BetterMe, launched in 2017, is a comprehensive fitness, diet, and mental health platform designed to offer workouts, coaching, and health tracking through its apps. Beyond its digital offerings, BetterMe also features an online store selling workout clothing, exercise equipment, and a fitness tracker. The platform aims to support employee wellbeing by preventing burnout and sick leave, potentially reducing insurance costs. This article delves into the various aspects of the BetterMe program, providing a detailed review of its features, user experiences, and overall effectiveness.
Overview of BetterMe's Offerings
BetterMe provides a range of services through its apps and business platform:
- Health Coaching: The main BetterMe app offers workout videos, health tracking, meal plans, and mindfulness lessons.
- Mental Health: A separate app provides guided meditations, breathing exercises, mental health coaching, and sleep sounds.
- Business Platform: Designed to support employee wellbeing with short workouts and access to the Health Coaching and Mental Health apps.
- Store: An online store selling workout clothing, exercise equipment, and a fitness tracker.
Key Features of the BetterMe: Health Coaching App
The Health Coaching app is central to BetterMe's offerings, providing a wide array of features to support users in their fitness and wellness journeys.
Workouts and Training Programs
BetterMe offers a diverse range of workout classes, including:
- Fitness at Home
- Quick Workouts
- Fit After Baby
- Boxing
- Back Protecting
- Family Workouts
- Dumbbell Workouts
- Tai Chi
- Restore and Relax
- Pilates for a Toned Body
- Meniscus Injury and Recovery
- Wheelchair workouts
Users receive daily workout suggestions customized to their intake form information and daily tracking. Workouts are available in various durations and require minimal or no equipment. Each exercise within a routine provides step-by-step instructions, and users can toggle warm-ups and cool-downs on or off. The app also allows users to adjust music, voice instruction, and other settings during workouts. Some workouts, like those for wheelchair users and treadmills, are audio-only.
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Fitness Challenges
BetterMe offers guided fitness challenges, typically lasting 21 to 30 days. Examples include:
- Walking Challenge
- Fasting Challenge
- Self-love Meditation to Support Weight Loss
- Toned Tummy
- No Alcohol Challenge
Participation in these challenges allows users to message a health coach directly, but requires additional payment ranging from $5 to $100.
Food and Water Tracking
The meal tracker allows users to log their food intake to measure daily calorie consumption. Users can search for foods and adjust portion sizes, with the app providing carbohydrate, protein, fat, and calorie averages. However, the app only displays accumulated calories for each day.
Meal Planning
Users can access meal plans at an additional cost, with pricing varying depending on the plan chosen. The meal plans align with the dietary information provided on the intake form, offering options such as:
- Vegetarian
- Keto
- Diabetes-friendly
- Paleo
- Pescatarian
- Gluten-free
- Vegan
- Mediterranean
These meal plans consist of weekly recipes with clearly listed nutritional profiles.
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Fasting Tracker
BetterMe supports intermittent fasting by providing fasting plans with different intervals. The app offers general guidance and recommendations for each plan, allowing users to start timers to track fasting periods and view weekly stats.
Mindfulness
The BetterMe app provides short mindfulness lessons on topics such as negative self-talk, habit-forming behavior, and self-control. These lessons aim to help users achieve their fitness and nutrition goals. A separate BetterMe: Mental Health app offers guided meditations, breathing exercises, self-help coaching, and sleep sounds.
Additional Tracking Features
The app includes an in-app tracker to measure daily steps and a menstrual tracker that provides data on period length and menstrual phases, offering recommendations for workouts and nutrition based on the user's current phase.
User Reviews and Experiences
User reviews of the BetterMe app are varied, with some praising its simplicity and effectiveness, while others express concerns about billing, workout variety, and technical issues.
Positive Feedback
Many users appreciate BetterMe for helping them build consistent routines, especially beginners or those returning to exercise. The short daily workouts make exercise feel approachable, and the structure and lack of equipment requirements are also appreciated. Some users also note the mental health and motivation benefits, with daily reminders and check-ins helping them stay grounded. Several users have reported weight loss and appreciate the affordability of the app compared to in-person trainers.
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Criticisms and Concerns
A significant number of reviews point to issues with billing and cancellation, with some users finding it difficult to cancel subscriptions and feeling misled by the free trial. Others criticize the workout repetition, with sessions sometimes being overly simplistic or repetitive. Some users also mention a lack of smartwatch or app integrations, buggy food tracking, and limitations with syncing across devices.
Overall Verdict
Most users fall into two categories: those who love BetterMe for its simplicity and gentle approach, and those who are frustrated by billing confusion, limited variety, or technical issues. The app offers real value to users who need gentle guidance and motivation, but those seeking full control or ultra-technical coaching may encounter limitations.
Personal Review of BetterMe App
The BetterMe app was approached through four core routines: Pilates, treadmill walking, calisthenics, and mental wellness.
BetterMe Pilates
The wall Pilates program was found to be beginner-friendly but not too easy, providing a light burn without being overly exhausting. The realistic pacing and encouraging voiceover coaching were appreciated. BetterMe Pilates is a legitimate, accessible, low-impact way to build core strength and flexibility at home. The yoga sessions were also found to be soft, clear, and short enough to fit into a lunch break.
BetterMe Treadmill Walking Workouts
The beginner treadmill challenge was smoother than expected, with guided audio workouts providing cues for speed changes, incline shifts, and posture tips. This feature is accessible and turns passive movement into an actual workout, even during meetings. The app tracks steps, streaks, and progress, providing a consistent reminder to keep moving.
BetterMe Calisthenics
The calisthenics routines seemed solid, with bodyweight exercises, short bursts of strength work, and structured progression. However, it felt like a stretch for the current comfort zone and would be better suited for those already comfortable with squats, lunges, and planks.
BetterMe Mental Health Features
The mental health features were a pleasant surprise, including daily affirmations, guided meditations, self-reflection prompts, and mood check-ins. The evening wind-down meditation was particularly effective in promoting relaxation and faster sleep. These features make emotional self-care feel less intimidating and are ideal for building awareness without being overwhelmed.
Pros and Cons of BetterMe
Pros
- Beginner-friendly workouts, especially for at-home routines
- Mental wellness features like meditation and mood tracking included
- Pilates and walking workouts are simple, effective, and approachable
- Great for stay-at-home users or people new to fitness
- Easy-to-use interface and visual timers in workouts
- Encouraging tone, no toxic gym culture
- Nutritional guidance and fasting tools help structure habits
- Highly inclusive of all physical abilities, including wheelchair workouts and workouts for those with limb loss
Cons
- Subscription and cancellation process is confusing for some
- Repetitive workout programming
- Lack of smart device integration
- Limited progression paths for intermediate/advanced users
- Auto-renew issues and surprise charges reported by users
- No live feedback or form correction (AI coaching feels basic)
- Some features (coaching, personalized meals) require extra cost
- Gendered and stigmatizing body imagery and lack of cultural competency with weight stigma
Free Alternatives to BetterMe
If BetterMe isn't the right fit, several free alternatives can provide a well-rounded wellness toolkit:
- FitOn: Offers free home workouts led by celebrity trainers.
- Nike Training Club: Excellent for strength, HIIT, and endurance workouts.
- MyFitnessPal: A popular food and calorie tracker.
- Medito or Insight Timer: Free, high-quality meditation apps.
- Liven: Supports productivity and emotional clarity.
- Brainway: Adds a science-backed approach to habit-building and mindset change.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Does BetterMe actually work? Yes, the app delivers on its promises and offers a unique way of exercising.
- How much does it cost to use the BetterMe app? Subscriptions start at $14.99 a month, with additional costs for features like meal planning and personal health coaching.
- Is BetterMe easy to set up and use? The platform is generally easy to set up and use, with a seven-day free trial available.
- Is coaching provided on the BetterMe app? While one-on-one personalized coaching is limited, there are plenty of videos to follow during home workout sessions.