The Great Online Workout Showdown
Trying — and rating — 9 of the most popular digital fitness platforms
You know them, you love them — today we’re talking about online workout platforms. I’d imagine most of us became familiarized with the concept around pandemic times when we were forced to chart this foreign territory of virtual group fitness. While we know that the general population was a bit too bullish on at-home fitness (sorry Peloton) at the time, that’s not to say these platforms aren’t still kicking. Some of us are even rocking with the same Sculpt Society subscription we started with (I see you).
It’s unclear if these online-only workout programs will continue to surge, although the data points to a hybrid model as the future of organized fitness, much like the workplace. Cool. I wish I could offer a more interesting take, but my feelings toward online workouts in general are pretty neutral. Like all forms of exercise, if it helps you move your body and it works for you, then by all means have at it. I was certainly loyal to a few of these platforms during the lockdown, although I’m partial to a guided IRL experience, be it a trainer or a class. Still, most days I’m free-styling it in the gym solo, which is where the app-based fitness instruction piques my interest.
Why subscribe to an online workout platform?
Well, there are a lot of answers to this question. Potential upsides include: fitness instruction without paying for a personal trainer and/or class, flexibility to workout at your own schedule, accountability to stay active, online community — I don’t need to explain this to you, right?
What makes for a good online workout platform?
This is a bit harder to quantify than a lip balm or a hand cream, per se, because it’s much more personal to your body goals and preferences. Boringggg. I’ll do my best to judge these as objectively as possible through the following framework, but no promises:
Point of View: Sounds weird in relation to a fitness app, but it’s true. You want your workout platform to have some sort of differentiating factor that makes it worth your while. Is the head trainer a former Pilates guru? Is it great for physical therapy? Does it promise to help you build muscle with shorter classes? Most of these are probably over-exaggerated for the sake of marketing, but nonetheless, they need something to give them an edge.
Variety / Quantity: I don’t want to be doing the same four workouts every day. I also want a mix of class durations so I can Tetris them into my calendar.
Difficulty: Not to sound like a teacher’s pet, but I find that most of these online workouts aren’t hard enough. Perhaps it’s simply too easy to slack off (or get injured) when there’s no one physically there with you to correct your form, but I sometimes get the feeling that these instructors think I’m stupid and weak, to put it bluntly.
Price: Some of these cost a pretty penny — which is fine — so long as they’re delivering proportional value.
The Key Players
Let me give you a quick overview of the online fitness landscape before we get into it.
A Few Fun Moves has a mix of guided and self-guided strength-training programs.
The woman who single-handedly got me through the pandemic: Melissa Wood Health.
PYRO is Kirsty Godso’s (former Nike training club coach) new-ish app.
Evlo, a “science-backed” method, got a LOT of shoutouts in the Plant Based chat.
We have everyone (except Mr. Big)’s favorite bike-slash-fitness app, Peloton.
I’m hearing murmurs that Range by Kara Duval is a great mix of Pilates and somatic healing…
Sami Clarke’s Form is a notable favorite among the Alo-wearing girlies.
The Sculpt Society is another big name in the online game, founded by celebrity trainer Megan Roup.
But there’s no one quite like Tracy Anderson and her storied dance/sculpt method.
Obviously I can’t try every single online workout platform in existence, especially because every Pilates instructor and their mom has one now, so if people feel passionately about one that I missed, go ahead and chime in. I’m also adding in a few hyper-specific honorable mentions at the bottom, so check those out first.
A Few Fun Moves
I liked this one! I don’t feel strongly about it, but I liked it! A Few Fun Moves has a solid mix of workout types (strength, ‘support’, stretch, and sweat) to sort through, or you can browse by time or intensity.
In fact, I think the UX is the best part of this platform. I appreciate how they tell you if there will be music in the video, or if you should play your own. It feels like a little sister to Evlo (we’ll get there) with a decent library of mostly strength-oriented classes.
Monthly Price: $35
Type of Workout: Strength, Cardio Interval Training, Stretching, Support (stability work)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Melissa Wood Health
Melissa Wood entered my life when I really needed her (during the pandemic) so I feel somewhat trauma-bonded to her. Maybe this is revealing too much, but my sister and I lovingly refer to her as Melly Girl.
Her classes started out as homespun yoga/Pilates adjacent “flows” which I’m still partial to, but she’s expanded the platform to encompass more trainers who bring other modalities like dance, strength, and barre into the mix. It’s a pretty insane deal for the price you’re paying, and I will say, when I was doing this daily, I was probably the most… svelte… I’ve ever been.
Monthly Price: $14.95
Type of Workout: Pilates, Yoga, Strength, Dance, Pre/Post-Natal
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5
PYRO
In the least creepy way possible, I’m a longtime fan of Kirsty’s from afar, but for some reason I never made my way onto the Nike Training App where she used to do most of her instructing (probably because I was preoccupied with Melly Girl). So when her new platform, PYRO, came across my desk as I was perusing the online fitness landscape, I was immediately in.
PYRO, for one, is aesthetically pleasing, which is a lot more than I can say about a lot of these apps, if I’m keeping it real. The workouts are broken up into two categories, gym and studio, depending on the equipment you have access to. Within those categories there’s a mix of strength training, cardio, sculpting, and her signature “Pyro Tings” format. Kirsty explains it best herself in the intro video, but what’s key for you to know is that some of the classes are self-guided, where she demos each move that you can flip through at your own pace, and some are videos in which she does the workout with you.
I loved this one and I can see myself actually using the weekly schedule. She manages to make the workouts feel both accessible and challenging, so much so that I was empowered enough to use a kettlebell… I think that really says something.
Monthly Price: $35
Type of Workout: Strength, Sculpt, Cardio (treadmill, HIIT)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Evlo
This one is for the girls who want to LEARN. Evlo is not only a workout platform, but a content machine. The founder, Dr. Shannon, is a former physical therapist, and hosts a companion podcast with “practical insights” about fitness. There’s an entire section of this platform dedicated to learning, with specific lessons (i.e. muscle building basics, pre-natal fitness) and nutrition guides from experts.
On that note, Dr. Shannon is adamant about expertise, so all of the instructors are fellow doctors of PT to ensure the moves are joint-friendly and highly effective.
I’d recommend this platform if A) you’re recovering from an injury or B) you’re ready to make some overarching lifestyle changes. I, for one, am not, so I was slightly overwhelmed by the breadth of content on this platform — which is all the more reason this is a very valuable subscription for certain people.
Monthly Price: $56
Type of Workout: Strength, Steady State Cardio, Barre, “Flow”, Pilates-ish Strength
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Peloton
The amount of times I’ve heard some variation of the sentence “I don’t even have the bike but the app is honestly really good,” is criminal. However, it’s not incorrect. The Peloton app is great in that there’s a wide variety of workouts on there and they feel quite professional. Because they’re filmed in a class-type setting (is there a live studio audience?), Peloton is the best option if you want the illusion of a group fitness class.
I will say, it’s very instructor-dependent, and some of them can be rather annoying (sorry). But the classes I’ve tried — and stuck with — have made me more sore than any of the other platforms on this list. Overall great value pick.
Monthly Price: $13
Type of Workout: HIIT, Strength, Yoga, Outdoor Running
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Range by Kara Duval
I will admit I was pretty skeptical about Range because of the way people were talking about it online. Pardon my french, but all the fluffy shit in the reviews led me to believe it would be a glorified stretching session.
Wrong. I did a reformer-inspired class, feeling a little too cocky, and I’m pleased to say I got put in my place. This was one of those classes that sneaks up on you; the moves are relatively simple but after a while you start to really feel them. I now understand the rave reviews — Kara seems like an angel and I’m converted to her cult — and I’d be curious to try more of the nervous system healing videos at a later date…
Monthly Price: $35
Type of Workout: “Pilates, Mobility, Strength Training, Functional Movement and Nervous System Care”
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Form
Look, I know my way around Sami Clarke’s YouTube channel, so I had already known she was a certified personal trainer before Form came onto the scene. Her classes on Form are reminiscent of those original ab-routine videos she made eons ago, but with better sound quality and lighting.
The classes on Form are the only ones out of this whole showdown where I completely forgot about the time and was shocked by how fast it went by. The moves aren’t anything you haven’t seen before, but the workouts are reliable and it feels like you’re being taught by a friend who’s slightly more advanced than you are.
Other fun bonuses are the nutrition content (dietician-created, Sami-approved) and a dedicated section for cycle-syncing your workouts.
Monthly Price: $28
Type of Workout: Strength, Pilates, Pre/Post-Natal
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Sculpt Society
I had a brief stint with Megan during the pandemic, although in all honesty I wasn’t interested in dancing enough to keep at it. Now that I’m tapping back in, I see she’s really built out the library (over 900 classes) with other class types including yoga, strength, etc.
The bang for your buck is pretty good here and I have no real qualms. I simply don’t feel passionately about TSS since I’m not looking for dance as a primary form of exercise, you know?
Monthly Price: $20
Type of Workout: Dance Cardio, Yoga, Pre/Post-Natal, Strength
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Tracy Anderson
This shit is insane.
I know I just said that I don’t enjoy dance cardio, but once we hit pandemic month four or five, I was desperate to put my pent up energy somewhere and I could only walk around Central Park so many times. And if I’m being totally honest, I just needed to know what was going on with Tracy Anderson’s whole deal.
I still don’t know what her whole deal actually is, but I wish someone warned me how completely deranged these classes are. Her signature method is comprised mainly of dance cardio sequences with what I’d described as expert-level choreography without any verbal instruction. This is because “when you track and mimic Tracy’s movements, you tap into your physical self, stimulating both the brain and your body’s metabolic rate.” Sit with that for a second. I looked like a lunatic flailing my body while attempting to understand what Tracy was doing while in my parent’s bedroom. I don’t think my cardiovascular health has ever been so good.
There are also shorter sculpt-style classes that have their own choreographic flare, plus chair sessions and stretching videos that count as “electives.” The price is almost as shocking as the workout, but it comes with monthly menus, virtual body consultations (?), and a subscription to the Tracy Anderson Magazine, so…
Monthly Price: $90
Type of Workout: Dance Cardio, Sculpting “Boosts”
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Big Takeaways:
If you want an interesting take on a mat Pilates workout, go with MWH.
For an online version of an upscale gym experience, I’d recommend PYRO’s classes.
If you’re recovering from an injury or just in the mood to immerse yourself in kinesiology information, go with Evlo.
The Peloton app is probably the best bang for your buck in terms of class variety and intensity.
For the ~holistic energy~ girls that still want to feel something in their workouts, go with Range by Kara Duval.
If you want to have your ass handed to you, you have no choice but to try Tracy Anderson. Consider yourself warned.
Other Honorable Mentions:
Sky Ting TV for yoga with a sense of humor
Open for a mix of meditation, breath work, and light movement
The Floss for Bonnie’s unparalleled fascia “flossing” technique
TERA’s Online Studio for straight up good Pilates instruction from
The Class for, how else can I say, The Class
That’s all for now. Actually, wait, here’s a new playlist for making it this far. Reply to this email or leave a comment if you want to reach me. :)
Hi! A few people sent this over to me and as a sensitive soul, my heart started pounding in my chest as I read through this! Thank you so much for including Range and I couldn’t be happier that you enjoyed the class you tried! I absolutely understand what you meant about being nervous it would be “fluffy” because of peoples chosen words but the truth is…Range is filled with a bunch of humans, who write like poets, and have put their foot down against the toxicity of the movement industry! We work so hard on Range, just in a way that also feels like you’re receiving a big hug and taking a deep breath of fresh air while doing it! Thank you so much Katie, you have no idea how much I appreciate you including Range.
love seeing andrea from AFFM on here w the big dawgs ❣️❣️