One of the hardest things about starting a new workout program is choosing one. There are thousands to choose from so how do you know which is right for you?
Plus it seems like every new fitness guru tells you something different:
Should you lift heavy? Is distance running good for you? Should you eat a bunch of small meals, or is intermittent fasting better?
It's all very confusing.
The truth is that there's no “right” way to workout. It obviously depends on what you're looking for.
But maybe the first question to ask is: should you even follow a workout plan at all?
Should You Follow A Workout Program?
Of course you don't need to follow a workout program! You don't need an expert to tell you how to get some physical activity. And you certainly can find some good workout advice for free online or in books.
But there are lots of reasons why you might want to give a formal program a try.
Maybe you have a specific goal, like losing belly fat or sprinting faster. There are plans out there to help you meet virtually any health or athletic goal.
Learning from somebody who has had proven results helping others achieve your goal can save you a lot of time and frustration.
In fact, strenuous exercise without instructions can be a great way to overtrain or get injured.
Workout programs can also keep you accountable. For many of us, it's easier to slack off when we don't have a set schedule to follow.
Choosing The Right Program
You have an almost unlimited number of workout programs to choose from. It can be overwhelming.
All you have is your best guess, usually. But it's hard to know what claims are real, and what's just smoke and mirrors marketing.
One of the purposes of this site is to help you make more informed choices. We want our reviews to give you more insight into these types of online products so you can avoid wasting your time and money.
Our Workout Reviews
We will keep a running list here of different workout programs as we get our hands on them.
We'll mostly highlight the programs we like and recommend. But if a program is truly bad – and we don't want you to waste your money on it – we will note that, too.
Of course “workout” is a pretty broad category. So we'll tell you about programs for different types of fitness goals so you can find what you're looking for.
Let's start off by sharing a few of the programs we've seen and liked in 2018.
At-Home Yoga Programs
Even though it’s best to find an instructor, you can still learn basic yoga moves on your own. Just don’t do anything you’re not sure about.
The easiest way to do this is by watching YouTube videos. There are some great instructors on YouTube. And it’s free! Here are some channels to check out:
Adrienne has almost 3 million subscribers and hundreds of videos. She teaches all kinds of yoga routines including a lot of good content for beginners.
This is another popular channel featuring renowned teacher Kino McGregor. Also has some good videos for a beginner’s practice.
We also recommend the popular Yoga Burn program, which is a structured at-home yoga program primarily geared toward women.
Workout Programs For Muscle-Building
There are a lot of muscle building guides that have you using gym equipment. But we'll also try to include some that require less equipment.
Old School New Body is a moderate-intensity program marketed toward older adults but it can work for everyone. It requires some equipment, but you can get away with just using dumbbells.
Body Of A Spartan (review coming soon) is a demanding 6-days-a-week weight lifting program. However the workouts themselves can be relatively brief, and it allows you to customize in order to add variety.
More Reviews To Come
We'll keep adding more workout reviews as we study new programs. Eventually we hope to have a full library of programs reviewed, but until then you'll need to check back periodically.
