The “recommended” apps on Google Playstore and iTunes are jammed with seven-minute workouts right now. We checked out three of the most popular seven-minute apps to see if they’re seven minutes in health heaven or a waste of time.
7-Minute Core (Perigee)
Recommended? for workout newbies
This app is very counterintuitive — so much so that as I started writing this review, I still hadn’t discovered that it offers a timer. I spent 15 minutes attempting to do a seven-minute workout because I was unable to locate an in-app timer, and so instead set one on my computer. As you can imagine, it’s a bit of a challenge to manage two devices simultaneously while rolling around the floor trying to work out.
On the homepage of the app, there’s an outline of a stopwatch with the words “start workout” on it. But if you click it, you don’t know what workout you’re starting, so I instead clicked a “workout” button at the bottom, which took me to a list of workouts that need to be unlocked for $1.99. I chose the core workout and paid the corresponding fee and clicked on the core workout from the list screen. If you click on it from the list screen, however, the timer doesn’t show up. And so I thought that this was the most useless app on the planet because it offers a workout based on 30-second increments, without a timer.
After much more fiddling, I realized that you have to check the box of the workout on the list screen, then click “<workout” on the top left, then click “start workout” in order for the timer to show up.
Alas, the app does have a timer and it’s not as useless as I thought. It just is poorly designed.
With all that out of my system — now that I’ve figured it out, it’s a decent app. It does what it it should — it demonstrates some pretty standard exercises as it times you, moving seamlessly from one to the next. I’m just so mad that an app with “seven minutes” in the title just wasted so much of my time trying to figure it out and I can’t see myself using it again anytime soon. But, it is super cheap so perhaps that carries some design flaws. And maybe since I told you the wrong way to do it, dear reader, you may be spared the frustration. — Amanda Drane
7 Minute Workout (Wahoo Fitness)
Recommended! for fitness beginners and pros who don’t want to stare at a screen
If your ideal workout is just seven minutes long, I think we can safely assume that you like getting things done quickly and with as little fuss as possible. This app delivers what it promises in a brightly colored, visually simple, intuitive way, which is probably why it’s one of the most popular options for a seven-minute workout in the iTunes App Store.
Open the app and you get a scroll list of 12 bodyweight exercises, ordered in a candy-colored checklist. The structure of the workout will be familiar to those who have tried 7-minute workouts: each exercise lasts for 30 seconds, with 10 seconds of rest between exercises.
There’s nothing ingenious or life-changing about this app, but it incorporates most of the good ideas I’ve seen from its competitors while avoiding the pitfalls of bad design and confusing navigation. First off, it doesn’t play video when it doesn’t need to. If you need a reminder of what a jumping jack looks like, touch that row on the list and a quick video pops up, along with a text description. Otherwise, just touch Start Workout from the opening window and just listen along. With spoken instructions, there’s really no need to look at the screen.
The app is free, but for an additional $1.99 you can unlock the ability to keep a workout log, change the exercise durations and rest periods, and customize the exercises. It would be awfully handy to have these features come free, but since the free version also includes an alternate workout (with exercises like diamond push-ups, bear crawls, and one-leg deadlifts swapped in for your typical crunches, squats, and planks) as well as a 7-minute Pilates workout, there’s already plenty here to keep you sweatin.’— Hunter Styles
7 Minute Workout (ABISHKKING)
Recommended! for people who need a quick burst of energy
A seven-minute workout should be as simple as it is quick, and on this 7 Minute Workout delivers.
The free app has a streamlined interface with minimal buttons to tap and an intuitive layout. ABISHKKING’s seven-minute workout consists of 13 exercises in 30 second intervals, with 10 seconds between each series for rest. A woman’s voice guides you through the series and keeps time. If you don’t know how to do one of the exercises, tap the video icon for a quick demo.
I’m on the parent-of-a-four-year-old exercise regimen — meaning there’s a lot of short bursts of running, combined with plenty of small-weight lifting, and a dash of street fighting. I wasn’t sure I could handle a seven-minute workout. And in a way, I couldn’t. I certainly didn’t do proper push-ups for 30 seconds, and I’m all but certain I don’t have the correct posture for planking, but I had fun running and jumping around with my four-year-old who cannot resist a chance to play. My heart was racing, my lungs were moving, and my muscles felt good. A seven-minute investment gave me the kind of burst of energy I’m looking for after a day at work. So, when my daughter asked me to workout again the next night; I couldn’t resist. On day three, I’m sore, but ready to feel the bitty burn again.• — Kristin Palpini
