Peloton Challenges What You Need to Know

Ever since Peloton introduced challenges, I’ve been doing them each month. There are lots of reasons to join one. It’s a great way to meet new people and make friends. Also, if you find your motivation to work out waning, being in a challenge can help. Finally, some of the Peloton challenges help you learn new skills.

Below, I’ve outlined all the Peloton challenges that I’ve participated in and why, and where you can find challenges on the Peloton bike, Tread, Row or app. 

Official Peloton challenges

Let’s start with Peloton challenges. These are the ones that you can find on the bike or Tread or in the app or website. These are challenges that Peloton runs monthly or seasonally or even just on a short-term basis.

How to find Peloton challenges

Finding Peloton challenges is a little bit different depending on your hardware. It also varies if you access Peloton through the Peloton app or the website. So here goes.

One, on the Peloton app, you’ll find challenges on your home screen under “Active Challenges” like my screen here.

However, if you don’t see it like that, try these steps. From your home screen, tap the line drawing of a group of people, bottom right. That’s community. When you get there you’ll see that one of the options is Challenges. Tap that to get to Challenges.

Two, on the Peloton website, you’ll find Challenges in the menu across the top of the screen.

And, three, on the bike you’ll find Challenges across the bottom of the screen. I imagine it’s the same with the Tread and also the Row.

Unfortunately, the Peloton app aka the Peloton channel on Smart TVs does not include a menu option for seeing Challenges or even a way to Filter classes. I hope that changes in the future. However, if you do classes that are part of a challenge via your Roku TV, it will count towards your total. You just won’t be able to see that on the screen.

Challenges on the Peloton app

When you open the Peloton app and tap on Challenges on the bottom of the screen, you’ll notice something interesting. Across the top of the screen, there are three options. They are:

1. Active
2. Upcoming
3. Completed

What does this mean? This is where you can find the challenges you are currently active in. In addition, you can see the Upcoming Challenges (like next month’s ones), and you can keep track of the Challenges you’ve already Completed. 

Monthly Peloton challenges

In addition to special challenges like Pelothon, each month Peloton offers a new challenge that you can sign up for. For example, there is always a monthly cycling distance challenge, a monthly activity challenge, a monthly running challenge and a monthly strength challenge. 

In addition, usually at the beginning of a new season, Peloton will add another challenge opportunity. For example, there might be a Spring Challenge at the beginning of April. To earn this challenge badge, you need to take one class every day in April.

You get rewarded for completing either a number of classes or spending a certain amount of minutes working out or going a certain distance in the month. In addition, you earn these incentives like medals in the Olympics. For instance, you can get bronze, silver and gold. 

Challenges connected to Peloton programs or collections

Sometimes, Peloton will launch a short-term challenge that’s connected to one of their programs. In addition, Peloton might have a challenge for a collection, such as the Artist Series.

For example, in 2022, soon after Peloton launched its boxing program, it had a boxing challenge. Called the Boxing Contender, it ran for seven days. If you spent 90 minutes over those seven days taking boxing classes, you earned the Boxing Contender challenge badge.

Here is my review of the Peloton boxing classes.

In addition, when Peloton debuted its Taylor Swift Artist Series of classes, it also launched a Taylor Swift challenge. Called The Swiftie Challenge, you got a badge for completing three of the Red (Taylor’s Version) classes. 

Here is how to recreate the Taylor Swift workout with Peloton classes.

How to join Peloton challenges

As I mentioned above, you can see upcoming challenges when you’re on the Challenge section of the Peloton app. It’s the same with the Peloton website.

So, if you want to look into the future, you can see the challenges for the next month. To opt in or join a Peloton challenge, all you need to do is tap or click on the “Join” button.

Keep in mind that you can only look one month into the future. Also, it doesn’t mean that Peloton won’t announce a new challenge that’s not listed already.

Finally, if you forget to join a Peloton challenge, and the month has already started, don’t sweat it. You can still join, and Peloton will automatically update your exercise minutes or any class counts it requires to earn a badge for that challenge.

Motivation through Peloton annual year-long challenge

A few years ago, Peloton started an annual challenge called, what else, The Annual. This special badge rewards you for the cumulative minutes you spend working out with Peloton. It doesn’t matter if it’s riding the bike or walking with the app. Each minute counts. 

In 2021 the annual challenge topped out at 20,000 minutes. In 2022 the Peloton annual challenge is the same. Same with 2023. And also 2024. As of this writing I’ve worked out for almost 16,000 minutes.

Earning bronze, silver and gold badges

When it comes to the monthly Peloton challenges, you can earn different badges throughout. That is, if you do a pre-set minimum distance or time, you’ll earn the bronze badge. When you hit the next level, you get a silver badge. Finally, you can earn a gold badge for going the max distance or taking the max number of classes the challenge prescribed.

If you’re an overachiever, you won’t earn anything after gold, like a platinum or titanium badge — would that be nice? However, your challenge page may tell you how many days over gold you’ve gone. But, again, you won’t get an additional special badge for the max.

Peloton challenges not updating

If you’re particular about tracking your progress in the Peloton annual, keep the following in mind: this challenge does not update in real time. In fact, I’ve found that the minutes I’ve accumulated the previous day don’t update until the next.

For example, earlier this week I was 70 minutes away from hitting 4K for the year. So I planned my workout day accordingly so that I’d surpass that amount.

However, after my first 20-minute walking class, the 4K badge showed up. So, clearly it was updating in the background but hadn’t let me know.

Doing Peloton Challenges without hardware

It is possible to join and participate in Peloton Challenges even if you don’t own Peloton hardware. In fact, if you have the IOS app on your phone or an iPad and you want to do the Peloton running challenge without the Tread, you can.

After opting into the running challenge, for example, you would boot up the Peloton running class you’re going to take and start it. Then you can run on a treadmill (any brand) inside or take it outdoors. You can enable the app to log your distance so that it will count for the running distance challenge.

Facebook Group Peloton Challenges

I’ve found a huge component of like minded Peloton users through Facebook groups. Many of them have challenges of their own. Here, I’ve highlighted a few of my favorites.

Power Zone Challenges

Recently, I wrote a blog post about Power Zone training. In it I talked about how I’ve been participating in Power Zone challenges. These challenges were the push that I needed to take using my Peloton bike to the next level.

For starters when you join the Peloton Power Zone challenge, you’re assigned a team. Next, for every ride you take–and your teammates complete–you earn points. The more rides you do, the more points you earn your team.

Power Zone Pack

Each team has its own Facebook group where you can find camaraderie and encouragement. Overall, there is a Power Zone Pack Facebook group that runs the challenges.

If you like to earn points through playing games, then that’s reason enough to do something like the Power Zone challenge. Finally, this could be the fire you need to join this kind of challenge. You’ll see improved fitness. Real, sustainable, measurable improvement in your fitness. 

Here’s my article about Power Zone training.

Hardcore on the Floor

Technically, the Hardcore on the Floor Facebook Group does not have challenges, per se. But the group does have a monthly calendar of strength training, which I discussed in this blog post.

So, this is really a self-monitored challenge of checking off classes each day. However, there are sub groups within Hardcore that do Apple Watch challenges. Since I don’t own an Apple Watch, I haven’t joined in any of them.

Final thoughts on Peloton Challenges

When I wrote my blog post about getting your Peloton motivation back, I was thinking specifically about how Peloton challenges can help. When you’ve got a team pushing you or the promise of a new badge to add to your collection, it motivates you to get off your ass and get moving. 

But, as I mentioned, getting involved in these various challenges has allowed me to develop a sense of community with other Peloton devotees. This was an added benefit of Peloton ownership that I never anticipated but I’m so glad exists.