How To Connect Your Apple Watch To Your Peloton
The Apple Watch has revolutionized many aspects of our lives since it was released in 2014. Finally, we can stay connected to the notifications we care about without having to pull our phones out of our pockets or, depending on the smartwatch model, carry our phones with us everywhere we go. However, of all the ways the Apple Watch has changed the lives of its users, one of the biggest revolves around the world of fitness. With the Apple Watch, people can closely monitor everything from the number of calories burned from a specific activity to their heart rate while lifting weights or jogging.
Among other things, the Apple Watch has integrations with a number of third-party fitness products, including Peloton. This is an important feature because while fitness bikes can monitor your health and fitness information, many people don't think they are as reliable as a smartwatch, as detailed by Millennial Hawk. Peloton's Apple Watch integration offers another avenue for monitoring your fitness metrics; it works with the company's app, Tread, Bike, and Bike+ products. Once set up, the integration works by alerting your Apple Watch when you start a workout, though you can also manually start tracking activity using the Peloton app on the smartwatch.
How to connect your Apple Watch to your Peloton
As with most things concerning Apple products, the process of connecting your Peloton to your watch is incredibly easy; with just a few simple steps you'll be tracking your workouts using your watch in no time. According to Peloton's FAQ web page, your Apple Watch will need to be running at least watchOS 7 to use the company's app, and your iPhone will need to be running at least iOS 14. Assuming you meet both of these requirements, follow these steps to integrate your Apple Watch with Peloton's fitness system:
- Download and install the Peloton app on your iPhone from the App Store.
- Download and install the Peloton app on your Apple Watch using the Watch app. When prompted, enable the Fitness, Motion, and location services options for the app.
- Within the Peloton for iOS app on your iPhone, tap More > Apple Watch > Set Up > Connect to Health App.
- Within the Health app that opens on your phone, tap the Turn On All button. This will authorize the app to access your personal health information.
- Open the Peloton app and tap Done.
- Open the Peloton app on your Apple Watch and when prompted, tap Allow to receive notifications from Peloton.
Peloton explains in a blog post that you'll receive an Apple Watch notification every time you get on your Bike, Bike+, or Tread device. You'll need to tap that notification for the Apple Watch to start tracking your fitness session.
How to use Peloton with your Apple Watch without a Peloton bike
One of the awesome things about Peloton is it is a well-rounded company. Yes, its bikes and treadmill are the biggest lures for at-home fitness enthusiasts, but its fitness platform is part of the reason it's so successful. Assuming you sign up for the company's Peloton App Membership, you'll be able to access the platform's on-demand, live, and pre-recorded fitness classes, among other things, without owning or using one of the company's exercise machines.
According to Peloton's FAQ web page, Apple Watch owners can download the Peloton app on their iPhone and smartwatch to access classes and track fitness metrics without the bikes or treadmill. The Peloton app will direct new users to a Get Started menu in which they can create an account and then sign up for the membership. Assuming you subscribe to that membership with your Apple account through your iPhone, you'll pay $12.99 per month. Keep in mind that you'll need the iPhone to start workouts and that the Apple Watch can't be used with Peloton's platform as a standalone device.
Why you should pair your Apple Watch with Peloton
Some people may wonder whether it's worth it to pair the Apple Watch with what is essentially a piece of super-smart workout equipment. The answer is yes, assuming you already own the watch. The biggest reason is the fact that many people dedicated to fitness care about their health information. Yes, Peloton displays much of this information, but perhaps you want to ensure that it's also synced to your watch. This is especially important for people who are monitoring progress based on multiple factors.
The Apple Watch has done more than make users want to close their daily rings for fitness – people want results, which can best be measured by data. Some users believe the health metrics recorded by the Apple Watch are more accurate than what they get from the Peloton platform, and if you already own the smartwatch, there's no good reason not to pair it with your Peloton account. Add in the fact that Apple's wearable is getting smarter every year and will likely support blood pressure monitoring within the next couple of years, and it's easy to see the appeal.