Workout Test: Fitness Apps Vs. Personal Trainers | Molly Wood | The New York Times

(repetitive music imitating a game app)

(Molly Wood) Fitness is a big trend
in gadgets and apps right now.

But if you're trying to get in shape,

can a fitness app, and maybe
a calorie counter do the job?

Or should you go old school
and get a real personal trainer?

I decided to find out.

(exercising music)

I'm launching a month-long
fitness challenge,

comparing an app called Fitstar,
which does personal training,

and counting my calories
with MyFitnessPal

Going up against Fitstar is Alison.

She's a personal trainer
with multiple certifications,

and she'll also help me create
a nutrition plan.

I'll evaluate which trainer keeps me
most motivated, accountable,

and which works best for me
in the long run --

and of course,
which one kicks my butt the most.

(exercising music)

(Alison Roessler) I never do
two workouts twice

and I'm always constantly changing

the different things
that I throw at my clients,

the different stresses
that I throw at them

throughout exercises,
because really, it'll get boring

and it's not sustainable
if there's not enough variety.

(Journalist pants;
Alison says something inaudible)

(Journalist) Alison seemed overwhelming
at first.

Her workouts were really scary,

and she sent me home
with tons of cardio homework

and this long food journal
that was in a spreadsheet.

Plus, each session with her
is 100 bucks.

Not sure I'm going to be able
to keep that up.

So I just finished my first full session
with Alison

and I'm sweaty and starving,

and I've definitely underestimated
how hard that workout was going to be:

it was fantastic, but I'll clearly have
to up my game with Fitstar

because Tony Gonzalez is no Alison

(Tony) Reverse shoulder-up

(Molly) Fitstar was easy and
convenient from the get-go.

The app is free or $40 a year.

I chose the pay version
to get more work-outs

but I loved that you can do it anywhere:
no gear required.

That is sustainable

(Dave Grijalva) It' like in a workout DVD
and the experience is very similar to that

but different every time,

and it's different in the way that
it actually adapts to you.

We wanted the experience to feel authentic
and feel real,

and we wanted to put real people on
the screen,

and having Tony's personnality
that really helps a lot.

(Tony) Good job.

(Molly) I like how the workouts
include a variety of strength and cardio

and you can specify your fitness level
and rate each exercise

in terms of how hard it is.

I found that Fitstar did progress over time,

but it didn't really push me as hard
as Alison did,

and even though it reminds me to work out,
it's still kind of easy to skip --

like, I totally ignored it
when I went on a vacation.

Even though I kind of dreaded
my workouts with Alison,

I did not miss a single one.

Plus, she was able to modify
those workouts

for this kind of nagging foot injury
that I have and that was great.

She also held me very accountable
for my food, my sleep and my stress.

(Alison) I don't think that an app
can take the place of human interaction.

I think that they can be positive
pieces of the puzzle,

but I don't think that it's going
to ever replace

working with a trainer 1 on 1.

(Dave) You know, personal
trainers provide a lot of things

that are really hard to do with software.

And so, what we're trying to do is
provide that type of an experience,

in a way that's accessible to everyone,
and really convenient.

(Molly) When I started
this challenge,

I hadn't really worked out
in about a year.

So if I were just getting started
with only Fitstar and MyFitnessPal

I would see progress, but I might be slow
and I could get frustrated and give up.

Alison was definitly a huge jump-start
in terms of getting back in shape,

but one month with her was $400.

Ouch!

And ultimately, sticking
with the workout plan

is about creating good habits.

So while Alison kicked my butt
in the short term,

in the long term, Fitstar is the one
that fits into my life.

After that initial push,
the app is where it's at.

(music)