The home fitness equipment industry has witnessed plenty of innovation around the last couple of years. From stair climbers to stationary cycles, fitness trackers to treadmills, there’s something new coming to the market almost every year.
Currently, Peloton is one of the most popular names in the home exercise industry. It makes several types of home exercise equipment. With this equipment, users can enjoy workouts at the convenience of their homes, guided by Peloton's online streams, meaning they may no longer need in-person training.
The question is, does Peloton pose a threat to personal trainers? Could Peloton replace personal trainers in the future? Well, we will try our best to answer these questions in this article. We will evaluate the case for and against Peloton, compared to personal trainers. We will then draw our conclusions, based on these insights.
1. About Peloton
As mentioned above, Peloton is one of the most popular brands when it comes to at-home workout equipment. Currently, Peloton has two main types of home exercise equipment. These are the Peloton bike and the treadmill.
Apart from manufacturing home workout equipment, Peloton also produces various types of workout videos, which users can live-stream during their workout sessions.
Both its exercise bike and treadmill come with a large touchscreen, which streams the workout videos. Users have multiple Peloton personal trainers to choose from, whether they want live classes or recorded classes.
Peloton also has a digital app, which you can use together with its other products. This app comes with more than 10 different workouts, including stretching, cycling, yoga, outdoor running, and strength, among others.
2. The Case for Peloton
When it comes to working out, fitness enthusiasts have two main options to explore. First, they have the option of hiring a personal trainer, who will be taking them through their workouts. Second, they have the option of purchasing home exercise equipment like Peloton bikes or treadmills and working out at home. So, why would some people prefer using Peloton as opposed to hiring a personal trainer? Here are some reasons why.
2.1 Convenience
One of the biggest draws of using Peloton home exercise equipment is the convenience that it offers. It simply takes the training directly to the person’s home. Simply put, the individual doesn’t have to drive or walk to another location, just to access training facilities. Instead, they can hop on the bike or treadmill any time and start working out.
Also, users don’t have to follow a particular class schedule or even have to wait for equipment in a gym or fitness studio. They can use the bike any time and train by themselves.
With such a high level of convenience, it’s easy to see why some people would prefer purchasing a Peloton instead of working with a personal trainer in a fitness studio.
2.2 Competition
Peloton allows its users to follow others, who are using the equipment. For instance, users can compete against their friends, family or strangers. Thanks to this feature, Peloton users can compare their performance to other participants, thus helping to keep them motivated.
2.3 On-Demand Workouts
Peloton users have access to more than 5,000 pre-recorded classes. They also have the option of joining a live class. Hence, they can choose their preferred class, based on their needs and preferences. Therefore, they don’t have to worry about being on time for a particular fitness class.
And as earlier noted, Peloton machines also come with other types of workouts like meditation, yoga, boot camp, Pilates and strength training and outdoor workouts, just to name a few. So, whether someone is feeling like doing yoga today or strength training, Pilates or just ordinary cycling, Peloton gives them that flexibility, thanks to their on-demand workouts.
3. The Case against Peloton
Peloton offers convenience, competition and access to on-demand workouts, making it a great choice for someone who wants to become healthier and fitter. The question is, why would someone opt to hire or work with a personal trainer, as opposed to purchasing the Peloton home exercise equipment and doing their workouts at the convenience and comfort of their homes? Well, Peloton also comes with its fair share of drawbacks. And here are a few of them.
3.1 High Cost
One of the biggest drawbacks of Peloton is its high cost, regardless of whether someone buys the bike or tread. For the bike, are several packages to choose from, with the basic one going for around $1,495. Other available packages include the Starter for $1,720, Select for $1,825 and Ultimate for around $2000. There’s also a $250 delivery fee, meaning the total cost may add up to around $2,000 to $2,500.
The Peloton tread also comes with similar packages to the bike. The Basics package goes for approximately $2,500, $2,700 for the Starter, $2,900 for the Select package and $3,000 for the Ultimate. Buyers will also have to pay an additional $350 for installation, meaning the total cost may eventually add up to around $3,500.
Besides paying for the bike or treadmill, buyers also have to pay approximately $40 monthly, for the Peloton All-Access membership. This membership will unlock access to the workouts and classes.
If someone was to work with a personal trainer, the cost will be around $30 per one-hour workout session. Per month, fitness enthusiasts will pay around $250 to $400. Without a doubt, Peloton is way out of reach for most people.
Not many people can afford to purchase a piece of home exercise equipment that costs this much. And this explains why most fitness enthusiasts would prefer hiring a personal trainer instead.
3.2 No Socialization
While working out at home comes with convenience, it lacks the social aspect. As much as Peloton users may work with a Peloton personal trainer, there’s no room for socializing. And as you may have heard before, humans are a naturally social species. With time, someone who is working out at home alone may eventually start feeling isolated, due to a lack of interaction. And this is one of the main issues that Peloton users have to struggle with.
On the other hand, in-personal training gives someone plenty of opportunities to interact, socialize, and motivate each other. And it’s this sense of community that will keep fitness enthusiasts going to the gym or working with personal trainers.
3.3 No Tailored Feedback
Another drawback of Peloton is that users won’t get tailored feedback. And without tailored feedback, it’s hard for someone to improve their strength, endurance or any other fitness goals they may be pursuing.
And for someone who is starting their fitness journey, guidance and feedback are vital. Hence, Peloton home workout machines may not help such individuals achieve their fitness goals.
Personal trainers, on the other hand, will always check in with their clients, in and outside the workout sessions. They will guide them, advise them and give them personalized tips, which will push them closer to their fitness goals.
Furthermore, if an individual has an injury, a personal trainer can modify their workouts accordingly, to ensure they can still enjoy a productive workout session, without aggravating their injuries. Unfortunately, Peloton workout classes can’t offer the same level of customization or modification for such individuals.
3.4 Not Ideal for Building Muscle
As much as Peloton offers hundreds of classes for its users, most of these workouts tend to focus on cardio. While their strength training workouts may have some muscle-building movements, users are limited by the equipment and weight.
Simply put, users don’t have the range of equipment or weight progressions that they may find in a big box gym. Again, they don’t have anyone to guide them on how to progress from one level to the other. Therefore, for serious bodybuilders, going to a gym where they will get the right equipment and personal trainer guidance presents the best choice.
3.5 No Accountability
Most people start working out with specific goals in mind. For example, someone may be looking to lose a particular amount of weight, within a certain number of months. And the individual will only achieve these goals, if there’s someone checking in on them and keeping them accountable.
Unfortunately, Peloton trainers don’t offer this level of accountability, since they don’t check in or monitor progress. On the other hand, fitness coaches will keep monitoring the progress of their clients, hold their clients accountable and motivate them to achieve their specific fitness goals.
3.6 Plenty of Distractions
Working out at home requires a quiet environment. Unfortunately, this is not always possible for most people. For example, if you have children, it’s almost impossible to enjoy a quiet workout, unless someone has a separate room for working out.
And even then, a parent still has to keep a close eye on the children. So, they will only manage to enjoy a productive workout session with Peloton, if the children are either sleeping or away.
Also, you may be tempted to forgo your home workout session, to catch up with your latest TV show. Your friends or family members may also decide to visit you when you are in the middle of a workout session. With all these potential distractions, having a productive home workout session with Peloton is extremely challenging.
But when you are training in a gym with a personal trainer, these distractions are almost nonexistent. Therefore, you will always enjoy a productive workout session, thus helping you to achieve your fitness goals within a shorter period.
4. Verdict
While Peloton may have been marketed as a potential replacement to personal trainers, such a scenario is highly unlikely. There’s no replacement for the tailored workout programs, motivation, social interaction, accountability, and ongoing support that personal trainers offer their clients. So, is Peloton a threat to personal trainers? Can it replace personal trainers in the future? It’s highly unlikely. Simply put, the future of personal training remains bright.