Workout Apps That are Worth It

With spring coming up soon, I’m starting to up my workout game to make sure I’m as confident as can be in my warmer weather clothes (wearing sweats every single day and eating cozy rich winter foods has def not helped my fitness levels).  After a nice lazy winter, I’m now focusing on moving my body 3-5 times a week - whether thats at home workouts or just walks around my neighborhood now that the temps seem to slowly be creeping up. 

For my at home workouts I’ve been testing out just about every fitness app under the sun to see what will make me most motivated to get moving. My biggest pro tip after this experiment - try any and everything you might be interested using free trials. This way you can see what you really like before committing to spending money!  (And make sure to put a notification in your calendar the day before your free trials end so you can cancel in time if you’re not feeling it).

Some of my favorite fitness apps I’ve been using are below:

1. Sweat, (119.99/year (making it 9.99 a month) or 19.99/month after 7 day free trial)

   Kayla Itsines is a powerhouse in fitness for a reason.  Her SWEAT app and BBG (aka Bikini Body Guide - she admits the name did not age well) pack in classic workout moves that can be done in a gym or at home (think squats, burpees, lunges, etc) in short 27-30 min workouts.  Her moves are all about strength and give a great variety.  I love doing her 27 min workouts at home when I wanna get moving but be done quick.  She constantly keeps you moving and never has you do the same move for more than a min so these workouts so by insanely fast. They definitely get the blood and sweat pumping. The app also has challenges you can be apart of to help keep you accountable and calendar that suggests what you should be doing each week, taking the guess work out!

2. The Sculpt Society (119.99/year (making it 9.99 a month) or 19.99/month after 14 day free trial)

   Megan Roup who founded The Sculpt Society started her career as a dancer,  so her moves are great for a long lean body.  I really like fitting in her sculpting routines since they work your muscles to exhaustion but don’t add bulk - they’re especially great for your bum. My favorite workouts though, are her dance cardio routines.  You don’t need to be an all star dancer to follow her moves, she goes nice and slow in the beginning allowing you to pick it up, but the movement and repetitions will get you sweating. Her training style is motivating without being overly bubbly or too sweet (can’t stand that!) so you’re sure to end her any of her workouts in a better mood. 

3. Nike Training (Free to use) 

   The Nike Training app has a great variety of workouts from pilates, to yoga, to HIIT.  This is definitely a great app to have downloaded if you’re seeking variety, especially since you can access a ton of workouts for free!  You can browse based off muscle group, the equipment you have on hand, and what you want to focus on (ie. endurance, strength, etc).  One of my favorite Nike Master Trainers on the app is Kristy Godso.  Her workouts are extremely hard but she's great at pushing you through to the finish line! 

4. Nike Run Club (Free to use) 

   Another free to use Nike app specifically for running, is Nike Run Club.  This app is great if you want to just log your runs or do a guided running program with a coach helping you pace yourself.  I personally use this app to track my runs at my local track - when using the basic settings you can set a goal for how long or how far you want to run and can log your miles, timing, and average pace. 

5. Core Club ($34.99/month, after 7 day free trial)

   Core Club by Pilates by Amanda (a California based pilates instructor) is a newer find for me and my current obsession.  I try to do these workouts 3-4 days a week.  You can tell Amanda filmed quite a few of her videos during quarantine to give her studio clients a way to workout with her at home, and they are definitely just as hard as an in studio class. She has a great series on fundamentals where she walks through the moves she uses in subsequent videos at a slower pace, which I found super helpful. She also has a full series using no equipment which can be done anywhere and a few more advanced series that use props like weights, pilates rings, and balance balls.  No matter which series you are doing she talks you through where and when you should be tightening muscles so you can rest assured you are learning to do each move correctly. 

6. Peloton ($12.99/month after 30 day free trial) 

   The Peloton app is another one I tried recently and if you have an exercise bike it is definitely something worth subscribing to.  Since I don’t personally have a bike, but I did test out some of their other workout programs, which were challenging and made for a good mix of workouts like running programs, HIIT bootcamps, yoga and other strength training as well.  What’s great about this app though is if you prefer to workout live with others you can tune into live classes as well as countless others on demand. Definitely worth signing up for the month long free trial to check it out!

7. Sweat with Sweats ($19/month or $199/year)

   This is a new program which launched earlier this year that I have yet to try but am looking into adding it into my routine!  Started by Elizabeth and Dale from Sweats and the City, this program is all about community. Each week they have a schedule of 4+ live zoom classes with new instructors each time, and they both attend - so it’s like working out with people again!  If you’re not into live zoom workouts pr working out in front of others all those live classes are saved in a digital archive you can access after the fact as well.  This really looks like a great option for those seeking variety!