The short answer is YES! You can probably get fit like the God of Thunder doing the workouts in the CENTR app but you might be a little hungry. Before I get into all of my thoughts, let’s start with some background. CENTR was founded by Chris Hemsworth in 2019. It was inspired by Chris’ own fitness regime, with it he hoped to make some of the things he does more accessible to the masses. Sounds great, who wouldn’t want to look like Thor?! After much success driven in part by Covid lockdowns Hemsworth sold the company for $200 million in 2022 though he remains on-board as the face of the app. CENTR seeks to help its members by guiding them through what it calls move (exercises), meals (meal plan), and the mind (mental health).
It contains a variety of exercise options but relies principally on free weights and body weight exercises that can be done anywhere in a circuit style. When you sign up they will ask you a series of questions to determine what sort of equipment you have access to and also your fitness level, depending on your response it will recommend a few workout programs for you to choose from. The workouts can be coached or self-guided. I tried to start with the self-guided workouts and just found them hard to follow since the video is totally silent and contains no cues at all but proceeds through the entire workout without stopping until you’re ready for the next demonstration. I then switched to a coached workout plan, I was suggested “Centr Ignite: Beginner” which is a program for beginners or those returning to fitness after an extended break. I was recommended a circuit style workout, which while effective could be hard on anyone that might not have the best cardiovascular fitness going in to it (or asthma like me). Thankfully, with the workouts I tried I only had a couple wheezing bouts and was mostly able to keep up. I found the exercises chosen to give an effective burn but I did have trouble the number of single leg exercises given my prior knee injury. But the DOMS were felt!
CENTR also gives you a meal plan for each day complete with shopping list, recipe, and nutritional breakdown. While most of the recipes are very yummy on their face (including the couple of quick ones I tried) I worry about the servings breakdown. Not a single one of the recipes that I encountered consisted of a serving over 450 calories, with breakfast servings being about 300 calories, lunch about 350 calories, and dinner about 450 calories. Sure you could give yourself a portion and half if you feel you need more fuel but I think the suggested serving could prevent individuals from feeling they are allowed to do that. I recommend that if you do sign up with CENTR that you figure out what your preferred caloric deficit should be and adjust their portions accordingly. Nutrition is not a one-size-fits-all.
The last component of the app is the Mind component which includes articles about strategies for improving fitness as well as meditations. I found the meditations to be nice with those guiding the meditations having soothing voices. The fitness advice that I received during the few days that I tried to app were pretty standard and well known advice but I suppose could be helpful if you are entirely new to fitness. Overall I didn’t find the meditations long enough to really calm me personally but I can be a bit high strung at times. I don’t necessarily think this would be a replacement for other meditation apps that you might have if it’s something that’s already important to you.
Overall, I think this is a good feature packed fitness app that can be suitable for a wide range of individuals. The price point $29.99/monthly or $119/annually could be seen as steep especially if you’re unsure how well it might work for you. However, it’s on par with the cost of many other apps currently on the market and they offer a 7-day trial. If you’re not sure you need the meal plan and have an iPhone or iPad I would recommend Apple Fitness+ over CENTR. If you are an Android user I might recommend Fiit. I think generally you should have a separate more personalized app or service for meal planning if you feel you need a lot of instruction in that area.
However you decide to get fit in 2025 know that any additional movement is good movement, just make sure you enjoy whatever you do either because it’s fun or because it helps you function better. Let me know in the comments how you plan to get fit this year!
Let’s lift,
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