I first tried Obe Fitness back in 2019 after having my daughter. At the time, I was looking for quick, effective workouts that I could do from home and was really into follow-along workouts (former Beachbody user here!). At the time, I came across Obe Fitness and was instantly intrigued - their branding was bright and fun, and they seemed to have a lot of class options.

I ended up using Obe periodically throughout that year, but later moved on to a different style of exercise - first joining the Madeline Moves App and a couple of others before finally creating my very own fitness app, the Simply Strong App, in 2023. However, Obe Fitness recently re-surfaced for me and more or less re-caught my attention. I had heard that Obe Fitness was in a bit of financial trouble back in 2021-ish, and I thought they may have folded; however, it appears that the brand was purchased by Dear Media (a major media company) back in June 2025, which probably means that Obe Fitness will only continue to grow now with such a strong backing.

I re-downloaded the Obe Fitness App, started a membership, and did some workouts. Here are my thoughts and feedback as a personal trainer and woman in her late 30s. 

Getting Started With Obe Fitness

Obe offers a 7-day free trial for their app, which makes giving it a try a no-brainer. Yes, you need to enter your payment information, and yes, you will be charged after your trial if you don’t cancel. If for some reason you find it’s not a good fit, just cancel before your trial us up and you’re not out anything. I signed up for a new account with Obe because I couldn’t remember what email I used back in the day. 

Obe leads you through a very short quiz to get started, asking you questions regarding your goals, experience level, motivation style, etc. It’s all very basic, but important, so they can help recommend a program to start with. Obe has tons of programs, so without a little help from them to help you figure out where to start, you would probably be pretty lost. I answered all of the questions honestly and was then brought to the checkout screen, where I had the option of paying for Obe monthly at $24.99/month or yearly at $166.99/year ($14.17/month). I knew I wasn’t going to keep my membership, so I chose the monthly plan, but if I did plan to use Obe as my main fitness app, I would absolutely go for the yearly membership price! I also noted that they had the option to use your HSA/FSA card at checkout, which was great and a huge perk for those of us who have those.

Once I had gone through the quiz, I was in! I like that you’re able to view everything nicely from both the web browser and the app on your phone or tablet. Obe had some recommendations for which workout program I should start with based on my goals. Because I had indicated that I was looking to get stronger, obe recommended that I start with their Elevate 13 program, which is an advanced program that spans over the course of 4 weeks. In this program, there are 3 workouts per week for 45 minutes per day. The required equipment said 8+ pound hand weights, bench, and kettlebell, which was great because I work out from home and have all of this equipment. 

I noticed that Obe has an entire Elevate strength training series, and because I had indicated that I was experienced with lifting, they started me on the 13th program, which is the start of the “advanced” program. I like that users who are new could begin at Elevate 1 and keep making their way through the program. One thing that I noticed was that they mention that this series is focused on progressive overload (which is ideal), but that the workouts were different week to week. This is fine, and the workouts are decent, but true progressive overload requires repetition of the same exercises with period increases in reps and/or weight or in form, tempo, and technique in order to be most effective. Also, follow-along workout videos like the ones found in Obe are not conducive to true progressive overload, as those who are progressively overloading need to take rest breaks between set,s so we can lift our heaviest - this is not possible when trying to keep up with an instructor.

Another concept that’s missing from video follow-along workouts when it comes to true progressive overload is weights and reps tracking. When applying progressive overload, you need to be able to go back and view your past weights and reps when repeating your lifts so that you know where to start. Obe does have a section in the app that allows you to track your reps and weights for various exercises, but this is something that would need to be done after the fact, and who remembers what exercises they did (not to mention what weights and reps) after the fact? It’s a good idea, but it misses the point.

Once you “start” a workout plan, Obe will add it to your schedule for you. You can customize which days you want to work out and can even set it for a specific time so that you can get an alert when it’s time to do your scheduled workout - this is a really cool feature for those who tend to forget and need a little extra accountability. 

After starting my workout plan, I navigated back to the main dashboard in the app to check out some of the other features that are available. There’s a goal-setting area that allows you to set, track, and achieve your personal fitness goals, and a cycle insights area where you can track your menstrual cycle so you can sync your workouts to your cycle. Personally, I am not into cycle syncing, but if that’s your thing, it’s a great perk of the Obe app. There’s an explore tab that allows you to browse through their hundreds of available workouts so you can pull something up in a pinch or find exactly what kind of workout you want to do at any given time - everything is available on-demand, which is really cool. 

One type of workout that I was really excited to see was guided walks. I used to do guided walks and runs on the Peloton app back in the day and loved the guided outdoor walks and runs, so it was cool to see that Obe does something similar. These days, I listen to audiobooks when I walk, so I wouldn’t use them, but it’s great for those who need a little extra motivation. I also noticed that there is a community area in the app where you can post questions, comments, check-ins, etc. This is great because it allows you to connect with the instructors and not feel totally on your own when you have a question. Other members can connect with you there, too, so if community is a must-have for you, Obe has it.

The Obe Workout Experience

When you’re ready to start a workout, you click on it, and you’ll see a little preview of what to expect. You can hit play when you’re ready, and you’ll see the instructor there inside a bright, distraction-free box. He or she will walk you through what equipment you should have on hand and then get right into the warm-up. I love that Obe includes warmups, as it’s super important to get your muscles warmed up before grabbing your weights. 

Throughout the course of the workout, your instructor will be explaining form and technique to you and encouraging you through every rep. I have liked all of the instructors whose classes I have taken so far - they are knowledgeable and reassuring. My only complaint is that I am not able to take the time I need to lift my heaviest and go at the tempo that feels best for me and my goals because I need to keep up with the instructor’s pace. This is completely fine for those who just want to move, but those of us who want to optimize for the best results, we really can’t be trying to keep up with an instructor who may be going too fast/too slow for us.

In most of the workouts that I tried, there wasn’t a true cool-down or stretch. I am assuming that they want you to go do a separate cool-down video in the app, but to be honest, I never really do that. I would prefer if the cool-down stretch were programmed right into the workout so I would be less tempted to skip it. That being said, there are a bunch of cool-down videos to choose from, so they definitely have you covered. 

Some of the workout instructors I found to be a little too peppy and over the top for my tastes. I’m more of a chill person and prefer calm, steady, and motivating vs. loud, energetic, and crazy. The overall vibe of the workouts feels a bit young to me. As a 37-year-old mom, I’m not sure I would fit in with the Obe crew. That being said, most of the instructors are great and do a fantastic job.

Overall Thoughts and Opinions

Obe Fitness is a great workout app - it was back in 2019 when I first tried, and it remains to this day. The concept is great, and it appeals to the people who want to work out from home with a ton of variety and want to be led by the hand through the whole thing. If I’m being super honest, though, the reason I transitioned away from this type of workout was that I stopped seeing results and felt like I was constantly chasing my tail, doing random workouts that were more focused on getting a “burn” than actually building muscle. 

It wasn’t until I transitioned to workouts that allowed me to go at my own pace and put forth my best effort that I started to see the body composition changes that I was looking for. I am in no way trying to discourage you from trying Obe; in fact, I think it’s a great app. However, if you came here looking for a workout program that will help you build your strongest, leanest body, I would encourage you to seek a program that applies true progressive overload, focuses on basic (effective) strength moves, and allows you to tailor your workouts to your experience and ability. Obviously, I recommend checking out my app, the Simply Strong App, but there are plenty of great options out there.