24 February, 2020
Hotel
gyms are often cramped, not sufficiently air-conditioned
and frankly a bit crap, often leading us to hit the minibar as
opposed to the yoga mat. Thankfully, there’s a host of apps that
can keep you trim while travelling – just download and go.
A readily available, digital 1Rebel without the price tag. NeoU
is packed with workout concepts to suit every type of gym-goer;
from bodyweight strength-conditioning sequences and intense boot
camps to dance classes with Steve Aioki (he supplies the grooves, a
personal trainer the moves). Sessions range from a quick-fire five
minutes to a punishing 90-minute burn.
From £11.59 per month.
Soothing your mind, body and soul while travelling always sounds
like a great idea but when it comes to putting poses in practice, a
30-minute meditation usually turns into an extended nap. Ideal for
those who get bored easily, Down Dog is a personalised
yoga practice that mixes up the sequences each time you log in.
The free version is filled with enough varied flows that you won’t
need to upgrade to the premium model.
Free.
Aaptiv is your very own hype man and personal trainer. The
fitness world’s first audio-based app guides you through each
workout – set to a killer soundtrack – meaning there’s no squinting
at the screen and you can keep up with the pace. It’s available
worldwide, covers in-room workouts or if you’re lucky enough to be
somewhere warm, outside.
Monthly subscription from £11.60.
Freeletics uses revolutionary AI coaching to curate individual
exercise programmes that are dictated by your goals and input –
after each session you’re asked to provide feedback that’s used to
adjust your next workout. While the free version is more than
adequate for mobile training, we recommend unlocking The Coach
programme. Here you’ll find female-focused training journeys, video
plans from professionals (like “Football Fitness” from the German
national team) and mindset coaching to help you train smarter.
Sceptical that pocket personal training works? The app’s racked up
40 million users worldwide and is ranked #1 on all major
platforms.
Free, in-app add ons from £9.27 per month.
Plenty of apps will track your running, showing you your
distance and route, but Polar Beat is paired with a heart-rate
monitor to give you far more insight into your workout. Suited to
those who seriously want to up their fitness game, your heart rate
is streamed straight to your phone and displayed in “zones”. The
“zones” highlight when you were working at your optimum, burning
fat and increasing your fitness. If you don’t fancy travelling with
the tech, you can still follow the pre-mapped routes that have been
created using the data from your previous runs and designed to
boost your performance.
The app is free, purchase the heart rate monitor here.
The time-old classic that doesn’t really need an introduction,
ClassPass credits give you access to thousands of studios across
the world – kind of like a passport but for boutique gyms. You can
use credits the same way you would back home: try that punishing
treadmill class in New
York, book into that infrared sweat session in
Los Angeles or give a Muay Thai class in
Bangkok a go. Or, if your skin is feeling a little lacklustre,
you can use your credits to book a facial in multiple beauty
salons. It’s an on-the-go life hack we’ve become a little too au
fait with.
From £15 per month.
