The Best Sweat Program To Defeat Every Excuse

Mustering the energy, motivation and willpower to work out can be half the battle itself when it comes to fitness, especially when the conditions you’re dealing with are far from ideal. If you don’t have any equipment, time or experience, finding the right workout program can feel like a lost cause. It’s easy to look at the Sweat trainers and assume all of their training sessions are long, difficult, high-impact or require a lot of equipment, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Sweat trainers know that no woman and no lifestyle are the same, and they have all designed a range of programs knowing a one-size-fits-all approach to fitness just ain’t it. Here are some of the most common barriers to movement we hear from the Sweat Community, and the programs we recommend! 

I have no equipment. Nothing.

Just because you don’t have any equipment at home or access to a gym doesn’t mean your only exercise options are running or walking. Yes, there are plenty of programs in the Sweat app that use equipment but there are also a bunch of no-equipment programs that have been designed with you in mind. Bodyweight workouts can still be super effective! Five popular equipment-free options we love are:

• PWR Zero with Kelsey: 25-35 minute workouts designed to help you build lean muscle and increase full-body strength.

• High Intensity Zero Equipment with Kayla: 15-28 minute HIIT workouts, including optional beginner weeks

• FIERCE Zero Equipment with Chontel Duncan: 15-35 minute HIIT workouts, including optional beginner weeks

• Bodyweight Strength with Anissia Hughes: 20-minute full-body workouts 

• Yoga: Any of our yoga programs can be done without equipment, such as Sjana’s Body and Mind (BAM), Yoga with Phyllicia, or Yoga with Ania

I have limited equipment at home

If you’ve got a few pieces of home gym equipment lying around but certainly not anything fancy, we’ve got you covered. 

• Ignite Strength with Brit: All you need to get started is a set of dumbbells, a resistance band and a bench, step or chair for these at-home strength workouts.

• FIERCE At Home: Get ready for high-intensity training and at-home strength workouts full of variety, inspired by Muay Thai-style training.

• High Intensity Strength at Home with Cass: This combination of lifting, functional movement and high-intensity training makes for efficient workouts that you can do at home using dumbbells, kettlebells and a skipping rope.

• Strength & Barre with Brit: Reap the benefits of two training styles, using dumbbells, a chair, a bench or ottoman and a resistance band.

• Dumbbell HIIT with Fleur: Fleur’s feel-good fitness philosophy is central to her Sweat programs, and anyone can get started with this high-energy HIIT program with a yoga mat and a set of dumbbells.

I don’t have much time 

While it’s easy enough to incorporate more movement into your day (think exercise snacks like lunchtime walks, parking further away or taking the stairs), you often need bigger blocks of free time for a structured workout. But do you need to set aside a whole hour? Absolutely not. You don’t even need 30 minutes to get an effective Sweat session in! The workouts in these programs are all designed to be done fast. You can also choose from our huge range of short On Demand workouts in the Express collection.

• The Daily 10 Challenge with Brit: Brit created this program as an easy entry point to movement. Each week there are five 10-minute workouts and two 10-minute cardio sessions. 

• PWR Express with Kelsey: This is the perfect strength and endurance program if you’re short on time but want an efficient and structured way to train, with three 20-minute weekly workouts focusing on a different muscle group - Glutes & Hamstrings, Back & Shoulders, and Chest & Triceps.

• Ab Burn Challenge with Kayla: Build your core strength with three weekly workouts that can be completed in 20 minutes or less!

• OG Kayla: The workouts in Kayla’s OG program creep up towards the 30-minute mark, but we thought OG Kayla deserved a spot on this list for being super challenging without being super long. 28 minutes has never been so sweaty.

My joints can’t handle high-impact workouts

A workout doesn’t have to be hard on your joints to be considered a hard workout, nor does a low-impact workout mean it’s low intensity. There are plenty of joint-friendly workouts that can seriously level up your strength and fitness!

• PWR Strength with Kelsey: All lifting. Zero jumping. This is an amazing program to try if weightlifting, using gym machines and making strength gains is your vibe.

• BUILD: Work on heavy lifting and improving your 1 Rep Max over time for three primary lifts - sumo deadlift, bench press and squat.

• Low Impact with Kayla: Full body, upper body and lower body workouts you can complete in under 30 minutes with dumbbells and a chair.

• Low Impact Strength with Chontel: Improve your strength with three 30-45 minute workouts each week, all targeting different muscle groups. 

I’ve never done a workout program before

In case no one has told you lately - you don’t need to know what you’re doing to start a workout program. Some Sweat programs are specifically designed for those who are just starting out on their fitness journeys, and there are also a huge range of programs that include optional beginner weeks to help build your confidence as we introduce you to the training style, format and exercises. Not sure why you should even follow a workout program in the first place? We recommend checking this article out!

When you’re browsing programs in the Sweat app, you can also filter by difficulty level - Starting Out, Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.

• Low Impact Strength with Kelsey: Three 20-25 minute weekly workouts suitable for beginners or women returning to fitness. All you need is a set of dumbbells.

• Strength & Cardio with Marilyn: Learn the basics of strength and cardio movement through circuit training with dumbbells and a chair.

• Low Impact HIIT with Samantha: Three 20-minute cardio-based workouts each week that require no equipment. 

I can’t commit to a program longer than six weeks

Whether you’ve got a big life change on the horizon, a holiday coming up, or you just have commitment issues, that’s cool. Your workout program shouldn’t feel like a weight on your shoulders, and we wanted to make sure you can feel a sense of achievement with your fitness routine, whether you’re planning your life two weeks in advance or two years.

To see the full list of Sweat programs categorised by number of weeks, this article has everything you need. We’ve also got 8 mini challenge programs on offer, with 2, 3 and 4-week programs that will set you up for success and help you smash your goals. Some of our favourites include: 

• The Daily 10 Challenge with Britany: This challenge is all about making fitness part of your routine. Your goal is to move your body for at least 10 minutes every day over four weeks.  

• Energy Boost Challenge with Kayla: Two weeks of 20-30 minute full-body workouts.

• Strong Glutes Challenge with Kelsey: Four weeks of glute training in 35 mins or less with minimal equipment. 

• Body Burn Challenge with Cass: Increase your fitness over four weeks with minimal-equipment workouts you can do at home or the gym in 30 minutes or less. 

I don’t want to stick to one training style

Your best friend loves one training style and has a program she sticks to all year-round. You on the other hand couldn’t think of anything worse and are craving more variety in your routine. The On Demand section of the Sweat app is great for this, allowing you to try workouts from different training styles alongside your program whenever you please, but choosing one of Sweat’s hybrid programs could also tick this box. 

• Mobility & Strength in Motion with Kelly: A blend of mobility training and strength training designed to increase your range of motion, flexibility, strength, posture and body alignment.

• Strength & Pilates with Katie: A combination of Katie’s two favourite training styles! Build strength across your large muscle groups, improve muscular control or imbalances, and have an effective, efficient workout.

• Strength & Barre with Brit: Can’t decide between barre and strength training? With this program from Brit, you don’t have to.

I’m pregnant or recently had a baby

Ok we want to be clear on this, pregnancy definitely does NOT fall into the category of a workout “excuse”, as many women don’t feel up to exercising during these chapters of their lives or haven’t been cleared to do so by their healthcare provider. 

But we also know that many women have been cleared to exercise during or after pregnancy, and aren’t sure what kind of exercise is best-suited for their body. That confusion in itself can be a barrier to living a more active lifestyle and is exactly why our pre and post-natal qualified trainers have designed these programs to help you move with confidence from bump through to birth and beyond.

• Pregnancy with Kayla: A 40-week program uniquely tailored to each trimester. Each week has a mixture of resistance sessions, cardio sessions, recovery and rest days, all of which are optional. 

• Pregnancy with Kelsey: A 40-week program uniquely tailored to each trimester. Each week has a mixture of resistance sessions, cardio sessions, recovery and rest days, all of which are optional. 

• Pregnancy Barre: Each trimester there are three weeks of low-intensity prenatal workouts, so you can pick and choose workouts at your own pace until your next trimester or repeat the entire three-week journey multiple times. 

• Post-Pregnancy with Kayla: 16 weeks of 15-25 minute workouts to rebuild your foundational strength, core stability and posture after having a baby.

• PWR Post-Pregnancy: Improve your posture, regain strength and get back into a regular exercise routine over 24 weeks.

Is there a workout program you’d love to see in the Sweat app that would solve all your problems and banish your excuses in one hit? We’d love to know! Feel free to share with us on social or on the Sweat Forum.