Openfit Review: Why You Need This Workout App

Whether it’s losing the Quarantine 15, your annual New Year’s resolution or the simple desire to get healthy, finding the right exercise and nutrition program can be a challenge. Finding one that isn’t disrupted when you travel is an even bigger challenge. Here, one SheBuysTravel who doesn’t love to exercise shares her honest review of Openfit. The exercise and nutrition app helped her lose 10 pounds and several inches and feel healthier overall in just 15 weeks. Even better, she thinks she’ll be able to keep it up even during a family vacation.

Are you looking to magically lose weight, tone up, and feel healthier? Yeah, aren’t we all. In real life? Start exercising, find a program, do it faithfully at first and then it fades. That exercise motivation just isn’t always as strong as it needs to be.

Maybe you just aren’t using the right fitness app. Fifteen weeks in, I’m here to give you an honest Openfit review as a paying subscriber. Read on to find out what I love about Openfit from the barre classes and on-demand workouts to the nutrition plans and meal plans and what could be improved.

How I Ended Up on the Openfit Fitness App

Before I get to the Openfit review I want to share a little backstory. Feel free to scroll past to get to the nitty gritty but I feel I first need to explain my complete dislike for exercise.

If you told me in January I’d be finishing out the year writing about fitness and how much I loved working out daily I’d have laughed in your face. I wasn’t exactly out of shape. My husband’s idea of a fun weekend is a 5 mile walk daily. Our hectic home life (4 kids, 2 dogs, a father-in-law with cancer who requires appointments and care) kept me on my toes.

Back to back pregnancies, little control over my own schedule, and constant emergent medical needs paired with some stress eating (and drinking) left me about 10-15 pounds heavier than I was comfortable with.

Covid Changed Everything

Then March 2020 hit. Schools closed. My paramedic husband was prepping to work extra shifts and walk into the unknown. My father-in-law was in a skilled nursing facility awaiting imminent daily radiation for a second type of cancer. Everything slowed way down.

Suddenly, I wasn’t racing around to doctor’s appointments, cramming my work-from-home life into school hours, and commuting 50 minutes round trip to bring the girls to school. I started thinking more about my health. How I was always putting everyone else first while putting my own autoimmune health issues on the back burner.

In April, my neurology check-in was canceled due to Covid.  I made it to my September rheumatologist check but walked out more confused than ever. A flare in July had left me practically immobile for days. I parented from an armchair, telling my 10-year-old what to feed my 4-year-old for dinner.

Bloodwork provided no great answers. Feeling helpless, I threw myself into preventative care. If doctors couldn’t treat what was going on, I needed to do everything humanly possible to stop it from happening again.

At-Home Workout Apps: Finding the Right One

I didn’t find Openfit first. Facebook showed me ad after ad of workout apps and at=home workout options. BodyFX looked like fun. Basically you danced and slimmed down. I enjoyed the first few workouts of my trial but realized quickly that it wasn’t something I would stick to long term.

Openfit was the next membership I tried. The Facebook ad in my feed showed Andrea Rogers gracefully executing pilates and barre moves in her Xtend Barre program. Flares left me clumsy and struggling with grip and balance issues. It felt like this was the perfect match.

Realizing Barre Is a Workout

I started with the Ballet Sculpt Express class thinking the 15 minute length would be a good intro. My legs were on fire after. I think I muttered “Oww, oww, oww” as I climbed the stairs for three days after.

As silly as it sounds that was exactly what I was looking for. It was clear that this workout had done something.

It’s 14 weeks later. I’m on a 14-week streak in the app, have lost 10 pounds, participated in 6 challenges, walked 81.3 miles, and completed 172 classes.

To say I’m blown away by how the Openfit app has changed me is an understatement. This isn’t a paid or sponsored opinion. I found Openfit.com on my own, did the free trial, paid the $96 annual fee and basically want to tell everyone how amazing the experience has been.

If you’re considering a workout app, at-home workout regimen or just want to schedule some time every day for you here’s my Openfit Review with 12 things I love about Openfit and 2 things I think they need to work on.

Read More: 13 Easy Ways to Stay Fit on Vacation

Openfit Review

1. Openfit offers a wide variety of classes.

Xtend Barre brought me to Openfit. I stuck to it at the beginning and exclusively followed the different calendars it offers. After I was comfortable with my progress and felt like I could do more, I started experimenting with other classes.

The programs available range from programs that will get you ready for a 5K, a Tough Mudder T-Minus 30 training calendar, HIIT (high intensity-interval training) classes, foam rolling instruction, strength-training, kickboxing and even a program called Rough Around the Edges taught by stuntwomen!

2. Openfit focuses on wellness, not just exercise.

Even if working out is your main focus, look into some of the other offerings. There is a wealth of sound meditations that span different focuses from Gratitude to Reclaim Your Day to Vibe Yourself to Sleep.

I also have found the Guided Meditations to be extremely relaxing and the perfect 30 minute reset for really rough days.

3. There are nutrition programs and meal plans available.

I know that exercise alone isn’t going to magically change my body. It has to be accompanied by proper diet and smart choices.

Here’s the problem though:

Normally, I go on Pinterest. I start pinning 85 million different recipes and ideas and suggestions. But in reality? Researching and planning menus is a giant time suck.

When I realized that the Openfit app had a nutrition section I was ecstatic. It takes every ounce of work out of the equation. I completed the Sugar Free 3 diet, twice. This 21-day meal plan (get it 3 weeks?) came with videos to watch that had all instructions to begin and stay successful.

Flexible Meal Plans

To top it off there was a meal plan you could follow and grocery lists to print based off of meals you chose. The best part is you still have choices about what to eat. So many diets leave you feeling trapped. You basically have to plan what to eat when and can’t change it.

The Openfit app lets you change meals on the fly. Just click on the meal or snack and hit replace. The app will populate it with things you could choose instead while still meeting your daily nutritional goals.

The recipes were actually really good. My kids ate most of them. My husband who loves seconds but also watches his caloric intake was amazed by how much food we got to eat. The portions were large and I felt full every day. If you aren’t interested in a sugar-free diet, there also is a One Min Meal Plan that is filled with easy low-calorie choices.

Openfit Review Tip: Be sure to take advantage of the Openfit nutritionist. You’ll be able to ask questions and get advice which is a valuable service!

4. How Much Does Openfit Cost?

Honestly, this was one of the best parts for me. Openfit offers a free 14 day trial. I realized during this trial that it would be a program I could stick to. The cost for Openfit can be as low as $8/month when you pay annually ($96- this is what I did). Other Openfit pricing options are 6 months at $10/month (paid in one payment of $60) and a 3 month plan (payment of $39) working out to $13/month.

Openfit Review Tip: Your membership to Openfit.com covers all categories of classes, meditations, nutrition assistance, and meal plans. I loved that there is no nickel and diming. Once you pay, you get it all.

5. Earn badges while working out!

While I may not be a born fitness buff, I am a lover of fitness goals and rewards. After completing my very first Openfit workout I received a badge along with a Congratulations to my email. Upon completion of my third workout I got another badge. Looking further into how badges worked I found that you could earn them for trying different types of workouts. Driven by the quest to collect more badges I started experimenting with other badges.

Yes, I am a grown woman who likes stickers and will workout for a gold star. So I was pretty darn excited about special badges!

6. Challenges keep things interesting.

One of the ways that Openfit.com keeps things interesting for users is with challenges. Challenges roll out on a regular basis and offer a set calendar of workouts. At the end if you complete the program you get a special badge and sometimes additional prizes. You can bet I was signing up for those!

My first challenge was through Andrea Rogers Xtend Barre–the Back to Me Challenge. Reconnection with yourself was the focus. The calendar included daily workouts of roughly 30 minutes, a once weekly 40 minute live class from the comfort of your own home, and optional weekly video chats.

You took measurements and pictures at the beginning and end and submitted them for prizes. There is a private Facebook group for the Xtend Barre users of Openfit. Part of the motivation to exercise came from this group. Members were exceptionally supportive of each other. People would drop post-workout selfies, challenges they were having, modification recommendations, and personal victories. Everyone else would cheer them on.

Personal attention from program leaders.

Andrea’s dedication to this group, along with Bryan who runs so much behind the scenes, was a driving factor in sticking to a daily workout schedule. Every Monday she’d be on video for an hour plus taking questions from us on Zoom, getting down on the floor to show us how to modify exercises, and encouraging us. This personal touch is something I didn’t ever realize would be available through a workout app.

Excited by earning badges I quickly racked up my class count with Andrea Roger’s Xtend Barre Ab challenge which featured one barre/pilates class daily alongside a 10 minute ab workout that had me begging for mercy the whole first week.

The “Fitmas” challenge had us “unwrapping” a surprise workout daily for the “12 days of Fitmas.” Workouts I never would have tried, like HIIT Tabata training (HELLO glutes!), have become favorites. The Treat Yourself Challenge introduced me to the Yoga52 program and foam rolling. These incentives to really broaden my workout horizons have been appreciated.

7. Live Classes provide real connection.

Live classes weren’t one of the reasons I joined the Openfit fitness app. In my mind, I would have been happy to just do pre-recorded classes. When the barre challenge had live classes on the calendar every week I was a little squeamish about it.

Here’s what you need to know about Openfit live classes: You can choose to have your camera on or off. I was on the “off camera crew” for awhile. If you put the camera on, only the live trainer can see you.

For these classes a series of exercises in pre-recorded video play on the screen. There is a live chat available to drop your questions/comments in. You can also message the trainer directly with questions.

The certified trainers’ job is to lead the class. They talk through the exercises, motivate, and offer advice on how to do moves more effectively. If you are doing well, they praise you. If there is a slight adjustment you could make to get more out of the workout, they will let you know. It’s essentially like having your own personal trainer watch you work out. You’ll get valuable feedback.

Community within live classes.

Where I really started to appreciate the live workouts was with the Everystep Challenge.

I joined a three week walking challenge. Seven days a week there was a walk between 15 and 40 minutes.

Obviously, a walking class it works a bit differently. Your trainer can’t see you but the settings you authorize on your phone through the app allow them to see your real-time pace, distance and even the shape of your walk. There are settings to designate if you’re outside or on a treadmill.

These workouts were at the same time daily and I started “seeing” the same folks in the group chat. Trainers would encourage us to hit pace, let us know how far ahead or behind we were and share nutrition info during our walks. Fun walks like DJ’s choice, Trivia, and Games were sprinkled between cardio and interval walks on the schedule.

Live classes are scheduled daily across multiple “genres” and during all day parts. They cap out at 70 participants so be sure to sign up for challenge classes and popular ones early.

8. Certified trainers take your workout to the next level.

I talked about trainers above. These professionals are friendly, knowledgeable, and filled with advice on how to safely execute moves at home.

The caliber of trainers employed by Openfit is truly impressive. Shout-outs to London-based Alisdair who makes walking entertaining. Casey is bubbly and always makes barre fun. Courtney is chatty. DJ’s Choice walks with her always feel like hanging out with your BFF. Morgan will whip your booty into shape.

One of the things I really appreciate about Openfit is that it employs a diverse group of trainers. Logging on and hearing trainers like Medwin and Ritvik pronounce my name — Nasreen — correctly was something that I didn’t even realize would mean so much to me until it happened.

I will say there is one trainer who I don’t schedule classes with. Despite repeated private messages, the trainer continues calling me Noreen and anglicizing the names of other classmates. I just don’t get the same warm and fuzzy feeling and motivation when I’m congratulated on my 1 mile mark by the wrong name. I wish Openfit would add a pronunciation hints. It must be a challenge for the trainers!

9. On-demand classes are available 24/7.

If your schedule prohibits you from signing up for live classes or you just like to spontaneously work out, on-demand classes are available. Simply search for a classe by category or program and press play.

When my husband and I go for walks, I’ll sometimes pop on an on-demand Everystep class to record our pace and distance. Plus then the distance counts towards my miles walked in app. This is why I love Openfit as a friendly travel workout app.

10. The community is encouraging and uplifting.

I touched on this when talking about the barre Facebook group, but the Openfit Community deserves its very own shoutout. A private social media Facebook group called Openfit Teammates is available to app users. It (like the Xtend barre group) is extremely encouraging. Openfit does a fantastic job of announcing upcoming challenges in this group and announcing new and exciting things we should look for.

In addition, the trainers are very active in this group offering that added level of connection. Many Openfit users form accountability pods and small groups on social media to motivate each other to exercise. Reading everyone’s success stories and struggles motivates me to do better.

11. Openfit is the perfect travel workout app.

If you’ve made it this far you might be thinking that all this talk of exercise is great but aren’t we a travel site? Yes.

When I was a territory sales manager I traveled for business 3-4 nights a week. I wish I had known about this app then. Habits are hard to form. They take time, dedication, repetition and travel can throw these habits for a loop.

The beauty of Openfit and its variety of workouts is that they are portable. You can do these classes from the comfort of your own home or in a hotel room in Sacramento. Hotel gyms were never my thing and an app like this would have been a great way to stay on track.

The details for classes on Openfit spell out the level of intensity and list any equipment needed. There are hundreds of no-equipment-needed classes that are perfect go-to travel workouts.

Openfit Review Tip: Openfit is available on laptop, IOS, Android, Roku, Chromecast, AppleTV, and Amazon FireTV. Some of these work better than others. Live classes can be tricky on some of the TV integrations. OnDemand classes were sometimes challenging to locate or didn’t exist on my laptop. My phone always worked with the app. I detail some tech challenges at the end in my things to improve section.

12. There is a commitment to improve and expand.

One of the things I really love to see in companies is growth, that they’re working to improve services for their customers and are listening to what they want.

Over my time using Openfit I’ve seen challenges added based on the feedback of users, additional class time slots added, and numerous new programs added. Openfit has actively sought out fitness influencers and brought them into the program.

In January, Sophia Rose will start her Bomb ASS Body program. Her Instagram following of a half-million-plus led Openfit to her. Andrea Rogers brought her Xtend Barre program to Openfit and after the success of her Xtend Stretch videos an entire stretching series was release.

The company also added an Openfit Nutritionist. Sara posts regular nutrition content in the Facebook group and answers questions specific to your nutritional goals. It is a great benefit to have access to a nutritionist and be able to ask questions!

Openfit Review: Two Ways Openfit Could Improve

Tech Improvements

Like any app, Openfit has some glitches. Badges weren’t registering for some folks after challenges. Some classes taken off of people’s dashboards weren’t getting registered as completed. The tech replies included directions to go into the program and play the class again from within the specific program to get credit. Glitches are responded to with workarounds rather than solutions.

A user should be able to play a video from their upcoming workouts dashboard and have it log properly. I’m hopeful that this will be addressed early in 2021.

For food tracking I’d love to see something close to MyFitnessPal instituted where it is easy to scan a barcode and add a food you ate. Adding foods that weren’t set meals/snacks was next to impossible and nutrition information was often inaccurate.

Family Membership Option

As mentioned above I’m a little possessive of my class count and am badge oriented. My son and husband have both found classes they enjoy on the app. I really wish there was a way to add members in your household for a cut rate and toggle between the profiles. Right now I take their classes with them so it doesn’t mess with my count.

Openfit Review: Where I Am Now

Well, that’s it. My full, comprehensive, novel length Openfit review! Fifteen weeks after starting this journey and doing two rounds of the Sugar Free 3 diet and I am down 10 pounds and countless inches. But more importantly, I haven’t had another flair. I’ve felt myself starting in that direction a few times and have been able to adjust my workouts to stretching and walking. It’s by no means a magical cure but I feel more in control of my health.

In addition, it’s really given me the motivation to carve out time for myself. The kids know when I’m exercising they need to only interrupt if someone’s bleeding. They sometimes do yoga or walking classes with me allowing me to model healthy habits to them. My father-in-law is back home so we’re back into full medical schedule and caretaking. Other times that’s led me to ignore my health. This time I’m squeezing in workouts and maintaining my goal of at least 5 days a week of activity.

Please let me know if you try it out. I hope to see you in a walking class or other class soon. I think I’m the only Nasreen so far so say hi to me on live chat and let me know I led you there.