Jess King Shares What It Is Really Like To Be A Peloton Instructor

When you sign on for a Jess King Peloton ride, be prepared to sweat — and sweat steady. In fact, "Sweat Steady" is the name of one of King's theme rides where you don't stop for 30 minutes straight, climbing an imaginary hill on your bike to nowhere that can take you a million different places in your mind. King doesn't just teach the ride, she lives it with you, breathlessly, pushing her body to the limits and giving you the motivation to push your own.

King comes to Peloton from the world of dance and studied fine arts in college, according to OK! Magazine. In fact, she appeared on the reality competition series "So You Think You Can Dance" in 2008 and even made it into the top 10 toward the end of the season but had to leave the show due to an injury. At the time, she explained what happened to Entertainment Weekly: "The pain in my side that I've been having is a little bit more than just a cramp. I broke two ribs and fractured one."

But that didn't get King down as she eventually forged ahead with a career that gave her name recognition again — at least to the millions of members of the Peloton community.

Jess King joined the Peloton world in 2014 after life as a professional dancer and a professional fitness instructor. By the time Peloton came along and made her an offer to join their new business model of bringing live fitness into people's homes with instructors they could think of as friends, King was also a life coach. Peloton allowed her to combine her love of performing, fitness, and mental wellness into one package.

"As a dancer, I was always expressing with my body and the music and evoking an emotional sense through that discipline into the medium," she told OK. "But then with a microphone, I was like, 'Wow. I really need to have something to say.'"

Talking and connecting is a large part of being a Peloton instructor and a large part of the company's appeal. You can definitely get a workout that will leave you breathless, but the workout is never boring as instructors share their little life tidbits to show they are human, too — and then get you to push some more.

King also comes by her love for fitness naturally, as her mother was a fitness guru herself. "My mother was a competitive bodybuilder, the owner of personal training boutique fitness studios, and she educated and exposed me to all the things fitness and wellness," King told The Path. "Making the transition into fitness was natural."

For Jess King, being a Peloton instructor is so much more than just teaching the mechanics of fitness, whether it be a cardio ride on the company's signature bike or a workout on the floor doing strength-training exercises.

"We're so passionate as coaches about getting messages across to riders, of being there to support them, of knowing what's going on in their lives," she said on an official Peloton Get To Know Jess King YouTube video. "And it's been one of the most beautiful relationships."

She went on to talk about how dance helped change her life through movement and also how movement with Peloton changes millions, something that motivated her to join the team. "This actually changes people's lives on a tangible level," King said. "I've had riders tell me they've awakened and so I do have the ability to help and change and transform people, and I wanted to."