Get in shape with the best seven-minute workout apps
The best seven-minute workouts on the planet are the ones you’ll actually do. This is what I know for sure after testing out more than 30 of them over the past few months. That and yes, they really do work. Adding in short blasts of high-intensity interval (HIIT) training consisting of various strength, cardio, core and flexibility exercises whenever I have a spare seven minutes in my day have helped me get stronger, leaner, faster and to feel better overall.
My favorites are all free, though you can subscribe for more features to most of them as well. But free works just fine. They’re all available on iOS and Android (except for one). They’re all built around the science-based concept of high-intensity circuit training using body weight, so you don’t need any fancy equipment.
The study that kicked off this whole seven-minute workout fad four years ago notes that the secret sauce is to strategically work different major muscle groups (upper body, lower body, core) each time you do the workout. This allows for one major muscle group to rest while you work the next muscle group, resulting in a superefficient, super-effective routine.
The other important part? It has to be tough — 85% or more exertion for 30 seconds to one minute, followed by a 10second rest. Or, as Heather Tyler, an NSCA-certified personal trainer and owner of Simply Fit LA wrote to me in an email, “You know that feeling like you’ve run up five flights of stairs, your heart’s pounding in your ears, you’re dripping sweat and you sound like a donkey wheezing?”
That’s basically the effort level most will need to strive for, and if you’re not fit to begin with, it’s an effort level you have work up to. The good news? Most of the apps have different workouts for beginners, intermediate and advanced fitness levels.
Here are my favorite seven-minute workout apps.
Johnson & Johnson 7-Minute Workout App
If you’re looking for a customizable, well rounded, safe and truly free seven-minute workout app, you can download this one and get to work right this second. It features 12 different 30-second exercises, with five seconds of rest in between.
It’s great for beginners and athletes, syncs with your iPhone Health App to take your other daily movement into account, and the workout library has 22 presets that you can customize to create thousands of variations. You can swipe right or left during the exercises to see how much time you have left, watch the instructor or listen to music from your iTunes.
Seven App by Perigee
This app has a huge variety of exercises and would have made the #1 spot if it weren’t for the fact that even though you can do it for free, you’ll end up paying for a subscription to access all of the exercises and motivational tools. Seven has you do each exercise for 30 seconds, with 10 seconds of rest in between. It shows each move with 3D illustrations and written prompts for beginners.
Wahoo 7-Minute Workouts
This app doesn’t give you the fancy video demo’s or illustrations the ways the others do. If you want to see how to do an exercise, you have to watch a video separately, which is a little jarring. Other than that, it delivers just fine in a series of exercises, with a firm voice to get you through them.
7 Minute Fitness Challenge App
This is another one you can try for free, but you’ll end up paying $2.99 and more for full access to all of the various exercises. I like that the video instructions are led by both male and female trainers, and they do a great job guiding you through each exercise via video, audio, image and text.
Blogilates
The tagline for this one is, “Train like a beast, look like a beauty.” Again, you can try it for free but will end up paying $1.99 to access the timer and another 99 cents to access the best videos. (All About That Butt is one of my favorites.) It’s less about jumping jacks and more about holding a particular pose (like a half squat) until you’re crying. The workouts are designed to tone, strengthen and elongate muscles.
7-Minute Workout For Kids
OK, this one if for the kids, but grown-ups can do it to too. With animated instructions, catchy music, and all the basics of the other full-body workouts, this is another top choice overall. The exercises include some more advanced moves, like tricep dips with a chair and push-ups with rotation, so it’s a great one to do with your kids.
Yoga Wake Up (iOS only)
This one is different from the others in that it’s yoga (duh), but also really mellow. You won’t be wheezing or sweating buckets, but you likely will feel better. The best part? You can do the movements from bed.