Peloton Has Great Pilates Classes (but They’re Hidden)
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I purchased a Magic Circle Pilates set for personal use , striving for ever-increasing success with my home workouts . I wanted to get started right away, so naturally, I turned to my favorite app, Peloton , where I decided to download a Pilates workout and get started. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as easy as, say, yoga or stretching . Eventually, I figured it out, and the Pilates workout (which, by the way, involved a hula hoop, thank you very much) turned out to be great—and challenging, which is exactly what I like.
Where to find Pilates classes on the Peloton app
I knew Peloton had Pilates classes. But when I opened the app, there wasn’t a dedicated “Pilates” button, like there is for meditation and cycling , for example. I typed “Pilates” into the search bar at the top of the mobile app, and it returned 95 results, some of which were yoga-related and others strength-training-related.
So, there are Pilates classes, but they’re presented on different landing pages. At the top of the search results page, you see sections called “Classes , ” “Collections , ” “Programs,” and “Musicians .” Clicking ” Collections ” opens a landing page called “Pilates with Equipment” with subcategories: “Pilates with Ball,” “Pilates with Sliders,” “Pilates with Bands,” and, most importantly for me, “Pilates with Rings.” Each category only has a few classes, and all of them are technically labeled “strength” in the Peloton system. I chose “15-Minute Pilates” from the section with the magic circle.
Things got more complicated from there. I wanted to watch the class on my TV, which was possible thanks to the Peloton app on Roku, but the Roku app doesn’t have a search function. Instead, I had to browse categories to find the class, which I couldn’t do because there was no “Pilates” category. I eventually found the class I wanted by adding it to my Peloton Stack , a sort of personalized playlist for classes, deleting everything else from the Stack, and then launching the Stack in the Roku app. It wasn’t efficient or perfect, but it worked in the end.
What are Pilates classes like at Peloton?
As hard as it was to find a class, I didn’t even technically get past the “hardest” part. After all, Pilates is supposed to be challenging, and the intermediate classes I attended certainly were. Armed with a mat and a hula hoop, I performed a few standard moves, like the “hundred” and the “shell.” It was challenging, but not impossible, which is exactly what I was looking for.
Again, there are only 95 classes available, some of which focus more on stretching, while others focus on strength development. It’s a small selection compared to other classes offered by Peloton. But what ‘s available is high-quality. The instructions are clear and precise, modifications are offered, and the audio and video quality are excellent, making it easy to hear and see exactly what you’re supposed to do.
Last night I took a Peloton class and this morning I took a reformer class at the studio. Sure, the in-person class lasted four times longer than the Peloton class, but given the time, I’d say both were equally challenging. Now that I’m the proud owner of a hula hoop and know how to find quality, expert-led Pilates classes, I’ll definitely be attending more often. I hope the Peloton app will soon have a dedicated Pilates page.