Of late, I’ve realized that getting a decent workout – every single day – is essential not just for the body but also for the mind.

But I’m not the kind that spends an hour or two hitting the gym. I like to keep it simple. No wonder, then, that the 7-minute workout regime is a great thing for me (and people like me).

There’s a lot of literature around the 7-minute workout ideology. It’s so popular that there are hundreds of thousands of 7-minute workout apps (free and paid) on the Play Store.

I took a casual stroll through a bunch of 7-minute workout apps for Android and picked some of my favorites. Here’s five of the free 7-minute workout apps I liked:

7 Minute Workout

• Annoying but acceptably, this one has ads in quite a lot of places. They are not obscuring though (that’s one big saving grace).
• The app offers a bunch of focused workouts. Abs, core, legs, butts are some. There’s a 30-day full-body challenge too.
• The instructions page is wonderful. Simple to the point that everyone can understand, use and get something from it. Most notably, it has tons of exercises (almost 70) for different parts of the body.
• Video links for the instructions make things easier.
• The app also features a nice calendar that is focused on counting streaks. That’s a nice motivational touch.
• You can set the time for reps, rests/interval and sets. And there’s a nifty weight tracker in case you’re into it.

Get the app here

Seven – 7 Minute Workout

• This app has different “coach” voices to guide you through your 7-minute workout. How cool is that? (I picked the Kung-Fu Master)
• Since there are a lot of features, it can be a little heady to start with. But let the app guide you through and you’ll be just fine.
• Seven features three kinds of plans (lose weight, get strong, get fit). You can consistently pick any one, every single day but the exercises differ because Seven is smart enough to keep it interesting. For every day of the week, it mix-n-matches the exercises based on your plan.
• Lots of categories (workouts) but many of them are only available if you join the “7 Club” ($9.99/month)
• But props for the designer. Seven features a great UI / UX when you start exercising. Just keep the phone propped on a stand and get started. You won’t have to fiddle with the phone.

Get the app here

7 Minute Workout: Exercise & Fitness App

• Of the five apps I’m writing about here, this is one of the two most-minimal ones. The whole app is clutter-free and if you ignore the ads, it’s probably the only app you’ll need. Hands-down gets the best user-interface during workouts.
• No need for instructions or anything. Just pick a workout type and you’ll see an animated figure doing just the workout that you’re supposed to do. The designers nailed the visual cues.
• Of the five, this is only the second app that lets you set a reminder. This, it turns out, is a very handy feature if you exercised in the evenings.
• You can also edit the time for reps, intervals and the circuit / sets. (This will increase/decrease the time spent in workouts).

Get the app here

Free 7 Minute Workout App

• This is probably the simplest 7-minute workout app on the Play Store. It has nothing – no features, no settings, no options. You just tap on “Start” and the instructions start with a countdown timer.
• In some ways, this is probably all you want. If you don’t want to be bothered about what reps you need or which area of the body you want to focus on, this app is the best solution.
• Other than the big, bold UI and the funny coach-whistle before the start of a workout, the app has nothing to distract you.
• The downside is you can’t edit time for reps and intervals, or change number of circuits/sets etc. And there is an annoying ad at the start and end of a 7-minute workout. (Acceptable largely because the app is so streamlined).

Get this app here

7 Minute Workouts

• There are gazillion fitness apps with Google Fit integration but with 7-minute workout apps, this is the only decent app I saw that integrated with Google Fit.
• 7 Minute Workouts has one of the cleanest interfaces. I think it’s built on top of the Material UI that Google runs on.
• You can set reminders in this app. Again, a nice feature to have.
• The free version has 1 free nutrition plan and training plan. In the PRO, you get lots.
• You can also create custom workouts from all the existing exercises. The app comes with 4 ready-made ones that you can start using for your 7-minute workouts.
• You can’t edit reps, intervals etc.

Get this app here