Hardcore on the Floor Calendar for Peloton

Did you end up at this blog post because one of your New Years Resolutions was to do more strength training, maybe core workouts, and you’d heard about the Hardcore on the Floor calendar for Peloton? Great. You’ve come to the right place.

I’m so excited to share with you all I’ve learned since starting to do the Hardcore calendar in Spring 2021. As I go through this blog post that explains Hardcore on the Floor, I will be alternately using the abbreviation HCOTF. That literally stands for Hardcore on the Floor.

Also, you may see me use the phrase HCOTF 2018. That is the Instagram username for the Hardcore on the Floor founder Nicole Gonzalez.

This blog post explains why the Hardcore on the Floor is one of my favorite Peloton groups.

What is HCOTF?

HCOTF started as a Facebook group of people interested in adding strength workouts to their Peloton workout routine. So, it’s basically a Peloton strength workout plan.

When I joined the Hardcore on the Floor Facebook group in 2021, there were just shy of 100,000 people there. Now there are 430,000-plus people in the group. Nicole Gonzalez has started a revolution and it is super popular amongst devout Peloton users like you and me.

What is the Hardcore on the Floor calendar

As I mentioned HCOTF is devoted to helping Peloton users add strength training to their workouts. The HCOTF calendar is really a Peloton strength workout plan and schedule. It provides at least two suggested classes each day, seven days a week, every day of the month.

One of these classes in the workout plan is always something involving strength. Strength could be core, Pilates or Barre. Because a strength workout schedule doesn’t always involve picking up weights.

Sometimes there are cardio classes in there, like cardio HIIT that instructors like Logan Aldridge has started teaching. And then there is always a recovery day workout that includes a walk or a gentle yoga stretch class or both. So, these are active recovery days.

Where do I find the Hardcore on the Floor calendar

The HCOTF calendar–literally, a new calendar each month of daily workouts–is uploaded in the Hardcore on the Floor Facebook group each month.

Nicole uploads the file on the last day of the preceding month. 

So, you can expect to find the file uploaded under “Files” in the Facebook group on the 30th or the 31st of the preceding month.

Obviously, in February, you can look for the calendar for March on the 28th or the 29th of the month, if it’s a leap year like 2024. 

How to find Hardcore calendar classes on Instagram

If you’re not on Facebook, there is another way you can access the HCOTF calendar–sort of.

You’ll need to be on Instagram, and you’ll need to follow @hcotf2018 That’s Nicole’s account.

Again, scroll to the bottom of this post for links.

Every day on Instagram, she does a post with screenshots of the day’s workout.

Here’s what you’ll see in each screenshot:

• Length and kind of class (i.e. 10-minute core strength)
• Instructor’s name
• Date and time of the class
• Level of class (i.e. beginner, intermediate, advanced)

Then, you can go ahead and find those classes on the Peloton app, on your bike or computer.

Finally, you can stack them for your own Hardcore on the Floor workout schedule.

So, if you’re looking for a monthly strength stack of Peloton classes, the Hardcore on the Floor calendar is your best bet.

Unfortunately, at this time you are unable to stack classes on a Roku TV.

In addition, you can’t access your stacked classes from your Roku TV either. 

Here is my blog post that explains how the Peloton schedule works, including how to stack classes.

How does the HCOTF calendar work

Now with the HCOTF calendar on Facebook, there are a few things to remember.

One, you are not allowed to share the calendar outside of the group.

You can download it for your personal use, but you’re not to share it with others.

That’s why I’m not including a screenshot of the calendar in this blog review of Hardcore on the Floor

Two, the benefit of downloading the PDF version of the calendar is this: the calendar contains links directly to the classes scheduled for each day.

So, you can click on the link in the calendar PDF and stack them.

I’ve started going to the Hardcore on the Floor calendar PDF each night to plan the next day’s workouts.

That way there’s no question in the morning what I’ll be doing that day to exercise.

It’s a great motivator.

It’s also why I’d first written about Hardcore on the Floor in my blog post about getting your Peloton motivation back.

Can anyone use the HCOTF calendar?

The HCOTF calendar is 100% designed around Peloton classes.

So, you have to have a Peloton account to access the classes. 

That being said, having just the Peloton app is good enough.

That’s because all of the classes on the Hardcore calendar are Peloton floor workouts. 

Are you a Hardcore devotee and over 50? You might like this article.

What classes are you doing with the Hardcore on the Floor calendar?

Primarily, Hardcore on the Floor focuses on Peloton floor workouts.

And within those “floor” workouts, we’re talking strength.

By the way, I use the term “floor workouts” because you do not have to own Peloton hardware to do the classes.

These are, as I said, primarily strength workouts.

You can access all of these class through the Peloton app.

For example, six days out of seven, you’ll be doing a core class.

Some days, in addition to core, you’ll be doing full-body strength classes using bodyweight only.

Other days you’ll focus on upper-body or lower-body workouts. Some classes require weights. Other classes do not. However, even within the weights classes, you are always encouraged to modify.

So if you’re not strong enough yet to squat, for example, while holding weights, then you do it with bodyweight only.  If you’re interested in the Tunde arm challenge, this article can help.

Strength, stretching and yoga classes

In addition to floor workouts, what I love about the HCOTF calendar is it mixes up your workout.

You’re also doing Pilates and Barre classes.

These are, technically, strength classes.

Also, you’ll see yoga and foam rolling on the calendar at least once a week.

These are great for stretching your muscles.

Finally, on Sundays the calendar has started including outdoor walks on the Peloton app.

You can follow the exact walks HCOTF suggests or you can do one you prefer.

The idea is you’re mixing up your workout from just the Peloton floor workouts.

Here’s an explanation of how Peloton walking classes, including outdoor walks, work.

Do I have to do every class every day on the Hardcore calendar?

This is, perhaps, the most common question in the HCOTF Facebook group: do I have to do every class every day on the Hardcore calendar.

The answer is, of course, no.

As the Peloton instructors like to say, “You do you.”

For example, when I first started doing the classes, I wasn’t strong enough to do all of the classes.

Some days you’ll be doing the 10-minute core class, then a 10-minute class on a certain part of your body (let’s say lower body), and then another 20-minute class on that same area.

For me, the 10-minute class for my core plus the 10-minute class on the certain area of the body was enough.

Even when I got stronger, sometimes my schedule wouldn’t allow for all of the classes in the day.

So I might do the 20-minute class and skip the 10-minute class for the same part of my body. 

Do classes throughout the day

Other people I know break up the calendar throughout the day.

This way they eventually get it all done, just not in the same session. 

For instance there are members of the HCOTF Facebook group that work in healthcare.

I’ve seen dozens of posts of doctors, nurses and other frontline workers who, during a break, got in a 10-minute arms and light weights class.

They’d stashed dumbbells in their bag or locker.

Is it OK to substitute Hardcore classes on the calendar

Let’s be honest.

We all have our favorite Peloton instructors.

And we all have Peloton instructors who we would prefer not to exercise with that day.

So, yes, it’s ok to swap out classes.

In addition, there may be physical reasons for substituting the Hardcore classes.

For example, when I started, my core was not strong.

Every core class on the floor killed my back.

It made me not want to do core classes at all.

However, I realized that avoiding core work would never build my strength.

Substitute standing core classes

Then, one day someone in the HCOTF Facebook group mentioned that Peloton instructor Rebecca Kennedy had a series of standing core classes.

In fact, there was a file in the Facebook group that you could download that listed all of these Peloton standing core classes.

So, I downloaded the file and bookmarked the standing core classes.

And they were all I did for my first few months doing the Hardcore calendar.

Then, one summer, I fell and broke my wrist.

While I was finally strong enough to do those floor core classes again, there was no way I could do planks with a cast on my wrist.

So, once again I substituted the standing core classes until the cast came off. 

Here is more information about Peloton standing core classes.

Modifying classes based on existing issues

In addition, a lot of people who do the calendar have knee issues. That’s me, too. For us, lunges are non negotiable. Same with curtsies. 

So, whenever a lunge-heavy lower-body class shows up on the calendar, I’ll substitute one that doesn’t have lunges. I’ll go back to classes I’d taken previously that were kind to my knees.

Finally, some people may be doing HCOTF classes to get back into shape after having a baby.

That’s why many will substitute the postpartum core classes that Peloton offers. This includes prenatal core and postnatal (that’s what they call it) core, too.

Swarming live classes

Finally, another way to substitute HCOTF classes is by taking something live.

Nicole will often suggest that Hardcore members swarm certain live classes that match with that day’s calendar. Sometimes we’ll swarm live classes just because. Like when Jess Sims has one of her Flash 15 classes.

Add the hashtag Hardcore tag to your profile so you can see your fellow Hardcore followers in class during a swarm. That way you can send out high fives.

Note: the preferred hashtag is #hardCORE not #HardcoreOnTheFloor

Welcoming new instructors

Other times there might be a new instructor teaching their first live class.

So Nicole will suggest we swarm that one.

It’s a way to welcome that new instructor to the Peloton family.

And, it’s always a thrill to hear instructors call out the Hardcore hashtag in any class. 

Or, you might have a milestone coming out, so you want to do the class live.

In fact, with my last two strength milestones, I took Rad Lopez live classes.

Both times he gave me a shout out for my milestone. 

Is Hardcore on the Floor only about Peloton floor workouts?

As I mentioned earlier, the Hardcore on the Floor calendar is pretty much all Peloton floor workouts.

That is, classes for strength, stretching and yoga.

However, once a week there is an outdoor walk you can do on the app.

In addition, many HCOTF calendar users are also doing Power Zone challenges from time to time.

It’s challenging to get all your Power Zone rides done and get the Hardcore calendar done, and not be exhausted.

Hardcore calendar and Power Zone

So, when PZ challenges are going on, one of the HCOTF members creates a Power Zone “pairing” calendar.

This helps you figure out on what days to do which rides on the Power Zone calendar.

And then how you can pair a modified version of the Hardcore calender with those PZ rides.

Here is my blog post about Power Zone training.

In addition, the HCOTF calendar also always includes suggested rides to pair with your daily workouts.

Don’t worry–it’s usually shorter rides but ones that are higher intensity. 

For example, today I did my HCOTF strength workout, and then I rode a 20-minute HIIT ride with Christine D’Ercole.

Then I did the 20-minute yoga class from another day on the calendar.

HCOTF calendar introduces you to Peloton new instructors

One of the benefits of doing the Hardcore calendar is getting to try classes with new instructors.

In fact, Nicole is really great about adding content from newer instructors to the calendar.

What do I need to own to do Hardcore on the Floor Peloton

As I mentioned you do not need to own a Peloton bike or Tread to do the Hardcore on the Floor calendar.

However, since this is basically a Peloton strength workout plan, there are some basics that you should invest in for doing the calendar.

These include:

• Hand weights or dumbbells (3 pound, 5 pound, 8 pound, 10 pound, 12 pound, 15 pound, 25 pound, depending on your strength)
• Resistance bands
• Workout or yoga mat
• Foam roller
• Yoga blocks
• Gripper socks (for Pilates and Barre, though you can do these barefoot)
• Weight lifting shoes

These links above are for either Amazon or Target.

Here are some dumbbell quad exercises.

How to find the Hardcore on the Floor calendar

As I’ve explained the Hardcore on the Floor calendar lives in two places.

One, it’s available through the Facebook group.

Two, you’ll find it as a daily post from the @HCOTF2018 Instagram post.

Click here to reach the Hardcore on the Floor Facebook group.

Click here to reach the HCOTF 2018 Instagram account.

Final thoughts on the Hardcore on the Floor calendar for Peloton

So, should you wait until the new calendar comes out or a new month to get started with Hardcore on the Floor?

This is a popular question in the HCOTF Facebook group.

Or rather a popular sentiment: “I’m waiting until next month to get started on the calendar.”

That was me, too, when I was thinking about starting.

But then I realized that there was no benefit to waiting until the first of the month.

In fact, it would be better to start today. 

The beauty of this calendar is you can jump in whenever you want, make modifications as you want and just get it done.

So if you’re thinking you need to wait until the next calendar comes out to start Hardcore on the Floor, don’t.

Just start with one class.

Today.

You’ll feel so good that you did.