DOWN DOG - YOGA
The Apple Fitness app is packed with workouts of all kinds, whether you’re a HIIT fan, below, or a spin class addict
With Down Dog you get a brand new yoga practice every time you come to your mat. Unlike following pre-recorded videos, Down Dog won’t make you do the same workout over and over again. With over 60,000 different configurations, Down Dog gives you the power to build a yoga practice you love!
We say: I have tried a LOT of yoga apps, believe me. And almost all of them have one thing in common – an intensely irritating narrator, whose voice is much more likely to enrage than relax. They tend to be either too ethereal and breathy, or too bright and breezy. Down Dog is one of the few that avoids both. And that’s not all that it has in its favour. There are a number of voices available to take you through your yoga journey, and a wide range of settings to allow you to really tailor your sessions both to your ability and desired outcomes. £49.99/year, £8.99/month everyone. But it does feature some of his trademark workouts and a comprehensive healthy eating recipe section.
It allows you to plan everything in advance, so you just need to visit the app each day to see what you’ll be doing and eating. And the monthly check-ins allow you to really see the progress you are making.
Cost: £59.99/year, £14.99/month
APPLE FITNESS
They say: The first fitness service powered by Apple Watch. 11 workout types, including HIIT, Pilates, Strength, Yoga, and even Walking. Stay motivated with real-time metrics, like your heart rate, onscreen. New workouts every week, from 5 to 45 minutes.
We say: Apple’s Fitness+ programme demands an Apple Watch (and therefore an iPhone, too). But it is far and away the most comprehensive and slickly produced system on this list.
It covers many different kinds of activity, some requiring equipment of some kind, some not. There’s even a whole section of guided meditations to help you with your mental wellbeing as well as your physical fitness. Its tight integration with Apple Watch and the metrics it measures means it also has the most depth and breadth in terms of tracking of progress – it stores everything it captures in the Apple Health app, so you can get a very clear idea about how your workouts are affecting your health.
Available as a standalone subscription, you can also get bundles with other Apple services (like Apple Music and Apple TV+), which may make it a much cheaper proposition if you are already signed up to any of those. Cost: £79.99/year, £9.99/month
FABULOUS - DAILY ROUTINE PLANNER
They say: Join millions of Fabulous users and create a healthier, happier life. Fabulous will help increase your energy levels, be more focused, lose weight and sleep better by building healthy habits and routines in your life.
Fabulous takes a holistic approach to motivate you to be more productive and have higher energy. We’re more than just a habit tracker, or a way to create new rituals; we’re your own personal coach.
We say: Fabulous is all about retraining your habits
– it kicks off with a few questions, asking you what your current routine is like, and what you feel you need help with. It will then tailor a routine just for you. It prides itself on a well-rounded scientific approach. Some of the advisors behind the system have some very long strings of letters after their names.
Built into the app are exercise and meditation routines, as well as weight-loss advice. But it’s the building of good habits that the app is really focussed on.
Cost: £39.99/year, £6.99/month
75 HARD
They say: Are you stuck in life? You feel like no matter what you do, your career, fitness, and relationships just aren’t where you thought they would be? Feel like you are not reaching your full potential? This program is for you.
We say: 75 Hard is unusual on this list as it does not require a subscription – buy the app and you’re in. It’s also different as it is not made by a fitness expert, but by a successful entrepreneur who has transposed his knowledge into a fairly simple system for changing the course of your ‘wellbeing journey’.
Basically all you have to do is follow some simple rules for 75 days. But it is, of course, hard. The tagline for the system is ’75 HARD is how you win the war with yourself’. This will tell you almost everything you need to know about whether it’s right for you.
The app offers a simple way to track progress, with a daily selfie illustrative of how you are doing. 75 days is certainly long enough to recalibrate your habits, and it might be that this approach fits with your psychology.
Cost: £4.99