As a certified personal trainer, I am a sucker for all the fitness apps. I’ve tried SO many over the last several years. Some were terrible and I never even did a workout! Some I immediately unsubscribed to, some were decent and I used them for a while, but none have been perfect. The Grounds App, launched October 16, comes pretty close, though!
I have followed Heidi Somers, aka BuffBunny for years, having found her back when I first started training. I was looking for petite fitness trainers and influencers, people that look like me! As a hard gainer my whole life, many of the social media fitness mavens were just not relatable! Heidi is! I have purchased tons of her clothing. In fact, I now wear exclusively BuffBunny Collection and Gymshark. At any rate, having followed BuffBunny for years, I knew I needed to try her app. I downloaded it right away as an OG subscriber, doing my first workout on day 1 of the app going live. This is my honest opinion about the app, which I’m sure will change as the app evolves.
First of all, it’s important to note that this app was a longtime coming. Somers shared that she spent countless hours researching what her customers would want in a fitness app and Grounds is the result of that work. It’s the first app I’ve used that integrates exercise, nutrition, hormonal/mood tracking, and community. That’s the best part! It is annoying to have to use multiple apps to manage your health and fitness. Much more efficient to have just the one. That’s the genius part of Grounds.
The 5 Best Parts
- Workout programming – there are programs you can follow or individual routines you can choose from. The trainers all have their own back stories and expertise and you can use that information to determine what’s best for your goals.
- Workout customization – it allows you to input the equipment you have on hand and the interests you have (weight loss, stress management, muscle gain, etc.) to recommend programs for you.
- Macro tracking – you can track your macros within this app! Standard macros are provided based on your inputs however you can customize them.
- Scheduling – you can schedule your workouts, adding an accountability element.
- Community – all the other fitness apps I’ve used have had a community aspect but it’s usually on social media. This one is integrated in the app, which I like so much more.
The 4 Opportunities for Improvement
- Workout Customization – although the app asks you to select your available equipment, the workouts don’t automatically sync with your selections. It would be awesome if they did! At least you can manually select substitutions. Still, if someone is new to fitness they wouldn’t necessarily know what was appropriate to sub in.
- Macro Calculations – it shows you how much you have eaten but not what is left overall for calories. I need someone to do the math! Showing me what’s left would be super helpful.
- Recipes – I cook all my own meals. Currently I log with Cronometer and one of the best features of that app is the ability to import recipes and have it calculate macros. I would love to have that ability with Grounds. You can add a custom meal but you have to calculate the macros first before adding.
- Apple Integration – It doesn’t completely sync with Apple Fitness. For example, when you start a workout, it will not start on the Watch. I also noticed that the step count isn’t exactly matching what I see in Apple Fitness. If it did sync completely, my weight would come over, too, without my having to manually add it.
Overall Grade: A
I would give the Grounds App a 3.8 on the college GPA scale! Now, I’m only three weeks into my first workout program so I’ll have to check back in once I finish it up. It’s a six-week program. I think I’m building muscle but it’s too soon to tell. I am definitely enjoying it, though, and looking forward to trying other programs!
To download and try the Grounds App for yourself, click here.
