Pretty much all of the new strength training classes Peloton has been streaming over the last month or so are compatible with the new movement tracking experience, but only certain older on-demand sessions are. Peloton makes it easy to find compatible classes; just tap into the strength tab on the Bike+ display and look for the movement tracker symbol in the top left corner of the workout thumbnail. There’s also a button within the strength section that pulls up all compatible classes, and a filtering option.
(Credit: Ali Jaber)
To activate the movement-tracking camera, flip it forward so that the lens is facing out. For privacy, you can flip it back to cover the lens when it’s not in use. When the camera is on, the green light beside it illuminates, and you can optionally stream live footage to the display to monitor your form alongside the trainer’s video. Peloton SAYS that images and videos captured by the camera are not recorded or stored.
At launch, the system can track your reps for 120 movements and provide form feedback for more than 50 exercises, and Peloton hopes to scale that up quickly. Peloton’s rep-counting technology works well for the most part. It occasionally tracks an extra rep I didn’t do, but very rarely misses actual reps. It may, for instance, give me credit for an extra rep if I’m still setting up for a move when the timer starts.
Sound effects play a significant role in smart strength training, helping to gamify the experience. Peloton dings every time it tracks a rep, which is a slight dopamine rush. Tonal similarly uses sound effects to indicate your last three reps in a set and when you hit a new PR, both of which are very satisfying.
(Credit: Ali Jaber)
Peloton IQ form corrections can be helpful. While the AI analyzes your form, it displays an animated graphic that looks like thinking bubbles on the left side of the screen. If your form is correct, it shows a green check mark. If it detects that you did something wrong, it will issue an audio correction.
After one set of Romanian deadlifts, Peloton IQ recommended I lower the weight to focus on my form. I’m very familiar with this exercise, so the correction was humbling, but I knew the AI was right–I was rushing through that set. In this instance, I declined the weight change, but I slowed down my pace and didn’t receive any corrections on the next set.
I’ll admit that I suck at push-ups, but Peloton IQ has helped me improve my technique for this basic exercise. During one workout, the AI repeatedly told me to lower my hips during push-ups. After hearing the same correction a few times, I actually did lower my hips and realized this helped recruit my abdominal muscles, making the exercise a little easier.
Another time, during bent-over rows, Peloton IQ told me to lean forward further, which was a good cue. Even the most seasoned exercisers are prone to having a sloppy rep here and there, and Peloton IQ can hold you accountable. The Tonal 2 also utilizes a camera and AI to track your form and provide real-time corrections, and goes a step further by filming your mistakes and sending the footage to its companion mobile app for review, a feature called Smart View that earned our Technical Excellence award.
(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)
As noted, Peloton tracks your volume lifted based on your light, medium, and heavy dumbbell settings. This should be sufficient for newbies, but it’s limiting if you have a lot of other weights at home, which I do. You can use voice controls to tell Peloton you’re lifting a different weight, provided you remember to do so, and you use the correct command.
During one class, I felt a clicking in my elbows while doing skull crushers, so I dropped down from two light dumbbells to one, and the move felt much better. I tried telling Peloton IQ to adjust my weight for the move using voice controls, but it didn’t respond, likely because I didn’t phrase the command correctly. After the workout, I attempted to manually adjust the tracked weight using the touch screen, but it only provided the option to specify whether I used light, medium, or heavy weights. For more accurate tracking, it should give you the option to modify your weight lifted to any value. Tonal offers much more detailed and accurate performance tracking for strength training workouts; it sets the resistance for you and allows for granular 1-pound adjustments, so it always knows exactly how much you lifted.
At the end of movement tracker workouts, Peloton shows the percentage of rep targets you hit. During one 30-minute class, I hit 20 out of 24 targets and earned a score of 83%. During a different class, a short 10-minute strength session, the rep counter didn’t match up with the movements we were doing, so I only scored 33%. I believe this was caused by human error due to the trainer getting off sequence, versus a technical glitch, so it was easily forgivable, and I haven’t otherwise encountered this problem.
An insight in the profile section confirms I’ve made gains (Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)
Over the past eight weeks of testing, I feel that I’ve gained strength from working out with the Cross Training Bike+. All of the strength instructors are great, but I’ve gravitated toward Tunde Oyeneyin, and I’m constantly surprised at how challenging yet accessible her classes are. With Tunde’s inspiration and motivation, I have used my heavy weights that were previously collecting dust a lot more over the past two months. The strength workouts always leave me sore the next day.
In the past, I’ve heard critiques that Peloton’s strength training classes are too high-intensity and not good for heavy lifting, but I don’t find that to be the case, at least anymore. Many of the classes incorporate circuit training, but the instructors generally give breaks between sets, which is important for heavy lifting. During a recent 20-minute strength class, my Apple Watch reported an average and maximum heart rate of 138bpm and 148bpm, respectively, which is about 20 to 30bpm shy of my target workout max, and a suitable zone for strength training.
When cycling on the Cross Training Bike+, I usually stick with Cody Rigsby’s classes because I jive with his music selections (Britney Spears features heavily on his playlists), and he gives me a great workout while keeping me laughing the whole time. I especially love his XOXO, Cody rides, in which he dispenses love and life advice, all while leading a heart-pumping workout. His classes are so entertaining, I sometimes forget I’m working out—something that would never happen on a basic indoor cycle at the gym.
