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I’ve tried a lot of fitness programs over the years: BODi, Faster Way to Fat Loss, Peloton, and more. While each program has its benefits and served its purpose in my life, I began to notice something was missing. The results I was getting when I first started these programs weren’t happening anymore. And the more I pushed, the worse things seemed to get.
I had started learning more about progressive overload and the benefits of lifting heavy, not just from a physique standpoint, but also for health and longevity. The problem was that the follow-along workout videos I was addicted to weren’t allowing me to apply progressive overload or even lift as heavy as I could because I was always trying to keep up with an instructor on the screen.
I knew I needed to shift my approach to workouts, but I was very nervous that I wouldn’t know what to do or be “motivated” by workouts that required me to go at my own pace. Thankfully, my motivation to get results outweighed my hesitation to try something new, and I ended up completely transforming my approach to fitness.
In this article, I want to talk to you about the difference between the Simply Strong App and workout programs like BODi and Faster Way to Fat Loss - not to bash these programs, but to educate you on how they are different and how they may serve you in different ways and through different seasons of life.
Follow-Along Programs (BODi / Faster Way to Fat Loss)
These insanely popular fitness programs are built around daily, pre-recorded workouts that you follow along with on screen. Growing up in the VHS workout tape era - this was the WAY to work out for women. We were sweating it out with Richard Simmons and crunching our thighs together with Suzanne Somers and her Thigh Master. So when it came time for me to choose a workout program as an adult, I naturally gravitated toward a similar workout style.
This type of workout is great for beginners. Those who are intimidated by going to the gym or who have no idea where to start will feel great comfort in being able to work out from the comfort of their own homes and to be led by the hand through all of the exercises. This done-for-you structure that this type of workout affords removes all of the decision-making and guesswork. You just show up and follow along, keeping up the best you can.
This is one of the biggest flaws in this type of workout, in my opinion. When you are following along with an instructor who is moving quickly from exercise to exercise, you aren’t able to take the rest you might need to lift your heaviest and with your best effort on the next set, so you use lighter weights to be able to keep up and therefore don’t challenge yourself as you should. I would find myself pausing the workout, rewinding it, and wasting a lot of time messing around with the TV so I could keep pace with the instructors. This was fine in the beginning of my fitness journey, but as I got stronger, I wanted to lift heavier weights, but the structure just wasn’t conducive to it.
Another thing that workout programs like BODi and Faster Way offer that tends to be very appealing to people is variety. A lot of people feel bored with fitness and want to switch things up based on our mood of the day - a strength workout on one day, running the next, and maybe a pilates workout the next. These types of programs usually contain a full library of workouts that you can queue up and do on demand.
While this level of variety is great, and I am a firm believer that any movement is better than no movement, I’ve also seen and experienced firsthand what happens when you do random workouts. Your results will quickly start to wane, and your progress will plateau. The majority of women start a workout routine with the goal of losing weight and building lean muscle. As a complete beginner, this is very possible when following this type of workout routine. But as we get more adapted and accustomed to the workouts, we start to notice that our progress has pretty much stalled completely. In order to build muscle, you need to be applying progressive overload and lifting heavy weights (especially as an experienced lifter), and follow-along workouts just don’t allow that.
Plus, these programs do not repeat the same exercises - you’re basically doing new, random exercises with every workout (which, admittedly, can be exciting), but without repeating basic exercises and working to improve them, we aren’t progressing. Most programs like Faster Way to Fat Loss and BODi don’t have tracking capabilities in place to track your reps and weights for each exercise (kind of hard to track when you’re in the middle of a workout video…), so you’re basically always starting from square one with your workouts and exercises because who remembers what weights they used and the number of reps they did when it’s not noted?
Again, this post is not to bash this type of workout program, but more or less to open your eyes to the flaws in the system that might be holding you back from seeing the results you’re looking for. I get asked all the time why my workouts aren’t follow-along or what the difference is between my app (Simply Strong) and apps like BODi and Faster Way, so my goal is to try to explain that. Next, let’s talk about the way the Simply Strong App is structured so you can see the differences.
Go-At-Your-Own-Pace Workouts (Simply Strong App)
The workouts inside the Simply Strong App (and most other serious strength training apps), are designed to be done at your own pace. What this means is that you are given the video and written form cues for every exercise, suggested reps, and rest times, and a place to track your reps and weights, and you get to work at your own pace. There’s no pressure to keep up with a follow-along video; it’s just you vs you, progressing through the workouts in a way that feels good and is in alignment with your goals. This type of training builds self-trust and accountability, but it can take a big mindset shift to make the transition.
I can remember researching how to make my workouts more effective, knowing that I would need to ditch my follow-along workouts in lieu of ones that were more serious and mature, and thinking, “There’s no way I can do this on my own.” But here’s the thing: I was tired of working so hard in the gym, sweating my buns off to these workout videos, only to have nothing change literally or improve at all. My desire to stop feeling like I was spinning my wheels and wasting my time pushed me to try something new.
So, I took the leap and started following a basic strength training program that had me doing specific exercises for specific sets and reps while encouraging me to push myself in each set. I started tracking my reps and weights and repeating the same lifts week to week, reviewing my past week’s progressive and finding ways to improve and progressively overload. I started being able to listen to whatever I wanted while I worked out (audiobooks, podcasts, music) vs. having to listen to an instructor in my ear. And, slowly, I started falling in love with this style of working out and the results I was seeing.
When I truly got serious about lifting weights and became comfortable with repeating workouts and lifts week to week, I started to see incredible improvements in my body composition - more muscle, less fat, and a whole lot more confidence. My workouts stopped being about how much I could “burn” and became about how much I could “build.” Once the results started showing up for me, I knew there was no going back.
These days, I follow the exact workouts I program for myself and my clients in the Simply Strong App - which, by the way, I created out of my personal experience and success and my desire to help other women get real results within the confines of real schedules and needs. Many lifting programs require a gym membership, but the Simply Strong App does not. We use dumbbells and bands only, and the structure of the program is designed for progressive overload, which means so long as you’re lifting with intention and tracking your weights, improvements and progress are inevitable.
This simplified, straightforward approach to fitness takes so much of the pressure off and allows you to build your strength and confidence on your own schedule and based on your current abilities. While group fitness classes and programs like BODi and Faster Way to Fat Loss served an important purpose in my fitness journey, that era of my life has ended, and I am now in a place that feels so much more aligned, especially as I age. Gone are the days of wanting to bop around and sweat like a 20-something, trying in vain to keep up with a young, sprightly instructor. Instead, I work out in my garage gym on my own schedule, at my own pace, and with a me vs. me mentality that has me pushing myself to make progress and see results.
Wrapping Up
I have seen so many clients thrive after switching from their follow-along workout programs to the progressive overload approach we take in the Simply Strong App - they feel empowered, consistent, and in complete control of their progress.
That said, the best program for you is the one that you will follow. But if you’re feeling a little stuck and like the results you used to get from your follow-along workouts just aren't there anymore, then I encourage you to have an open mind and give a program like the Simply Strong App a try. If you’re worried about missing the community aspect, we have an amazing community of supportive women who are there with you the whole way.
If you’re ready to take control of your workouts, skip the pressure of crazy workouts, and focus on consistent progress that fits your life, then I invite you to join us in the Simply Strong App. Stop chasing flashy and exciting and start chasing workouts that allow you to build habits and a lifestyle that lasts.
