Dynamic Workouts on a Budget With Alo Moves

Prior to the pandemic, I was a die-hard barre studio girl. I went to multiple classes every week, was dedicated to the instructors I liked, and loved the balance of consistent workouts that pushed me but were still predictable enough for me to be comfortable in class.

Of course, 2020 changed that. After initially not working out at all, I started getting back into the groove with the help of YouTube workout playlists, some virtual barre classes and coordinating online yoga sessions with friends. While they were all great ways to stay active at home, I was using so many different playlists, apps, websites and various subscriptions – well, it was a lot to keep up with. And like most people, any barriers to working out means you’re less likely to actually get to exercising.

Fast forward to now and I’m going to the occasional in-person class. But having the ability to work out at home is a game changer. It’s comfortable, cost-effective and just easier to build into whatever your schedule happens to be in a given week. And the app that’s made it all possible for me? Alo Moves.

Ahead is everything you need to know about the app and service, what we like about it, and whether it might be the right virtual fitness service for you.

What is Alo Moves?

Alo Moves

Alo Moves is an on-demand workout app and subscription service that’s affiliated with Alo Yoga. Similar to that brand, the classes on the app feel a bit more luxurious than your standard online workout class. The app’s interface is beautifully designed, the classes are filmed in gorgeous studios as well as outdoor locations like the French Riviera, Yosemite and Greece, to name a few spots. And as you might suspect, the world-class instructors sport the brand’s iconic activewear.

The subscription costs $20 a month or $199 a year, which is on par with other similar services and a lot cheaper than taking in-person classes. While you can’t purchase individual series or courses, the subscription unlocks all the available classes: over 2,500 across yoga, fitness, mindfulness and skills. While a lot of the classes do focus on all different types of yoga, the fitness and workout class options are vast. There are higher-intensity workouts for those who prefer cardio and HIIT, and tons of classes for people who opt for barre and pilates-style exercise.

One of the biggest selling points of Alo Moves is that it makes curating your own fitness routine a lot simpler. You can create your own playlists, keep track of the classes you’ve taken, and filter classes by essentially every parameter imaginable (by duration, instructor, difficulty, intensity, and, of course, the style of class). It’s accessible on your phone or tablet, online via the Alo Moves website, and on Apple TV. I tested the service out on my phone, laptop and Apple TV and had a seamless experience throughout all my devices.

What we love about Alo Moves

Alo Moves

Everything Alo Moves says it provides, it truly does. The instructors across class types are fantastic. They’re motivating when you’re trying to get through a fast-paced fitness workout, relaxing when you’re attempting a new meditation, and truly excellent at communicating complex movements through a screen. This was something I noticed that was immediately different from my YouTube playlist, where it definitely takes a good amount of time to learn how one instructor might guide you through a routine. The expertise of the Alo Moves instructors makes it easy and accessible to try out new types of workouts.

That brings me to one of my favorite parts of the platform: the ability to try out different kinds of workouts, and mix and match them with your go-tos. Personally, I try to get a barre, strength or pilates class into my weekly workout two to three times a week. While I’ve always been interested and drawn to different forms of yoga or meditation, going to fitness classes limited the time and money I could put towards these other forms of wellness and physical well-being. With Alo Moves, I’ve been able to dive into the different styles of yoga, understand which types I prefer to do when, and understand how pairing them with fitness classes works best for my body and schedule. There are yoga classes for the different times of day, different needs, and of course, to address certain pain points in life — whether it’s stress, a desire to slow down, or to maintain an energized mood.

And that’s perhaps what’s most unique about Alo Moves: the ability to discover the exact class you need exactly when you need it. On a day when you’re feeling tired or unmotivated after a long day of work, there’s no need to push yourself through a high-intensity fitness class. Instead, you can filter classes by mood and opt for a yoga class that will help you sleep better. If you’re hoping to break a sweat and are more experienced in barre or pilates, you can search through those fitness-class types and opt for a higher difficulty and intensity.

With such an extensive library of classes (and new ones being added consistently), you’ll never have to do a class twice (though repeating classes is one of my favorite ways to improve on and refine my skills).

Who Alo Moves is (and isn’t) right for

Alo Moves

While the platform has a ton of fitness and strength classes, it is, at its core, a yoga platform. If you prefer a workout like barre or pilates and enjoy combining those with yoga and meditation, Alo Moves is a fantastic option. Similarly, if you’re a yoga person and are interested in expanding your wellness routine to include some of the other fitness classes, Alo Moves is exactly what I’d recommend.

Of course, if you’re not interested in yoga or meditation at all, you’d probably be better off with an app or platform that focuses on workouts and fitness, since you just won’t be getting the full use out of this app.

The platform is truly as customizable or straightforward as you want to make it, making it ideal for people earlier on in their yoga or fitness journey. While experts can easily filter to classes that are more advanced, it’s those who are starting out and hoping to improve on their skills that will be able to get the most use out of Alo Moves. The range of classes, particularly the ability to go through a series of classes and build on your skills, is great for those in need of curation and step-by-step instruction. Though like with any virtual fitness class, there’s a learning curve to mastering effective workouts on your own without that in-person feedback, so that’s something to be aware of. However, for the cost, you could easily add Alo Moves on to supplement some in-person classes if you’re hoping to build that best possible foundation.

Finally, Alo Moves is great for those who are looking for ways to make their yoga or fitness routine a little more varied. Relying on one instructor or even one type of class can start to feel monotonous. Whether it’s your primary mode of exercise or you’re adding the service to in-person classes or other workouts you do, it’s a great way to constantly be trying something new or different when it comes to your physical and mental well-being. And with the level of instruction on the app, you never have to worry that you’ll be stuck in a class with a confusing instructor or subpar guidance. Rather, you can forget about all that and just focus on what’s most important: staying active and feeling good.

Alo Moves