In 2025, Peloton delivered many gifts to its members… Some were received with open arms while others left us scratching our heads. We’re rounding up our top “grins and groans” from Peloton this year, in a Santa-style list. Some of these turned out to be pleasant surprises while others fell flat, according to members. What’s your take? 

The “Naughty” List – No One Asked For This but We Got it Anyway*

* None of these are really naughty, don’t worry!

Ta Da! It’s Peloton IQ & the Cross Training Equipment Series!

In the Fall, Peloton rolled out new equipment with enhanced AI features enabling members to “cross train” more effectively. They also added some of this functionality to existing equipment. Anecdotally, early reviews have been mixed. The equipment itself is not perfect in design and quality, and the features are not quite as exciting as advertised. While we appreciate the direction of this endeavor, we don’t believe that this delivery was what folks had been hoping for right now. Will the new year bring some new converts? As CEO Peter Stern says, we hope that members continue to “invest in themselves.” At those prices, you’re worth it! ;) 

 

The Personalized Programming / AI Push

In the same vein, all members got a hefty dose of AI-powered programming this year. From new insights to class suggestions, Peloton had told us they’d be leaning into this and they have. But how successful has it been? Right now, we feel there is a lot of room to grow and we are looking forward to seeing that. The recent announcement about using ChatGPT with Peloton, allowing you to use AI where you are the driver instead of your touchscreen, feels promising. If AI is your bag, that is… but for many, it’s not. 

 

Go Team? Oh, Teams!

With much fanfare, Peloton announced that their Teams feature (on the Community tab) would finally become robust and engaging – a true hub for interacting with members and with instructors (on particular Peloton-managed Teams). Would Teams finally replace all the Facebook Groups and third party apps where members flock for supplemental challenges and community building? Well… not yet. While there has been some progress forward with three teams launched and run by Peloton (Cross Training, Menopause Health, HYROX Training, and Move for Life), it’s been a bit bumpy connecting these to the Challenges. Similarly, they have missed opportunities to use this platform to speak directly to members to iron out real-time class snafus. But, there are lots of member-created teams out there, so it seems to be moving in the right direction. 

 

Graphics, Badges, and Black Screens, Oh My!

Rolling out over the year, Peloton’s graphic communications and overall design got a… change. Personally, I’m not calling it an upgrade, but more of an update. New fonts, new badge designs, and the infamous black background on the app…um, thanks? Luckily for many whose eyesight did not appreciate that screen color surprise, they recently added a toggle switch where you can revert your view back to white. But it took more than a month for that to arrive. 

 

Club Peloton… Where Do We Begin…

In the fall, Peloton rolled out Club Peloton, a rewards program that surprised everyone, especially when we all got little colored gemstones attached to our profiles that exhibited our level of progress and commitment. Club Peloton aims to gamify being a member by encouraging you to take actions (achieve class milestones, give high fives, complete Programs, etc.) that progress you towards earning a higher level designation. And as you reach different designations, discounts for purchases can be unlocked. 

But… while not everyone wants to play (you can turn it all off if you want), others apparently already reached the top tier upon initiation! In other words, so many people were already “Legends” that there is nowhere for them to go moving forward. Furthermore, redemption of rewards is a bit confusing (done through your Peloton Apparel account). Is there room for improvement here? Definitely! Gamifying is a good strategy for many, but there needs to be some restructuring to make this better. 

 

Nutrition and Longevity Content… Are You Trying to Tell Us Something? 

We knew that Peloton was planning to lean into “wellness” this year and they did. Part of this was adding nutrition content on their IG and YouTube, showcasing instructors making some of their favorite recipes, often with their new staff nutritionist alongside. Seemed like a good idea on paper, but in practice, some of these recipes felt overly simplistic or not unique to the instructor. The approach felt a bit disengaged. 

   

By contrast, Peloton also added conversations (and classes, like Walks) about Longevity and Health between instructors and experts. These chats were more like listening to a trusted podcast. Should Peloton be doubling down in these “wellness” areas or sticking to their core mission? 

 

Grrr… Garmin Integration Woes

Peloton added the capability to sync your Peloton profile with Apple Health, Garmin Connect, and Fitbit, allowing workouts done off the Peloton platform to integrate with your data here. Sounds great, right? Well, not to the Garmin members who thought they were getting all their data points synced. Some members were unpleasantly surprised when they lost their blue/purple dot streaks and workout credit! Apparently this sync activity doesn’t count towards streaks, milestones, and certain challenges. And you need a thrid party app to make all this happen! D’oh! 

 

The “Nice List” – Treats and Delights We Welcomed with Open Arms

Cuckoo for Kettlebells

Peloton has been leaning into their Strength game for awhile now, with a whole separate app developed last year that gives members the freedom they wanted in the gym, and now they’ve added Kettlebell classes across both platforms! Many members were overjoyed with this rollout, and Peloton continues to refine the classes. Giving guidance on purchasing the right weights, and offering beginner how-tos to help members get the form down, Peloton seems to have done this just right. A good assortment of instructors also keeps these classes fresh. Well done!

 

Finally! The Menopause Collection & The Spring Interval Ride Collection

The other “hooray” you heard from the Peloverse earlier this year was all the women celebrating being heard. Peloton took several really amazing steps this year in addressing concerns for this demographic: they moved Christines’s SIT rides into a findable Collection (and they continue to program new ones!); they added Weighted Vest walks and hikes; and they added an entire Collection of menopause-focused classes across modalities, as part of their partnership with ReSpin. Thank you, Peloton! Signed, Women Over 45.

 

Riders Rejoiced: More CVV, a Live Power Zone Program, and West Coast Friendly Classes!

It may have felt like Peloton focused on Running lately, but Riders got a few treats this year too! Many members were absolutely beside themselves to have a one-week program from CVV that we heard was phenomenal. In addition, he is taking us along on his Real Routes rides in challenges places he’s raced around the world. There’s nothing quite like access to coaching by a pro who is also down to earth. 

In addition, the multi-week Boost Your Base Power Zone Program was a big hit for newbies and veterans alike. The structure of live classes really helped bring that “all together now” vibe back, and who doesn’t love to work on endurance with Matt? 

Finally, riders on the West Coast (and people who just work late) were thrilled to see the addition of 8:30pm ET Live classes. 

 

Working Hard or Hardly Working? (aka the Debut of HYROX, Longevity, and HSS Prehab/Rehab Classes)

Encompassing both ends of the spectrum, two of Peloton’s new partnerships demonstrate a range of workout opportunities. For fans of HYROX, the intense cross training phenomenon, having new, dedicated training classes (including a 75-minute 2-for-1 with Robin and Andy) was a real highlight of 2025. And on the flip side, the partnership with the Hospital for Special Surgery introduced new content aimed at helping members get stronger and prevent injury. We love to see Peloton meeting members where they want to push but also give support when needed. For those of us in the middle, new Longevity programming rolled out mid year, and members of all ages love this focus. 

 

Programs: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back (But We’ll Take It)

We’re breaking down all the things we lost this year in another roundup, but suffice to say that people were not too happy that Programs were taken off their Smart TVs and laptops. However, the good news from Programs this year was the lifting of restrictions on completion! No longer are we fully bound to take all classes in the allotted time or else we lose all progress. Now, Programs can be done at our own paces. In fact, Peloton even moved some Programs over to Collections to make these classes more accessible. 

In addition to the popular live Power Zone Program noted above, Peloton also debuted a new four-week “Countdown to Turkey Burn” cross training Program for the first time. Leading up to the iconic Thanksgiving Day “Turkey Burn” classes, members have the opportunity to train together in specific cardio and strength classes. While some of this rollout was a little rocky, overall it’s been well received and further adds to the “together” vibe that is often missing with so many choices each day in what classes to take. 

And while this “Dry Tri” (Triathalon) was a Collection of 3 classes not a Program, we give it honorable mention for adding to the “togetherness” vibe this year. Matt led the way for members to take a live “triathalon” with him of running, riding, and rowing and it was a huge hit. If Matt was the old “Must See TV” it would be this morning of movement.

 

Your Most Powerful Tool: Breath

This year saw Peloton really upping its meditation and breathwork game. We saw not only the actual acquisition of an app called Breathwrk that helps you breathe and meditate better, but also new Daily Meditations rolled out on Mondays that we are meant to do for a week till the next one (ok, consistency, we see you!) and the addition of Denis back into the Meditation class fold! Aaaahhhhhhhhh… And, you definitely need to know how to breathe properly when you do the Yoga+Pilates classes, also introduced this year! As Anna says, Whew! 

 

Three New Yoga Instructors: Bringing the Power

Speaking of meditation and breath work, Peloton surprised members during Robin’s iconic Turkey Burn ride to introduce three brand new instructors! Zacharias, Johanna, and Greta made their debut in early December just in time to get on our Nice List!

 

But Wait, There’s More… 

Peloton was full of programming surprises this year, changing things up like only announcing two Artist Series in a month and then casually dropping hints about added ones on IG… or leaning into their new immersive experiences… (more on these in our upcoming Top Musical Moments article). But the biggest surprise was the November partnership with Formula 1 Racing and the IRL (“in real life”) classes at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. This wild weekend took Alex T., Becs, and Emma to The Sphere for classes and racing promos (along with Cody, who did not teach). This felt a little odd in its timing, as members who had signed up for PSNY classes with these instructors were told they would not be there after all, and the whole Cody golfing promo was strange, but, it was super fun to see the instructors teach in The Sphere and watch them enjoy the racing events.

 

Still Wishing… And Hoping…

Maybe next year Peloton will gift us these enhancements we’ve been waiting so patiently for…

• Pre and Post Ride Stretches separated on the filter (we think this is on the way soon, yay!)
• Better Strength class labelling (by focus, e.g. hypertrophy)
• Give Pilates its own filtering and ability to earn milestones for that (separate from Strength)
• The ability to stack more than 10 classes
• The ability to filter the Leaderboard for Tags or Following while taking a floor-based class on your touchscreen (Yoga, Strength, etc.) or while using the app (who knows, maybe that will be a future Peloton IQ Voice Command…)
• Searching all your Taken classes without downloading a .csv file 
• Some kind of logic to scrolling Collections (e.g. alphabetize)
• Adding Sam to the Meditation team
• Adding Ash to the Pilates Team
• And the perennial favorite… a Favorites attribution not just a Bookmark

So, how’d we do? Did our Naughty and Nice list match yours? Let us know what you’re waiting for… next year!

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