Review: Aaptiv vs. Fit Radio

For the past couple of months, I've used both the Aaptiv and Fit Radio fitness apps, and wanted to compare them so that others can determine which app best meets their needs. I first heard of Aaptiv through Pantsuit Politics (side note: my favorite American politics podcast), and I was able to get a free 30-day trial with the code: PANTSUIT. I think the usual free trial is a week, so I enjoyed getting to try Aaptiv's features over a month.

Of course, once I learned about Aaptiv, I wanted to see what else was out there, and mentions of Fit Radio came up often. I found a Groupon for a year-long subscription to Fit Radio for $18, so $1.50 a month for workouts? Sold!

Aaptiv bills itself as "audio workout classes that combine the guidance of a professional trainer with a motivating playlist." Once you download the app, the first page is of various workouts categorized by type: treadmill, outdoor running, elliptical, yoga, stretching, etc. Once in each workout type, you can filter by duration, trainer, music genre, and difficulty. 

View classes by category, including 7-minute Quick Hits,
5K/10K/Half-/Full Marathon Training, and even a Maternity Program.

The Profile pages lists classes taken, all-tine stats,
favorited classes, and a class history.

FitRadio is a little different, as the first page of the app opens up to music genres. A playlist automatically loads once you select a genre, and there you can list or skip ahead to a different mix. Music mixes can also be found by searching by DJ, activity, or BPM.

Find professional workout mixes by music genre.

Fit Radio also offers coached workouts. There are six types of coached workouts, and they are all cardio workouts. Once you click into a workout type, there are four workouts to choose from. The coached running workouts on Fit Radio are different than the cardio workouts on Aaptiv. While the coached workouts in both apps set up a plan (for example, intervals in running) and provide motivation, I found the running workouts on Aaptiv to be have more specific technical advice, such as to run with a mid-foot strike (who knew I've been running incorrectly?). So running with Aaptiv is like running with a running coach or personal trainer, while running with Fit Radio is like running with a good fit friend who won't let you quit.

Six kinds of coached cardio workouts are available on Fit Radio.

Fit Radio does excel in their workout descriptions, and I found it easy enough to modify the intensity to my fitness level. As always, the focus of the app is on the music, and you can choose either the workout's suggested music or your own music. Aaptiv's descriptions are a little more vague, although duration and music genre are given. Sometimes, though, I had to click into the workout and hear the trainer describe the workout before I could determine if it was right for me.

The descriptions of the workouts are detailed, so you know what to expect.

I like both apps. I think Aaptiv is particularly suited to travelers. I particularly used this app during my business travel in July, when I had ready access to a gym but didn't want to bother with streaming video over a hotel WiFi network. The stretching and yoga workouts were also quite good and easy enough to do in my hotel room. 

Fit Radio is a good app if you already have your fitness routine and workouts set, and want music to go along with it. I like the free Fitness Blender workouts on YouTube and have seen results using their workouts. There's no music, so I'll stream their workouts on my TV at home and then play Fit Radio playlists over Bluetooth speakers. 

At home, I like having the visual guidance on my TV, but on the road, I've found myself turning to Aaptiv more often.

Consumer & Creator

Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, The Mom Hour, when hosts Meagan Francis and Sarah Powers mentioned that podcasts were a "new medium." Um, no. I've been listening to KCRW's Good Food podcast since 2005 (back when you had to hook up your iPod to your computer to download the latest episodes from iTunes). And I have been blogging since April 2002 - when Blogger was a startup company and I paid for a premium account because I was worried they might go out of business (thanks, Google, for buying Blogger!).

Needless to say, in the past several years I haven't been creating much. Not coincidentally, I gave birth to my first child in 2009 and my creative energies have been focused on nurturing the now two little ones in my life and my own career change into the field of college counseling. During this time, I was a consumer of information on parenting, education, and college counseling. I realized how I much of a social scientist I am at heart (there's a reason why I consume pop culture through Lainey Gossip), and learned about points and miles to aid family travel. I became better at parallel parking, got to know greater Taipei better (including its many parks and indoor playgrounds), and am somewhat proficient at whipping up quick meals my children will actually eat.

As amazing as all this has been, I also feel like I'm finally emerging out of a dark tunnel as my kids age out of early childhood. I've long wanted to post, and have composed blogs in my head, but until recently, didn't feel compelled, given competing demands on my time, to sit down and write it out. In the past year and a half, I've put more focus on nurturing myself - resuming exercising regularly, reading for personal pleasure, and baking. My word of the year is 'balance' - and I'm hoping to spend more time being a creator of content this year, here and at Nomad Foodie and VirtualB the Reader.