After making a name for itself with its popular treadmill and bike, Peloton has just announced the Guide as its newest (and cheapest) workout gadget yet. Thanks to continually advancing technology — and last year's global push to keep people home — at-home workout equipment is more prevalent than ever before. There are smart mirrors with workout videos that play on top of them, all-in-one machines that attach directly to your wall, and countless other options.
Among all of the players in this niche, Peloton has continued to lead as one of the most popular. The Peloton Bike and Peloton Tread stand out as the company's flagship products. Both come with large built-in displays to follow live and on-demand workouts, see detailed workout stats, and compete with other users. They're great options for anyone looking to get a bike or treadmill, but with starting prices of $1495 and $2495, respectively, breaking into the Peloton ecosystem has never been affordable.
That's part of what makes its newest product — the Peloton Guide — so interesting. Peloton announced the Guide on November 9 as its "new strength-training experience." Where the Bike and Tread are heavily focused on cardio, Peloton Guide is Peloton's way of targeting strength workouts. The best part? Peloton Guide costs just $495.
How Peloton Guide Works
The heart of Peloton Guide is a small camera that's placed next to your TV. Once plugged in and set up, users can browse through workouts with the included remote, select the class they want to take, and get started. The Guide's camera tracks your movements during the entire workout to make sure you're following the moves as intended. Self Mode shows a live feed of you next to the instructor, while Movement Tracker gives users credit for accurately performing the exercises. When someone's done with a class, sliding a physical cover over the Guide automatically disables its camera and microphone (the latter of which allows users to control on-demand classes with voice commands).
Further adding to the experience is the heart-rate monitor Peloton includes with the Guide. This allows users to see their current heart rate, heart zone, and max effort during classes to get a better picture of how their workouts are going. The included heart-rate monitor attaches to your arm and uses LEDs to gauge how hard you're working out. It'll also eventually replace the current $49 heart-rate monitor as a new $89 accessory.
Overall, Guide is an interesting addition to the Peloton ecosystem. $495 is still a lot of money for some folks to spend, but compared to the Bike and Tread, it should open the door to a lot more people. It also has a lower monthly subscription fee of $12.99/month to access all of the workouts, and anyone with the $39/month All-Access Membership gets these workouts included for free. Peloton Guide is coming to the United States and Canada sometime in early 2022, with the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany getting it later in the year.
Source: Peloton