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14 Hardest Peloton Instructors who gets you sweating

Whenever I’m anxious for quick results, I have learned to go for the hardest instructors. Even in their least strenuous exercise, you will always feel the pain and intensity in the exercise. So they are the best option, especially when you want short effective classes or exercise results within a short duration.

As a whole, hard instructors don’t have to lead the hardest classes on Peloton. I mean, you can get a hard Cycling instructor who gets you sweating and getting all flexed in a Cycling class.

Who is the HARDEST Peloton instructor?” Is Olivia Amato? OK, Pro rider Christian Vande Velde actually beats her, but he’s a “Guest” Peloton instructor. Olivia Amato all rides Average Difficulty score is 8.55 and Christian Vande Velde’s (Pro) score is 8.66.

The toughest peloton instructor you choose will be determined by the type of class you take.
In this article, we will see cycling, tread, strength, and yoga’s hardest instructors.

Hardest Peloton Cycling Instructors

These are based on the ride’s Difficulty Rating that you see on each Class (the average of the riders’ ratings). Individual rider ratings, output, or leaderboard info isn’t available.

We will see the hardest instructors from five kinds of rides that include

  • All Rides
  • 20-minute Rides
  • 30-minute Rides
  • 45-minute Rides
  • 60-minute Rides

All Rides’ Hardest Peloton Cycling Instructors

NameAverage DifficultyHighest DifficultyRides Rated 9+% Rides Rated 9+Rides
Christian Vande Velde (Pro)8.669.28732%22
Olivia Amato8.559.24149%162
Kendall Toole8.479.4674%170
Jess King8.449.12174%434
Jennifer Jacobs8.428.9500%36
Robin Arzon8.399.636519%346
Tunde Oyeneyin8.379.1442%175
Steven Little8.369.0412%55
Alex Toussaint8.39.6710%397
Ally Love8.299.59317%446
Emma Lovewell8.229.0421%368
Irene Scholz8.28.5400%23
Ben Alldis8.189.0721%347
Sam Yo8.168.9200%155
Leanne Hainsby8.128.9931%368
Jenn Sherman8.18.7300%394
Denis Morton8.088.8700%289
Christine D’Ercole8.069.0910%470
Matt Wilpers8.059.1952%214
Hannah Frankson7.998.7400%170
Cody Rigsby7.978.6900%462
Hannah Corbin7.628.7200%405
Erik Jager7.317.4600%2

20-minute Rides’ Hardest Peloton Cycling Instructors

NameAverage DifficultyHighest DifficultyRides Rated 9+% Rides Rated 9+Rides
Kendall Toole8.248.9500%16
Olivia Amato8.178.9713%37
Jess King8.138.9911%89
Jennifer Jacobs8.058.7200%5
Tunde Oyeneyin8.049.1413%29
Ally Love8.019.0411%123
Ben Alldis7.978.6900%111
Leanne Hainsby7.958.7100%137
Robin Arzon7.949.631213%95
Sam Yo7.928.6400%52
Alex Toussaint7.879.6712%52
Hannah Frankson7.818.6300%51
Matt Wilpers7.798.5000%29
Emma Lovewell7.728.5600%48
Denis Morton7.718.6300%59
Jenn Sherman7.678.3500%43
Cody Rigsby7.608.5400%83
Christine D’Ercole7.528.7200%63
Irene Scholz7.477.4700%1
Erik Jager7.317.4600%2
Hannah Corbin7.238.7200%100

30-minute Rides’ Hardest Peloton Cycling Instructors

NameAverage DifficultyHighest DifficultyRides Rated 9+% Rides Rated 9+Rides
Olivia Amato8.629.20811%71
Kendall Toole8.419.4623%67
Robin Arzon8.399.22109%111
Tunde Oyeneyin8.379.0834%71
Jess King8.369.0643%140
Jennifer Jacobs8.358.9000%20
Christian Vande Velde (Pro)8.339.08120%5
Alex Toussaint8.308.8500%152
Ally Love8.269.5943%140
Ben Alldis8.228.9711%199
Emma Lovewell8.218.8500%153
Sam Yo8.218.7300%78
Irene Scholz8.218.4800%19
Leanne Hainsby8.188.8600%187
Steven Little8.148.7100%14
Denis Morton8.058.7300%74
Jenn Sherman7.988.6700%106
Hannah Frankson7.968.7000%86
Matt Wilpers7.928.8800%82
Cody Rigsby7.918.5600%196
Christine D’Ercole7.858.6000%112
Hannah Corbin7.568.6100%104

45-minute Rides’ Hardest Peloton Spin Instructors

NameAverage DifficultyHighest DifficultyRides Rated 9+% Rides Rated 9+Rides
Christian Vande Velde (Pro)8.789.28638%16
Olivia Amato8.729.2459%54
Robin Arzon8.719.534331%140
Jennifer Jacobs8.678.9500%9
Jess King8.629.12126%204
Ben Alldis8.568.9100%32
Kendall Toole8.569.2256%87
Sam Yo8.528.9200%25
Tunde Oyeneyin8.508.9500%75
Ally Love8.499.202615%178
Steven Little8.439.0413%40
Leanne Hainsby8.418.9937%43
Alex Toussaint8.418.7700%189
Emma Lovewell8.369.0421%166
Irene Scholz8.368.5400%3
Hannah Frankson8.358.7400%32
Denis Morton8.248.8700%155
Christine D’Ercole8.239.0910%256
Matt Wilpers8.239.1956%82
Jenn Sherman8.218.6800%202
Cody Rigsby8.208.6200%175
Hannah Corbin7.838.6900%197

60-minute Rides’ Hardest Peloton Bike Instructors

NameAverage DifficultyHighest DifficultyRides Rated 9+% Rides Rated 9+Rides
Ben Alldis8.849.07120%5
Jennifer Jacobs8.848.9400%2
Alex Toussaint8.578.8000%4
Emma Lovewell8.558.5500%1
Hannah Frankson8.538.5300%1
Jess King8.518.5100%1
Leanne Hainsby8.508.5000%1
Steven Little8.458.4500%1
Christian Vande Velde (Pro)8.458.4500%1
Ally Love8.438.6600%5
Cody Rigsby8.408.6900%8
Christine D’Ercole8.388.7500%39
Denis Morton8.348.3400%1
Jenn Sherman8.348.7300%43
Matt Wilpers8.228.7700%21
Hannah Corbin7.978.3300%4

Hardest Peloton Tread Instructors

This data combines both outdoor runs and tread, but excludes warm-ups/cool-downs and also does not include bootcamps.

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NameAverage Difficulty
Olivia Amato7.91
Becs Gentry7.70
Matt Wilpers7.63
Jess Sims7.54
Selena Samuela7.54
Chase Tucker7.39
Matty Maggiacomo7.39
Rebecca Kennedy7.34
Andy Speer7.26
Adrian Williams7.23
Robin Arzon7.22

Hardest Peloton Strength Instructors

NameAverage Difficulty
Jess Sims7.9
Rebecca Kennedy7.8
Tunde Oyeneyin7.5
Chase Tucker7.1
Adrian Williams6.8

Hardest Peloton Yoga Instructors

NameAverage Difficulty
Anna Greenberg6.6
Ross Rayburn6.5
Kristin McGee6.3
Denis Morton6.0
Marianna Fernandez5.6

The 7 Hardest Peloton Instructors

There is no doubt that Olivia Amato is the hardest Peloton instructor. Other than being the triple hard queen, being among the hardest in cycling, running and strength training, she is the best motivation to kick your ass hard.

And there are more, depending on the exercise that the instructor leads. Let’s get into a list of the top seven;

1. Christian Vande Velde

  • Instructor: Cycling
  • All Rides’ Average Difficulty Score: 8.66
  • All Rides’ Highest Difficulty: 9.28

I always read recommendations for the hardest cycling classes on Peloton, and pro cyclist has always come up. I did not realize that other than the class being hard, the instructor behind it was harder.

He was a Slipstream Sport team member, where he brought home several trophies. He was also among the top 10 Tour De France for two consecutive years (2008- 2009).

Christian is the cyclist behind pro-cyclist rides on Peloton, which he lead solo. They all range between 30 minutes and 45 minutes, and the impact is more than you could imagine. 

Related:   All About Cody Rigsby: Popular Peloton Instructor

2. Olivia Amato

Olivia Amato - Most Hardest Peloton Instructor
  • Instructor: cycling, strength, Tread
  • All Rides’ Average Difficulty Score: 8.55
  • All Rides’ Highest Difficulty: 9.24
  • Tread’s Average Difficulty: 7.91

Olivia’s classes are all on-demand, which he taught between 2019 and 2020. However, if you want a live ride with a tough instructor, Olivia Amato is your girl.

However, that’s not even the most exciting bit about Amato. But the fact that she leads three types of tough exercises and maintains a high difficulty level in them all is.

You will find Olivia’s runs tough, and so are her cycling and strength training classes.

I love that Amato is able to do all this and emerge among the top best, which is really motivating. What’s more, is that she challenges you to do the same; emerge the best. After all, she has the spirit of a cheerleader whose purpose is to get her team to feel that they deserve and can get to the top achievements.

3. Kendall Toole

Kendall Toole - Hardest Peloton Cycling Instructor
  • Instructor: cycling, strength, boxing program
  • All Rides’ Average Difficulty Score: 8.47
  • All Rides’ Highest Difficulty: 9.46

Kendall doesn’t look like it, but you realize how hard she is not until you get to her boxing class. As per her profile and quotes, she fights to break barriers and helps others do the same with fitness and life.

She is outstanding in her naturally easy-going aura, which makes you feel the workout isn’t as hard as in the difficulty level indications. However, once you start taking her cycling class, strength class or a boxing program with Kendall, you realize how much it works for you.

Related:   All About Jenn Sherman: Peloton Instructor

4. Jess King

Instructor: Bike, tread
All Rides’ Average Difficulty Score: 8.44
All Rides’ Highest Difficulty: 9.12

Jess King is among the most popular tread and bike instructors in Peloton, mainly from the hard classes she delivers. She really pushes the class to the limits; sometimes, I feel beyond my limits.

She is also full of surprises, and none of her classes compares to another. However, I have to admit that they are all difficult, regardless of the duration. Even a 10-minute class with Jess King feels like half an hour!

5. Jess Sims

Jess Sims - most Hardest Peloton tread Instructor
  • Instructor: tread
  • Tread’s Average Difficulty: 7.54

Jess Sims is a long-serving athlete, which is no wonder she has that tough resilience on the treadmill. As the hardest Peloton tread instructor, Jess delivers high difficult level classes that get you burning the most calories.

She has always been a leader, even before Peloton, in the sports field, and leading Peloton users through effective workouts are not difficult for her.

Then there is her music, which couples with constant motivation to push oneself to the limits that are possible.

6. Becs Gentry

  • Instructor: Tread
  • Tread’s Average Difficulty: 7.70

When anyone asks me about the best way to train for a marathon indoors, Becs Gentry is the name that always gets off my lips. She runs long and hard treadmill classes, and she also guides through outdoor running exercises.

As an athlete herself, one could easily learn tips and tactics for maintaining composure in the longest and toughest of running exercises.

7. Matt Wilpers

Instructor: Bike, Tread
All Rides’ Average Difficulty Score: 8.05
All Rides’ Highest Difficulty: 9.19
Tread’s Average Difficulty: 7.63

Matt Wilpers has a long track in long-distance running, and he was also a track trainer before Peloton.

While on the bike, he makes power zone and HIIT classes feel achievable, guiding users through tricks to handle the class tirelessly. He also encourages beginners to bring out their best shot, hence most popular among them for tough but friendly classes.

FAQs

Are Long Peloton Classes Hard?

Not necessarily. The length of the class does not determine the difficulty level, though it may enhance it. Thus, you could get a short but hard class and a long but simple class.

Who has the Hardest Classes on Peloton?

Olivia Amato has the hardest cycling classes, while Jess Sims has the hardest treadmill classes. Becs Gentry is the hardest for long-distance classes, while Christian Vande Velde is great with long cycling classes. Ross Rayburn is the hardest for Peloton yoga, and Selena Samela and Adrian Williams are really hard with the strength classes.

Do the hardest Peloton instructors give the hardest classes?

Not exactly. A hard class may be led by an instructor who simplifies it to lessen the impact, especially for beginners. On the other hand, hard instructors make even the simplest classes feel so hard on the body. However, a combination of a hard instructor and a hard class is an excellent idea for optimal performance.

In a Nutshell;

The hardest Peloton instructors could make your peloton classes more effective than they otherwise would. Therefore, it is essential to check out the instructor you take, other than the class you choose.

The good news is that the harder the instructor, the harder you are likely to be working out with them.

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