Aaptiv: My favorite app of the year
My favorite app of the year 2017 is Aaptiv!
Aaptiv is a fitness app that helps you get most of your workout. The app has recorded audio sessions by professional trainers, who play you music, motivate and give you step by step guidance on how to have an effective workout. It really works! I couldn't go on a treadmill for over 15-20 minutes, but with Aaptiv I've went up to 45 minutes.
Aaptiv allows you to choose from different workouts. Each workout has several sessions from multiple trainers. Image Credit: App Advice
Health and fitness is about motivation and determination. Most fitness apps help you track your calories or program your workouts, hoping that you’ll develop good habits. I tried using My Fitness Pal for quite some time, but couldn't keep up with recording what I eat everyday. Aaptiv really takes you out of your “planning couch”, and motivates you to achieve your goals!
The app has a variety of workouts from cardio to strength training and yoga. For each type of workout, you can pick from multiple trainers and often multiple playlists and level of workout - beginner, intermediate and advanced. The trainers are very personable too. Sometimes, when I’m just generally looking for motivation, I go to the gym and do my favorite workout.
It was interesting to see how in a very competitive health and fitness market, Aaptiv has been able to get a good subscriber base. They started with very aggressive pricing. A 7-day free trial, and then just $49/year. I got an year subscription - it was a steal deal! Recently though, they have increased their pricing; moving up to the standard $10/month or $100/year. And, if you think Aaptiv is your life long companion, you can get a lifetime membership for $349 (The expected lifetime of a customer is just about 3 years! 🤔)
Not all’s great with Aaptiv though. If you miss what the trainer was saying, you need to pause what you are doing, pull out your phone, rewind and get going again! It happens all the time, and I wish they could just send me a notification on may Apple Watch when I have to change my speed on the treadmill or increase incline on the elliptical. In fact, this might also bring in people who want to play their own music, but want the trainer to structure their workout. I do see why Aaptiv wouldn't want to do that though; it's the motivation talk, and not just the workout programming that is core to their product.
I also see a great opportunity to up sell here. With so many different workouts on the app, I’d love to get a personal workout plan that meets my health goals. While the trainers say you could reach out to them on e-mail, or Instagram (seriously!), I’m sure it’s too hard for them to respond to hundreds of people. Instead if they could charge me a little more, and provide some level of personal advice, I'd be down to pay the extra charge. Personal trainers are so expensive!
There’s plenty of room of room for growth, and I hope future updates will offer more.