As strength training gets more popular, Peloton and Planet Fitness shift focus

A growing share of gym users is looking to build muscle, leading major fitness companies to refocus their efforts beyond cardio workouts.

In fact, building muscle was the No. 1 goal for 2024, ahead of weight loss and general movement, according to Life Time’s annual survey of 3,000 respondents.

Now, both Peloton and Planet Fitness are expanding their investments in strength.

Planet Fitness changed its mix of equipment and, earlier this month, Peloton launched testing for an app dedicated to strength workout plans called Peloton Strength+.

Finding that members over the past year consistently sought more strength and less cardio equipment, Planet Fitness shifted its fitness supply to meet interests, especially for its Gen Z patrons, who make up 25% of the company’s base, according to the company’s earnings conference call from the third quarter of 2023.

“Gen Z clearly seems to prefer strength and functional workouts versus cardio,” Chief Financial Officer Thomas Fitzgerald said. “Treadmills still get about the same use, but things like elliptical and bikes are getting far less use.”

Planet Fitness beat revenue expectations in its second-quarter earnings, and an emphasis on strength workouts helped the company get there. Fitzgerald said strength equipment costs less than cardio equipment, and areas for strength workouts tend to have more space for additional members to work out.

New York City-based strength-focused personal trainer Miriam Fried has noted a similar shift among women. She said a lot of her clients are women who previously did cardio or group fitness classes but have an interest in getting stronger.

“Over the last 10 years, since I’ve been a part of the fitness industry, I would say it’s definitely become a little more common for women to be strength training,” Fried said.

Peloton is also testing whether strength training could be part of its way forward, as the company has faced growing concerns.

Peloton has previously said demand for its fitness equipment has been sluggish as consumers pull back on big-ticket items. The company has also said its strength training content, not its cycling or running classes, is the most popular type of class for digital members and the No. 2 among those who have Peloton hardware.

The company’s new app, Peloton Strength+, is designed for strength workouts at the gym rather than Peloton studios and will feature custom, instructor-led programming, according to the company.

Peloton will likely weigh in on that effort when the company reports earnings on Thursday.

Peloton’s new mobile strategy mirrors that of fitness app Ladder, which has delivered personalized strength training since 2020. CEO Greg Stewart said that although the company’s mobile workout subscription service launched in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has seen its “most explosive” growth in the past couple of years.

As a mobile-first product that focuses on strength training, Stewart said Ladder’s users are mostly women and people who invest in gym memberships to access equipment.

“We’re 70% women members in our app, so as strength training has become more popular and in demand, we’ve certainly benefited from that,” Stewart said.

According to Stewart, 65% of Ladder’s users are taking the app to the gym weekly to use the equipment there. While products during the pandemic focused on home fitness consumers, he said gymgoers are now an untapped potential in the industry.

“Most companies in our space haven’t really focused on that user, even though it’s a huge audience, 65 million in gym memberships in the U.S. … It’s a big, meaningful audience that’s motivated and excited and committed financially to their workout routine,” Stewart said.