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If there are two things I love, they’re shopping and working out, which is why I am such a vocal proponent of e-commerce marketplaces and the Peloton app. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when I noticed something unexpected last night while I browsed the Lululemon retail app: There are free Peloton classes right there. I played around with them and am here to report this offering is actually pretty great.
Where to find the free classes
Along the bottom of the screen when you open up the Lululemon app, available on iOS, you’ll see five options: Shop, Classes, My Store, Saved, and Account. Tapping Classes takes you to a landing page that displays the Lululemon and Peloton logos and explains that with a Lululemon membership, you can access free classes without any trial or purchase required. There are six classes available and they rotate monthly. Right now, all six are stretching classes that fall between five and 15 minutes in length and range from beginner to intermediate levels.
A Lululemon membership is required, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay for anything—you just need an account on the app, the same as you would use to log into any app if you planned to make a purchase on it.
When I first noticed this offering last night, though, I was hesitant to believe it’s a strings-free offering. My Lululemon account is a Sweat Collective account, meaning I am eligible for a distinct membership tier because I’m a certified fitness instructor. When I first saw the Classes tab, I wondered if it was one of the perks I get as a result of being accepted to Sweat Collective, like the retail discount that designation gets me. To be safe, I created a new account with a different email address and logged back in. The classes were still free. I did not have to pay anything. So, I can confirm you won’t spend a cent if you try this out (unless you are, understandably, sidetracked by the desire to buy a Define jacket while you’re using the app).
Why this tie-in is great
I knew that Peloton and Lululemon had a corporate partnership because I see instructors wearing Lulu clothes when I take virtual cycling classes from time to time, but I didn’t realize it entitled the average person to take a class while browsing some leggings. It’s a pretty solid option for anyone who might be considering a Peloton All Access membership, which costs $44 per month.
I personally think that membership fee is totally fair considering everything it gives you: Not only can you take the company’s famous spin classes (even without its proprietary stationary bike), but you can access strength training, guided walking workouts, meditation sessions, fun games, and a lot more. I actually really love the guided stretches available through the app, which is why I was pleased to see them as this month’s free Lululemon offering. Still, I know $44 a month can be steep, so if you need to try before you buy or just want a handful of free workouts to supplement your existing fitness routine, this is a pretty nice benefit.
Lulu tie-in aside, if you don’t have a Peloton Bike, Tread, or Row, you can just pay $12.99 for a scaled-down version of the app that only includes classes that don’t require equipment, like HIIT and yoga. You could also pay $24 per month for all that plus spinning, rowing, or running classes but no Bike, Tread, or Row compatibility. If you download those versions, Peloton offers you a free trial month to see how you’ll like them, but if you’re a Lululemon member (again, if you just need a free login account), you can have a 60-day trial.
What to keep in mind
The six free monthly classes are a nice way to get new, potential customers more familiar with the Peloton brand and incorporate some diversity and excitement into the fitness routines of non-subscribers, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
The first is that there’s no synchronizing between the Lululemon app and the Peloton app. Normally, when I fire up a stretching class (or any kind of workout) through the Peloton app, it connects to my Apple Watch automatically to track my heart rate, generate a report on my breathing and exertion, and add the workout to my Apple Health app. That didn’t happen when I ran a class through Lululemon and the class I experimented with there did not appear anywhere on my Peloton profile history.
Is it a huge deal? No, not really; you’re still getting in a good stretch. But if you’re an existing Peloton user, it doesn’t make sense to access your classes through the Lululemon app, especially not if you’re someone concerned with tracking biometric data or maintaining a “streak” on Peloton. This offering is pretty clearly just meant to appeal to potential customers, not existing ones, and that’s totally fine.
The good news for existing Peloton members is that you aren’t missing anything if you don’t look at the Lululemon app Classes tab. I checked and the six free classes there are not unique to Lulu. They’re all also available in Peloton’s massive archive.
