Saturday Night Live mocked the popular Peloton line of exercise equipment in their February 13, 2021 episode. Their parody commercial promoted a similar line of bikes, treadmills and tutorials built around passive-aggressive treatment, designed for those who might want to work out in the comfort of their own home but were unable to handle the positivity and praise of the Peloton program.
Home fitness has become a major concern in the past year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic making it all but impossible for some fitness aficionados to go to the gym. This has led to more people seeking ways to work out at home, sometimes going as far to purchase their own treadmills and stationary bikes and the creation of more virtual fitness services, such as Apple's Fitness Plus. Peloton is known for their unique approach, which attaches a monitor to the standard gym equipment, allowing the exerciser to choose from one of several instructors, who can guide them through their workout with positive reinforcement and encouragement.
Saturday Night Live suggested that while Peloton's approach might work for some, there are people who are uncomfortable with aggressively nice strangers shouting "You can do it!" This is the philosophy behind Pelotaunt; the exercise program for people who cannot be motivated by praise. The full commercial parody can be viewed below.
Like Peloton, Pelotaunt offers a wide variety of experienced trainers to assist users' virtual workouts — but don't expect any cheery affirmations from this crew. The Pelotaunt fitness managers don't care about other's feelings as they're getting paid either way and are brutally honest about that fact. Using a combination of negative reinforcement and relentless criticism, the Pelotaunt trainers will push users towards their perfect body by channeling one's natural desire to spite the pretty, fit people who think they aren't good enough to be one of them. The Pelotaunt bikes and treadmills offer a wide variety of workout options, with instructors who can show both disdain and snotty disdain, for those seeking the most aggressive mind-screw this side of a David Lynch film festival.
Despite being meant in jest and going to ludicrously abusive extremes, there may be a case for Peloton offering options like these for customers who dislike the typical perky, cheerful fitness instructors. This Saturday Night Live sketch was easily the best skit of the week, easily outclassing the opening sketch which made fun of Donald Trump's defense team; perhaps it will be so memorable that it will inspire the next hit fitness trend!