CrossFit inspired mobility app with great flexibility test
MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION
If you are a CrossFit enthusiast looking for an app to help with your workout of the day, or an Athlete from another discipline looking for a good mobility app, read our GOWOD app review below. If you are looking for an alternative or something a little more Yoga friendly, then why not try our guide to the best Yoga Apps.
Is GOWOD Worth It?
On the face of it GOWOD is purely a companion app for CrossFit Athletes. All the design is in the CrossFit style (think dark masculine colors and pictures of ripped men working out), and the workouts are geared around CrossFit’s Workout of the Day.
However, during testing we found features so good that athletes from other disciplines will want to try this as a mobility and stretching app. In particular, the mobility test is fantastic and one of the best we have tried compared to similar apps. The informational guides to accompany each exercise are also extremely useful and will help you understand how each stretch benefits the various muscle groups.
The workouts are very functional, and there is little in the way of extras that you might find in other Yoga or mobility apps. In fact, by default the individual exercises don’t even flow together in a routine and you are required to restart a timer at the end of each stretch. If you are looking for a more traditional Yoga app you should look elsewhere.
The app requires a monthly subscription to use, however a 14 day free trial gives you plenty of time to take GOWOD for a test drive. We highly recommend taking the free trial just for the mobility test alone!
Pros
- Mobility test and personalized workout routine is one of the best we have seen
- Filled with information about the exercises and how they benefit performance
- 14 Day free trial gives plenty of time to try out the app
- Large stretch library with good search filters, lets you find stretches with specific body area focus
Cons
- Little variation in day to day routines, you end up doing the same stretches every day
- Lack of extras such as community features, background music tracks, etc
- Pricey at over $10 per month subscription
- Workout Videos don’t work offline
Pricing, Reviews and Signup
- The app requires a subscription with a monthly payment option. There is a 14 day free trial to use the app.
- The minimum subscription term is 1 month at a price of $11.99
- Apple App Store average rating of 4.8
- Google Play Store average rating of 4.7
- Signup is required
First Impressions
Upon using the app for the first time you are asked to take a mobility test. This does take a while to complete (around 10 minutes), but trust us when we say it is worth it! We go into more detail about the mobility test in the next section.
GOWOD is pretty well put together. The design is nice and navigation around the app is very easy. An especially nice touch is giving you a dashboard as the starting point in the app. Here is where you can find data such as the results of your latest mobility test, and how many minutes you have worked out for this month.
The Mobility Test
This is easily our favourite feature. Lots of mobility/yoga apps have flexibility tests, but rarely are they implemented as well as GOWOD have done. The results of the test are immediately displayed to you as a breakdown of five different body areas (shoulders, overhead, hips, postchain and ankles), and an associated score. This makes it easy to see where your strengths and weaknesses are, and what area requires most focus.
These results then feed into your mobility profile. Here you can explore the areas of focus, where you are told in detail where your performance will suffer because of these flexibility deficiencies.
The results of each test are available on your dashboard, where you can drill down into the results including left/right side imbalances, and also see how your score has improved (or decreased) over time. You are encouraged to take the test every month to see how you are progressing.
GOWOD even gives you a personalized workout routine with exercises targeted specifically for your areas of improvement. All in all this makes the Mobility test a super useful feature and one which will help Athletes track their progress over time.
Workout Review
The two main workout modes in GOWOD are the daily routines, and a pre/post stretch to accompany your Workout of the Day (if you are from CrossFit land).
The pre/post stretch mode requires you to enter your workout of the day routine, and GOWOD will then recommend a series of stretches to help with this workout. This is a really clever feature that will save you loads of time in having to plan your own routine each day.
The daily routines are meant to be performed independently of a CrossFit workout, with the purpose of benefiting your mobility over time. Unfortunately they are limited in variation – there are only around 15 routines which are derived from body area and duration of workout. You may find yourself getting bored of doing the same routines again and again.
In addition to the body area routines there is a personalized flow which has been generated specifically from your mobility test.
The workout videos themselves feature athletes demonstrating the stretches, with really good written instructions on how to perform the stretch, and info on how the stretch improves your mobility. For every tricky stretch GOWOD offers an easier alternative, which is a great feature for beginners. Each routine features between 5 to 10 stretches, which depends on the duration of the workout you selected (8 / 15 / 22 minutes).
If you want to work out your own routines, GOWOD has a huge library of 240 stretches. There is a really good search filter that lets you find a stretch based on body area, and even equipment used (stretch bands, exercise balls, etc).
There is no audio at all in GOWOD, neither music soundtracks or narration to guide you through workouts. This is quite an omission and a common feature found in other mobility/yoga apps.
Training Plans, Progress Tracking and Achievements
Beside the mobility test and ability to track progress in our review above, GOWOD has little else in the way of training plans or rewards systems. There is a very limited challenge mode where you specify a target of how long you aim to workout per month, and this is shown on your dashboard every time you log in to the app.
To be honest the mobility test is so good this is all you will need to motivate you with your daily stretching!
Other Stuff
There is nada community features to speak of.
You can save your favourite stretches to make it easy to find them in the extensive library.
On the dashboard you can set daily reminders (no excuse to miss out on that mobility workout).
FAQs
Who should use GOWOD?
GOWOD is a great companion app for athletes who want a mobility tool to help them with performance and recovery. GOWOD was built especially for CrossFit to help with pre and post stretches to accompany the workout of the day.
Is GOWOD a good app for beginners?
GOWOD is good for beginners who are new to mobility and stretching. The mobility test identifies areas of weakness and suggests a workout routine to improve flexibility in these target areas. The workout videos have videos and written instructions to demonstrate all exercises. GOWOD offers easier alternatives for the more difficult stretches.
Is GOWOD free?
No, you must signup to a monthly subscription to use the app, currently costing $11.99 per month.
