Gyms Closed Due To COVID-19
The 2 fitness apps that are still a WOW! for 2022
If you are a gym-goers, this must be bad news. Especially when you have no gym equipment at home for a specific workout. But hey, listen up! It’s not the end of the world. Since the pandemic crisis, most of us work from home (WFH). So, exercising is no exception. We can gym at home as well.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I didn’t work out for the entire month. The gym was closed and my motivation was low and the worst part is, I’ve been eating like there is no tomorrow. And after a while, I realized this kind of routine giving a bad impact on my weight and my body. My energy level was low, and I became lazier, which unfortunately affecting my work. That was the moment I knew I need a C-H-A-N-G-E and stop using COVID-19 as an excuse. So, I started searching for fitness apps that I could use to help me go back into working out — from home.
The 2 Fitness Apps That Are Still a WOW! For 2022:
1) NIKE Training Club (Home Workouts & Fitness Plans)
i) The “Breakthrough Challenge” Through Programs This app has different workout videos and dedicated trainers for each specific program you choose. They will guide you all the way, depends on your entry-level:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
You can see how long the program is, how often you will be working each week, the fitness level and how long the workouts are. Under programs, you will be told what types of equipment you need and the right environment the workouts are constructed for. Apart from that, the program you choose will provide you with practical articles to read, like recipes for healthy food and different health topics to keep you motivated.
ii) The “One-Off” Workout (Workout Focus) This will be based on the specific body goal that you want to work on. There is a variety of exercises and workouts which include yoga, endurance, strength, and mobility. You can find a class based on muscle groups that will enable you to find a workout that suits you to focus on:
- Abs & Core
- Arms & Shoulders
- Glutes & Legs
iii) Connectivity with Apple Watch If you are using an Apple watch, then this is an advantage for you. The Nike Training Club app works perfectly with the Apple watch. You can see your pulse workout data from your Apple watch — For example, how many calories burnt, average heart weight, and more. As soon as you started workout from your iPhone, your Apple watch begins tracking the workout. This allows you to monitor your heart weight, calories burned, and more — depending on your workout formats, as it will display specific information. For example, if you do a class or whiteboard workout, you will see a timer along with your calories.
2) FitOn (Free Fitness Workouts & Personalized Plans)
i) Ultimate Fitness-Goal Direction At the beginning of the sign-in session, you will be asked few questions about your fitness goal. There are:
- Your goal weight
- How many workouts per week do you want?
- How much time do you have to work out?
- How many weeks do you want to start with?
You may select your favorite types of classes, from cardio, strength, HIIT, toning, dance, kickboxing, barre, pilates, meditation, stretch, yoga, spinning, and treadmill. These questions are the guidelines that will help you choose what kind of workout that works for you depending on your choice of answers, and you may select over one type of class that you wish to join.
ii) Celebrity and Master Trainers One big thing about this app is there are few celebrity trainers that you can choose from, like Gabrielle Union, Halle Berry, Jonathan Van Ness, and Julianne Hough. You can do the specific workouts together with the celebrity you choose. For example, you can join Gabrielle Union to do the happy hips workout with no specific equipment or you want to join Halle Berry doing the re-spin Martial Arts Flow and all you need to have with you is just your workout mat. Isn't that exciting? Apart from that, you can choose over 25 other expert trainers depending on what type of workout you want to start with.
iii) ‘On-Demand’ Workouts What I like the most about this FitOn fitness app is its ‘On-Demand' workouts. There are tons of workouts that you can choose spanning from: Meditation, Stretch, Cardio, Kickboxing, No-Equipment workout, Quick Hits, Before Bed workout, Low Impact workout, Small Space workout, Prenatal and Postnatal workouts, and even With Kids workout, and many more.
These workouts will have their master trainers that will guide you along and you won’t feel isolated doing it from your home. In addition, the high videos quality, clear audio sounds, and great workout music during the workouts will make you feel you are in an actual studio.
iv) Advice on Fitness, Self-Care, Wellness & Nutrition FitOn app provides more articles for you to read based on your personal fitness goals. You may explore more tips to inspire your fitness routine where you may read topics like “6 Ways to Boost At Home Workout Calories” and “5 Hacks to Get Your Fitness levels Back on Track After a Break”. Under Self-Care, you may read articles that may help you improve your mental, emotional and physical health like “These 5 Minute Meditations May Help You Sleep Better Tonight” and “Evening Ritual Dos and Don’ts For Better Sleep”.
There are also articles on how to maintain wellness, like “Burnt Out? Recharge With This Staycation That Feels Like a Legit Getaway” and “Why Science Says We May Not All Need 8 Hours of Sleep”. Under Nutrition, FitOn provides you articles to help you explore tips to improve your daily nutrition like learning facts about healthy eating, you may read “The 8 Best Foods to Eat That Will Fill You Up” and “Easy One-Pan Meals That Get Dinner On The Table Fast”. I have read their article on The Ultimate Guide to Making Homemade Pizza The Healthy Way and I was fascinated to try making healthy pizza recipes. Another big shout-out to FitOn app because they provide articles on meal plans from breakfast to dinner.
v) Meal Plans Apart from reading articles on how to prepare your meal plans, the FitOn app also provides you with the 12-Week Meal Plan. For this plan, answer a few questions firmly. Below are the questions you'll be asked and few options you'll need to choose:
a) How many meals do you want per day?
- Lunch + Dinner
- Breakfast
- Lunch and Dinner
- 3 Meals + 1 Snack
- 3 Meals + 2 Snacks
b) What type of diet do you follow?
- Standard
- Pescetarian
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
c) What items do you struggle with?
- Junk food
- Sugary foods
- Binge eating
- Emotional
- Stress eating
- Sticking to healthy habits
d) What holds you back from eating healthy?
- Social support
- Willpower
- Cooking knowledge
- Nutrition knowledge
- Lack of time
- Lack of money
After you have answered all those questions, it means your personalized meal plan is set up and ready to enhance your fitness program to help you reach your workout goal even faster.
vi) Get Fit Together With Friends via Social Medias Another great feature about the FitOn app is that you can invite your friends via text, email, Facebook, or just click on the symbol share and you can share your workout routine videos, favorite articles, or favorite meals with your friends on WhatsApp, Instagram, and even Telegram. You have probably heard the saying Friends that work out together, stay together. You and your friends can share the workout progress through the FitOn app and continue inspiring and supporting each other.
Honesty is the best policy
My honest review of the NIKE Training Club and FitOn fitness applications
I have tried both NIKE Training Club and FitOn applications and what I can say about these two digital fitness platforms is all the programs in both platforms are systematics. The other reason why I like these apps is the connectivity with the technology. If the Apple watch works compatibly with the NIKE Training Club app, Garmin also works well with the FitOn app. Fortunately, both fitness apps are available on Android and iOS — and work well on most smartphones.
Not only these apps are ultimately great, but these apps also offer unlimited FREE workout classes spanning from yoga to HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training). Besides that, these studio-style workout routines not only had me sweating and panting all the time during the workouts, but they also helped me with some ideas on how to prepare my diet meal by joining the meal plans program. If you want to do the workout with a great choice of music, I would recommend FitOn.
This is the only downside of the NIKE Training Club app because this app doesn't provide music in the app, but you can always use your own music in the background while working out or just focus on the instructions without music. Well, I personally love workouts with music, but hey, to each their own. I would say both NIKE Training Club and FitOn apps are such a lifesaver during this pandemic crisis and I have no doubt these two fitness apps are always a great choice for the long run.
What about you guys? Do you have any particular fitness apps that you are following right now?
