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Obe Review

Saturday, March 25th

2023 Online Fitness Program Reviews

Obe Review 3 Star Rating

Obe

3 Star Rating
  • 7-day free trial
  • $24.99/month
  • $169.99/year
  • Over 10,000 classes across 20+ class types
  • Live stream classes seven days a week
  • New on-demand classes added daily
  • Only available to users in the US and Canada

Have you spotted obe in your Facebook or Instagram feed and wondered what all the hype is about? Derived from an acronym representing "our body electric" and said like the word "obey" , this online fitness platform has options for every exerciser, from young professionals pressed for time to kids and seniors who want to get healthier from, well, anywhere.

Ample choices for on-demand classes

Your obe membership includes access to over 10,000 on-demand classes with new ones added every day. There are four class categories at obe, with a total of 20 class types. These include:

  • Cardio: HIIT, Dance HIIT, Dance Cardio, Cardio Boxing, Bounce, Jump, and Ride
  • Strength: Sculpt, Pilates, Strength, Power, and Barre
  • Yoga: Vinyasa, Yoga Sculpt, Restorative, and Meditation
  • Activate/Recover: Warmup, Cool-down, Stretch, and Foam Roll

Live class option too

You also can participate in a live daily schedule with streaming classes. But don't worry: even though your live instructor might call you out by name ("You can do it, Chloe in Chicago!" ), they're only going by the names and locations on their list and not spying on whether or not you're really giving it your best effort. Still, it can help you really feel like you're in the studio together with everyone else signed in for the workout.

No leaderboards, but tracking and challenges are available

You'll also be able to take advantage of Programs and Challenges, if you need a little more structure to get yourself in gear and working out regularly. Plus, obe's tracking tools and online community can give you that extra push. But, there are no leaderboards here: as they put it, "no leaderboards, no guilt trips - just a great time."

More expensive than most online fitness platforms

Your experience starts out with a 7-day free trial. After that, you can either pay $24.99 per month or $169.99 per year. We recommend starting out month-to-month after the free period ends, so that you can make sure you're getting enough out of obe to make it worth a longer commitment - because there are no refunds here.

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Keep an eye out for discounts

When we visited obe most recently, we got a 50% discount pop-up offer. We weren't thrilled that we had to provide both our email and our mobile number to qualify, but it is what it is. There was another interesting promo featured at the top of the page: sign up to be an annual member and get a free year's membership to gift to a friend, along with a Daily Harvest box for you (valued at $70). Be sure to look at the top of the obe site to see if there's a code available at the time you're signing up.

Decent user feedback

So, should you sign up for obe? On the one hand, it can't hurt to give it a try for seven days and compare it with other online fitness platforms you've had your eye on. It gets pretty high reviews on the Apple App Store (average of 4.8 out of 5 across several thousand ratings) and a similar average over fewer reviews on Google Play (average of 4.5 across 300+ ratings). People love how obe helps them get excited about fitness and participate regularly: some people opt into a live class at the same time every day, so that they always get a new mix of class types, while others praise the ample on-demand catalog for making it impossible to get bored.

Customer service is bad

On the other hand, this online fitness company had an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau, with almost 100 complaints filed there over the last three years and more than half of those coming in the last 12 months. Most of those have gone unanswered and represent significant issues: this isn't a case of people signing up for a trial and not realizing they'd be charged, like you see with some fitness platforms. Complaints here describe a completely non-functioning app and then not being given any credit or refund for months of unusable time, canceling before the end of the trial period but still being charged multiple times, no response at the customer support phone number, you get the picture.

Lots of room for improvement

While we don't want to overlook the thousands of positive reviews from fitness enthusiasts who feel transformed by their experience with obe, we can't ignore the company's lack of a response to legitimate claims filed with the BBB - especially when the complaints line up with comments we saw on both app stores. This online fitness platform is much more expensive than most services we reviewed, and we're not convinced that obe is worth the extra dollars - or potential drama. Take a look at some of obe's rivals first and then decide for yourself.

Which Online Fitness Program is the Best for You?

To answer that question, you should start with an idea of what you're hoping to accomplish. Are you at the very beginning of your fitness journey and need some gentle, encouraging guidance to get started? Do you have a gym membership but you're not quite sure what to do when you get there? Are you frequently traveling for work and looking for a way to exercise no matter if you're in Manhattan or Miami?

There are platforms that fit all of those situations - and so many others. Another consideration is whether or not you're looking to combine nutritional changes with your online fitness choice. Some services give you an all-in-one, with meal plans and workouts to choose from, while others specialize just in exercise.

The Best Online Fitness Programs Compare Online Fitness Programs Compare Online Fitness Program Reviews What are the best Online Fitness Programs Best Online Fitness Program Reviews

Online Fitness Program FAQ

Online fitness programs are workouts you can do from anywhere. They might include step-by-step instructions on how to do different strength training exercises or provide a fast-paced cardio workout that you follow on a video. In addition to focusing on improving physical strength, online fitness programs sometimes help with meal planning to improve your overall health.
Many online fitness courses come with a series of classes that build on each other. This will help you get stronger each day and build on the progress you have made. Many fitness program apps also let you record how long you exercised, what types of exercise you did, what you ate that day, and track some of your vitals. This keeps you accountable for the frequency of your workouts and helps you see areas where you could improve.
An online fitness program is one of the most convenient ways to get your exercise in. You don't have to leave your house, but you still get your own kind of personal trainer. Have you ever had a plan to get to the gym, but the hassle of having someone watch the kids, getting dressed, driving to the gym, and having to see other people prevented you from getting there? You're not alone. Having a workout plan you can do from home will likely increase the consistency of your exercise.
It is reasonable to spend $10 - $20/month for full access to an online fitness course. If you pay for a few months at a time or buy a year-long subscription, you'll end up saving money. Luckily, most online fitness programs offer a free trial so you can see what they have to offer and try out a few days of workouts before deciding if you want to continue long-term.
You could use your phone, computer, or tablet to view your fitness course. Whatever is most conducive to the type of workout you are doing will work for most fitness apps. Some apps even have Bluetooth capability that will sync with your heart rate monitor, Apple health, or other fitness resources to give you the best overview of your progress.
If you want to update your fitness app or stream any of the workouts on-demand, you'll need access to the internet. However, if you know ahead of time that you'll be away from the internet and want to have one of your courses accessible, some online fitness programs allow you to download videos and/or guides to your device. This would be useful if you're going to be camping or traveling in an area where you aren't sure you'll have a good connection, but don't want to skip a workout.
Some online fitness courses are geared toward one type of workout (cardio, strength training, kickboxing, etc.), while others give you a taste of everything. If you have a home gym with weights and cardio equipment, you might want to do strength training exercises that allow you to use your resources. Some people prefer fast-paced classes online like Zumba, while others want to practice mindfulness with yoga. Chances are, no matter what online fitness program you go with, there will be hundreds of different workouts that target all areas of the body and give you enough variety that you'll never get bored or run out of challenges.
When deciding what online fitness program to go with, ask yourself what your goals are. Are you wanting to lose weight? To tone your upper body? To feel healthier overall? Knowing the purpose behind your workout will be the first step. It also helps to know what kinds of exercise you do and don't like. If you choose a program all about weight lifting, but you don't like that kind of strength training, odds are you won't stick with it long. Most online fitness programs allow you to customize the way you want to work your body and cut out things you don't want to do.
Compare the Best Reviews

Continued from above...

Either way, most online fitness platforms work in roughly the same way: take advantage of a free trial, then decide if a paid membership is right for you. On a budget? No problem: there are several excellent choices that let you access tons of workouts at no cost. Yes, you'll probably be invited to upgrade to a paid plan, but feel free to ignore that and work out using just the regular content and tools.

Now that you've given it some thought and have an idea of what your online fitness "wish list" would include, it's time to start browsing what's available. You might feel a little overwhelmed at first, with so many choices and new ones popping up all the time. Don't stress. Here are some criteria to keep in mind that will help you narrow them down:

  • On-demand, live stream, or both? Most platforms feature an on-demand library of classes, but some of today's most popular online fitness brands give you the best of both worlds. How important is it to you to be able to take a live class? If you're transitioning from a gym/studio environment to home workouts, live workouts might help you feel more engaged.
  • Cost. What's the most you want to spend for an annual or monthly membership? Or maybe you're only interested in what you can get gratis. When it comes to online fitness platforms, you don't necessarily get more by spending more: many paid memberships add features like premium music or extra workouts, but you can still get plenty with a free account.
  • Variety. The more classes and workout genres a platform carries, the less likely you are to get bored and walk away. It's okay to choose a service because it has your favorites, but make sure it has a few workout types that are new to you - when you're ready to try something different, it'll be waiting for you.
  • Reputation. Check out what users of the online fitness platform have said. Are the workouts basic - or challenging - enough? How's the music? If it uses an app, does it work consistently? Does the service deliver what it promises? Is it worth the money if you pay for a membership?

To help you choose the online fitness program that's going to be the best fit for your goals and lifestyle, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular services. We're sure you'll find the perfect way to take your fitness to the next level - on your own terms!

Compare Online Fitness Programs

Select any 2 Online Fitness Programs to compare them head to head

best-online-fitness-programs
  • FitOn
  • Jillian Michaels
  • SHRED
  • Aaptiv
  • Fitness Blender
  • Daily Burn
  • Beachbody On Demand
  • Booya Fitness
  • Obe
  • Transform
  • All Out Studio
  • Centr
FitOn vs Jillian Michaels FitOn vs SHRED FitOn vs Aaptiv FitOn vs Fitness Blender FitOn vs Daily Burn FitOn vs Beachbody On Demand FitOn vs Booya Fitness FitOn vs Obe FitOn vs Transform FitOn vs All Out Studio FitOn vs Centr Jillian Michaels vs SHRED Jillian Michaels vs Aaptiv Jillian Michaels vs Fitness Blender Jillian Michaels vs Daily Burn Jillian Michaels vs Beachbody On Demand Jillian Michaels vs Booya Fitness Jillian Michaels vs Obe Jillian Michaels vs Transform Jillian Michaels vs All Out Studio Jillian Michaels vs Centr SHRED vs Aaptiv SHRED vs Fitness Blender SHRED vs Daily Burn SHRED vs Beachbody On Demand SHRED vs Booya Fitness SHRED vs Obe SHRED vs Transform SHRED vs All Out Studio SHRED vs Centr Aaptiv vs Fitness Blender Aaptiv vs Daily Burn Aaptiv vs Beachbody On Demand Aaptiv vs Booya Fitness Aaptiv vs Obe Aaptiv vs Transform Aaptiv vs All Out Studio Aaptiv vs Centr Fitness Blender vs Daily Burn Fitness Blender vs Beachbody On Demand Fitness Blender vs Booya Fitness Fitness Blender vs Obe Fitness Blender vs Transform Fitness Blender vs All Out Studio Fitness Blender vs Centr Daily Burn vs Beachbody On Demand Daily Burn vs Booya Fitness Daily Burn vs Obe Daily Burn vs Transform Daily Burn vs All Out Studio Daily Burn vs Centr Beachbody On Demand vs Booya Fitness Beachbody On Demand vs Obe Beachbody On Demand vs Transform Beachbody On Demand vs All Out Studio Beachbody On Demand vs Centr Booya Fitness vs Obe Booya Fitness vs Transform Booya Fitness vs All Out Studio Booya Fitness vs Centr Obe vs Transform Obe vs All Out Studio Obe vs Centr Transform vs All Out Studio Transform vs Centr All Out Studio vs Centr
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