BetterMe App Review

Is the BetterMe App 28-day workout routine worth it? Like me, you may have seen Instagram or Facebook ads for the BetterMe App. The ads, which I’m sure are tailored to me, feature a ripped 50-year-old man with gray hair and a gray beard. They state that he got his “20-year-old body back at the age of 50.” I like to try all sorts of workouts, so I was interested. I’m 45, but I do not have a body to “get back.” However, for a fleeting second, I thought, “I’ll try this app for 28 days, and then I’ll be ripped.” Of course, I know that’s not true, but I’m always looking for ways to spice up my exercise routine. I like to take occasional breaks from my day-to-day workout routine, which is in the Movement tab of my website, and the BetterMe App 28-day routine appealed to me. The BetterMe ad stated that it is a calisthenic workout, so I figured I could do it at home without much, if any, equipment. The price point is around $30 per month, which is much less than a gym membership, so I tried it.

The BetterMe 28-day routine is a calisthenic, bodyweight, and HIIT-style workout regimen. The workouts last from 20 to 30 minutes maximum, and no equipment is required. There is a calorie counting food diary that breaks down your calories and macronutrients, i.e., protein, fat, and carbs. The app also contains a step counter. There are motivational readings, which seem to have a cognitive behavioral therapy approach to help change core beliefs around exercise, food, and body image. There are also separate sections, which I did not explore to a significant degree, that contain additional workouts, meal planning advice, and other tips, and there is even a BetterMe store where they sell their gear and exercise bands.

This is an independent review, and I have no affiliation with BetterMe.

I would give the BetterMe 28-day routine an A for beginners and a B+ for intermediate level folks. I really like their approach for many reasons:

Positives

Ease of use. I just opened the app, entered a small amount of info, and got started. I mirrored the app from my iPhone to my AppleTV, and I was off to the races. I did the 28-day workout routine, and that immediately felt feasible. The regimen starts off fairly easy and builds in intensity and difficulty over time, but I rarely felt like it was too difficult. Most of the exercises can be modified, for instance, a typical pushup can be done from the knees to customize to the level of ability. There is a warm-up with stretches, workout, and cool down. It is a true HIIT-style workout, so you push for a set amount of time and then rest for a set amount of time. The daily regimen is arranged so that they teach the stretch or exercise during rest time, just before actually beginning the movement, and I found that to very efficient, yet thorough enough to grasp the principles. Most of the stretches and exercises last from 20 to 60 seconds with an approximately 8 to 10 second rest, and there are a couple of one-minute breaks sprinkled throughout. The exercise explanations and demonstrations are easy to follow. The breaks are ample.

Other positives in the app were that I found the water tracker easy to use. The calorie tracker was user friendly, as well, with a large library of foods, which are often scannable by barcode. Lastly, I read a few of the cognitive behavioral therapy-type offerings, and they are short but powerful and digestible.

I would say that the 28-day routine is best suited for people who are beginners to early intermediate level in their ability. It may be too easy for people who are well into the intermediate to advanced levels of training.

Negatives

Only occasionally the exercise instructional videos do not match the verbal descriptions, and this will throw you off for just a second. There is also limited instruction on proper body mechanics, and in my opinion, this could possibly lead to suboptimal results. Next, it will require some time during the start up to peruse all of the elements of the app, but once you have a routine, you will find what is useful and what is not. The few hardest workout routines are definitely the days when the instructor is wearing camouflage. When you see this, be prepared. I found it difficult to complete these workout routines, and these will be better suited for the more immediate to advanced participants. Beginners will have to modify, or even skip and rest on these days. There are so few of these that a beginner can make modifications or skip the day, but there are likely not enough of these days to satisfy the advanced participants.

In addition, the food tracker does not have a long memory for previously logged foods. If someone eats similar things on many days, you have to search for them over and over rather than using foods from recent loggings. The food tracker memory is typically only from the last meal or maybe the same day, but it does not extend to previous days. The price may be a negative for some, but is still cheaper than a gym membership, and you may get more from it.

Results

How do I know this was worthwhile? Over time, I needed less rest during the planned breaks and fewer modifications of the exercises.The aforementioned “camoflauge” days remained difficult. I noticed that my balance improved over time, even in simple daily tasks such as when I spin my hospital gown before I start surgery. I noticed that my strength and endurance improved for the number of reps that I was able to do, even with less rest time. My flexibility improved with the stretches in the warmup and cool down portions. And in some areas and even some days, I wanted the work out to last a bit longer.

I became more cognizant of my water intake and calorie intake. Over the 28-day course, these factors naturally led me to realize that with my pattern of eating, I needed more of an intermediate fast, either 16:8 or 14:10 approach, on most days to keep my total daily calories in check. This meant that I could monitor and maintain my level of calories better because of my more limited feeding window without necessarily counting calories every day. This significantly improved how I manage my total daily intake. One could likely achieve this with any calorie counting app, but this one worked for me.

Conclusion

Overall, as I stated above, I give BetterMe App 28-day routine an A for people who are beginners and a B+ for people at the intermediate level. Those who are in advanced levels of training should probably explore other workouts in the app, which may be more appropriate but will also take more time to plan; however, I did not explore these to a significant degree. Alternatively, they may also need to consider a different program.

Thanks for reading. Questions and comments are welcome.