An Honest Peloton Guide Review: Is It Worth It?

Let me be transparent: I am a big fan of Peloton — not quite obsessed like some, but I live for the high-fives from others on the leaderboard, whether I’m using the Peloton Bike +, the Peloton Tread, or the app. I was especially excited to test out Peloton Guide, a connected device from the fitness tech giant.

After using the product for one month, I can report benefits for both novice and advanced strength trainers. The brand claims Peloton Guide is “everything you need to reach your strength training goals from home.” Read on for my honest Peloton Guide review to see if I agree.

What Is the Peloton Guide?

The Peloton Guide (Buy It, $95, onepeloton.com) is a 12-megapixel front-facing camera (the purchase also includes a remote, batteries, magnetic stand that positions the camera to view your movements, HDMI cord, power cable, and adapter to plug into the wall) that connects you to Peloton’s robust library of strength content.

Unlike other fitness equipment from Peloton, this gadget doesn’t require much storage space, measuring 6′.5″L x 2′.5″W x 1′.7″H and weighing 18 ounces. Of course, you’ll still need plenty of room to move around for your workout. (Peloton recommends an exercise space roughly the size of two side-by-side yoga mats and that you stay within 6 to 8 feet of the Guide’s camera for optimal movement tracking.) Peloton Guide can sit in front of your TV using the accompanying stand or be mounted magnetically to the set. To successfully pair the Peloton Guide with your TV, your model will need an HDMI port and a 16:9 aspect ratio.

You can purchase the Peloton Guide separately or bundle it with at-home gear. The Peloton Guide Strength Starter (Buy It, $335, onepeloton.com) comes with two sets of dumbbells ranging from 5 lbs. to 30 lbs., a reversible exercise mat, and a water bottle.

How the Peloton Guide Works

Let’s be clear: The Peloton Guide camera attached is no ordinary camera. In fact, it’s quite advanced. Using AI technology that “watches you,” the device places a mirror image of you on the screen with your instructor to create an “evolving strength-training experience” by tracking your movement during your workout, according to the brand’s website. Your movement is tied to the movement tracker icon on the screen. As you perform various sets and reps, the tracker icon fills up. The trick? You only get full credit if you move the entire time during the allotted interval. (Don’t worry, there are built-in rest breaks so you won’t be exercising nonstop.) If you want those award badges, you have to stay engaged.

At the end of each workout, you receive information from the body activity feature highlighting muscles you worked during your session. The Peloton Guide will also recommend your next classes based on the muscle groups you haven’t worked, ensuring a well-balanced workout schedule and giving those tired muscles time to recover.

Also handy: You can use voice-activated mode to start or pause a workout, for example, which I found to work seamlessly and avoided having to fumble around looking for the included remote. To use the feature, you say “Okay, Peloton” and command the Peloton Guide to do your bidding (think: start, pause, rewind, fast forward or end a workout; increase or decrease the volume; and customize stats, such as calories or heart rate, you want on the screen.) You can find a list of voice commands on the website.

For anyone who may be worried the people behind Peloton (or worse, hackers) will track you even when you aren’t actively using the Peloton Guide for a workout — it is a camera after all — rest easy. Peloton takes preventative measures against this by adding a privacy slider screen to cover the camera when the Peloton Guide isn’t in use. It also won’t be listening in on your every conversation either, as there is a switch on the back of the device you can slide to the left to cancel out the mic. (You’ll know it’s off when the switch is under the icon of a mic with a line going through it.)

Peloton Guide Classes

If you’re already a Peloton member and have taken the brand’s strength-training classes before, know that you’ll get the same quality live and on-demand workouts you are used to with many of the same amazing instructors (think Adrian Williams, Selena Samuela, Rad Lopez, Andy Speer. and Robin Arzón). These workouts, though, will be Guide-specific. What does that mean? If you use the regular app, you will hear the instructors reference the Peloton Guide, but you won’t have access to all the sweet metrics unique to the device.

What’s more, Peloton offers a series of live classes throughout the week, such as Strength Roll Call, where instructors will teach a 20-minute class at the same time every day, Monday to Friday. Those classes are then curated into five-class mini-programs that only Peloton Guide users can access for a determined time before being released to the wider Peloton community. Utilizing the Guide and all its features will also help you get the most of out the app’s programs such as Floor Bootcamp and Split Programs (a more traditional style of strength training with the option to use heavier weight and the intent to build muscle).

Peloton Guide Review: Well, Is It Worth It?

If you’re new to strength training, the Peloton Guide will be super helpful as you learn proper form and technique. It’s like having a personal trainer with you without the hefty price tag. Before you even choose your workout, view exactly which moves are involved. If you’re unsure, you can watch an instructor demo the moves before you get started. (This feature is available in the app as well.)

Plus, seeing yourself next to (or stacked on top, depending on your view) the instructor on one screen throughout class allows you to see how your form matches up — or doesn’t — so you can easily make adjustments in real time.

One thing I wished for, however, is some notification or signal that you’re doing a movement incorrectly. So while you have a visual representation of yourself and the trainer on the screen, some sort of ding or graphic that identifies improper form would be helpful.

The Peloton Guide is also great at helping you better program your workout schedule. The Body Activity tracker shows (via a highlighted outline of a body), muscles that were targeted during a workout and how hard they were taxed so you know exactly what kind of workout to do next — whether you’re stacking shorter workouts together or looking to build your weekly routine. Not getting the hint? The Peloton Guide will also recommend specific classes for you.

While working on this Peloton Guide review, I also loved how the AI-enabled camera was surprisingly motivating. Typically when I work out with the Peloton app on a mobile device, there may be a few exercise reps that I may casually “forget” to do. (I mean no one is watching, right?). But since I know that I won’t get all the “credit” during Peloton Guide workouts if I slack on some of the reps or, say, break form while holding a plank, it makes me fight harder to push through. It feels like having a built-in workout buddy to help cheer you on, compete against yourself, and compel you to never quit even one rep early.

No matter where you are in your fitness journey, you can get something out of the Peloton Guide and its specific features. Beginner strength trainers have the most to gain. Still unsure whether this techy gadget is for you? Test it for 30 days.