How to Take a Peloton Tread Class Outside
Take your outdoor running to the next level.
By Colleen Travers•
There’s nothing like running outside on a beautiful day. But if you normally work out on your Peloton Tread, you might be wondering how to bring the same level of intensity out to the streets. We asked Peloton instructor Matty Maggiacomo to explain how a Tread class can translate outside, whether you’re a current Tread owner or a runner who wants a deeper dive into what the Tread has to offer. Pull up your Peloton App and let’s get started.
Listen Carefully
Similar to an outdoor audio workout, the key to taking a Tread class outside is to use your ears. Instructors regularly explain what level of intensity you should be working at. “From start to finish, your Tread instructor will offer you descriptive cues that you can visualize as you run, even if you are not looking at the screen,” Matty says. “The best way to convert Tread runs to the outdoors is to listen to our language regarding effort.”
If you’ve ever done an audio run, you’re used to listening to your running cues, but keep in mind that Tread classes can be a bit busier due to the music, while audio runs tend to be more instructor-focused with music in the background.
Figuring out Speed and Resistance
What might seem like the trickiest part of doing a Tread class outside actually isn’t all that complicated. “Our coaching technique for those of you who are running outside is to utilize rated perceived exertion (RPE),” Matty says. “To do this, you visualize a scale of 1 to 10 in relation to your effort. If you are at a 1 on the RPE scale, you are resting and exerting little to no effort. If you are at a 10, you are exerting the maximum amount of effort.”
To help give you some context, Matty says a jog on the Tread (between 5 to 7 miles per hour) is a 3 or 4 RPE. From there, you can increase or decrease your RPE throughout your run to match the cues of the instructor.
And for those times when you’re asked to increase your incline, you can head for the hills—literally. Or, “If you can’t find a hill, break into a sequence of high knees or increase your effort to match how hard you would work going up an incline,” Matty suggests.
Note Your New Environment
If you’ve run on a Peloton Tread before, you know you can’t just pause a class in the middle of the workout. Although it’s easier to stop running while you’re outside, Matty says it’s important to keep moving, even if you have to slow down your pace. This is where running outside can be a benefit, he adds: “If the class is hard, just scream into the wind!”
Matty also suggests taking advantage of Peloton’s stacking feature, which allows you to tack a few Tread runs together, making it a great tool for long runs when you want to switch up the flow halfway through. “Any class can work, but many of the music-based or fun runs will be a lot easier to follow outside because there is not as much stopping and starting as you would encounter on a workout like a HIIT Run,” Matty says. Pro tip: Try browsing through the Peloton Artist Series to find a run with a good beat while you work out.
Ready for an incredible outdoor running workout? Use the Peloton App to take a Tread class outside!
