Peloton Finally Rolls Out A Pause Button, But Only For Some Models

As hard as it may be to believe, Peloton's otherwise excellent exercise system has lacked one very common, arguably critical feature: the ability to pause on-demand classes. Users who found themselves needing to pause their workouts to sign for a package, let the dog out, or just catch their breath were forced to let the class go on without them, something that has finally changed — though only for customers who have certain Peloton models.

Peloton owners have been requesting a pause button for just about as long as the company has been selling its high-end home exercise equipment. In addition to the live classes available to users, Peloton's software portal also provides access to on-demand classes, meaning they're pre-recorded and therefore perfectly suitable for pausing.

As of now, Peloton Bike and Bike+ owners have access to a new pause button that supports on-demand videos. Users who are watching on-demand classes can now tap the bike's display, then hold the pause button to pause the video. Once paused, the device will also pause your metrics and progress so that everything is ready to resume where it stopped when the video is played again.

There is one big downside to pausing a video, which is that you'll lose your slot on the Leaderboard. However, users who pause their workouts will still show up under the "Here Now" list. This isn't a big deal for many users, but may be a disappointing compromise for those who are heavily into the competitive aspect of working out.

Of note, Peloton says pausing an on-demand workout won't have any effect on challenges, achievements, personal records, streaks, or milestones. Tread owners, meanwhile, will have to continue waiting for similar functionality; Peloton promises it is working on a pause feature for this model, but it doesn't have a release date available yet.