Body

Why you need Aaptiv in your life

Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to move more? It was one of mine.

Last year we made the best decision in hiring a personal trainer who kicks our backsides out of bed every Monday morning, makes us want to die for an hour, and then leaves. He really is the best. But, the rest of the week then passes in a blur and the only other discernable exercise I do is our two hour trot along the coast every Sunday.

Until someone I’ve worked with before on another account got in touch about a pretty fabulous app that allows you to carry your own personal trainers around in your pocket.

Now I don’t belong to ‘that’ medical aid and I refuse to pay nearly R1000 a month to be a member of my local gym. But, I am the type of person who needs someone telling them what to do; otherwise I’ll just grab a coffee and sit at my desk.

Enter Aaptiv – the app that has made me love exercise again. I’ve even ran (thanks, Meghan!) It’s the top rated audio-based fitness app on the Apple App Store thanks to its 2500 workouts and 30 new ones added each week, each paired with fantastic sound tracks and pointers, tips and encouragement from your trainer. You can use it wherever you want, whenever you want and do whatever you want.

There are 21 categories (so far) to choose from. From marathon training, to partner challenges, to mediation and stretching, whatever your vibe, they’ve got you covered! You can filter by duration, music genre, trainer or workout level. You can also download workouts to do offline (very important in a country with data costs as exorbitant as ours), as well as track your progress in your stats profile. There is also a workout summary when you finish each workout, as well as a follow up email with suggested workouts based on your preferences.

You can also catch up with the trainers on social media, and build relationships with them. It’s great for helping to keep you motivated, even on days when you’d rather curl up on the couch with a Jason’s Doughssant.

If you want to try it for yourself, listen to a sample workout here, then you can get a 30 day free trial, after which you’ll be hooked and it’ll only cost you R1200 for a whole year, R195 per month, billed monthly or you could go the whole hog and do R5250 for a lifetime membership. For experts in various disciplines, that’s basically for free!