Let me start with a background on my exercise history: I have been obsessed with fitness classes since I started ClassPass in 2014. I even started my own boutique fitness studio. Although my parents had a Peloton for a few years (Peloton first started gaining notoriety in 2014, and my parents joined the trend in 2016), I hated working out at home. Of course, all this changed at the beginning of the pandemic, and I quickly found myself racking up minutes on our Peloton bike and tread. I labeled myself a Peloton convert, and never looked back.
Fast forward a few months, and I decided to try lululemon Studio, an interactive home fitness device launched in 2018 that offers tens of thousands of live and on-demand workout classes. When turned off, The Mirror functions as, well, a simple full-length wall mirror. I was intrigued by this equipment that would easily fit in my New York apartment, while still giving me the good sweat I crave. I instantly fell in love.
Knowing that I am a fitness junkie, many of my friends and family have asked me to compare the two, so of course I did just that. I looked at the essential components like size, price, and class diversity, but also broke it down by type of workout, music, and more.
Which is better: lululemon Studio or Peloton? You may be surprised…
lululemon Studio vs. Peloton Comparison
Diversity of Class Library
The library helps you decide what type of class to take - HIIT, Cardio, Strength? You can also decide how long you want to work out and how hard the class is. Plus, fitness instructors are also influencers now, so why not pick who is teaching the class too?
lululemon Studio: While lululemon Studio doesn’t have one “signature” workout the way Peloton has spinning and running, they have an impressive variety of classes -- over 50 genres to choose from, in fact. As someone that used to bounce around the city from barre classes to boxing classes, I was excited by the prospect that I could recreate this routine from home. lululemon Studio's classes range from 5-60 min across all difficulty levels, and the class library has over 10,000 workouts to choose from (if you don’t want to take a live class). Another unique feature to lululemon Studio is the ability to do personal training for $40/session. Affordable training that will teach me better form? Sign me up! 10/10
Peloton: What Peloton lacks in terms of diversity in overall workout genres (around 20 genres), they make up for in quantity of classes and variety of workouts within each genre. What do I mean by this? Take spinning, for example: while spinning is only one genre of workout, Peloton has more than 10 different types of spinning classes to choose from, ranging from theme rides to tabata rides. Peloton has close to 10,000 spin classes alone to choose from (if you don’t want to take a live class), so there’s something for everyone. Peloton’s classes range from 5-90 min in length across all difficulty levels. 8/10
Winner: lululemon Studio
For Strength/Toning
Sometimes you want to focus on strength training or building long, lean muscles.
lululemon Studio: This is where lululemon Studio’s diverse library and new connected weights offer a competitive edge. I love barre workouts, so I was excited to see an old favorite instructor from Physique 57 on the platform. The new connected weights are game changing: they can track your reps, help correct your form, and recommend the appropriate amount of weight for you to use for each move (spoiler alert: turns out I could lift A LOT heavier than I realized). The Mirror also has the added benefit of, well, a mirror for you to watch the instructor and check your form. 9/10.
Peloton: Peloton’s strength and toning workouts consist of barre, pilates, and traditional strength classes broken down by body part. While I have done many of these workouts, and have a few favorite instructors I know to turn to, I honestly have never been super excited by any of them or felt like I was getting as effective of a workout as I did using lululemon Studio. 6/10.
Winner: lululemon Studio
For Cardio
When you just need to sweat it out.
luulemon Studio: For not being a piece of cardio equipment, The Mirror has an impressive number of cardio classes, ranging from boxing to dancing to HIIT. I definitely found myself struggling to get in the last burpee in the HIIT classes, but I didn’t always love the impact I felt like these classes had on my body. 6/10.
Peloton: Truthfully, I’m a cardio purist. I have been spinning since I first discovered Flywheel in 2014, and running, well... let’s just say that’s been a rockier road. My first experience with Peloton was with the bike, and (nerd alert!) I love the metrics and being able to track my workouts to push myself further. My family also has the treadmill, and it made me actually look forward to running. The diversity of classes in the spin and tread library means that I’m not bored riding the bike or running multiple days a week, and I always finish my workouts dripping in sweat, just how I like. 10/10.
Winner: Peloton
Music
Did you know you can select workouts based on the music? Never let a dislike of the instructors’ music stop you from working out again.
lululemon Studio: lululemon Studio Trainers have recommended playlists for each workout that you can choose from, or you can connect with Apple Music and select your own playlist. I like this option; sometimes there is that one song you know you need to hear in your workout, and this makes it possible. Plus, I created about 7,923 playlists for my previous fitness studio, so I like being able to put these to use. I’ve also found new favorite songs from the instructor’s recommended playlist. 7/10.
Peloton: Peloton’s workouts all come with pre-set playlists (fun fact: you can “heart” classes to have them added to your Spotify / Apple Music). I find this both a blessing and a curse; I have literally spent HOURS sorting through classes based on the playlist, turning down an otherwise good looking class because there was one song I hated. Peloton has theme classes, ranging from Spice Girls to Whitney Houston to Broadway. 8/10.
Winner: Peloton
On the Road
With travel starting to pick-up, I want one fitness subscription I can use wherever I am.
lululemon Studio: To do lululemon Studio’s workouts, you don’t actually need any equipment, not even The Mirror itself - you can do classes right from your phone or tablet. This makes it a great option to take on the road. I can take the same boxing, HIIT, barre, and strength classes from wherever I am, and know I’ll get a good sweat in. 9/10.
Peloton: Many of Peloton’s workouts revolve around the actual equipment: the bike or the treadmill. While I can do the treadmill workouts from any treadmill, the bike workouts are best done from a Peloton bike because of the numbers. The membership also unlocks classes like yoga, meditation, strength training, and dance cardio. Personally, I find these off-bike/tread classes not as exciting and effective, so I wouldn’t necessarily want to rely on just my Peloton subscription to keep me active while travelling. 7/10.
Winner: lululemon Studio
Size
lululemon Studio: The Mirror takes up no space in my apartment. In fact, it actually serves double purpose as my full length mirror. I only need floor space in front of it to complete my workout, so I don’t have to worry about a bulky piece of fitness equipment in the middle of my kitchen. 10/10.
Peloton: The treadmill was definitely out of the question for my apartment (size, noise, etc.), but the bike is an option. While small (the bike measures 59 in. high x 23 in. long), I did need to rearrange some furniture in my apartment to have a dedicated space for it. 6/10.
Winner: lululemon Studio
Price
lululemon Studio: The lululemon Studio comes in at $1,495 plus $39/month for the subscription. You can finance The Mirror with 0% interest rate and pay as low as $31/month. Plus, you can get $700 off + free shipping.
Peloton: The Peloton bike comes in at two different prices: $1,495 for the original bike, and $2,495 for the Bike+. The Bike+ has better speakers, a larger screen that swivels so you can better see the instructor if you do strength classes from the bike, and a setting to automatically change the resistance based on the instructor’s cues. Similarly to lululemon Studio, you also have to pay the $39/month subscription to have access to the class library. With financing, the price can be as low as $39/month.
Winner: lululemon Studio
Ultimate Winner
While this will ultimately depend on how much you value a certain type of workout, lululemon Studio is the winner in this fitness showdown.
Full price last offered 10/4/22
