Exercise App Suggestions

May 29, 2024 9:46 PM

As I'm getting older I'm finding that I'm less and less flexible - particularly my hips, back and shoulders. It's at the point where massage can only do so much. There are no good yoga class options around me plus I have issues with scheduling so I'm thinking a recorded online class or some sort of stretching or yoga app might be more helpful. What's good these days?

I tried looking online and now my feed is being spammed with what seems to be an infinite variety of "somatic yoga" apps, which all seem too good to be true - promising wonders for no effort at all. Due to old knee issues, I'd need something aimed at people who are not comfortable with getting up and down off the floor - at least to start with. It's one of the things I'm hoping to improve.

I have blocks, straps and mats, resistance bands and light weights. I'm willing to spend some money on this, so would consider a subscription. What should I try?

posted by ninazer0 to Health & Fitness (17 answers total)

I pay for the Do Yoga With Me website but there are a lot of free videos on there you can try. You can sort by difficulty and duration. I recommend. It's been keeping me doing yoga 3x a week or so for more than a year.
posted by latkes at 10:09 PM on May 29

recommend yoga with kassandra on youtube for her accessible 10 min videos. she has a lot of chill, yin-ish 10mins for morning or evening; optional meditation videos linked. i previously did yoga with adrienne, using her app daily for a couple of years, but ultimately wanted something more chill and i find 10 mins easier to fit in for day practice than 20-30mins videos.
here’s kassandra’s day one of 30 days morning, and here is day one of evening.
posted by tamarack at 10:29 PM on May 29 [5 favorites]

My husband and I have regular therapeutic massages at our chiropractor's office, followed by adjustments. We're in our 70's, and it's kept us going. We have a small fruit farm we work on, we boat and fish, my husband is a former semi-pro baseball pitcher, and we're active generally. But you're right - as you age, it takes longer to recover from strenuous physical activity and it's easier to injure yourself. Our doctor is a sports medicine specialist, and we've told him we consider ageing our new "sport". We also see a bio-identical hormone doctor and take supplements and a few prescriptions. Swimming or yoga would be a good investment in your health, and you might want to try a different massage therapist - you're worth the investment!
posted by summerstorm at 10:51 PM on May 29

Yoga with Adriene
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:08 AM on May 30 [5 favorites]

I really like https://rom.coach/ - he has longer form content on youtube too, but this app is great for giving you just a few movement exercises to do each day (so it's not too overwhelming as it doesn't take too long) but each day is something a bit different.

You can either target a few specific areas, or have it cover your whole body.
posted by ecstaticcattle at 3:53 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

A favorite teacher of mine is currently not super active in teaching live, but he has a lot of free videos, and a Patreon with lots more. I especially like his yin recordings, which has really improved my flexibility over time and what I notice about where I am stiff.
posted by chiefthe at 5:57 AM on May 30

I am not very well versed on yoga in general but use the Downdog app for evening stretching. You can customize a routine and it builds it from video clips based on what you want to do, your level of experience, and desired duration. I have it set on "gentle beginner" which is about right for what I want from it.
posted by Captain_Science at 6:10 AM on May 30

HT Physio-Will Harlow This You Tube channel has a nice library of recommended exercises of different areas of the body. There are a few that suggest ways to rise from the floor, and how to strengthen different muscle groups to make rising from the floor easier. All of the exercises are simple, straightforward, require minimal equipment, and can be put together for your specific needs. Will also describes the muscle or joint group so you can get a better sense of exactly what part of the body needs some extra attention. No false promises, just a great, informative set of tools to strengthen your body.I hope you find it helpful.
posted by effluvia at 6:21 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]

I really like the yoga on Peloton and particularly the ones with Ross Rayburn, who is an older instructor and is very focused on accommodating yoga positions for all ages and abilities and also has specific goals in mind for each of his sessions that are in line with what you are looking for. Unfortunately, he plans to leave Peloton in June, but there is a huge back catalogue of his yoga routines that will stay on the platform.

Overall, I'm really happy with Peloton's offerings in all areas.
posted by urbanlenny at 8:30 AM on May 30

My partner uses the free tier of the Nike Fitness app. There are a lot of yoga workouts there and my partner is very happy with the system overall.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:04 AM on May 30

I was gifted this 21 day (recorded) regimen from Yoga Body that's targeted at people with back pain. It was so helpful that I sort of cobbled together a rotating routine of it that I'm still doing a year later, and I've expanded to try other courses from the same group. They're not bank breakers, and they're good! I say this as someone who had never done a yoga pose in my life before 2023.

I've also sought out a physical therapist who, over six sessions, really dialed in some very specific, very easy movements nd exercises that helped me learn how to "activate" or just be more consciously aware of very specific parts of my anatomy. If apps help you, this is something I'd encourage you to do. Going into PT with some knowledge of what's felt helpful is a nice adjunct to the personalized attention you can get from a practitioner without having to go through, like, a group yoga class.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:57 AM on May 30

I like the Yoga Studio app. It has a range of classes for different experience levels and focus areas, and the new content they have added in the last couple of years has been pretty good.
posted by 4rtemis at 12:05 PM on May 30

The thing I like about Yoga with Adriene is that she published a free monthly "curated calendar" of suggested practices. It takes away a lot of the decision fatigue for me - I just look at this month's calendar, click the link to the playlist and do today's practice! Yoga With Adriene calendar
She also has some "30 Days of Yoga" playlists that build on each day - they are published in January but available to start any time you want. Example: Jan this year
posted by party boots at 1:37 PM on May 30

I did not click with Yoga with Adriene but I find myself using DownDog app regularly. I use it on the web, not my phone, cause I don't find a phone screen big enough for anything.

I find the variety of settings (Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, Nidra, meditative restorative, meditative sleep) sufficiently different. I like the variety of other settings (focus on parts of the body, how long to rest in savasana. how fast to transition poses). I like that I can prefer some poses over others. I like that the routine is different every time, but I can save one I really liked. 67% off right now.
posted by crush at 3:08 PM on May 30

I did DDP Yoga for a while; dropped about twenty pounds while doing that and changing my diet. Diamond Dallas Page describes it as “not your mama’s yoga” which may be a plus or a minus depending on how you like doing your yoga with a loud, ex-wrestler barking in your ear. He mixes yoga movements with western physical therapy exercises.
posted by Eikonaut at 12:25 PM on May 31

Response by poster: Thanks guys! There's a lot to go through here and I'm actually kind of pumped about it. I'll update when I've had a chance to try some stuff out.
posted by ninazer0 at 5:09 PM on May 31 [2 favorites]

I'm late to the party here, but I can't help but chime in. I used to be a yoga enthusiast, but I realized it wasn't really helping my pain as much as I hoped it would. A friend told me about Essentrics (also called Classical Stretch on PBS). When I first tried it, I immediately dismissed it as a workout for me - too old lady, not a "real" workout. A few years later, I remembered it when my mom asked for workout suggestions. We did a workout together off of YouTube. I was just playing along to encourage her to try the workout. I couldn't believe how much better this particular kind of stretching felt compared to yoga. Now I alternate this with heavy weights, and I haven't felt this flexible and pain free since my misbegotten youth. It took me several workouts to find the instructors I like, but they do have a free trial that you can try to determine if it's right for you.
posted by Barnifer at 7:43 PM on June 3 [1 favorite]