This was amazing. I love Alex through the Peloton Platform and this book did not disappoint. He really showed us who HE was, and helped with how WE can do better. All of us, as a team. Well written.

Activate Your Greatness is the latest book from Peloton instructor Alex Toussaint. I have been a huge Alex fan so reading his book was just like taking his class. He’s bold, brash and inspirational - his “I’ll Kick Your Ass While Smiling” personality is everywhere in this book.

From how the relationship with his father shaped who he is, from military school to the meteoric rise of Peloton. Alex lays out his life- the good, bad, dark and sad but with an attitude of gratefulness. Activate Your Greatness is part inspirational, part motivational and all Alex.

“But of all that failure, that pain, that darkness, is useful if we make it so. It can become our superpower. I want to tel you the story of how I made it become mine.”

Thank you to the publisher (Henry Holt) and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own. Activate Your Greatness has a pub date of October 10, 2023.

high 3 - my first ever Pelo instructor. so grateful to NetGalley + Henry Holt for the advanced copy - I was tearing up on the couch, in bed, on the treadmill. definitely leaned into being more motivational than memoir in a voice authentic to AT.

Look, I am all-in the cult of Peloton so you need to know that going into this review. I am not frequently in Alex’s classes, but when I take them I absolutely love his energy and coaching style. He is right in there sweating with you.

Alex’s book is mostly memoir, part self-helps and it works. I love his coaching style and that translates into his written coaching style. He makes you think about life and putting things into perspective. I also enjoyed learning his backstory and how he got to be where he is today. He owned every opportunity and his performance even when he was the janitor in a spin studio in the Hamptons. His story also illustrates the importance of mentors. I think about this a lot — someone saw something in you and gave you a chance. It’s your responsibility to do that for others. I take this very seriously in my personal and professional lives.

Thank you to MacMillan Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

"Activate Your Greatness" is a motto that Alex Toussaint embodies and lives by. Toussaint covers his upbringing and how different that was compared to the king of encouragement persona you see on the Peloton leaderboard. His story is truly inspiring, and his words of love, motivation and encouragement in this story are remarkable. This is a slight memoir with a greater focus on self help, and I loved every minute of it.

Activate Your Greatness by Alex Toussaint

As I said before, I am a huge Peloton addict. For some reason, I don’t take Alex’s class as much (I know why. His classes are harder 🤣🙈). I was hoping to read this book as a regular reader, not a member of his fan club. Well I have to say that I became his fan after I read this book.

I appreciate all the openness about his childhood, struggle with his dad, and honest feelings. It was nice to learn where he came from.

I am not sure how I feel about his catchphrases. At first, I thought it was clever, but stretch it to a 200+ page book? Maybe I would feel different if I take his classes more?

Overall, this book was upbringing. It made me reflect myself while reading it. Also, I also wrote down a few phrases so that I could pull it out when I needed little bit of cheer ups.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & co for providing ARC.

AT is known for being a badass on the bike and always pushing the rider’s comfort zone so when I had the opportunity to read his book as part of a galley read through Net Galley, I couldn’t wait to get some insight into his mind. This book did not disappoint. Filled with encouragement for striving to be your best along with stories of personal struggles, I have gained a new appreciation and respect for Alex Toussaint for how much he’s accomplished in life. This is a book that will be a good read/re-read when you need that swift kick in the ass to activate your greatness.

Okay - admittedly, I'm a big Peloton fan. It seems that a lot of the instructors have recently struck book deals and have new releases coming out this year. I was curious to read Alex's book because while I'm a big Peloton fan, I don't know much about Alex and wanted to learn more about him. Alex weaves in his personal journey to Peloton with a lot of pep talk and motivation. I thought it was going to be cliche but I really enjoyed it and truthfully, you WILL be motivated after you read this! Alex talks a lot about overcoming his difficult relationship with his father and about choosing to find the light in dark times. His mantra of Feel Good. Look Good. Do Better. is his personal key to unlocking potential. He takes you through it step by step and again, what one might would be cheesy - it actually does make sense and comes off as inspiring. Not known to be a coddler, Alex lays it out for you: you (and only you) are responsible for your life. You can't wait for someone to save you - you're going to need to do it yourself. Alex wants you to live and not just exist. I went into this book kind of half-heartedly and finished it with nearly the entire thing underlined.

As a Peloton fanatic, I was excited to read this NetGalley ARC. I personally enjoy memoirs more than self-help/improvement books and I wish this swung more in the direction of memoir. The raw and personal stories of Alex’s tough upbringing, family dynamics and his rise through FlyWheel to Peloton were so compelling - I found myself skipping over some of the more motivational sections to get back to the “story” parts of the book. Having said that, the motivational parts felt quite a bit repetitive but perhaps that is standard for the genre. Those parts did not feel novel to me like the “story” aspect of the book did.

The book begins like a scene from Lords or Discipline. But, he had me when he quoted Alice Walker. I really liked this book. It was part motivational book, part memoir, and AT weaved the two together seamlessly. He uses his memoir to serve as motivational reminders. He talks of his childhood rebellions and humble beginnings. He also delves honestly into his relationships with his parents; he uses his mother’s determination and love as well as his father’s disapproval as motivation. The loyalty of his friends shine throughout the book. AT’s story isn’t an easy or glamorous one that you might expect from a celebrity. It is one filled with grit, determination, humility, and a desire to push himself and others to be the best version of themselves. Obviously, I recommend this to peloton riders, but I think anybody would enjoy this book and the lessons within.

As a Peloton fan and member, this book is a must purchase. I learned so much about Alex's story and what activating greatness means to him and steps to take to activate greatness in my own life. It is incredibly well written and you can feel and hear Alex's voice come through the words. I'm already planning on purchasing the book to give as gifts.

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. Activate Your Greatness is Peloton instructor Alex Toussaint’s memoir and motivational story; he details how he grew into the instructor that we feel like we know from many hours spent on the bike and he delves deep into his personal beliefs/motivations that he shares on social media and in class.

I’m an avid Peloton rider and love Alex’s classes. In my opinion, this book brought all of my favorite parts of his class further into the light and really expounded on them in such a great way. Learning about his backstory and rebellious childhood gave me greater appreciation to what he preaches in class today. It also brought him down to earth and made me understand just how many experiences have contributed to crafting the quotes/life lessons that he shares. These different motivational nuggets felt, to me, just like Alex’s classes— tough, but achievable. I was able to easily apply them to my own life and it got me thinking about some of the more challenging experiences I’ve been encountering lately, which is I think certainly is the hallmark of a good book!

Even if you are not a Peloton fan, I think you would still enjoy this book and of course, I think you would even more so if you are! Alex’s story doesn’t mince words but, really gets to the heart of finding the best within yourself, while recognizing that you need to give yourself grace and patience along the way. I found this to be motivational without preachy and enjoyed getting to know more about who Alex really is! Excellent book!!

As an avid Peloton rider, I was excited to read Alex’s book. It was motivating, just as Alex is in classes. I think this would appeal to non-peloton riders as well, but obviously will be the biggest hit for people familiar with Alex.

God bless Alex Toussaint. He’s a national treasure. He’s a doll. I love him, truly. He has been my therapist for the past 6+ years as a Peloton member. I buy his merch, I take most of his rides, I’ve done a ride in studio and he is wonderful, gracious, humble, honest, and fun. But goddamn, was this a chore to read.

I’ve adopted many of his catchphrases as my own mantras…. But they are just that, catchphrases. They need to stay catchphrases. They should not be a hundreds-of-pages book. They should stay sprinkled throughout 45-minute Y2K Hip Hop rides.

Glad I got this as an ARC from NetGalley so that I didn’t have to not-buy it. I am not really an inspirational-book buyer, or even just non-fiction in general… but I still think it’s very average for that genre too.

I truly love Alex and really appreciated his vulnerability and openness in sharing his story, specifically his upbringing. I also loved his story how he went from Flywheel to Peloton and how hardworking he really is.

This was a great read!
I’m from LI and was able to immerse myself in Alex’s life.
While I’m not a huge fan of his rides on the bike, based on music selection, he is genuine, sincere, and has truly turned himself into a passionate advocate!

Alex Toussaint is one of my favorite Peloton instructors, and his confident, inspiring, and no-excuses approach to his classes come through in this book. If you want to understand a little bit more about the amazing human who is behind who he is as a teacher and also be thrown an dose of inspiration for your own life, this book hits those marks brilliantly.

Alex is a great Peloton coach. You always know going in it's gonna be a hard ride, but he somehow makes dying, fun. It was neat to see glimpses of Alex's life that helped him become the motivational force he is today. With Activate Your Greatness he's also setting us up to do the best for ourselves that we can. How to be our best true selves. Thanks to Netgalley and Henry Holt for the advanced copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

I love Alex on Peloton so I knew I wanted to read this book! The book is separated into three sections based on his motto of "Feel Good, Look Good, Do Better". Part memior and part self help he recounts his troubled childhood and the work it took to get where he is today. My favorite part of the book was the Do Better section where Alex talks about his charitable work and how he strives to contribute to his community and society.

I normally do not like self help books. I find them cheesy and inauthentic. Maybe because I am familiar with Alex from Peloton classes and had some knowlege of his background this was the first self help book I really liked. I even found myself highlighting some parts to come back to later. His work ethic and how he turned his life around is really admirable. It was a great book and I enjoyed learning more about Alex's journey.

Let me add a disclaimer, prior to reading this I loved Peloton, I loved Alex's classes. I had already preordered it when I was given the opportunity to receive and advanced copy.

I love his ability to motivate me to be better, His catch phrases I have on my wall next to my Peloton, "Feel good. Look good. Do better.” & Inhale confidence. Exhale doubt.” serve as a reminder every time I clip in.

BUT after reading his book, I now understand the Why, Why he is who he is, his story, is ablitlity to turn himself around from the lowest lows, when the odds were agaisnt him. It makes those cheeky motivational fitness instructer quotes powerful knowing his meaning behind them.

Amazing well written book, I can hear Alex's voice as I am reading,