Work Out With Aaptiv: The Postpartum Exercise App

Like having a personal trainer in your home, the Aaptiv fitness app helps mamas stay fit through pregnancy and beyond.

Let’s face it: Getting fit after a baby is no easy task. I’m five months postpartum now, and between sleepless nights and having a tiny human who depends on me every second of the day, it isn’t always possible to make it to the gym.

Luckily, working out at home is a great option — especially with the guidance of the Aaptiv fitness app.

Fourth-Trimester Fitness

Aaptiv is a fitness-audio app that allows athletes to stream music and workouts coached by knowledgeable trainers. It encompasses 12 categories, with activities including everything from boxing to yoga. Subscribers pay a monthly fee and get unlimited access.

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For this test, I focused on the newly released Fourth Trimester fitness program, as well as Stroller fitness and some Yoga.

We’re all familiar with the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy. But you may not have heard of the fourth trimester. This is the period lasting for three months after the baby arrives. It’s a time marked by sleepless nights, baby snuggles, taking time to heal, and did I mention sleepless nights?

And part of this recovery is adjusting to the physical changes of being postpartum and starting an exercise routine. This is where Aaptiv comes into the picture.

It’s worth noting that postnatal fitness varies widely from woman to woman. How quickly you’ll want to jump back into an exercise routine really depends on the individual’s pre-baby fitness level and the intensity of labor itself.

I know women who have logged miles the day after the baby was born. Others took it easy for several weeks. There’s no right or wrong. Consult your midwife or doctor and listen to what your body needs.

Audio Fitness: Pros & Cons

Aaptiv is an audio-only app. I found there are definitely pros and cons to this. On the plus side, it’s less distracting than needing to look at a screen while working out. Relying just on the audio cues allowed me to focus fully on the exercise.

But there were times when I didn’t fully understand what my “coach” was instructing me to do. I had to pause and rewind a bit in order to make sure I was completing the moves properly.

I also felt that some instructions relied on the user already having a solid fitness background. When being told to get on “all fours and into a cat-cow position,” I did this easily. After all, that’s a mainstay of the yoga classes I’ve been taking for years. But I can imagine it confusing users who aren’t already familiar with the fitness jargon.

For the most part, though, the instructions are impressively clear, and the instructor’s voice is peppy enough to get you excited without being over the top.

Best of all, the music is great. Aaptiv has clearly invested in the rights to use mainstream music, and it shows. I found myself bobbing my head to the familiar tunes while lunging down the street.

And you can even choose your workouts based on the tunes. Love ’90s hip hop? There’s a workout for that. Can’t get enough classic rock? Well, get ready to sweat.

The app is intuitive to use and keeps track of your completed workouts. And you have the option to organize workouts into the “To-do” category and download for use even without Wi-Fi.

Aaptiv: What You Get

For $99, app members get annual unlimited access to 2,500 streaming workouts. Aaptiv adds over 40 “classes” each week, and there are price breaks for businesses and students. There’s also a free seven-day trial.

This is a great option if you’re looking to start the new year off right or squeeze in a workout in between diaper changes.

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