Trying to free up some extra time and increase my creativity, I’ve decided to invest more time into exercising and getting fitter. It might not seem too applicable, but if you are trying to free up time in your day to write, and you are an avid exerciser, you could be wise in looking at a different training system. There are a few short training systems out there, and I almost started my T25 training again (BeachBody), but then I saw an ad for an app I hadn’t seen or heard of before.
It’s called 8fit, and promises short – less than 10 minute Tabata workout sessions. It’s a personalized step-by-step guide with HIIT inspired training sessions and full meal planning via the handy phone or tablet app, and what follows is my personal 8fit App Review.
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Since I’m rather unfit, I decided to go for the shortest duration workout option I could find. Thinking it will just be a little easier while I get used to exercising again. BeachBody’s T25 is Hard, and I don’t want to give up and quit right away. I’m saying this fully knowing that a short Tabata training session could – and Will be just as hard – but still, the 9-minute workout, testimonials and reviews on iTunes really pulled me in.
So, three weeks ago, I downloaded and signed up for the week-long trial, leading to the yearly subscription. I could cancel my year subscription before I was charged after 6 days if I didn’t like the app, its workouts, or recipes, and not have to pay a thing, so why not?
[Side note: T25 is also really cool, and I’ll give a review on that program in the coming weeks. But in the meantime, check out the reviews on Google, or get it straight from BeachBody or Amazon.]
Summary:
Product: 8Fit App, available on iOS or Android
Price (RRP): limited free version up to a $59.99 Year Subscription
Preferred Place to Buy: Itunes or GooglePlay
My Ranking: 8/10
8fit Description
The app has three different options available when you start, free or Pro (12-month or 3-month subscription) with a 7-day free trial. From the reviews and testimonials, I jumped straight in and bought the 12-month 8fit Pro subscription with the week free trial, trusting I would know if the about was a dud within the first 6 days before I was charged.
And boy is it not! This is probably the most fun I’ve had in exercising in a long time, even though the workouts are pretty tough for me, even being on only the beginner workouts.
The app comes with Workouts to your specific level, and Meal Planning including Recipes and Shopping Cart lists. When you start, you choose you Goals and the app helps you to compile a specific workout plan just for you.
You can alter your goals and fitness plan at any time, and it gives you your daily target calories and target weight goal.
The Workouts
The workouts vary from day to day, but all are so short, so they are easy to fit into your day. You have the option to include a warm-up, which only adds on a few minutes to the workout.
Each workout has a preview of each exercise, so you can review how to perform it correctly, and you are able to swap out individual exercises if you need to change the intensity level of any exercise. The workouts are home-based, using your body weight and furniture you would have in your home.
As well as your chosen workout plan available, there are a series of Yoga sessions available too, from beginners to advanced. If your workouts are too easy, it’s very simple to go into the settings and change your plan to a harder one.
I would usually use the app on my phone in my bedroom, using the furniture around me as props, but you can also airplay the workouts to your big screen, to use in your living room or gym.
The app also has a reminder function which alerts you to your scheduled workout session each day. This function is excellent as it pops up after your completed workout, and you can choose whether you want to complete your next scheduled workout right then, or when to schedule it for – I typically choose the next day at the same time, but as my fitness is increasing, I will soon start choosing to complete another workout that day; whereby completing approximately 20 minutes of Tabata training each day.
Meal Planning
The meals planning section was something I was very excited about. And the meals I’ve tried so far are pretty nice and quick, which is important. You have lots of choices when setting up your meal settings, including a variety of limitation diets, including gluten-free, vegetarianism etc, and even have the option of eliminating single food items, such as tomatoes, or individual nuts etc.
My only complaint, so far with the meals, is that they are single servings, and there is currently no option to change it to multiple serves. This makes it a little difficult when planning to feed the family, or for making extra serves to freeze for later.
But it’s not too much of a problem. Just double or triple the ingredients, so it’s not too tough, it would just make life a little bit more convenient. I did message them and comment on this, and they responded pretty quickly and said they are working on providing that function in the future.
My Overall Rank
I have to admit I’m pretty happy with the 8fit workout app and am happy I upgraded to the pro version for the year. I cannot comment for the fitter people out there, but for the beginner exerciser, this app is really handy. The workouts are short and entertaining and fun! It’s not too much of a struggle to get on your gear and get working out, which is all I need right now.
If you are new to exercise and need a quick workout, then definitely check out this app. For the new exerciser, I’d definitely give this app an 8 out of 10 for its convenience, accessibility and ease of use. I tend to really like home challenge programs, such as Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, and especially the meal planning for programmes like these are really good, but the training sessions are just too long if you have limited time in your day. As I said, there are a few other options out there, such as 8fit, T25 and a shorter challenge program I’ve just only recently found, but have yet to try out, called The Happy Body Formula. The Happy Body Formula promises short workouts and a Paleo style diet, which looks promising, and I hope to trial it out in the near future.
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I’d love to hear your feedback or reviews on 8fit Pro. What training do you do to keep fit and healthy, and how do you fit it into your day? Please leave your comment below.
Until next time – Happy Writing!
Erica
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I have been looking for a good workout app. The 8fit app has all kinds of cool features. I like the meal planning and the workout options. I have seen so many workout apps that are free, and they just don’t quite have everything I am looking for. I wouldn’t hesitate at all to pay what basically is $5 per month for a great app. I like the 7-day free trial as well. The fee is per year is that right? Or is it a one-time fee? Either way, I think it’s worth it, for me anyway. Sorry for so many questions, but do you know if you can export data from the app to Excel, or do any graphing of trending? Thanks for sharing this review. I look forward to hearing from you.
Many apologies for the delayed reply. I still really like the 8fit app, and still recommend it. The fee is per year; it’s an annual subscription. I just double checked the app regarding your data question, but unfortunately, this is one area thats lacking. You are able to view your workout history, but are not able to see it in any sort of graphical format. It would be nice if they could link it to say, My Fitness Pal or the Fibit app for example. They DO have an option to integrate with Apple HealthKit, however. I haven’t used that yet, though. There is also an option to record your steps from your iPhone’s motion sensor — but who carries their phone on them 24/7? Again, pity they haven’t set up an integration with Fitbit… Hope this helps 🙂
Wow – this sounds so great! It’s amazing how busy life gets… and I find it hard to make time for exercise. But this is because most exercise programs I look into are like 30 – 60 minute routines… and I just can’t devote that much of a time block to exercise.
But I am looking to be more fit. What sounds so great about this… is that they give you a 7-day free trial. In my eyes, free trials are the key to getting me to sign up… I’m not so much to go out and make a purchase, but if I can give this a try first – that’s amazing.
I’ll have to check it out, and see if I can make this one work for me! Thanks! 🙂
I’m glad I could help. Thanks for reading!
DONT DOWNLOAD THIS APP! This is a scam company. When you download the app everything is free. After 30 days they stole 84.50 dollars for 1 year subscription that I NEVER ordered. I canceled it the same day and ask for money back. Their Support first say OK but after a day I got a mail from “Head of Customer Support Cheryl”. She said ”I am really sorry that the agent wrote ‘OK’, since it does not matter if we confirm a refund or not”. Thanks a lot 8fit 🙁 Don’t let them fool you to!
Hi Ivo, firstly, thank you for reading and commenting. This is disheartening; I’ve heard pretty good things about 8fit’s customer support up until now. Here’s hoping it was just a genuine error on their part. Perhaps try emailing them again, or go through your credit card company? Sometimes they can reverse charges? Good luck! Erica
The trial for this App is only 7 days! Not enough to get any real experience or habit changes really lets be honest!! In order to experience any of it you have to hand over your CC details and they grab a whole year’s subscription of $89 as up front, as soon as the 7 days are up. I missed the cut-off (its automated their end) and they they grabbed $89 off my CC. Non-refundable their terns say because I had their 7 day trial period, which everybody gets! No typical legal 14 day cooling off period. Feel such a fool. Don’t be duped. Hope this review helps you avoid a similar fate!
Hi Patricia, Thanks for your comment. I will have to look into this and update my review. I had thought Ivo’s comment and experience might have been a once off, but perhaps 8fit’s customer service and terms and service isn’t quite up to par. I’ll definitely look into this further and update my review. Thanks again for your comment.
Are there any updates on the customer service issues with 8fit? I just signed up for their free platform and I would be game to do the year-long subscription, but the complaints about customer support are concerning.
I’ve seen Ivo’s complaint on another blogger’s review of 8fit, as well as on Google Play’s help forum, and would be much obliged if you were able to find out more info on the app.
Thanks!
Hi Lisa,
My apologies, I have been a bit slack in following this up, as I’ve been distracted with my creative writing. I will make contact with them today, and see what I can find out.
As a side note, I’ve just come back to 8fit after a couple of months off. I’m loving the updates and the new extra training included. At the moment, I still believe it is a great app, but I will see what I can find out about these customer service issues.
Thanks!
A quick review of their terms, and they Do state that one can cancel within the free trial period (but at least 24 hours before the period ends), before you are charged. But once those 7 days are up, and you are charged, they cannot offer a refund.
Here is a link to their Questions and Answers, where I found this information: https://8fit.com/support/
Lisa, what I’d recommend, is that, if you are not happy with 8fit in the first 5 days – cancel your subscription, and make sure it’s cancelled, through iTunes or through your Android phone, before that key 6th day…
Good luck!