How to Track Your Peloton Metrics: The Complete Guide to Owning Your Data

If you’re not tracking your Peloton metrics, you’re leaving performance on the table. Period. Every ride, run, and strength session generates valuable data that tells you exactly where you stand, where you’re improving, and where you need to push harder. The difference between someone who casually hops on the bike and someone who systematically crushes their goals often comes down to one thing: understanding and leveraging their numbers.

Here’s everything you need to know about tracking your Peloton metrics, what each number means, and how to use that data to fuel real, measurable progress.

The Core Metrics Every Peloton Rider Must Understand

Before you can track anything effectively, you need to know what you’re looking at. Peloton delivers a robust set of real-time and post-workout metrics. These are the ones that matter most.

Output (kJ): This is the single most important number on your screen. Measured in kilojoules, output represents the total amount of work you performed during a ride. It’s calculated from your cadence and resistance combined. Higher output means more work done. It’s that simple, and it’s the most objective measure of your cycling performance.
Cadence (RPM): How fast your legs are spinning, measured in revolutions per minute. Cadence reflects your speed and pedaling efficiency. Most instructors will call out cadence ranges throughout a class.
Resistance (%): How heavy the flywheel feels. This is your load, your intensity dial. Resistance ranges from 0 to 100 and directly impacts how hard each pedal stroke is.
Speed (mph/kph): A derivative of cadence and resistance. Useful for Tread users and as a secondary reference point on the bike, but output is king for cyclists.
Heart Rate (bpm): If you’re using a heart rate monitor — and you absolutely should be — this metric tells you how hard your cardiovascular system is working. It’s the bridge between external output and internal effort.
Strive Score: Peloton’s proprietary heart rate zone-based scoring system. It quantifies your effort across four heart rate zones, giving you a single number that reflects cardiovascular strain regardless of workout type.
Distance: Total miles or kilometers covered. More relevant for Tread workouts and outdoor runs, but still a useful reference point for the bike.

Where to Find Your Metrics

Peloton gives you multiple touchpoints to access your data, and you should be using all of them.

On the Touchscreen: During every workout, your metrics are displayed in real time at the bottom of the screen. You can toggle between different views to see output, cadence, resistance, heart rate, and your position on the leaderboard simultaneously.
Post-Workout Summary: Immediately after every class, Peloton displays a summary screen with your total output, average and max cadence, average and max resistance, calories burned, distance, and Strive Score. Screenshot this. Every time.
Your Peloton Profile: Navigate to your profile on the touchscreen, the app, or the website. Here you’ll find your complete workout history, personal records, and trends over time. This is your performance archive.
The Peloton App: The iOS and Android apps give you full access to your workout history, including detailed breakdowns of each session. You can review metrics on the go, which makes it easy to stay connected to your data between workouts.

Setting Up Heart Rate Tracking

If you’re serious about performance, a heart rate monitor is non-negotiable. Peloton supports Bluetooth heart rate monitors, and pairing one unlocks an entirely new dimension of data. Your heart rate zones are automatically calculated based on your age, though you can customize your max heart rate in your settings for more accurate zone tracking.

Once connected, you’ll see your heart rate and current zone displayed on screen in real time. More importantly, you’ll start accumulating Strive Score data, which allows you to compare effort across completely different workout types. A 20-minute HIIT ride and a 45-minute endurance ride might produce very different output numbers, but Strive Score lets you compare the cardiovascular demand of each.

Using the Leaderboard Strategically

The leaderboard is more than a competitive vanity feature. It’s a benchmarking tool. You can filter it to show riders of the same age, gender, or those who have taken the class previously. Use this to gauge where you fall relative to comparable riders and to set realistic stretch goals.

However, a word of caution: don’t let the leaderboard override your training plan. Chasing someone else’s output when you’re supposed to be doing a recovery ride is a fast track to overtraining and injury. Use the leaderboard as information, not as your sole motivator.

Tracking Personal Records and Long-Term Progress

Peloton automatically tracks your personal records (PRs) for output across different ride durations — 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, and beyond. These PRs are your benchmarks. They tell you, objectively, whether you’re getting stronger.

To track long-term progress effectively, pay attention to these strategies:

Repeat benchmark rides: Take the same class every four to six weeks and compare your output. Matt Wilpers’ FTP test rides and Power Zone programs are built specifically for this kind of structured tracking.
Monitor your FTP: Functional Threshold Power is the average output you can sustain for 20 minutes. It’s the gold standard for cycling fitness. Peloton’s Power Zone program uses your FTP to create personalized training zones. Retest it regularly to see genuine fitness gains.
Track weekly and monthly volume: Total output, total minutes, and total Strive Score per week give you a bird’s-eye view of your training load. Peloton’s annual challenge and workout calendar features help with this, but a simple spreadsheet works even better for serious tracking.
Log non-output metrics: How did you feel during the workout? What was your perceived effort? How quickly did your heart rate recover after intervals? These subjective data points add critical context to the raw numbers.

Third-Party Tools to Level Up Your Tracking

Peloton’s built-in tracking is solid, but power users will want to go further. Several third-party tools integrate with your Peloton data to deliver deeper insights.

Strava: Automatically sync your Peloton workouts to Strava for a unified view of all your training activity. Great for tracking running, cycling, and cross-training in one place.
mPaceLine: This app connects to your Peloton data and provides detailed analytics, training load monitoring, and recovery recommendations based on your workout patterns.
Pela Performance (formerly Pelo Buddy tools): Community-built resources that compile class data, instructor metrics, and historical ride information to help you plan smarter workouts.

The Bottom Line: What Gets Measured Gets Improved

Tracking your Peloton metrics isn’t about obsessing over numbers for the sake of it. It’s about creating a feedback loop that drives intentional improvement. When you know your baseline, set specific targets, and measure your progress over weeks and months, you transform random workouts into a structured training program.

Start with output and heart rate. Build the habit of reviewing your post-workout summaries. Retest your FTP every six to eight weeks. Compare your performance on repeat rides. Layer in third-party tools when you’re ready for deeper analysis