In week five of my journey to get fit while social distancing, I went back to the Google App store so my phone could tell me what to do again.
I was recommended the Nike Training Club app by the same co-worker who had recommended Sworkit, the first app I tried.
While I liked Sworkit for all of the customization options, Nike Training Club I found was pretty limited in comparison for what I wanted to accomplish.
In case you are new here, after turning 30 in January it has been 12 years since I have regularly worked out.
Being a football player at Midlothian High School, every week not in season was spent getting our bodies and minds stronger for the next season. That was all the motivation I needed back then, but with no season to prepare for after the final whistle, that motivation has waned to zero since then.
Needing content, I have committed to working out five times a week since I know it is generally good for me. I am not looking to lose weight or get super jacked, but being able to not feel out of breath or get incredibly sore when life requires me to run short distances and lift things for the ladies in my office would be nice.
In week five, I think I might have finally started to notice some progress, though it is hard to tell with workout routines changing every week.
The NTC app has probably been my least favorite week so far. I cannot say it is a bad workout app, but after Sworkit let me customize everything about the workout, NTC’s just felt limited.
Let me explain. With my modest goals, I am not willing to workout for very long or hard. I have mostly been able to find 10-minute workouts that have run the gamut from too easy to unexpectedly leaving me pretty breathless.
Still, I know there are harder short workouts available that I am still looking to avoid.
NTC groups its workouts various ways. Besides the time for the workout, you can see the intensity and if the workout will require certain equipment.
What I liked about Sworkit was the ability to skip certain exercises if I did not like them or could not do them without sacrificing anything. Most workouts seemed to have an endless amount of exercises that I would not get to otherwise if I had not skipped some. I would still be working out for however long I set the length of my workout for.
NTC workouts seemed to have a limited supply of exercises for each workout. Length usually seemed determined by how many times you would have to repeat a group of three to four exercises. Skipping any meant shortening the already short workout, making me feel even lazier than I already felt by not wanting to do a third squat variation.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.