Fitness challenges, meal plans, daily inspiration — the new Start TODAY app has it all!

The app, which launched on Dec. 26, 2024, was inspired by our Start TODAY community, which came together during the pandemic as a way to improve physical and mental health.

The app’s “Chief Motivation Officer” is a man who has inspired TODAY fans for decades — Al Roker. He’s joined by Stephanie Mansour, TODAY Fitness Contributor, and a team of best-in-class personal trainers and dietitians to help you make your health goals a reality with step-by-step routines and workouts, meal plans, expert advice and more.

There are three main pillars in the app:

• Fitness
• Nutrition
• Inspiration

Here’s what to know, plus how to sign up and get started!

Fitness in the Start TODAY app

Our fitness experts have created 7-day, 14-day and month-long challenges across 12 disciplines to fit any type of lifestyle and schedule.

“Over the last eight years, we’ve been creating workout challenges with TODAY.com and the TODAY show and using a fine-toothed comb to see what our viewers love and what they want more of,” Mansour said. “Our viewers and Start TODAY members have told us that they love walking, walking workouts, accessible strength training routines, workouts with modifications, stretch routines to help reduce pain and increase flexibility, as well as using simple equipment like a yoga mat, dumbbells, or resistance bands.”

The Start TODAY app customizes the categories to match your interests, whether you’re a beginner or more advanced. They also are tailored so that they do not require a ton of space — you can do them at the gym, at home or even outside.

You can jump right in with our January indoor walking challenge, which can help make exercise a habit in just 13 minutes a day.

“The January workout challenge is a walking challenge to get you moving anywhere, anytime, even when it’s freezing outside!” Mansour said. “Because our walking workout challenges have been so popular among our Start TODAY community and on TODAY.com, we’ve stepped it up with daily workout videos that you can follow along with directly in the app.”

In this month’s challenge, Mansour leads Al Roker through moves like forward kicks and hammer curls — and features two popular Start TODAY members demonstrating modifications and adjustments so you can get the most out of your workout.

A big focus is to take the guesswork out of your daily workout and avoid boredom to keep you on track for your fitness goals. Many of the challenges include guided audio walking workouts with Al, Stephanie and other trainers.

The fitness workouts and challenges on the app are across all the following categories:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Mobility
• Walking
• Barre
• Dance cardio
• Strength
• Resistance bands
• Core
• Flexibility
• Cardio
• HIIT

Personal trainer Lacee Green, known as The Curvy Girl Trainer on social media, gave a glimpse at some of the workouts on TODAY on Jan. 2. She shared her special brand of enthusiasm and inspiration that will help get you moving in 2025.

“It’s all about fitness for everybody and every body,” Green said. “Finding the joy and dropping the judgment. It’s just starting where you are, loving who you are right where you are as you work on who you’re becoming.

“When you think about 10 years from now, you’re not going to be thinking about a number on a scale or a pant size,” she continued. “You’re going to be thinking about, ‘I’m so grateful that I put the habits in place to lead a happy and healthy lifestyle with movement that feels good.’ Whenever fitness is fun, that means you’re doing it right.”

Meal plans on the Start TODAY app

Led by registered dietitian and TODAY nutrition editor Natalie Rizzo, the Start TODAY app takes the frustration out of healthy eating by doing the work for you.

Proper nutrition is key to reaching your health goals. “Fitness is a crucial part of a health journey, but it’s impossible to reach all your health goals without a well-balanced diet full of healthy foods. As a matter of fact, nutrition plays a pivotal role in your fitness journey. Food supplies energy for exercise and help the muscles recover and grow stronger after a workout,” Rizzo explains.

The meal plans are broken down into five categories based on individual goals:

• Budget-friendly
• Heart-healthy
• Quick and easy
• Mediterranean diet
• Weight loss

Each week, Rizzo analyzes hundreds of recipes to bring you the ones that will best fit your plan and take the guesswork out of healthy eating.

“For example, for the heart-healthy plan, as a dietitian I know that you want to look for things high in fiber, high in omega-3s and ingredients like potassium, so I go through the recipes to find those types of ingredients.”

The meals in the quick and easy plan can be on the table in 30-minutes or less, while the budget-friendly plans may include potatoes, ground beef or canned beans that are relatively inexpensive.

Each week’s plan includes three breakfasts, four lunches, and seven dinners to give you variety while keeping things manageable. Additionally, each recipe comes with a brief explanation of why it’s included and the health benefits it provides. Each weekly meal plan comes with a shopping list to make healthy eating even easier.

“My nutrition knowledge is put into these meal plans so people don’t have to do this research themselves,” Rizzo said.

Inspiration on the Start TODAY app

Of course, you might need some words of wisdom to help you fit that workout in or eat that healthy meal on a day when everything feels like a struggle.

Our inspiring personal trainers, meditation experts and dietitians will share some ways to get up and moving when you’re stuck in a rut. And Al Roker has you covered with daily inspiration and advice about how he’s stayed on track during tough times.

Another important component of the app is helping you build healthy habits with daily prompts to take small actions that can add up to big improvements over time.

Whether it’s taking a deep, cleansing breath, starting the day with a smoothie or drinking more water, these simple goals can give your day a boost.

To join the Start TODAY community and get walking workouts and podcasts with Al Roker, download the Start TODAY App! Subscribe for $65.99 + tax per year (or $9.99 + tax per month) auto-charged until canceled. But if you subscribe to an annual plan today, you’ll automatically get 30% off the first year. That’s less than $5 per month for the first year! Terms apply. Offer ends 1/12/25. After the discount ends, you will be automatically charged $65.99 (plus tax)/year for an annual subscription or $9.99 (plus tax)/month for a monthly subscription until you cancel. Cancel anytime through Apple under Profile Settings.

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Invest in exercise equipment for home workouts to increase your fitness, promote weight loss, burn calories and more. You’ll also find punching bags for kids.

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Reformer pilates is steadily growing in popularity, with new studios opening regularly in major cities all over the world.

But what exactly is reformer pilates? And how does it compare with regular pilates and other types of exercise?

Classes aren’t cheap so let’s look at the potential benefits and drawbacks to help you decide if it’s right for you.

Pilates with special equipment

Pilates is a mode of exercise that focuses on core stability and flexibility, while also addressing muscular strength and endurance, balance and general fitness. At first glance, it might look a bit like yoga, with some more traditional weight training components thrown in.

Reformer pilates uses a piece of equipment called a “reformer”. This looks like a narrow bed that slides along a carriage, has straps to hold onto, and has adjustable springs that add resistance to movement. You perform pilates on the reformer to target specific muscle groups and movement patterns.

The reformer was first designed to help people recover from injuries. However, it has now become common for general fitness and even sports performance.

Unlike normal pilates, also known as “mat pilates”, which only uses your body weight, the reformer adds resistance, meaning you can change the difficulty according to your current level of fitness.

This not only provides a way to overload your muscles, but can make the exercise session more aerobically demanding, which has been proposed to improve cardiovascular fitness.

What are the benefits of reformer pilates?

Despite being around for decades, there is surprisingly little research looking at the benefits of reformer pilates. However, what we have seen so far suggests it has a similar effect to other modes of exercise.

Reformer pilates has been shown to help with weight loss, cause some small increases in muscle mass, and enhance cognitive function. All of these benefits are commonly seen when combining weight training and cardio into the same routine.

Similarly, among older adults, it has been shown to improve strength, enhance flexibility and may even reduce the risk of falling.

From a rehabilitation perspective, there is some evidence indicating reformer pilates can improve shoulder health and function, reduce lower back pain and increase flexibility.

Finally, there is some evidence suggesting a single session of reformer pilates can improve two key markers of cardiovascular health, being flow-mediated dilation and pulse wave velocity, while also improving cholesterol and insulin levels. This suggests reformer pilates could lead to long-term improvements in heart and metabolic health, although more research is needed to confirm this.

However, there are some key things to consider when discussing these benefits. Most of this research is quite exploratory and comes from a very small number of studies. So we do not know whether these findings will apply to everyone.

Very few studies compared reformer pilates to other types of exercise. Therefore, while it can improve most aspects of health and function, it’s unlikely reformer pilates provides the optimal mode of exercise for each individual component of physical fitness.

Traditional weight training, for example, will likely cause larger improvements in strength than reformer pilates. Similarly, stretching will probably make you more flexible. And running or cycling will make you fitter.

However, if you want a type of exercise that gives you broad overall health benefits, it could be a good option.

What are the downsides of reformer pilates

Reformer pilates is not for everyone.

First and foremost, classes can be expensive compared to other fitness options. You need to be doing at least two to three sessions per week of any type of exercise to maximise the benefits. So even if you can find a class for A$20 or $30, paying for two or three classes a week (or buying a weekly or monthly subscription) is a significant outlay.

Second, it’s not as accessible as other exercise. Even if you can afford it, not every town or suburb has a reformer pilates studio.

Third, the effectiveness of your workout is likely to be impacted by how competent your instructor is. There are a host of different pilates qualifications you can get in Australia, and some take much less time than others. With this in mind, it might be best to look for accredited pilates instructors, although this will further reduce the number of options you have available.

Finally, there is a learning curve. While you will get better over time, the exercise will likely be less effective during those first few weeks (or months) when you are getting used to the machine and the movements.

Is it right for you?

Reformer pilates can be a great addition to your fitness routine, especially if you’re looking for a low-impact way to build strength and flexibility.

But if you have more specific goals, you might need a more specific mode of exercise. For example, if you need to get stronger to improve your ability to manage your daily life, then strength training is probably your best bet. Likewise, if your goal is to run a marathon, you will get more specific benefits from running.

The cost and availability of reformer pilates make it less accessible for some people. With this in mind, if you are after similar benefits at a lower price point, mat pilates might be a better option. Not only does it have evidence suggesting it can improve strength and fitness, but it is something you can do at home if you find a good resource (YouTube could be a good starting point here).