Aaptiv App Review & How I Lost 50 lbs Working Out At Home

Hello, friends!

I know that this post might seem weird amidst the holiday treats.  However, I wanted to write and publish it now, so that you could refer to it when considering what new workout plan you might sign up for in the New Year.  And for reference, I’ve also written about all the other workout type programs I’ve tried in this post.  

So, let’s do this!  

What is the Aaptiv App?

Aaptiv App is an audio fitness app that allows an expert trainer to guide you through your choice of one of thousands of workouts.  You turn on the app, choose the workout, and get started. 

Current fitness offerings include running (indoor and outdoor), elliptical, indoor cycling, strength training, stair climber, pilates, and meditation.  Also, they have several program options for running, strength training, meditation, and weight loss.  The programs group together workouts for a set number of weeks so you can follow along with the workouts in the program.  

Hungry Hobby readers who want to try Aaptiv can get 10% off a subscription using this link and the code FIT10!

 

Pros:

• On-demand workouts on your schedule.  
• Minimal equipment needed – regardless of the type of workout.  Most strength workouts require bodyweight or a set of dumbells.  If you need kettlebells, they tell you in the description.  Indoor running or other cardio uses cardio equipment.  
• Programs are a huge plus, helping you reach your goals faster.  
• The trainers do a fantastic job of being incredibly motivating, even though you are working out by yourself.  Very comparable to being in person at a workout at Orange Theory.  
• Online community integration.  The trainers encourage you to share a sweaty selfie and interact with trainers on IG as well as on their facebook page.  

Cons:

• No one to watch your form and correct you.
• Some modifications or alternates are given, but not for every exercise.   
• Less competitive (could be a pro or con) because you are working out by yourself.  

My Experience – How I Lost 50lbs Working Out At Home

Month 1

I didn’t do any working out except walking the first six weeks.  

At the end of this month, I was down about 10lbs.  

Month 2-4

I started with Gina’s Post Baby Bod Program.  About midway through, I started incorporating outdoor runs into her program.  (You can read my fourth-trimester wrap up here and my review of Gina’s program here.)  And toward the end of the program, we bought a home treadmill.  

At the end of the fourth month, I was down about 30lbs total.    

Month 5 – 6

I signed up for Aaptiv and started using it to motivate me through some treadmill runs.  Since I was regularly running 3 miles, I started the “train for a 10K program.” 

I quickly switched down to the training for a 5K program to focus on speed.  Who has the time for an hour of running with a 5-month-old?  

I started incorporating random Aaptiv Strength Workouts but quickly realized that I need more of a program to follow.  So, I started following my friend Brandon’s metabolic program loosely to “program” for myself.  I was much more intentional about my strength training this way.  

At the end of the six months post-partum, I was down 33lbs total.  (yep, I lost 3lbs in 2 months.  That’s how it sometimes goes with breastfeeding.  It is what it is. )

Month 7 – 9

 

I had a weird shin injury that took some time to figure out and required a break from running.  The injury was likely due to changing my gate on the treadmill in a way that my body didn’t like.  It doesn’t matter, though, because it was the BEST thing that ever happened to me.  

I stopped running and focused on strength training while my shin healed, without any high impact exercise.  And you know what happened?  I started dropping weight, seeing the muscular definition I’d always wanted, and just feeling better/stronger overall almost immediately.  There is such thing as too much cardio, especially when you are already getting little sleep and under stress (first-time mom.)  

Overexercising, especially excessive HIIT training or cardio, is something I’ve talked to my clients about for YEARS, but to witness it in my own life was incredible.  

I started incorporating Aaptiv runs 1-2 times a week after my shin healed, but I was much less aggressive about “getting my cardio in.” 

By the end of the nine months, I had lost 43lbs.  f

Months 10 – 12

I started teaching again, which means a super full plate between commuting downtown, teaching, meeting with clients, running the blog, and making meal plans for WTE? Meal Plans I didn’t have one second to think about exercise. 

I just needed something to tell me what to do whenever I got a spare second to do it.  Plus, I had about 10lbs to lose, and I knew those would be the hardest of all to say goodbye to.  The baby wasn’t breastfeeding heavily anymore, and I was under a good amount of stress, lack of sleep, hormones, etc.  That’s when I relied heavily on Aaptiv.  

I follow the Total Body Training program for the first four weeks, which was PERFECT.  Workouts were generally less than 30 minutes, included three strength workouts and two treadmill workouts.  I usually did one treadmill workout, 1 HIIT workout (either I made up, found on Insta, or got from the App), and three strength workouts.  

When the program was up, I kept up a similar pattern.  

• 1 Run
• 1 HIIT Workout
• 3 Strength Workouts (1 Upper, 1 Lower, 1 Full Body)

Pretty much all Aaptiv workouts except when I started running with the baby in the stroller.  All workouts were usually 30 minutes or less.    

By the baby’s first birthday, I was at my normal weight/goal weight – down an official 50lbs.  

Obviously, food had a ton to do with my weight loss, BUT, I think I learned an incredibly valuable lesson about cardio vs. strength training.  Overworking, excessive cardio, over stressing your body will never get the results you want!

Food & Nutrition

This is harder to talk about because of the baby’s MSPI diagnosis. For a while, I was on an extremely restricted diet.  Ironically, that was the time I lost the least amount of weight.  Hello, stress! 

I wrote an entire book about the nutrition strategy I used to lose weight after the baby was born, so I won’t rewrite that here. 

But the key points were:

• Prepping freezer meals for the fourth trimester. 
• Meal Prep. Meal Prep. Meal Prep.  – I modified a lot of meals from my weekly meal prep guide subscription.  
• Smoothie Box – worth every penny.  So many times, I had nothing to eat but needed to eat right then.  That’s when I relied on Smoothie Box the most.  
• Tracking Macros – I only tracked my food loosely the last few months, because the last 10lbs are always the hardest! I had gotten in the habit of eating crazy amounts of peanut butter, so this helped me reel it on in.  

Going Forward

While working out at home this last year has been incredibly convenient for my schedule, I’ve been itching for something more now that the baby is a bit older.  I’m currently on a free trial for Burn Boot Camp and am honestly loving it so far.  They split their workouts up how I have been above, and I love the results from that.  

That being said, I know that I won’t be able to get out of the house more than three days a week with the baby, so I’m keeping my Aaptiv membership for quick workouts when I can’t get out of the house.  It saves me a lot of time to be able to turn on Aaptiv for a run or weight session, then search through IG/Pinterest or program for myself.  

Hungry Hobby readers who want to try Aaptiv can get 10% off a subscription using this link and the code FIT10!

So, that’s where I’m at!  Let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to answer them!  

I’ve written a ton of tips for workouts type posts over the years (in addition to the ones mentioned in this post), here are a few other posts if you are interested: 

• Exercise Tips For Beginners
• How to Prevent Skipping Your After Work “Workout”
• Hot Yoga Tips
• What You Need To Know Before You Start Running
• Advice & Tips for Your First Half Marathon
• How To Get 10,000 Steps Per day
• 6 Day Training Split
• Tips To Take Your Workout Outside (Guest Post by Suzie from Suzlyfe)
• High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Training
• Low-Intensity Steady State Training (LISS)