What it's like taking in-person classes at Peloton Studios New York (PHOTOS)

Peloton is well-known for its home workout equipment, but this month, it reopened its studio doors in New York City and London for people to experience in-person classes for the first time in two years.

The pandemic saw many trade their gym memberships for a Peloton Bike, Tread (the brand’s compact treadmill), or its latest piece of hardware, the Peloton Guide.

So, the reopening of the studios became an opportunity for dedicated members (both old and new) to take their workouts from the screens to IRL.

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Chief Content Officer Jennifer Cotter says she’s excited to see members interact in person with their fellow workout buddies in the Peloton community.

“Everyone’s so excited and happy,” Cotter told Daily Hive at the Peloton headquarters in New York. “It’s like Disneyland where you get to also work out and then feel great about yourself.”

I had the chance to check out the festivities for the reopening in New York, which also coincided with the fitness brand’s All For One music festival.

Here it is—your All For One ‘22 lineup. Nothing but headliners for you to stack and move to. It all starts on August 19 with classes live and on demand. pic.twitter.com/LGiV81B9ws

— Peloton (@onepeloton) August 11, 2022

The annual festival took place from August 19 to 21 and featured 160 live classes across 15 fitness disciplines.

Alanis Morissette and Kaytranada repped Canadians in a lineup that featured 33 of the world’s hottest artists.

And people from all over the world flew in to experience these live classes with their favourite instructors.

I took one for the team and spent three days exercising at Peloton Studios New York for Canadians who are curious about the experience. Here’s what it’s like…

The studio

Before the pandemic, Peloton offered in-person cycling classes. However, when the lockdowns hit in 2020, the studio shuttered its doors just like many other gyms.

Still, the brand moved from its old location to the new one in the 5 Manhattan West building in NYC’s Hudson Yards neighbourhood.

From there, the team was able to broadcast live classes for its seven million members stuck self-isolating at home.

One of Peloton’s star instructors, Jess Sims, was excited to have people smiling back at her again in class.

“It’s unbelievable,” Sims told Daily Hive. “But it’s just so beautiful to see some old faces that were at our old studio, and then brand new faces that I’ve never seen before.”

Walking into the 35,000+-square-foot facility, you’re met with a theatre-sized screen showing the latest class being broadcast live in homes around the world.

The space runs like a TV network as much as it does a fitness studio. It contains four control rooms functioning as the eyes and ears of the operation.

There are four studios in total — one for spinning, treadmill, yoga and strength classes. All of them are equipped with cameras and lighting for live broadcasts.

The facility also features a member’s lounge, two juice bars, and a retail showroom for you to outfit yourself in Peloton swag.

And of course, there are lockers and shower rooms fully stocked with hair and body products.

When asked whether Canada would get its own studio, Cotter says that at this point the company has no plans to open any new facilities outside of the US and London.

However, the CCO says they’re always searching for instructors to represent Canada.

While Peloton was prosperous during the pandemic, the company has recently made headlines for layoffs and price hikes as people head back into gyms.

“It’s a terrible thing for companies to go through that change,” said Cotter. “Just like every company in the pandemic, we’re continuing to evolve to making sure we’re a foundationally secure business.”

The classes

I was lucky enough to nab spots in three, 30-minute classes during the All For One festival: strength featuring music from Rufus Du Sol; tread featuring Big Sean’s songs; and cycling featuring Canadian icon Alanis Morisette.

My first class was with one of the brand’s most popular instructors, Adrian Williams. I was a little nervous as it was my first time taking a fitness class surrounded by other human beings since 2019.

“Have you taken a class with Adrian before? What other classes are you taking this weekend? I can’t wait to get a selfie with Jess King!” were some of the conversations I overheard before a booming voice over the intercom announced that we could enter the studio.

Williams was doing a live strength class, so participants were provided workout mats, dumbbells, and towels.

Just like the set of a TV broadcast, production crew hurriedly prepped the stage.

Many chatted with us, asking us where we travelled from and giving reassurance to people (me) who were a bit apprehensive about taking an in-person, livestreamed class.

They also help you set up your station, whether it’s grabbing you dumbbells, teaching you how to adjust your bike, or showing you how the controls work on the treadmill.

If you want to be a co-star during the class, you can even choose a spot that’s in camera frame (you can watch the classes back on the Peloton App at home to see yourself!).

The main difference between the virtual and in-person class is being able to see the BTS of what’s happening on your screen.

Floor directors would count down, signalling the instructors to do their intros as the live broadcast began.

If you’re lucky, your class could also feature a special celebrity guest. The most recent to visit the studios in New York were Lizzo and T-Pain.

Imagine riding alongside Lizzo and her big grrrls?!

 

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Once your workout is over, you get the in-person perks of meeting and taking a photo with the instructors.

The instructors

Peloton instructors are celebrities in their own right, most of whom have hundreds of thousands of loyal followers on social media.

Along with Williams, I got to take classes with Sims and Ally Love.

Everyone I spoke with at Peloton gushed about how nice and encouraging all three instructors were, and they certainly lived up to their reputations.

The instructors made sure classes were accessible for all, asking if anyone had injuries and making sure to provide modifications where needed.

While they couldn’t come up to me to make adjustments, every trainer had the uncanny ability of spotting when I was confused, or struggling, and subtly shouted out specific instructions to help me improve my form.

I was in awe watching them instruct and give us words of encouragement while doing the workouts alongside us, never seeming to be out of breathe.

If you don’t have the motivation to start doing physical activity (which is understandable — after all we’ve just been through a life-altering pandemic), Sims has some advice for you.

She says you have to act first to become motivated.

“Just do some movement that brings you joy, and then let that be a chain reaction,” she said.

Sims explains how strength training and cardio are important for your health, but that it might take other forms of movement to drive you to get there.

“Take dance classes, do your meditation, do stretching, do yoga,” she added.

“Don’t put so much pressure on yourself that you need to do HIIT training just because that’s like the new thing. Do what feels right for you, and do it often.”

If you’re looking for ways to be more physically active, you can try the Peloton App for free for 30 days.