When you’re pregnant, your body goes through a number of changes. You may start to notice weight gain during pregnancy. You may also find it difficult to retain your fitness during pregnancy.
Once you give birth, you want to get back to your fitness routine, lose the weight you gained, and feel confident about your body again. It’s not easy for every woman to work on their fitness postpartum, especially when there are complications that you experienced. With the best postpartum workout app on hand, however, you can greatly simplify the process of weight loss and working on your health.
We’ll take a closer look at the benefits you can expect from a postpartum workout app. We also show you some of the best app options and how you can pick a good one.
What Are The Benefits Of Using A Postpartum Workout App?
You can expect several benefits from a workout app that helps women post pregnancy. Convenience is definitely one of the main benefits that you can expect.
When you decide to join a gym for postnatal fitness, then you have to drive there every time you want to exercise. Women postpartum usually wants to spend time with the newborn. This means you may have little spare time on your hands. These apps give you instructions for exercises that you can do at home.
You’ll also find that a large number of these apps allows you to create personalized programs that fit your needs. When you fill out a form that asks about some of your personal elements, such as your weight, height, and goals, the app can use that data to personalize a plan just for you.
Motivation is another benefit, especially if you want to take up new workouts you haven’t done before. This can help to get you up and going, instead of being sedentary. There are many apps that allows you to become part of a community. You can use the community as a way to see how other moms are progressing. This can help you stay motivated and continue with your own program.
Some of these apps focuses on more than just regular exercises throughout your postpartum journey. For example, they may contain details about pelvic floor exercises too.
The Best Postpartum Workout Apps To Try
You’ll find quite a diverse selection of workout apps on the internet. This really complicates the process of picking one that works for you. You want to participate in workouts that are safe for post pregnancy.
This means they should take into account factors like abdominal separation that happens during childbirth. This helps to prevent damage to your abdominal wall while you perform these workouts.
We are going to take a closer look at three of the best apps that are great for post pregnancy. The apps are grew for new moms who want to get their body back, but also good if you have had kids before.
Aaptiv
First on our list is Aaptiv, an award winning app that offers a diverse range of workouts. There are qualified personal trainers that records the videos that you can find on Aaptiv.
This ensures you get interactive content that professionals produce. It’s great for building flexibility, boosting energy levels, and improving your overall health.
Benefits
The workouts on the Aaptiv platform caters toward different people. Whether you need more energy or want to lose weight in six weeks as a new mother, there are programs for everyone on this platform. Many of the programs on Aaptiv prioritizes giving you real and noticeable results in a 30-day period.
Another benefit is the fact that Aaptiv offers a free trial. This allows you to test out the exercise options on the app. You can then cancel the trial if you are not happy with the platform. There are thousands of different workouts in various categories, such as cardio, strength training, and more.
Drawbacks
While the Aaptiv app is great, it does lack some of the personalization options that you can sometimes find on other apps. You may also find that it takes a while to get used to how the app works. Another problem that we should note is the fact that the app essentially forces you to subscribe to the trial offer before showing any pricing information.
This can put you at a blind spot when you sign up and enjoy the content, only to find the platform too expensive once the trial is over.
Pricing And Access
You can access Aaptiv on any web browser. The company also has a mobile app that you can download on Android and iOS devices.
There are three different plan options available. Each of these plans offer the same benefit. They give you the ability to do some exercises even on those busy days.
The plans only differ in pricing based on whether you want a monthly subscription or to pay upfront.
A monthly plan costs $14.99 each month. If you decide to pay upfront for three months, then Aaptiv bills you at $9.99 per month. There is an annual plan that adds more savings, as it costs $99.99 for a 12-month subscription.
FitOn
Next is FitOn, another great app with high-quality workouts that you can follow. The app offers details on everything from gentle walks to sit ups and even bodyweight exercises.
Benefits
FitOn offers a free plan that gives you access to many workouts without paying a fee. There is also a subscription option that expands on the content you can access.
The app has several categories that you can explore. Whether you want to do calisthenics, yoga, Pilates, or work on your cardio – you can easily navigate to a category and browse the different programs.
Many of the workouts also does not require equipment. There are several celebrity trainers that host the workout videos.
Drawbacks
While a massive community seems like a benefit, you may feel like you are drowning in the large crowd. You may find the forums to be very busy at all times. This can make it difficult for moms with a new baby to find help when they struggle.
There are apps for various devices, but even though you can find one for Apple TV, there is no FitOn app for Android TV.
Pricing And Access
When you decide to upgrade to a paid plan, you’ll find that FitOn is actually very affordable. It costs $29.99 for a 12-month plan.
BodyFit
BodyFit by BodyBuilding.com is from a brand that is well known in the exercise and training industries. The app is good for yoga, cardio, stretching, and more.
Benefits
The BodyFit app was designed to serve as a virtual personal trainer for you. There are also several tracking functions that you can use with the app. This allows you to get more accurate data when you track your progress. There are also a couple of full body transformation guides on the app.
Drawbacks
A major drawback is the fact that some of the workouts are in the form of an article.
You want a quick way to see how you should do perform these exercise and focus on your movements without reading through a lengthy article. Some people also find that the core programs on the app feels a bit generic.
Pricing And Access
You can choose between a monthly or annual subscription option. The monthly subscription costs $9.99 and you can cancel at any time. You can get access to a discounted rate if you pay for a year upfront.
Factors To Consider When Subscribing To A Postpartum Workout App
There are many apps you can use to help you set up workout routines after you give birth. The problem is, not all of these apps offer the same benefits and quality.
Whether you want to work on your pelvic floor muscles, reduce your body fat, or build some muscle mass – you need to know what to look for in a good postpartum fitness app.
The first step is to gather a list of apps that offers postpartum exercise options. You can then refer to the list we share below to help you analyze these to ensure the one you choose complies with your fitness journey.
Safety
During postpartum recovery, your safety is a priority that you should not overlook. Take a closer look at the specific exercise program options that you can choose from with each of these apps. Postpartum women should be careful when they do exercises, as they want to prevent injury during this time. Make sure the exercises take this into consideration.
Personalization
You should also ensure the app you choose offers an excellent level of personalization. There are some apps that allows you to connect with a personal trainer. This can be a great way to create a postpartum fitness program geared toward your body and needs.
The at home workouts you get access to on the app should fit your goals. This could include working on your abdominal muscles, losing weight, or simply improving your fitness.
User-Friendliness
You don’t want to use an app that makes it difficult to access training programs and instructions. You want to work at your own pace and have an easy time navigating the different exercises.
A user friendly interface will ensure you are able to easily browse different programs and exercises. It can also make it easier to keep track of the progress you make.
Progress Reports And Tracking
Another important feature to look for includes progress reports, as well as tracking features. Busy moms do not want to navigate through complicated functions to learn how they are doing. Make sure you can keep track of your workout routines easily. Some apps allow you to set your weight and connect to devices that offers accurate progress data.
Pricing
While some of these apps do have a free plan, there are usually paid subscriptions. When you subscribe, you’ll often get access to more features on the app.
Make sure you consider the pricing of different apps, as some of them can be quite expensive. Streaming services that also includes nutrition plans may also be on the higher side. They may, however, include a greater variety of information and educational resources to help you reach your goals.
Conclusion
After giving birth, you may want to turn to fitness apps to help you lose weight and improve your body composition. While you can hire a personal trainer, there are fitness apps that can provide you with a personalized plan. This allows you to spend time with the newborn while still taking care of your own fitness. Start with the three best app options that we looked at in this post to help you find one that works for you.
Dr. Ahmed Zayed holds a bachelor’s degree in medicine from Alexandria university and is a practicing plastic surgeon. He’s our expert on all things nutrition, medicine, rehabilitation, and flexibility. Dr.Ahmed has been a medical content writer for more than 11 years and his work reached top publications such as the HuffingtonPost