Best fi tness apps for New York City moms
BY HESTER ABA
In the life of a busy NYC
parent, fitting in time for
working out is a challenge.
While we miss heading to a
cool downtown studio to check
out the latest fitness trend,
or sweating it out at the gym,
COVID has meant that most
of us have transitioned to athome
workouts. There is an
overwhelming number of options
when it comes to fitness
apps and classes offering online
streaming, so I checked
out some of the best New Yorkbased
fitness apps to see what
I loved (and what I didn’t!) as
I sweated and danced my way
through four weeks of fitness
fun. While I initially set out
to find the “perfect” app, I’ve
realized combining a few app
subscriptions means I can
pick and choose the best workout
to suit my mood, and to
deliver endless variety. And
even the price of all of these
app subscriptions combined
is still much less than a gym
membership!
Peloton
Peloton is best known for its
proprietary stationary bikes
and treadmills (and the long
waitlist to receive your purchase
once you’ve ordered!)
but they also have a standalone
fitness app that allows
you to take Peloton strength,
running, bootcamp, yoga, cycling
and meditation classes
with their coterie of charismatic
instructors. Classes
range in length from five to
60 minutes, and are easily
searchable by type, level and
even music genre. I’ve been using
the Peloton app for a couple
of years now, in conjunction
with their bike. I mix up
my workout routine by adding
in barre, pilates and full-body
workouts using free weights
or my own body weight. Pre-
COVID, I would use my Peloton
app while traveling, as the
majority of workouts just need
a mat and a small space. New
classes are constantly being
added, and I’ve learned which
instructors I love and who will
motivate me to push myself.
Peloton is definitely best-inclass
in terms of the sophistication
of its offering, but for me
it’s not a complete solution, so I
like to use this as my base app
for four days of the week, and
then add on one or two more
workouts from other sources
for novelty! Peloton has some
basic prenatal strength and
cycling content, but there’s
definitely room to grow this
category further.
What I love about the
Peloton app: Peloton’s instructors
are incredibly positive
and encouraging — I feel
like I have a sense of connection
to their different personalities.
I love working out with
Cody if I’m having a hard day
because he always makes me
laugh, and Robin makes me
feel like I can go out and kick
some butt! I also love how
Peloton has the rights to use
famous artists’ music, so you
can workout to really fun pop
and hip-hop playlists. Another
great thing that Peloton has
(which none of the other fitness
apps I tried have) is that
they offer rewards and badges
for completing challenges, or
for getting a “PR” (personal
record). I find this incredibly
motivating, and it’s also easy
to see which workouts you’ve
already completed and track
your progress over time.
What’s not so great: One
of the reasons why I started
looking outside of the Peloton
app was because I really
missed my in-person Pilates
classes, and Peloton’s Pilates
content isn’t as developed as
some of their other categories.
If they had a dedicated Pilates
instructor and introduced
more content in their category,
their app might be my allaround
winner.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.20 COM | APRIL 16-APRIL 22, 2021
The investment: $12.99 per
month (check for current promotions
to see if you get your
first month free).
Melissa Wood
NYC-based mama and
influencer Melissa Wood’s
app contains a blend of short
and longer pilates and yogainspired
workouts and meditations.
Wood’s vibe is calm,
semi-spiritual and very targeted,
with minimal cardio
and a lot of focus on creating
“long, lean lines” via repetitive
stretching and toning
movements with either just
bodyweight, or one-pound ankle/
wrist weights, along with
the occasional use of resistance
bands and balls. Melissa
Wood is the sole instructor on
her platform, leading all of the
workouts, and she proposes a
weekly schedule made up of
previously filmed content and
helpfully mixing longer and
shorter classes with slightly
different focuses (e.g. legs one
day, abs another).
What I love about the
Melissa Wood app: Melissa
Wood’s workouts, especially
her ab workouts and standing
series are just incredibly effective.
If you follow her weekly
program, within a couple of
weeks you will notice a firmer
core and tighter legs and booty.
Her program really works,
and is really great for women’s
bodies. She includes plenty of
time for taking a breath and
recovery within the workout,
and gives guidance on how to
avoid injury. Melissa Wood has
both pre- and post-natal content,
and has two children of
her own. There’s a lot of planking
and core work involved,
and even eight years after having
my youngest, my mid-section
still has a lot of room for
improvement! But since starting
the Melissa Wood workouts,
I can actually see a hint
of abdominal muscles peeking
through! Now if only I could
put down the cookies…
What’s not so great: Melissa
Wood’s app functionality
is basic, without the ability
to see which workouts you’ve
previously completed, and as
she films most of her workouts
in the city, you can often
hear sirens, construction and
other street noise in the background,
which can be a little
distracting during a meditation!
Melissa Wood’s workouts
also do not feature any
background music. I actually
find this quite pleasant and it
allows me to really hear her
instructions, but it might not
be for everyone.
Investment: $99 per year or
$9.99 per month. Melissa Wood
offers a seven-day free trial.
The Sculpt Society
Created by former Brooklyn
Nets dancer, Megan Roup,
The Sculpt Society, or TSS, is
a dance-based approach to fitness,
which also incorporates
elements of Pilates. If Melissa
Wood is your calm, spiritual
older sister, Megan Roup is
your energetic, bouncy little
sister. TSS’s app is designed as
an all-in-one approach to fitness,
and as Roup is currently
pregnant, she has started to
introduce some new instructors
on the platform. TSS has
a great selection of beginner
content that takes newbies
through some of the basics of
dance cardio moves, which
as someone with zero coordination,
I really appreciated.
Then to kick off, you can follow
a 10-week introductory
program which mixes dance
cardio and “sculpting” classes
(more Pilates-based) with
short stretches to get you going
on the platform. TSS classes
quite frequently use props
including light hand weights,
ankle/wrist weights, bands
and “sliders,” but I substituted
towels for sliders and found
these worked just as well.
What I love about the
Sculpt Society app: Megan
Roup’s vibe is upbeat and infectious,
and her workouts always
start off with some energetic
movement, so TSS classes
are always a mood-booster for
me. Like the Melissa Wood program,
the moves are extremely
effective for strengthening the
lower body and abdominals,
and I like the focus on being
“strong” instead of mentioning
physical aesthetics. I loved
the introductory videos, and
the content is beautifully shot
and slickly produced. The sequences
of movements that
TSS features are very well
thought-out, and there’s plenty
of scope and suggestions
for how to both level up your
workout, or to scale it down.
TSS has a special pre- and
post-natal program including
pelvic floor workouts.
What’s not so great: The
pace of the workouts can be
quite quick, and so I sometimes
need to pause the video
and rewind it to ensure I’m
doing a particular sequence
correctly. I also sometimes
find that TSS’s core sequences
strain my neck, which doesn’t
happen with the Melissa Wood
workouts. The TSS accompanying
music is fun and lively,
but seems to be generic opensource
music, or at least, this
old lady never recognizes any
of the tunes!
Investment: $119 per year
or $19.99 per month. TSS offers
a 14-day free trial.
HEALTH