Peloton powerhouse: Unveiling the teamwork behind the effortless instructor

If you’ve ever tried out a Peloton class, you’ll probably be wondering how the instructors manage it. Sure, there is no doubt a hair and makeup artist behind the scenes goes a long way, but those stylists can’t help mid-way through a 90-minute endurance cycle.

And yet, the instructors still manage to look incredible, talk the whole way through, call out various member’s milestones like they know everyone personally and finish their classes still looking like they just stepped off the red carpet. 

How do they do it? Well, I’m about to tell you. I’ve been to the Peloton London Studio, took part in a live class and seen what happens behind the scenes and let me tell you, it is no small feat. Wondering what happens behind that Bike or Tread? Here’s a sneak peek.

Let’s start with the tech

Peloton operates a studio in both New York and London, and while members (and the general public) can visit both and sign up to be a part of the classes if they are members, that isn’t the sole purpose of these spaces. In fact, I’d say that’s more of a bonus, as between the two studios, around 1,000 classes are produced a month. The London space is gorgeous with fabulous changing facilities, Dyson hair stylers including the Supersonic hairdryer, a member’s lounge area and a lovely entrance space, but it’s the studios within that space where the magic happens. 

There are three studios in the Peloton London Studio with a Cycling studio, Tread studio and Strength studio. Each studio is an acoustically sealed concrete box, which not only ensures a good audio experience for the members in the room, but less disturbance for those outside the studio. There’s a decibel monitor in each studio to ensure legal limits are met and half of Covent Garden doesn’t hear the instructors telling you to get that cadence up.

Within the Cycling studio, the instructor’s bike sits on a platform in the centre of the room, surrounded by two rows of member bikes in a horseshoe shape and a mirrored wall is behind the instructor’s bike. There are 10 cameras in total in the Cycling studio. In the Tread Studio, the instructor’s Tread is front and centre again, with one row of member’s Treads in a horseshoe around it. There are nine cameras in the Tread studio. 

The Strength studio is a little different – it is smaller with eight cameras and it is used for various workout classes, from strength to meditation. Its setup will depend on what class is being filmed.

All of the control rooms – or galleries as they are sometimes known in the UK – are capable of recording and streaming content in 4K resolution and there are stabilised camera rigs in all studios to ensure a steady shot is available for Peloton members joining classes from home. 

The control rooms also have vision and audio mixers, robotic cameras, lighting, video and communication panels, and tablets and multi-viewers. So they are equipped with some serious video production equipment, all of which contributes to creating some of the best fitness content out there.

Before the class

There is no “I” in team and while the Peloton instructors might be at the front and centre of Peloton classes, they a have huge team of people behind the scenes to create the content that members use for their fitness journey.

As you would expect, plenty happens before the day of filming a particular class. Instructors don’t just rock up and everything runs without a glitch, even if that’s what it seems like.

The Peloton instructors design their classes and pick a music playlist that fits with the class plan, as well as the theme, whether that’s 90s pop or a Hip Hop ride. Details are then checked and discussed with the wider global content team so everyone knows what is going to happen. Together they then work with and support the instructors from planning to execution to deliver unique and entertaining content for members at home and in the studio itself.

Peloton’s content team is made up of programming managers, producers, production technicians, production assistants, broadcast engineers and music supervisors, among others, and they come with years of experience across film, network and cable television.

Collectively, the content team at Peloton has won more than 40 international TV Awards throughout their individual careers including Emmys, BAFTAs, Cannes Lions and Grimme-Preis awards so it’s fair to say they know what they are doing.

During the class

The control rooms within each studio are operated by two production technicians during a class. These two technicians are responsible for directing and physically cutting every class that is produced for Peloton members, so aside from the instructor that gets you on the bike, treadmill or your floor, it’s those two who deserve a clap first and foremost.

During the class, the production technicians work together to simultaneously control and cut between cameras, ensuring they are framed and focused. They know all the steps in the instructor’s plan so they know which camera is best at a particular moment – and which one to use next – to make sure you get the best experience at home.

If it’s a live class, the production technicians are also responsible for mixing the audio to ensure there’s a high-quality sound output for members at home, controlling the lighting levels throughout the class from the warmup through to the cooldown and capturing class thumbnails that get displayed on tablets. They also operate the instructor’s tablet.

When it comes to the instructors, they have a different role to play – and I don’t just mean the taking and talking through the classes themselves. One of the best things about Peloton is when you hit a big milestone, there’s a good chance you will get called out if you take a live class and the same goes if it’s your birthday – and that’s despite thousands of other members also taking a class at the same time.

Ever wondered how the instructors know to call out the milestones and birthdays of members on the leaderboard? Well, a lot of that comes down to the screen in front of them. The instructor has the same bike as members but the screens on the bike and treadmills they use of course don’t show a stream of themselves. Instead, the instructor’s screen shows important information to help them to deliver the class, from class plan notes to the Global Leaderboards showing all the members taking the class.

During a live class, instructors also have access to the live Leaderboard, where they can see how many members are joining the class live, and filter milestones, birthdays and other information to help with their shout outs. These call outs are usually built into an instructor’s workout plan, but depending on the instructor, they also sometimes happen in the warmup and cooldown too, as you may have noticed.

Aside from the leaderboard, the instructor screens will also display their bike metrics and a countdown clock to make sure the class runs on time – ever noticed they are rarely more than a couple of seconds out of the set time?

The countdown clock is also mirrored on other monitors in the ceiling of the studio and additional monitors also show key information about the music playing in the class including specific timings for each track. When that beat drops, you know you’ll need to get sprinting, spinning or squatting depending on what class you’re taking.

After the class

When a class is finished, there are a few extra little bits that need adding before that class is available in Peloton’s On Demand catalogue.  

Classes broadcast from Peloton Studios London span from 5-minute stretch sessions to 90-minute endurance rides, offering various class lengths, including 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 minutes.

For each of those, the post production team will add subtitles and target metrics, as well as transcode the class to enable it to be streamed.

Last but certainly not least, the team will check the quality to make sure it’s to the standard members at home expect because let’s be honest, one of the reasons we all get hooked on the Peloton classes is because one day, we hope to find it as effortless as those instructors make it look – even in 4K resolution.