Investing in a personal trainer is one of the best things you can do to improve your health and fitness.
I may be a little biased, but I truly believe the guidance and structure a good personal trainer can provide to your training regimen will help you achieve your goals as fast as possible while making sure you train safely and within your limits.
Still, not everyone has the time or flexibility to make it to the gym for weekly training sessions.
And not everyone has the desire to commit to a monthly gym membership, much less commit to hiring their own personal trainer, especially if they are getting serious about training for the first time or returning to training after taking a break.
In our latest review, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at this groundbreaking, AI-powered fitness app, designed to create personalized workouts for you to help you meet your goals.
Freeletics offers a modern and convenient solution for those people interested in their own customized personal training program but not wanting to fully commit to a traditional personal trainer.
Keep reading this review to find out everything you need to know about this app-based, AI-powered personal training tool you can use to take your fitness to the next level whether you’re at home or on the go.
- Extra thick, cushy floor mat in Black for yoga, gym, and everyday exercise
- 1/2 inch thickness offers comfortable padded support and shock absorption; textured surface provides extra traction
- Durable foam construction offers stretchability and springs back into shape
- Elastic strap for secure rolled-up mat storage and easy over-the-shoulder carrying
- Wipes clean easily
What is Freeletics?
Freeletics is a modern solution to a timeless problem. We’re getting busier by the day, making it more and more difficult to find time to work out.
This application aims to solve this problem by combining industry-leading technology with an easy-to-use interface to create a digital personal training app that you can use to access personalized workouts right from your smartphone.
With this fitness application, you no longer need an expensive gym membership or Facetime with a personal trainer to receive personalized, high-quality workouts that are designed specifically for you and your fitness goals.
Application Features:
- Custom workouts, tailored to your body, fitness levels, and goals
- Comprehensive training, including fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness coaching
- Community support and competition with other Free Athletes
- Streamlined interface
- Compatible with Apple Watch and the Health Kit
How To Download The Application?
It’s available to download for both iOS and Android devices. You can find it on the App Store and on Google Play.
They also have a YouTube channel with an extensive library of exercise demonstrations, fitness and nutrition tips, and success stories.
You can also follow this application on Instagram and Like them on Facebook.
Portability
The biggest benefit of Freeletics is its portability.
Accessible anywhere you have your smartphone, you can use the application to train in your home, outside, at the gym, in a hotel room while you’re traveling, or anywhere else you have a little space to move around.
Accessibility
Another key benefit is that it does not require you to have a home gym, a rack of free weights, or other fitness equipment.
The fitness application’s workouts, instead, are designed around bodyweight exercises that you can do anywhere.
(But don’t worry, if weights are your cup of tea, the application offers weight training workout plans, too!)
Comprehensive
Understanding fitness is about more than just building muscle, losing fat, or increasing endurance.
That is why Freeletics integrates nutritional advice, meal planning, and mindfulness exercises into your personalized training plan.
Price
The application offers a range of pricing options to fit all budgets. And all of them cost less than a traditional gym membership.
Application Design
The Freeletics environment is stable and easy to navigate for the most part.
iPad users may find the app slightly disappointing in that the iPad doesn’t appear to support landscape display at this time, so you’ll need some kind of stand to keep your device secure in its portrait orientation during your workout.
Accountability
Freeletics is all about freedom. But with this freedom comes responsibility. One thing traditional gym memberships and face-to-face training sessions ensure is accountability.
It’s hard to skip that last set of pull-ups, jog what was supposed to be a sprint, or phone-in your last set of burpees when you have someone by your side making sure you give it your all.
The app-based personal trainer is great, but it simply can’t replicate the motivation you can get from a face-to-face training session.
Instead, it’s up to you to push yourself to your max. Remember, you only get out what you put in!
Cost
There doesn’t appear to be a free version of Freeletics available at this time. While the application does have a free version to download, most of its features don’t come for free.
Access to the core feature, the AI coach, requires a subscription to one of their Training Journeys.
Where Does It Come From?
Freeletics was created in Germany by a group of people devoted to physical and mental fitness.
Seeking to instill their passion for health and wellbeing into others,
“It was founded with the vision to challenge and inspire everyone to become the greatest version of themselves, both mentally and physically.”
Now boasting over 40 million users, it has grown into one of the premier fitness apps available.
Not only do users receive personalized, AI-powered workouts, but they also gain access to the Freeletics Community, where users can connect with other Free Athletes, view testimonials, and find the motivation they need to meet their personal goals.
How Does It Work?
Freeletics is one of the first apps to use cutting edge AI technology to tailor personalized workouts to your body type, exercise level, experience, and goals.
But before you can get started, you’ll need to download the application!
Getting Started
Once it’s downloaded, you’ll need to create an account. You can log in to the app using your Facebook or Google account.
Once you log in, it’s time to get started! From the onset, you’ll find the app environment pleasant and easy to navigate.
You’ll start by entering some basic personal information, such as your height, weight, and current fitness level. The app then asks you your goals.
Choosing A Program
You can prioritize goals such as increasing endurance, building muscle, and increasing general fitness. The app will then ask you about your preferred method of training.
- For those of you looking to build muscle and increase strength, you can select a program tailored around bodyweight or free weight exercises.
- For those looking to improve your endurance, there’s a program built around running.
The app then generates a menu of training plans for you to choose from.
Ranging from 6 to 12 weeks, there is a training plan available to help you reach whatever goals you’ve set for yourself. This is where you’ll start your journey.
Selecting a plan will take you to a screen that offers a brief overview of the plan. If, for example, your goal is to build muscle without using weights, you can select a plan titled, “Weights-Free Gain” (see, simple and easy to understand).
This part will tell you to expect bodyweight exercises and explosive cardio, leading ultimately to increased strength without adding extra bulk.
After selecting your plan, it’s time to pay up! Because there doesn’t appear to be a free version of the app that gives you access to the AI coach, users must subscribe to one of the training plans to take advantage of all the app has to offer.
Selecting A Subscription
The fitness app offers 3 to 12-month subscriptions and gives you the option to receive both training and nutrition advice or to stick to training only.
After selecting your plan, you’re ready to start training.
Just select a workout and get to it! After your very first workout, you’ll start to give your AI coach feedback about things like how the workout went, how you felt, and whether the difficulty was appropriate.
This helps the app further tailor each workout to you and your goals.
Weekly Schedules
The app sets out your training plan week-by-week. Take a standard 12-week training program.
- During Week 1, you’ll do performance tests to give the app an idea of where you’re starting. Your Coach will use these metrics as a baseline for your personal plan.
- Weeks 2 through 11 are where you put in the work. The app will customize your training each week based on the prior week’s performances.
- Week 12 is Hell Week! This is where you prove to yourself all you’ve accomplished over the last three months.
What Workouts Can You Do?
This AI-fitness trainer is all about doing what works for you. You shouldn’t be surprised, then, to learn you can do almost any kind of workout!
Most workouts and training programs are built around bodyweight exercises. These are exercises that you can do anywhere without any special equipment.
These include push-ups, pull ups, dips, burpees, and core exercises, all of which can be done without a single weight or bench.
Although most Freeletics workouts are focused on bodyweight exercises, if you prefer to train with weights, your AI coach can take that into account also.
Freeletics offers a variety of weight training programs designed to increase strength and muscle.
It also offers programs built around running for those whose main goal is to increase endurance.
Primitive but effective, running is one of the best ways to increase your endurance.
A smart combination of runs, from 400m sprints to mile jogs, will build cardiovascular strength, which, combined with a strong core, creates a solid foundation for overall fitness.
What Equipment Do You Need?
- Extra thick, cushy floor mat in Black for yoga, gym, and everyday exercise
- 1/2 inch thickness offers comfortable padded support and shock absorption; textured surface provides extra traction
- Durable foam construction offers stretchability and springs back into shape
- Elastic strap for secure rolled-up mat storage and easy over-the-shoulder carrying
- Wipes clean easily
One of the best parts of training with Freeletics is you don’t need much equipment!
Really, all you need is yourself and a bit of space to move. As we discussed above, Freeletics training programs are built around bodyweight exercises.
The great part about this kind of training is that you carry your weight set with you wherever you go!
With a little space to do a few push-ups, dips, squats, jumps, and burpees, you can cover all the key moves necessary to get a great total body workout in a short amount of time.
What Does A 1-Week Program Look Like?
Because Freeletics tailors each week of each program to every individual athlete, no two weeks will look the same.
For an athlete who’s training to increase endurance, a week will look much different from an athlete who’s trying to build muscle mass.
For the endurance athlete, Mondays may be rest days after coming off big weekend training days.
Other weeks, there may be a quality session planned to force the fatigued athlete to recruit lesser-used muscle fibers.
For the athlete focused on building strength, on the other hand, certain days of the week will likely focus on certain muscle groups, while other days will be dedicated to other groups.
Regardless of your goals, athletes can expect challenging workouts set out in a smart and effective order over the course of the week to ensure maximum efficiency, recovery, and, ultimately, success.
Freeletics Review: What Do People Say?
With over 40 million users, people have plenty to say about Freeletics.
Helping millions of people see results, Freeletics has an overall great rating on the App Store.
Freeletics’ YouTube channel also has over 230,000 subscribers.
Given that Freeletics is committed not to just physical fitness, but to mindfulness as well, one YouTube reviewer was particularly impressed that Freeletics is “actually working for a better you.”
The Bottomline…
If you are someone who’s interested in the benefits of having a personal trainer but not quite ready to commit to hiring a traditional trainer, Freeletics may be the perfect stepping stone.
Its AI-powered coach can’t replicate a human trainer, but it can still provide very real benefits by structuring your workouts for you and taking the guesswork out of training.
For less than the price of one coffee per week, Freeletics AI coach can help you get into the best shape of your life without the stress and expense of a gym membership.
Download the app, give it a try, and see the results for yourself!
As always, thanks for reading. If you like what you’ve read here and found this Freeletics review helpful, be sure to check back regularly for other fitness, home gym, and dumbbell reviews!
Article by:
Daniel DeMoss
I’m a personal trainer based in Denver (Matrix Gym) and a true fitness nerd. If I’m not training clients or working out at my home gym, I’m probably skiing, cycling or hiking with my dog Rufus.
Get in touch: daniel@dumbbellsreview.com