Peloton Gym: New Feature For The Peloton App (Guided Strength Workouts)

Earlier today, Peloton introduced a fresh addition to their Peloton App: It’s the Peloton Gym. This new feature offers a unique opportunity to follow step-by-step workout plans, whether you’re at the gym, home, or anywhere else.

In simpler terms, Peloton Gym lets you experience a structured strength training workout, similar to what you’d find in a regular gym, but with the convenience of the Peloton app. You can earn credits for your workout streaks, participate in challenges, and earn those coveted blue dots, just like any other Peloton session. It’s important to note that you won’t be creating your custom workouts; instead, you’ll choose from a selection of pre-designed workouts crafted by Peloton’s expert instructors.

Today, in an official announcement (you can find the complete release here), the company shared exciting news about the new Peloton Gym feature. This comes alongside updates on the expanded Peloton App Tiers, the inclusion of rowing classes in the app, and the rejuvenation of the Peloton brand. Here’s what they had to say about the fresh Peloton Gym addition:

Peloton Gym has arrived, accessible to all membership tiers, providing Peloton Members with the tools to pursue their strength goals in any workout setting they prefer. This represents the brand’s inaugural offering in which workouts are presented with written instructions, demonstrated in supporting videos, and tailored to be completed at the user’s own pace.

This innovative content feature allows Peloton Instructors to present a range of floor-based routines to Members, giving them the flexibility to time their workouts and select from various strength class styles to cater to their specific requirements whenever they choose. Similar to all app features, Peloton Gym will harness the unmatched expertise of Instructors and the valuable feedback from Members to continually enhance the Strength mode experience over time.

Peloton Gym is set to roll out today to all members, although given the substantial 7 million-strong Peloton community, it may not immediately appear for everyone. The good news is that it’s accessible to all Peloton members, regardless of their Peloton App tier—be it Peloton App Free, Peloton App One, or Peloton App+. Even Guide members and All-Access members can access it through their apps. However, for now, you can only find Peloton Gym workouts within the Peloton App itself; they’re not yet available on Guide, Bike, Tread, or Row hardware.

In addition to being accessible via the Peloton iOS App for iPhones and the Peloton Android app, we’ve received word that Peloton Gym should also be making its way to other versions of the Peloton App, such as Apple TV, Roku, Amazon, and more.

Peloton Gym Overview

We’ve had the opportunity to test a couple of Peloton Gym workouts using the Peloton iOS app. These fresh Peloton Gym sessions offer a unique experience compared to anything Peloton members have encountered before, except for Just Work Out. You won’t find a background soundtrack or a coach working out alongside you. Instead, it’s a straightforward interface that leads you through the selected workout’s structure step by step.

Peloton simplifies this as, “You’ll receive the same intelligent workout guidance from Peloton instructors, minus the need to listen closely to cues.”

But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your own music during your workout. In the Peloton Gym overview, it’s highlighted that you can “Jam to your favorite tunes from other apps like Spotify or Apple Music.” You’ll just need to start the other app and choose your personal soundtrack before beginning your Peloton Gym session.

As with other aspects of the Peloton App, you have the option to use a Bluetooth heart rate monitor, the Peloton Heart Rate Band, or the Peloton Watch app to monitor your heart rate while doing your gym workout. Doing so will reward you with a strive score at the end of your workout. Furthermore, your heart rate will be visible at the bottom of the screen as you progress through your workout.

Apart from the freedom to choose your own music, current Peloton members should brace for the most significant change: there won’t be a Peloton coach motivating or exercising alongside you during Peloton Gym sessions. A Peloton Gym workout primarily serves as a timer to monitor your workout duration, allowing you to swipe to proceed to the next segment. There’s no real-time video guidance, nor do you hear a coach’s voice or see their video introduction for the workout.

Nonetheless, if you encounter an unfamiliar exercise or require guidance on proper form, you can simply click on the exercise within the workout. Doing so will open a brief 5-15 second video demonstration, featuring one of the Peloton instructors illustrating the move.

After the demo wraps up, it seamlessly returns you to the Peloton Gym screen, allowing your workout to carry on. An appealing aspect of this setup is that the workout timer discreetly pauses in the background while the video demo plays and then resumes once the demo concludes. Nevertheless, if you opt not to click on any video demos during your workout, you won’t encounter any coaches or videos at any point.

You can access the demo either before starting your workout when reviewing the class plan or during your workout itself.

Peloton’s explanation of how the app functions goes like this:

In the Peloton Gym app, you’ll discover strength workouts created by Peloton instructors, but they aren’t in video format. These workouts cover full-body, lower-body, upper-body, and core exercises. Each workout follows the Peloton strength class format, beginning with a warm-up and including exercise blocks. You can choose to watch tutorial videos or read brief descriptions for each exercise. Complete the suggested reps and sets for each exercise, and swipe to finish each block at your own speed.

Peloton Gym classes are organized into segments. In each segment, you’re given a specific number of reps or a set time duration. Sometimes, you’ll complete the exercises in a segment once, while at other times, you might need to repeat it 2 times, 3 times, or even more before progressing to the next part.

These segments come in various formats. Every workout starts with a warm-up. Following that, you may encounter circuits, EMOMs (Every Minute on the Minute), AMRAPs (As Many Rounds As Possible), supersets, tabatas, sets, and more. Peloton mentions that you might encounter some movements that are less familiar compared to traditional Peloton classes, explaining:

Anticipate encountering familiar strength exercises like split squats, flat bench dumbbell chest presses, dumbbell sumo deadlifts, and barbell back squats, incorporated into circuits, EMOMs, and supersets. You might also come across more conventional weightlifting exercises that aren’t typically featured in Peloton’s instructor-led classes, providing you with a fresh way to push your limits. This is just the beginning for Peloton Gym, so keep an eye out for exciting updates in the near future.

If you’re unsure about the meaning of any term used for a block, simply click on the helpful icon beside it. It will provide you with a clear description of that specific block type.

ChatGPT

Once you’ve finished your block (or repeated it as required), there’s a slider waiting for you to slide. This action marks the block as completed and smoothly transitions you to the next part of your workout.

It’s a seamless transition; there’s no big celebration. The next block appears, and you simply carry on with your routine. Remember, this is a workout at your own pace, so you can take all the rest you need. The next block won’t start until you swipe the slider to indicate completion.

Furthermore, you have the flexibility to pause the timer whenever you wish during your workout or even finish the workout ahead of schedule if needed.

The timer runs consistently throughout your workout, representing your total workout duration. Unfortunately, there’s no feature to display the elapsed time in your current block, so you’ll need to keep track mentally.

Once your workout concludes, you’ll encounter the familiar completed workout screen you’re accustomed to seeing. At the top of the screen, it will indicate if you’ve finished all the blocks and provide your overall workout time. However, it doesn’t currently provide a breakdown of the time spent in each block.

How to Use Peloton Gym on Android or iOS?

You can access the Peloton Gym feature within the Peloton App by navigating to the “Workouts” tab. Right at the top of the screen, you’ll notice a fresh tab named “Gym,” which will be temporarily labeled as “New” to make it easier to spot. This tab sits right alongside the tabs for Classes, Programs, and Collections, where you’ve previously found them.

When you first click on it, you’ll see a quick overview screen that highlights some of the key points about Peloton Gym workouts, which we’ve discussed earlier. After that, you’ll find the on-demand library of Gym workouts right in front of you. You have two options: you can either scroll through the list of workouts or filter them based on the workout’s focus area. The available filters are All, Full Body, Upper Body, Lower Body, and Core.

Unfortunately, there’s currently no other way to sort or organize the list of Peloton Gym workouts. You can’t filter them by instructor, suggested workout duration, or individual exercises.

When you click on a Gym workout, you’ll receive a brief description of the workout, followed by a detailed class plan. You also have the option to click on any movement’s name to get a written description of that exercise, and if you prefer, you can even watch a video demonstration.

At the moment, the app offers a total of 20 Peloton Gym workouts, and we’re not sure how frequently they’ll introduce new ones. Here’s a rundown of which Peloton instructors provide Gym workouts and the number each of them offers:

Peloton Gym Workouts by Instructor

• Andy Speer (2)
• Adrian Williams (2)
• Ben Alldis (2)
• Erik Jager (2)
• Callie Gullickson (2)
• Jermaine Johnson (1)
• Logan Aldridge (2)
• Jess Sims (2)
• Rad Lopez (2)
• Matty Maggiacomo (1)
• Tunde Oyeneyin (2)

Please keep in mind that even though there’s an instructor mentioned for the workouts, you won’t find any video or audio featuring that instructor during the workout. Nevertheless, if you’ve experienced other strength workouts led by these coaches, it’s evident that they played a role in creating the workouts associated with their names on the platform.

Other Things to Know About Peloton Gym

For Peloton members who thrive on the energy and chitchat from Peloton coaches, or the ease of not curating your own playlist, Peloton Gym might not align with your preferences.

However, if your main goal is to maximize your strength training, then this could be a workout option worth exploring. You have the freedom to choose how much rest you need between sets and progress through the workout at your preferred pace.

It’s evident that a significant segment of the Peloton community has a strong interest in strength workouts, as evidenced by the growth of groups like #HardCoreOnTheFloor over time. Additionally, it’s noteworthy that strength training stands out as the most popular workout type on the Peloton app.

Peloton also presents it as a valuable tool for those who may require guidance at the gym, expressing, “If you’ve ever stepped into a crowded weight room and experienced gym anxiety, we understand that feeling. Which weights should you choose? How does that machine operate? How many reps should you complete? Is everyone watching you? Peloton Gym eliminates the uncertainty of what to do at the gym. You’ll have precise exercises to follow, equipment recommendations, and time guidelines.”

It’s important to note that we can anticipate enhancements and additions to Peloton Gym in the upcoming months. Peloton hinted at this in their press release, stating, “Similar to all app features, Peloton Gym will utilize expert Instructor knowledge and member input to continuously develop and introduce features that enhance the strength training experience over time.”

There are a couple of straightforward improvements that seem likely to be introduced soon. Firstly, we could expect to see more filters added to the Peloton Gym class library.

Secondly, organizing Gym workouts into programs appears to be a natural step. Even if these programs offer flexibility, providing suggested combinations of workouts each week could greatly benefit members who are new to strength training.

A minor adjustment that could enhance the experience would be the ability to track the weights used for each exercise or keep a record of how many rounds of an AMRAP you were able to complete. Regrettably, there’s currently no way to do this.

A more significant change, but one that feels like a natural evolution, would be enabling members to design their own Gym workouts. Allowing members to craft their personalized Peloton Gym routines within the framework provided by Peloton Gym could be a powerful feature for advanced users, keeping them engaged with the Peloton platform. We view this as a potential long-term addition, given the considerable custom work and user interface adjustments that would be necessary to allow members to create their workouts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on Peloton Gym after you’ve had the opportunity to give it a try. Please share your feedback with us.

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