Peloton has recently conducted a limited round of beta testing for a new style of classes on the Peloton Tread: Pace Target classes.
This comes nearly 2 months after Becs Gentry had hinted at power-zone style structured training for the Tread. However, personal pace targets work slightly differently than true power zone training- which we’ll cover more later on in this article, including a recent hint which could indicate that FTP & true power zone training may be in the works as well.
For Peloton’s personal pace target tests for running, members had at least 10 different classes to choose from to try. Instructors who were involved in this test include:
- Becs Gentry
- Jermaine Johnson
- Joslyn Thompson Rule
- Matt Wilpers
- Olivia Amato
- Selena Samuela
Matt Wilpers taught the “Intro to Pace Targets” class which gave an overview of the style of training, and set members up for success in the other classes. The other classes included standard Peloton genres of classes, like endurance, HIIT, Pop, Rock, and more.
In Pace Target classes for the Tread, instead of calling out a numerical value for your speed, the instructors call out a target effort level (or pace target) – with no number associated with it. This should be familiar to owners of the Peloton Row, as that is the coaching type of every single rowing class Peloton creates.
For example, in a regular running class, an instructor might say that you’re going to do a jog, and at an intermediate level, that should be from a 4 – 7 for your speed.
In the pace target classes, the instructors instead call out one of seven pace target goals, or exertion levels. The current pace targets for Tread classes under testing are:
- Recovery
- Easy
- Moderate
- Challenging
- Hard
- Very Hard
- Max
Note that they are not calling out “Zone 1”, or “Zone 2” like you would have during a traditional power zone class, and instead, calling out the names listed above.
Previously while an instructor might say that you should jog at a 4-7, the instructor might now say members are supposed to go at a “moderate” level.
To know how to translate the pace target name (i.e. “moderate”) a coach called out in the pace target classes to a speed or pace number, members must select a difficulty level. This is done prior to starting a pace target class – and whatever level you select is saved and remembered for all upcoming runs (though if you decide you need to change your difficulty level, you can do so at any point).
Members are asked what their fastest mile is, and based on this, you are mapped into a specific difficulty level. At this time, there are 10 difficulty levels. Note that the Peloton Row first started out with 6 difficulty levels, but later expanded to have 10 target levels – the same number the Tread is starting out with.
Each difficulty level corresponds to a set of speed ranges for each pace target – giving you your “personal pace targets”. For example, if you selected Level 1, your moderate speeds might be from 4 – 7. If you select Level 2, those same moderate speeds might be from 4.5 – 7.5.
As you are running, your Tread knows what difficulty level you have selected, and also knows what pace target the instructor has called. Based on this, the Tread will show your personalized pace targets on screen. So similar to the row, you will have a target range of speeds shown visually on your Tread to indicate the “personal” speed levels you are supposed to be running.
In regular Tread classes, the Tread shows the speed ranges the instructor has called out. The personal pace targets are shown in that same place – but instead of one set of numbers shown to everyone, you’ll have a specific set of numbers shown for you, based on your difficulty level, shown in the same place.
In other words – even though an instructor calls out “Moderate”, the Tread will then display the appropriate speeds for you to be running. Since users will have selected a difficulty level appropriate for them, this should mean that users are running at speeds appropriate for their own fitness level and training.
If you’ve taken power zone training classes before on the bike, this may sound similar, yet different. In power zone training, users take what is called a “FTP test”. Based on the output of the FTP test, Peloton then maps zone numbers to specific output ranges. This results in completely personal pace targets for the bike.
Although members are asked for their best mile on the Tread, this is used to map members to one of 10 different difficultly levels. So while this is getting more personal, you will always be in one of those pre-defined 10 levels – compared to power zone which has thousands of different ranges since it uses your exact output to create those levels.
However, there may be a small indication that actual power zone training for the Peloton Tread could also be on the way. In a recent Instagram story, instructor Christine D’Ercole posted a video of her husband on the Peloton Tread, and specifically mentioned that he was doing a 20 minute FTP test. You can see this here on YouTube, or embedded below.
This may indicate that there is a separate test going on for true power zone training (and FTP tests) for the Tread. However, it could mean nothing at all. Her husband may simply be receiving personal coaching & run training, and as part of that, was instructed to run a FTP test so his coach could provide the most accurate training plan for him. Running a 20 minute FTP test on the Tread would help avoid having to stop for people & traffic, giving him a better test environment. We can’t see the screen in the video, so he could have just been doing a 20 minute “Just Run” or any other 20 minute random workout – and the run he was doing was completely unrelated to Peloton (except for the fact he was running on a Peloton Treadmill).
At this time, pace targets for Peloton Tread appears to be a limited closed beta test – with no word on if, or when, a wider test might be available to the rest of Peloton members.
Would you like to see personal pace targets and/or power zone classes come to the Peloton Tread & Tread+?
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