“There’s an app for that,” says everyone about everything for every minor inconvenience. Hungry but don’t want to wait in the drive-thru line? Try Uber Eats. Need a ride but don’t want to drive? Try Lyft. Not sure what type of makeup shade to get? Compare shades through Sephora’s Virtual Artist. How about getting in a workout? Now, an app can’t do the workout for you, but there are plenty of workout apps to get you moving.
Just like bad social media challenges, at-home workouts are back too, but not like those Jane Fonda VHS tapes. At-home workouts are returning in app form, making it more convenient to get a workout in, anywhere, at any time.
The rise of digital products continues, and fitness hasn’t been excluded. Workout apps have been on the rise for quite a while. There are many reasons why people prefer to exercise with digital help over going to the actual gym.
Currently, a big factor is hygiene. But there are other underlying reasons, like not having enough time, feeling excluded, anxiety around people watching, not having enough experience and, lastly, gyms can be expensive. Did you know the average adult aged 18 to 65 spends around $155 per month on their health and fitness?
But now, with workout apps, there really is no reason to pay such an extravagant amount. Though there are a lot of misconceptions about working out at home, it can be rewarding. If you think back to the past, there was no fancy gym equipment and there were no weights. All people had was their body weight — cue Fonda.
Working out with your body weight is a type of resistance training. If you want to get fancy, you can even add in resistance bands from your local Walmart or pick up a few gallon jugs to use as weights. Any type of movement with intention to work your muscles increases muscle strength by making your muscles work against a weight or force.
What’s even better is that if you’ve never worked out before, you only need to train three times minimum to gain the maximum benefit of resistance training. Beyond the aesthetic appeal of building muscle, working out also offers improved posture, decrease of injuries, improved sleep, better self-esteem and many other benefits that you may be struggling to find.
It’s no secret that one common thing people put on their New Year’s resolutions is to get fit, yet 80% of new members will quit the gym they joined within five months. As mentioned before, gyms can get pricey, but there are other factors for this steep drop out rate. And honestly, workout apps combat all of them, which is why they are perfect to use.
1. Peloton
One app that really has it all is the Peloton app. You may have heard of the Peloton bike, which is an indoor exercise bike with online streaming classes. They have an app too, which also streams classes live or by demand.
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This is an impressive workout app coming from a corporation. Whether you’re male or female, interested in running, strengthening, cycling, yoga or outdoor workouts, Peloton is at your fingertips. It will bring a live studio feel to you, anywhere you are, in your home or on the go. Peloton also syncs to your Apple Watch, so you can track your heart rate, the distance you ran and the calories you burned.
2. Fit By Katy
The Fit By Katy app is another option for home workouts as well as gym workouts. Though it’s more geared toward women, per branding, the workouts can be used by anyone. With the basic version of the app, you spin a wheel to see what section of the body you’ll work that day.
If you want to use the premium version, you’ll get the workout generator along with demos, a nutrition guide, seasonal promos and a tracking section for your progress. When talking seasonal promos, the company offers workout challenges for an eight-week period at a higher fee, but you can also choose to get guidance — or no guidance — from them. Or you can wait for the promo workout guide and keep them forever.
3. Blogilates
Blogilates by Casey Ho is another workout app tailored to women. Blogilates began on YouTube, then developed into an app that offers free workout calendars, food suggestions, recipes, workout infographics and more.
If you haven’t figured out by the name, it’s a play on Pilates, which was designed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s. It’s a method of low impact flexibility with strength and endurance. It really focuses on the core and posture, if that’s your aim. If you’re looking to spend the least when it comes to at-home workouts, I highly suggest this app.
4. Tone I tUp
Similar to Blogilates is the brand Tone It Up. Tone It Up is specifically designed by a woman for women, though I’m sure anyone could use it and work up a sweat.
The app essentially offers personal training anywhere, and users can select from a vault of workouts — choose something specific like leg workouts or something as broad as yoga, with live classes and on demand videos.
5. Fiit
Fairly new to the workout app field is Fiit, which has a similar format to the Peloton app, but with a free and premium version. But this app has a few more specifics, such as the Fiit Mum series and a low impact course.
The brand also offers challenges where users can win prizes related to health and wellness, although you have to pay to join.
There are many other at-home workout options; these are just a few of the well-known and up and coming apps that are available. Some people shy away from these apps because they don’t know what they offer, and others may just think they still need special equipment — but that’s far from the truth.
Workout apps offer comfortability and flexibility. Whether you’re using the freemium or premium version, you’ll be sure to break a sweat. And along with workouts, there is also the aspect of nutrition, which needs to be considered in order to make the most of your workout time. Perhaps there’s an app for that too.
