Whitney Simmons has millions of followers across her social platforms. Being in the fitness and health space, I’ve seen and heard her many times as she has clearly built an incredible fitness empire. A few weeks back, I received a comment on my Instagram account regarding my monthly pricing in the Simply Strong App vs the pricing on larger apps like Alive by Whitney Simmons.
And while I addressed this question to the person who posed it, it got me thinking; I haven’t tried the Alive App, so I really wasn’t sure what was included, what types of workouts were available, and what the pricing was, so I decided to give it a try. Although I have my own fitness app that I encourage people to try, I am not the type of trainer who tries to overly promote my program or declare that it’s the best. I am well aware that there are innumerable options out there and that it’s very important to find the program that suits your needs and preferences best. I actually love getting the opportunity to explore other fitness apps, as it always provides me with inspiration.
So, I downloaded the Alive App by Whitney Simmons and gave it a try! Here’s what I discovered.
My Experience Using the Alive App
I got started by visiting the Alive website, where I immediately loved that Alive appeared to be heavy into strength training, which is my preferred fitness method. The Alive App currently has 5 different trainers, all of whom have several workout programs available on the app. All of the trainers focus on strength training, with the exception of one who specializes in mat pilates. You can explore all the program options and details right on the website before signing up, which is awesome as it allows you to make sure they have programs available that fit your needs.
I went ahead and started the process of beginning a free trial with the app. During that process, I was given the option to join at a monthly rate of $14.99/month or a yearly rate of $119.99, which works out to about $9.99 per month. Honestly, these prices are great and very competitive. I chose the monthly option knowing that I would just be around testing things out, but would ultimately be continuing to work out inside the Simply Strong App.
Once I made my payment, I was directed to download the Alive App on the App Store (it’s also available on Google Play). Downloading the app was easy, and I used the email and password that I set up during the initial sign-up process to log in and get started. As soon as I logged into the app, I was met by a beautiful app interface that immediately showcased some programs that I might want to start with. Under the dedicated program area was a spot for on-demand workouts of all types – upper body, lower body, abs, pilates, cool downs, mobility, etc. I am a big proponent of programs, not random workouts, so while I think it’s great that you can pull up workouts and do them on demand, I am glad that they also have dedicated programs that are built for progressions and specific results.
The first program that was featured for me to try was the “Legs Get It” plan that focuses on building glutes and hamstrings. It’s a 6-week program that includes your choice of 3, 4, or 5 workouts per week. I chose the 5-day program because I generally follow the 5-day plan in the Simply Strong App.
The program includes 6 weeks of workouts that repeat for the entirety of the program. This is where a lot of women start to balk, as they prefer more variety in their workouts and don’t like to repeat them (I used to feel the same way, so no shame if that’s you). The truth is, repeating workouts is where you’ll build results and see progress so much faster than doing random workouts. In order to build muscle and tone, and sculpt your body, it’s important to apply progressive overload, which is only possible when you are repeating the same exercise week to week and working to add reps or weight.
I was very happy to see that this program repeated for 6 weeks, although I am used to switching training programs every 4 weeks inside the Simply Strong App – I have found that repeating workouts for 4 weeks (monthly) is more or less the sweet spot for most women. A 4-week workout block allows you to make progress, track your progress, and get stronger, but it doesn’t drag on for so long that you get bored and restless with it.
The workout split inside the Legs Get It program is as follows:
- Day 1: Glutes and hamstrings
- Day 2: Shoulder, chest, triceps
- Day 3: Glutes and quads
- Day 4: Back and biceps
- Day 5: Glutes
Each of the workouts states they will take anywhere from 45-50 minutes, which is reasonable. You can preview the workouts in the app before pushing play on them to see what to expect, and the app gives you the option to choose whether you’re working out at home or in the gym, which is great. I personally work out from home and don’t have access to a lot of gym machines, so knowing that there’s a home workout option is a major plus for me.
I started the first workout, glutes and hamstrings, and was given the option to include warm-up and cool-down exercises or not. I chose to include these exercises as I am a believer in properly warming up and cooling down before and after workouts (especially as we age). When I pressed play on the workout, the warm-up circuit was first. There were 10 warm-up exercises listed, each being 30 seconds in length, so a total of 5 minutes, but I’ll be honest, seeing 10 exercises to warm up felt a bit daunting. I usually do 2 warm-up exercises repeated a couple of times through. The cool thing is that the app will automatically start a timer for you and alert you when your exercise is up and to move on to the next one.
The workouts in the Alive App are not follow-along style (recorded videos that you follow along to), they are demonstrations of the exercise with a time and/or rep recommendation that you follow along with. It’s more of a go-at-your-own-pace workout style, which is what I highly prefer because it allows you to apply your best effort and rest fully between exercises, without feeling rushed along by the instructor on the screen.
After the warm-up exercises, you get into the meat of the workout. There are 4 exercises in the workout (yes, only 4!), but two of them are single-sided exercises, so they do take a bit of time to complete. In between exercises, the Alive App has rest timers set for you that are between 90-150 seconds each. I love that Alive is encouraging users to rest between sets so that they can be fully ready to tackle the next exercise with the most energy and intention. I also program rest times in the Simply Strong App between sets, but I keep them to 60 seconds as I have found that’s the sweet spot for most women – I also always encourage my app users to take what they need but to do the 60-second rest as a minimum.
I love that the workout included 4 intentional exercises, plenty of rest time between sets, and tools to make swaps or reorder the exercises, if needed. In fact, there are a ton of in-app tools and features that make this a very user-friendly fitness app.
The exercise flow is very easy to follow. You simply press next on the app screen when you complete a set, and it’ll advance you to the rest period that’s timed for you. You are able to enter your weight by clicking on a little dumbbell icon located in the upper right corner of the app screen while in the exercise. I had to search for that feature, and if you didn’t know where to look, you might miss it. Tracking your weight and reps is critical for progress, and the app allows you to see all your past history, too, which is great.
Another thing that I noted was that the rep recommendation is a static number with no option to increase or decrease your reps based on what you can actually do that day. Again, this is actually really crucial for progressive overload and personalizing your workouts. Reps should be set and looked at as a suggestion or placeholder, but you might not be able to get that number of reps, or you might do more depending on your strength that day and your weight selection. I was a little disappointed to see that they don’t allow you to customize your reps.
Other than that, I find that the Alive App is full of very useful features that make the workout experience really seamless and intuitive. There are a ton of workout programs to choose from, most of which are 6 weeks in length, which is fantastic for progressive overload, but could potentially get a little boring for those who crave variety. That being said, I would much prefer users follow a 6-week program instead of choosing the random on-demand workouts – those are nice for busy days when you want to sneak in a little extra work on a specific area, but shouldn’t be relied on for consistent use, in my opinion.
One thing that I thought about was what do you do after the 6-week program that you follow, as it doesn’t really appear that they publish new workouts every 6 weeks. I guess you simply move on to another 6-week program in the app. I did see that there was a Legs Get It phase 2 and 3 in the Alive App, so if you were enjoying that program, you could move on to the next phases. Still, you will run out of options at the end and need to start a whole new program again, which might be a great thing. In the Simply Strong App, I come out with new workouts every month, and my members (and I) look forward to the new plans that are fresh, new, and progressive (built on the hard work of the month before). I am not saying that’s the best way to do things, but it’s what I have found helps to keep the women in the Simply Strong App the most consistent and motivated to get their workouts in.
Overall Thoughts and Impression
The Alive App is a beautiful, well-thought-out strength training app that contains a ton of options and tools for starting and following a strength training journey. The monthly price is very affordable, making that a huge draw.
There were, of course, a few things that I think would make the app better, like more frequently released programs that are progressive in nature, the ability to customize your reps in each workout, and a community for support (maybe they have one and I didn’t see it?).
If you’re looking for an affordable fitness app that contains solid programming that keeps things simple and effective, I saw Alive by Whitney Simmons is absolutely a great choice.
The thing about using an app by someone with millions of followers is that it’s highly unlikely you will ever get in touch with Whitney herself. I am sure Alive has a wonderful support team that can help with any questions, but it definitely lacks a personal touch.
If you’re looking for a smaller, more intimate program that allows you access to the trainer, more frequent workout program releases, and a community of supportive women, I invite you to come check out the Simply Strong App. You can use the code “NEW50” to get 50% off your first month, and I’ll be there with you every step of the way!
