if you’re short on time, you can squeeze in a quick workout or enjoy a long, sweaty ride on the bike. The shorter classes are also nice to take a few at a time. With the stack feature, you can choose two or more classes and have them queued up to take one after the other for a custom workout.

There are also shorter warmup and cooldown classes in activities like running, cycling, and strength that you can add before and after a class or stack of classes.

The Trainers

In our opinion, what really makes Peloton so popular is its trainers. Currently, there are over 45 instructors. If you follow them on social media, you’ll see that they’re like mini-celebrities, often with hundreds of thousands, if not more, followers.

One of the most popular instructors, Cody Rigsby, competed on Dancing With The Stars and placed third.

Members have even created social media groups and fan pages dedicated to the trainers, like Peloton Tread instructor Adrian Williams’s “Thunder Squad,” which is his fan group.

Even apart from their status and popularity in and out of the Peloton community, every trainer is an experienced fitness professional, and they each have their own unique flair. That flair may be the types of exercises they do, like Selena Samuela’s use of clamshells in her lower body strength classes, the playlists they create, the intensity level, or just their overall energy and personality.

Sometimes, you’ll even notice them scheduled at the same time and day each week, teaching the same class, like Rebecca Kennedy’s “Friday 45” strength classes or Ally Love’s “Sundays With Love” cycling classes, enticing you to get into a bit of a routine. Most likely, when you start taking a few classes, you’ll have at least one trainer that you gravitate toward. I know I have a few.

Live and On-Demand Classes

On both Peloton’s equipment and the digital app, you’ll find an extensive library of live and on-demand classes. The live classes are found on the schedule for you to take live with the instructor and other members. There are live classes available daily in pretty much every class category.

Live classes are fun because if you have reached a milestone, like taking your first tread boot camp class or it’s your 500th ride, the instructor might shout out your username during class. You can also get a shout-out if it’s your birthday when you take the class.

On-demand classes are available for you to take whenever you want. If something comes up, like a visitor comes to your door or you need to make a trip to the bathroom, you can pause an on-demand class in the digital app and on the equipment. You can’t pause live classes, however.

There’s also a feature where you can schedule classes at certain times. These work with live and on-demand classes. When you schedule a live class, you’ll get a reminder before it starts so you won’t miss it. You can schedule on-demand classes whenever you want. The personal schedule feature lets you build a workout schedule for two weeks.

We also like that subtitles and captioning are available for both live and on-demand classes. You can turn these on and off in the app and on the equipment.

Peloton Features

Music

We like how Peloton incorporates music. They let their trainers create playlists for every class so you’ll hear the music as they intended it to be heard. This makes it great for classes like cycling because music is such a huge part of those classes. Oftentimes, the tempo from the beat of a song is used to drive the pace of a ride when you’re pedaling.

Since the trainers are so energetic, many of them will bust out a few dance moves while they lead a workout, too. To me, this makes the class more engaging and fun.

Personally, the kind of music I listen to influences my energy and mood during a workout and even on my own. I’m a lot more likely to push myself if I like the songs being played.

This is also true of taking a trainer-led class. If the instructor is enjoying themselves and jamming to the music, their class will most likely feed off that energy, too.

What is nice is that there are often themed classes that dictate the type of music the instructor uses, like in a country run. You can search for the class depending on the type of music you want to hear, and there’s a wide variety of musical genres to choose from. Such as:

• Alternative
• Classic Rock
• Country
• Rock
• Indie
• Electronic
• Latin
• Pop
• Hip Hop
• R&B

Another fun music feature is Peloton’s Artist Series. For these, you can take different classes with playlists of songs from specific artists, like Beyonce and David Bowie.

There are numerous classes in the Artist Series to scroll through.

There are also different themed classes during certain months where the playlist is chosen around a theme. March is Women’s History Month, and many classes celebrate it by featuring music from female artists. The instructor will also talk about the topic during the class, too.

You can also adjust the volume by keeping it balanced between the trainer’s voice and music or by making either the music or the trainer’s voice louder. You can’t completely mute one or the other, though.

Leaderboard

For competitive users or users looking to engage with other Peloton members, the leaderboard is motivating and available when you take classes on Peloton equipment like the Bike, Bike+, and Tread.

The leaderboard reflects your ranking with others taking the class or have taken it before (if it’s on-demand). There are filters that will only show members in that category and how you rank. You can choose to see how you rank with all the members in the class, just members you are following, or just you, or narrow it down by gender and age group.

That way, you can decide how you want to be motivated or intimidated. I know I definitely find the leaderboard intimidating.

When taking a class on-demand, you can see what members are currently taking the class with you under “here now” on the leaderboard.

When you take classes in the Peloton digital app or mat classes on the tread or bike, a list of members who are currently taking the class is shown instead of the leaderboard. While some members love the leaderboard, others hate it and swipe it out of sight, and some use it to connect.

Community Engagement

Peloton does a good job of encouraging its members to engage with others. The simplest way is to give someone a “high-five” on the leaderboard by pressing the small hand button by their username.

When you get a high-five, it will pop up on the right side of the touchscreen on Peloton’s equipment. Getting one or a few can give you a little extra encouragement, and overall, it’s a nice gesture.

You can also connect with other members of the Peloton community by using tags on your profile. These are hashtags that you can create or join based on your interests. The hashtags then turn into groups. Common tag groups are “#PelotonMoms” and “#TogetherWeGoFar.”

You can join tags to connect with other users who like the same instructors you do, like #RobinsWolfPack” for trainer Robin Arzon.

These are nice ways to help people connect virtually.

Programs and Collections

If you’re looking to add some structure to your workout routine, Peloton’s programs let you do just that. The programs are classes you can take in a specific category for a week or multiple weeks. They have an overall goal, like Emma Lovewell’s Crush Your Core program, designed to help strengthen your core by using bodyweight movements.

Three different Road To Your 26.2 programs also help you train for a marathon. These feature classes from multiple running trainers are six weeks each. Part 1 gets you started in your training, and then you keep progressing and adding miles as you work through Part 2 and Part 3.

Peloton’s Collections are a little bit different. Instead, they let you mix up your workout routine by trying something new like Barre, Pilates, and Dance Cardio. They’re a place where you can find Peloton’s picks for cycling, yoga, running classes, and more. This is also where you’ll find several Artist Series.

Plus, if you want a little extra motivation, you can join a challenge and win a badge on your profile after you complete it. These are monthly and can be found on Peloton equipment and within the app, along with the list of programs and collections.

Lanebreak

If you like gamified content, you’ll like the Lanebreak series of workouts on Peloton. These are only available with the All-Access Membership on Peloton’s equipment. Instead of having an instructor, it’s a video game that displays six lanes and a single wheel rolling forward on the screen. You use the resistance knob to change lanes, and you want to stay in the lane that is lit up.

You get points by staying in the correct lane and hitting all the lit features.

There are different colored sections where you pick up your pace and ensure the wheel hits all the lights. As you ride, you’ll see your cadence, watt output, and resistance behind the wheel.

Different cadence ranges pop up under certain segments, and you have to keep your pace within that range to earn points. In other sections, you have to increase your speed to earn the most points possible.

The different segments are displayed by color; for example, the “beats” section is blue. Once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy to know what you need to do during each part. Currently, there are 21 classes, but I’m sure Peloton will probably continue to add more.

When I did a 10-minute game, it felt like a class, with the beginning and end being easier, like a warmup and cooldown, while the middle was more challenging and incorporated speed pushes that felt like short sprints. So, you’ll get a good, well-rounded workout. Some classes feature certain artists, music genres, and class styles like Tabata. There are also difficulty levels ranging from beginner to expert based on the level of resistance you want to work at.

Of course, in true Peloton fashion, there’s a leaderboard to see how you rank among other members, too. It’s a fun concept that reminds me of Guitar Hero from the early 2000s, and I found it engaging to play. It’s a nice mix-up from taking classes with an instructor.

App Streaming

With the All-Access Membership on Peloton’s equipment, you can stream from your favorite streaming apps, such as Netflix, YouTube TV, Max, Disney+, and the NBA app. This is becoming popular on fitness equipment.

Note: You will need your login information for these apps. You also need to subscribe to Peloton’s membership to access the apps on your Peloton equipment.

Using Peloton

Navigating the digital app and the library of classes on Peloton’s equipment is easy. Everything is clearly labeled in both memberships, and some filters will let you narrow down your class search. On top of searching by music type, you can search for classes that your favorite instructor has taught, too.

One thing to be aware of is that there are only filters instead of an additional search bar to look for a specific class. This can be challenging to find a certain class or program. Another aspect to consider is that you’re only able to access Peloton’s content on the equipment, not other third-party apps. There’s also no internet browser feature.

If you’re interested in running or cycling classes, I recommend getting the Peloton Tread or one of the Peloton Bikes. This way, your metrics will be shown on the screen, and you can take advantage of the leaderboard. You’ll also be able to take classes off the equipment. The All-Access membership is where you get the most out of Peloton.

The graphics in every class are crisp and clear on Peloton’s equipment.

While we would like to see more guided and non-guided scenic classes (they have a small number of both), the quality and engagement you get from all the other indoor classes at Peloton are worth the membership.

Peloton’s equipment functions entirely through the screen when it’s plugged into an outlet. So, if the screen becomes damaged, the machine could be unusable.

Connect your Apple Watch to the Peloton app and the equipment to track your heart rate, or use a Bluetooth-enabled heart rate monitor.

The digital app is great if you are traveling or are dedicated to taking mat classes, like strength and yoga. It’s also handy when you have to work out from home because your gym is closed.

With either membership, you will surely get in a great trainer-led studio workout.

Comparison To Other Fitness Apps

Other fitness apps, like iFIT and JRNY, have some similarities and differences from the Peloton app. In our opinion, Peloton stands out in terms of its trainers and music use.

iFIT has a lot more trainers than Peloton, with over 180, so you’re a little less likely to favor a specific one. iFIT also has its music as a background component because it is not integrated into the classes. You can pick a set playlist and skip through it during your class.

We like iFIT because you can virtually explore places all over the world. Peloton’s scenic classes aren’t at this level yet, and their library isn’t nearly as full as iFIT’s. However, I think Peloton’s studio classes are more engaging than iFIT’s studio classes.

JRNY’s library of classes is much smaller than Peloton’s and iFIT’s. There is less variety, and the quality isn’t quite at the same level as iFIT and Peloton’s.

Where You Can Use Peloton

As mentioned above, if you purchase Peloton’s equipment, you have to subscribe to the All-Access membership to get the most out of the attached touchscreen on the Tread, Bike, and Bike+. With this membership, you can access all of Peloton’s classes on the equipment, and you can also log into the app and use it.

There are also rumors of Peloton adding a rowing machine to its lineup. We can imagine it will be interactive like its other machines and that they’ll add trainer-led rowing classes to their library.

Peloton also has a strength training device called Peloton Guide to watch your positioning while taking mat classes. If you’re already an All-Access member, you can subscribe to Peloton Guide at no additional cost.

The Peloton digital app only gives you access to the app on a device like your phone or tablet. You can also use the app on your television through a streaming device like Roku or Amazon Fire Stick.

Should You Subscribe To Peloton?

You can access Peloton classes on Peloton equipment and through the digital app. You’ll get the most out of Peloton if you purchase their equipment, especially if you want to compete on the leaderboard. The Peloton app is also a great way to take classes, especially when traveling.

Although there are only a limited number of scenic classes, Peloton has a large library of high-quality trainer-led studio classes.

We like Peloton’s classes because their instructors are fun and engaging, and they provide curated music playlists for every class. The music and the trainers make the classes energetic and get you hooked, in my opinion.

The Peloton app is a great option if you’re looking for trainer-led workouts with minimal equipment. There’s plenty of content to choose from. If you want the ultimate Peloton experience, you should buy one of the Peloton’s equipment to have access to all of Peloton’s features.

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