Entertainment

This Might Be The Only App You Need For Fitness

by Laura Rosenfeld

I know what you're thinking. Yes, someone put another fitness app on the market. However, SworkIt seems to be easier to use and more satisfactory than most. It has even gotten a bit of really positive buzz around the Internet over the past couple of years. Knowing just that little bit of info, once you see Sworkit on Shark Tank , you'll probably want to know how you can get it.

Well, as I said, it's an app, so that part shouldn't be hard. What might be more difficult, however, is for Sworkit to score a deal when it enters the Tank on Friday night's upcoming episode of the ABC reality series. Yes, I just got done singing the praises of Sworkit, but that doesn't mean the Sharks will see things the same way. The entrepreneurs behind Sworkit are going to need to convince the Sharks that the product will make their bank accounts stronger, in addition to bulking up their bodies.

I imagine Sworkit will at least grab some immediate interest from Shark Tank's athletic tech dudes, aka Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec. But hopefully, the app has what it takes to impress all five of the millionaire and billionaire investors on the panel that episode. Here are six reasons why it's already off to a good start.

It Has A Catchy Name

Before I even get into what Sworkit does, its name should give you a hint, or rather, what its hashtag-ready name stands for should. Sworkit is short for "Simply WORK IT." Knowing that, it's more obvious that this app has something to do with working out, isn't it?

You Don't Have To Go To The Gym To Get Fit

And if you guessed that Sworkit is an app that'll help you work out, you'd be right! This fitness app coaches you through workouts in strength, cardio, yoga, and stretching without the need for you to break out any equipment. You'll see the phrase "no gym, no excuse" on some of Sworkit's marketing materials, and with this app out there, that really does seem to be a true statement, whether you like it or not.

It's Like Having A Personal Trainer In Your Pocket

So once you've got Sworkit on your phone, what can you do? Well, as I previously mentioned, the app features workouts in four different areas (strength, cardio, yoga, and stretching) that can last from five minutes to one hour, depending on how much you want to feel the burn. During the workout, Sworkit will show you a little video to demonstrate the move you're about to do, which also includes some audio instruction. There's a countdown clock that tells you how long you'll be doing the move for, which is usually lasts for 30 seconds. You can also skip through exercises you don't like and redo ones that you love. You can even create your own custom workout using the exercises featured in the app or try a workout created by another Sworkit user. There's also a free kids' version of the app that is set up similarly but trains users in strength, agility, and flexibility. But no matter which version you use, you basically have to use Sworkit for a long time before it gets boring.

You Can Start Sworking It Now

Sworkit is currently available to download for free for iOS, Android, and Amazon devices, which should be music to your ears. If the free version of Sworkit just isn't enough for you, there's also a premium version of the app that you can subscribe to. For the introductory price of $2.99 a month of $19.99 a year, you can get access to a trainer to answer your fitness questions and low-impact exercises that the app says are "great for building and maintaining functional strength, endurance, flexibility and balance." The premium version of Sworkit also doesn't have ads like the free version does. To me, the free version of Sworkit is so comprehensive that I don't know if shelling out some moolah for the premium version is worth it, which is something the Sharks could certainly bring up with these entrepreneurs in the Tank.

A Lot Of People Have Already Been Sworking It

And yes, as you can see, I have picked up the company's lingo. Considering the number of people that have downloaded this app, perhaps I'm not the only one who has. Sworkit has been downloaded 10 million times, according to the company's website. However, if you go to download the app, its product page says 14 million users have downloaded it. But perhaps a more important figure is the fact that the app had 1.5 million monthly active users, the company's COO Greg Coleman told DNAinfo Chicago in October 2015. At that time, Coleman had also said Sworkit had been downloaded 8 million times. Sure, those numbers are small compared to a mobile app titan like Whatsapp, which announced that it reached 1 billion monthly active users earlier this month, but for a small app in the oversaturated fitness genre, I have to say that those numbers are pretty impressive.

The Founders Have Major Business And Military Connections

The people behind Sworkit have really interesting backgrounds that go beyond just fitness. The company's CEO Benjamin Young, who used to lead product strategy for a voiceover IP app that has since been spun off and sold, and Coleman, a certified personal trainer and former U.S. Air Force pilot and squadron commander, met while attending the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, according to Sworkit's website. After seeing the toll their business school schedules had on their bodies, the two founded the company Nexercise, bought Sworkit, and relaunched an updated version of the app in 2014, according to DNAinfo Chicago. They also got help from Ryan Hanna, a programmer and former officer in the U.S. Army who would become the company's director of engineering, to take the app to the next level.

Hopefully, Sworkit can score an investment from at least one of the Sharks so it can go even further.

Images: Michael Desmond/ABC (2); Giphy (4)