What Peloton Means for the Future of Fitness
The workout giant is changing at-home exercise — and spawning a flurry of copycats
It’s 6:32 a.m. on a recent Tuesday, and the living room of my New York City apartment is dimly lit. My husband and children are mercifully still asleep, and I’m about to Peloton. Yes, it has become a verb, like Google or Xerox.
Instead of mounting the company’s signature indoor cycling bike, I prop my iPhone on the family media console, tap into the Peloton app, and start streaming a 30-minute Pop Yoga Flow class.
It’s a bit like a silent disco: Ariana Grande’s breakup bop “Thank U, Next” pours into my AirPods while Anna Greenberg, a cheerful instructor wearing red lipstick, her blonde hair in a topknot, leads me onto my knees and into spine-curving cat and cow poses. Following Greenberg, I balance on one knee, swivel to the side, and stretch my right arm overhead, just as Grande’s chorus — “I’m so fuckin’ grateful for my ex” — drops.
This is how Peloton does yoga — with the same high-energy, telegenic instructors and catchy playlists, minus the pricey hardware. According to my stream, seven other Peloton users are also taking Greenberg’s class at the same time I am. I could “high-five” any of them if I felt like it.
