Having less access to gyms lately hasn’t been ideal for those who used to go on a regular basis. Even if you never used to workout, more and more people are fed up being sedentary at home, and are searching for new ways to stay active. Many have been turning to fitness apps for exercise.
The consensus is that fitness apps are a great way to stay fit from your own home – or anywhere for that matter. With most of them, you don’t even need any equipment! Just your phone.
But it seems to be a pretty crowded market, so if you’re interested in subscribing to a fitness app, it’s hard to know which one to go for. Our editors compared four of the top apps in the space- Aaptiv, Sworkit, 8Fit, and Freeletics.
Here’s what we found:
App Similarities:
- All apps require no equipment
- Your workouts will be guided by an expert personal trainer
- Your workouts are accompanied by music
Each App’s Stand Out Point:
- Aaptivhas an AI coach plan designed to reach your personal goals
- Sworkits has a lot of great motivational music
- 8Fit can include a meal plan
- Freeletics Bodyweight plan is designed to build strength
Aaptiv Overview
Aaptiv is an audio-based exercise app with a huge variety of fitness classes designed and taught by certified personal trainers and set to curated playlists. Workouts are organized by exercise, music choice, intensity, and trainer, so you can choose the type of workout you’re looking for.
With Aaptiv, you’ll have access to thousands of workouts. Classes range from a quick stretch under 10 minutes to running, strength training, elliptical, yoga, and even meditation.
Aaptivhas a genius Coach feature that creates a custom plan with all of your wellness goals in mind. They are constantly updating their app with new classes every week, so they offer a huge variety of programs to help you meet your goals. Whether you’re training for a 5k or a marathon, want to learn pilates or yoga, or are even looking for pregnancy workouts, Aaptiv has something for you.
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Sworkit Overview
Like Aaptiv, Sworkit is an app where you are guided by personal trainers. The playlists are organized by workout. With Sworkit, you have access to more than 400. You choose the time you have to work out to suit your goals and it will recommend workouts to you.
However, unlike Aaptiv, Sworkit doesn’t dynamically adjust to fit your fitness level as you go along, so you’ll have to manually change your goals and workouts. You can build your own custom workouts and save them, but you’re limited to only three. Overall, it is a lot more limiting than other apps.
8Fit Overview
8Fit offers a fitness program and a meal plan. You choose your fitness level to start – beginner, intermediate, advanced, expert, etc. All exercises offered by the app are high intensity 10 – 20 min long routines. This app’s exercises are accompanied by how-to videos. But compared to Aaptiv, there simply wasn’t as much variety.
The app offers personalized meal plans based on your goals and dietary needs. However, unlike the other apps, you can’t schedule the next session until you completed a workout, and this can’t be done a week in advance.
Freeletics Overview
Freeletics has a few plans – Bodyweight, Gym, Nutrition, and Running. The most popular is Bodyweight, a fitness training program with 10-30 minute bodyweight workouts that require no equipment.
Like 8Fit, you have the option to get meal plans at an extra cost. It also has video tutorials for their exercises, we found these videos crashed for us a few times when using the app. Although this app covers 4 different plans, Aaptiv still offers a bigger variety of workouts and plans that are much more personalized because of their AI.
Final Notes
There’s no downside to getting more workouts into your routine, and fitness apps are the perfect way to do so. However, if you’re looking for a variety of workouts, an amazing and up-to-date music playlist and a more personal approach to fitness, Aaptiv offers all of this and more.
Aaptiv gives the perfect amount of structure to their exercises that you need to stay motivated and reach your goals. The workouts are very doable but also aspirational enough to improve.
With 8Fit and Freeletics, watching a video every time you want to exercise is less convenient. Plus, the workout plans weren’t as personalized.
Aaptiv’s month-long fitness challenges help keep you on track and in a routine. The guided exercises are engaging, and the music they generate for each exercise is always super motivational.
Mostly, because of the sheer variety of workouts that Aaptiv offers ( thousands as opposed to hundreds like the other apps), there are workouts suitable for anyone’s personal goals.
Update: Aaptiv is offering a special offer for our readers. Follow this link and sign-up for your 7-day free trial to see why Aaptiv is our favorite fitness app.