7-minute workout apps

7-minute workout apps: I tried 30, here are the best.

The best 7-minute workouts on the planet are the ones you’ll actually do. This is what I know for sure after testing out more than 30 of them over the past few months. That and yes, they really do work. Adding in short blasts of high intensity interval (HIIT) training consisting of various strength, cardio, core, and flexibility exercises whenever I have a spare seven minutes in my day, have helped me get stronger, leaner, faster, and to feel better overall.

My favorites are all free, though you can subscribe for more features to most of them as well. But free works just fine. They’re all available on iOS and Android (except for one). They’re all built around the science-based concept of high-intensity circuit training using body weight, so you don’t need any fancy equipment. I’ve done these in hotel rooms, my office, parks, and even in a quiet corner at the airport waiting to get on a plane.

The study that kicked off this whole seven-minute workout fad four years ago notes that the secret-sauce is to strategically work different major muscles groups (upper body, lower body, core) each time you do the workout. This allows for one major muscle group to rest while you work the next muscle group, resulting in a super-efficient, super-effective routine.

The other important part? It has to be tough — 85% or more exertion for 30-seconds to one minute, followed by a 10-second rest. Or, as Heather Tyler, an NSCA-certified personal trainer and owner of Simply Fit LA wrote to me in an email, “you know that feeling like you’ve run up five flights of stairs, your heart’s pounding in your ears, you’re dripping sweat and you sound like a donkey wheezing?”

That’s basically the effort level most will need to strive for, and if you’re not fit to begin with, it’s an effort level you have work up to. The good news? Most of the apps have different workouts for beginners, intermediate, and advanced fitness levels.

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