Boxing Up a Storm: The Benefits of Peloton Boxing Classes

Peloton’s boxing classes were my first experience throwing punches. This was many years ago. Karate is very different from boxing. I had never tried kickboxing at the gym. I had always kept up with step classes.

It’s like I was a complete newbie when I entered the Peloton boxing program for two weeks. It’s hard to say if this is a good or bad thing. However, it ensures that my review as a beginner will resonate with others.

Before I begin this review, I will first explain who the instructors are for these boxing classes at Peloton. Next, I will explain where to find the Peloton Boxing Program. Finally, I will share my honest opinion about the classes and overall program.

You can view all classes in the Get Hooked Peloton Boxing Program.

The program consists of 14 classes and lasts for 2 weeks. Rad Lopez, Selena Samuela and Kendall Toole will be the instructors. Classes last between 5 and 30 minutes. Week 1 offers 5 days of classes and Week 2 offers 3 days.

Description: Learn the basics of boxing in Week 1, before moving into fighting mode in Week 2. Three 30 minute Shadowboxing classes will be offered in Week 2. The only equipment required is a mat. No dumbbells are allowed.

Peloton Boxing can be accessed as a program, unlike other modality launches like Dance Cardio or Barre. To access the content, members will need to “start the program” by following the recommended class schedule. The general class list will not allow you to view classes. Read more about programs and see our complete list here. Using our lists you can move around the program however you like and unlock the classes. You can find the page for Peloton Boxing here: Get Hooked.

In the past, boxing was a popular choice for members. It became apparent that many of the 2021 instructors have backgrounds in boxing. Callie Gullickson and Rad Lopez joined Peloton this season. They all have boxing experience. Selena Samuela and Kendall Toole both have boxing backgrounds, and many of their classes incorporate shadowboxing. Although it is not clear if additional instructors will be teaching boxing in the future, the second series of pilates launched in April 2021 and featured 5 new instructors who were not included in the original launch.

Who teaches Peloton Boxing Classes?

Update 1: Peloton has just announced a new line of Shadowboxing classes. Two new boxing instructors. These are Jermaine Johnson and Becs Gentry. There are also new classes in the Peloton Boxing Bootcamp.

Update 2: Peloton is teasing more boxing classes and coaches in the futurein an updated blog post. It states that “The Program is only the beginning!” You can expect to see more of your favorite boxing instructors join the lineup in the next months. There will also be some surprises.

In the beginning, three Peloton instructors taught shadowboxing classes. These were Kendall Toole Rad Lopez, Selena Samuela and Rad Lopez. There are now five.

It was obvious that Peloton would add boxing classes to their program and Kendall would be an instructor. Peloton’s 2019 member, Kendall, has used her boxing background to teach her arms classes and jabs and crosses on the bike.

Her fan group is the Knockouts. One of her catchphrases says “They can knock your down, but they cannot knock you out.” (Scroll to the bottom of this article for Kendall-inspired swag that you can purchase on Etsy.

Rad Lopez, a 2021 Peloton member, told us about his boxing history. He’s an ideal candidate to teach boxing. Rad Lopez is my favorite strength instructor. When I can, I try to attend his classes live. He’s also a favorite on the Hardcore On the Floor calendar so I try to attend at least one class per week.

Selena Samuela’s background in boxing was something I did not know. From her time in Hawaii, I knew that she was a keen surfer and that she is a great golfer. As a strength instructor, it should not surprise that she is an excellent boxing coach.

Peloton has boxing classes.

Here’s how to take the Peloton boxing class without having to complete the entire program. You can find boxing on the Peloton app and the Peloton website under Cardio. You can filter by type of class and choose “Shadowboxing.”

There aren’t many options for shadowboxing classes at the moment. There are currently 11 boxing classes. These classes are not the same as the Get Hooked: Peloton Boxing class. Classes last 10 minutes, 20 or 30 minutes.

There are 14 classes in the boxing class. This means that there are 25 classes related to boxing. The classes are related because they can be used to warm ups or cool downs for any cardio activity. They aren’t boxing-specific. This is a problem because you can’t access the boxing classes outside of the program.

Peloton boxing programs: Where can I find them?

You can also access the Peloton Boxing program via the Programs tab, just like other Peloton programs. Programs will be listed at the top of your Peloton app.

Here’s how to get to the Programs section of the Peloton website:

1. Log in under My Membership
2. Click to Take Classes
3. You’ll find Programs at the top of your screen. Click that.
4. Scroll down for the boxing program.

Programs can be accessed via Tread and the bike. My bike’s screen allowed me to access the last day of the Peloton boxing class. You cannot access the boxing or any other programs via a Smart TV or Roku TV.

Overview of the Peloton boxing class program

The boxing classes, like many other Peloton programs are meant to be completed in a two-week period. This means that your 14-day countdown begins the day after you start.

Your first seven-day countdown begins for week one (which consists of five classes). Your second seven-day countdown begins eight days later, for week two.

Week 1 of Get Hooked: Peloton Boxing focuses on the basics of boxing. This includes defensive moves, punches and basic footwork.

Peloton boxing punches:

• Jabs
• Crosses
• Hooks
• Uppercuts

The defensive moves of the Peloton boxing team are:

• Ducks
• Slips
• Rolls

These defensive and offensive moves aren’t unique to the Peloton program. However, I wanted to briefly outline what you can expect to learn.

Review of the Peloton Boxing Program

Let me be truthful. Peloton’s boxing program has a lot of “cons” in this review. Unfortunately, there aren’t many pros to share. Perhaps it’s me. It could be the program. I don’t know. Overall, I didn’t like boxing.

To be able to write this review, I completed the program. But by the end of the week, I was not throwing punches nor putting in 100% effort. Literally, I was simply doing the necessary moves to make it to the end of class.

One positive I didn’t expect was that I received a new milestone badge to recognize my cardio classes. I had previously only done dance cardio classes via the Peloton platform. Boxing is a great alternative to dance cardio, if you don’t want to do cardio classes but still want to try it out, then boxing might be for you.

Boxing classes are also a great way to get started with them if you have never taken strength classes with Selena, Rad, or if you own a Tread and have never ridden with Kendall. They are great teachers. They are great teachers in a poor program, unfortunately.

That’s all I have to say about Peloton boxing. Let me now discuss the “cons”, in the hope that someone at Peloton might read it and reconsider the program.

These are not kickboxing classes. These classes are essentially upper body boxing. Your legs are only used for moving forward and back, as well as ducking.

The cons of Peloton boxing classes

Perhaps it’s because I am new to boxing, or these are legitimate drawbacks. However, I had some issues with the Peloton Boxing Classes. This includes the design of the program. These are my complaints in random order.

Cross-dominance in sports is not allowed

Cross dominance was a term I needed to Google. It was because I knew what it meant: playing sports with non-dominant sides or performing tasks with them. But I didn’t know what it was. I knew I had a tendency to lean leftie in certain situations, even though I am very right-handed.

As a child I was dominant in my left leg when doing tricks in gymnastics. Yoga is a lot more balanced with my left side than my right. Also, I’m right-handed.

Actually, when I took the Psychology Today quiz to determine if I was right- or left-handed dominant, I found that I’m just as left-handed as I am right-handed.

My older daughter is almost right-handed like me. She was left-handed when she played softball. Similar with golf.

The same goes for my mother. My mother is the same. She plays most sports left handed, but she’s right-handed.

Maybe that’s boxing. If you are right-handed, you can box orthodox. However, if your hand is the same as your pen, you will box southpaw. However, I think it is a disadvantage to be restricted to this “box” of handedness.

Boxing is dominated by one side

This critique continues the discussion I made above. Peloton instructors constantly reminded us to keep our dominant leg at the back while we get into boxer’s position. For me, that was my right leg. Next, I would cross my right with my left leg and jab with mine. It didn’t feel natural.

So halfway through the boxing workout, I switched sides. I pulled my left leg back and crossed my left with my left. We were now on the right track.

All Peloton instructors were equipped with their right hand.

To add to the cross dominance complaint, all instructors box rightie. It is obvious that only Selena Samuela and Rad Lopez, as well as Kendall Toole, have a background in boxing.

They all box rightie so it’s not possible to allow someone to learn to box with their left. It was frustrating.

When teaching, instructors should face the opposite direction.

Most classes in Peloton are taught with the instructor facing forward. Sometimes, the angle of the camera might change in other classes.

For example, a camera might show an instructor during yoga from either the overhead or side view. This difference in perspective helps you see your position better.

But, I think that boxing classes are better if the instructor is looking at you from behind and using a mirror to teach. If you were “behind” your instructor, it would make it easier to grasp the side-toside movements of slipping and loading to throw a hook.

It was confusing to see it from the front. Even after two weeks of classes, I tried to load a punch that mirrored what the instructor was doing. But I realized they were using their front arm and I was using mine back.

Peloton’s boxing program is lopsided

Two weeks of the Peloton boxing training program are required. There are total 14 classes. Week one has five classes and week two nine.

All of the 20-minute boxing classes in week one are 20-minute long. This is one class per day.

The nine classes in week 2 are meant to be completed over three days. Three classes per day. These classes consist of a 5-minute warmup, 30-minute shadowboxing and a 5-minute cooldown. This is repeated for the remaining three days.

There are no warm-ups or cool downs during week 1. You’re also thrown into 20-minute classes. It is exhausting and I am not in good shape.

Peloton is doing those who are interested in boxing a disservice for organizing these classes in this manner. At least one warm-up class should be included in week 1. The first two classes should last 10 to 15 minutes. The classes should gradually increase in intensity and length.

Repetition of warm-up and cooling down classes

Day two of the Peloton Boxing Program was my second week. I thought I had clicked the wrong class when I began day 2. Although the second class of Week 2 was boxing warmup it was actually the same Kendall Toole warm up class that I took on day 1.

Kendall is a fine person, but what about Peloton? To switch things up, why not have each instructor record a warm-up class? The cool down/stretch with Selena Samuela was then recorded. This is not an offense to Selena, but it’s lazy and unacceptable that you repeat a pre-designed program.

I still completed the classes. I was aware that if I didn’t attend the classes, my badge would not be officially completed. Although I did the basics, I would have preferred to take a different class for week 2’s warm ups or cool downs.

The classes of the Peloton boxing programs don’t automatically load

After I had completed a class, particularly in week 2, I was expecting that the second class would follow. The second class would then flow into the first.

This technical glitch was not something I had to worry about in Week 1. You’re only allowed to take one class per day. Week 2, however, you are expected to take three classes per day. It was confusing.

When I was done with my boxing warm-up, I clicked “Done” and had to go back in my browser to return to Peloton programs. From there, I had to launch my second class for the day.

I was used to stacking classes that prompt you for the next series so I assumed the programs would flow the same way. They don’t surprise me.

Boxing classes flow differently from stacked classes.

Peloton, please correct this. This is a mistake. Users might not know that they are expected to complete three classes per day in week 2. This could cause them to click away and lose the chance to finish.

On my last day of classes, I decided that I would do the remaining classes on the bike. To follow the class, I used my bluetooth headphones and the bike screen. To follow the programs, I would normally hook up my laptop to a TV using an HDMI cable. Roku TVs cannot access them, as I mentioned before.

As I completed the last boxing class, and hit “done”, the bike screen moved to the next class. Why doesn’t the web or app do this automatically? For the people in the back, they should.

Peloton programs don’t allow you to combine boxing classes.

This problem isn’t exclusive to the Peloton Boxing Program. This applies to all classes in a Peloton class. You won’t be able to get credit for them if you combine them with other classes.

Too many people have had to learn this trick by accident. Always access the boxing classes (or any other program) through the programs tab.

Final thoughts

If you have read this far, you will see that I don’t like boxing classes. I have done karate before so I am not scared of the punching required. It is how the program is structured that I think is the problem.

Peloton users are not happy with the overall design of the program. It’s not easy to follow the program at your own pace. You used to be able to move through a program at your own pace. But not anymore.