Centr: Personal Fitness App Reviews

by Doug Usher

To start, the product is simple and inadequate for the price that they charge. You just don’t get nearly enough to be paying $30/month. Additionally and most importantly, the business model is a clear scam. I started a free trial to test the product and before my trial was up, I was charged $119 for a 1-year subscription. Upon asking customer service to cancel my subscription and refund me, they told me no. I’m out $119 and have this garbage workout app on my phone for a year, an app I will never use because there is much better stuff out there. Please don’t download Centr, the free trial will trap you and you will have to pay full price for something you will not want. For someone who has been working out for 10+ years, I thought Centr would provide fresh workout content, however it’s just another at-home workout app with basic exercises and basic material. Extremely disappointment that Chris Hemsworth ties his name to such a terrible business model and even worse people. The people behind Centr very clearly have no ethical boundaries and are just preying on people to sign up for free trials so they can charge their credit cards full price. tldr; 0/10 product, even worse customer support, and a giant waste of $119. I don’t recommend Centr to anyone and recommend taking your business elsewhere.

by Book Lover 789

So here's my biggest complaint, along with quite a few others if you read reviews: No refunds. So on the ads and website many times it references "Cancel at any time" making one think you can, in fact, cancel and get a refund for the service you no longer wish to receive. But that's not the case. In fine print it says that you can cancel, but still have the opportunity to use Centr because they aren't going to refund.

The recipes are great, the meditations are nice, the workouts are tough, but do-able. But I have 3 kiddos and by week 2 they were done trying different foods and just wanted some normalcy. Now, this is ok and something I took I to consideration. But going into week 3, I'm now spending majority of my day cooking and cleaning. I don't always have 30 mins and access to a oven/stove for lunch. This just started to become something I can't maintain.

Unfortunately, this company doesn't understand that not every diet/health program will fit 100% of people trying it. I now have a yearly subscription that I won't use. And they are NOT budging. Maybe I've just grown accustomed to great customer service, but this feels wrong to me.

by Anwilso1

Like many of us, I saw many people pushing Centr and all the wonderful things they are doing for us during COVID by giving us a free trial. So I signed up to see what Centr was about. Of course you have to enter in all of your personal information to get anywhere. I did that and scrolled through a few pages. Well, eventually I forgot about Centr all together. Next thing I know, 6 weeks is up and I am being charged $119 for the year. I had previously been on my Apple subscription pages checking on other products and this wasn’t there. So I completely forgot about it. I wrote asking for a refund. I never used a single thing in Centr , ever. Of course that was denied. Now I have an app for a year I never used. Honestly, it’s disappointing that it feels like you are being tricked into keeping this service. Other apps that have trials, they send you emails telling you the trial is up, or will be up — and that was after 7 days! I can remember a 7 day trial, but 6 weeks?! I signed up, forgot about it and you don’t send me a reminder letting me know I am about to get charged?! That’s the worst customer service in my mind. Do yourself a favor, don’t download Centr. Especially if you don’t plan on using it. No refunds available. They really should be ashamed of themselves.

by C-ATT

Billing itself as a comprehensive plan I was curious, but this really intended for those who need to be told what to do and is not really a tool for those with knowledge.

Apple lists this as free, with in app purchases. That is misleading. It is a subscription model and a rather expensive one at that. The genuine information is tucked away, but you must look for it. Nevertheless I thought it was worth checking out during the free week. First time I opened it, I immediately got the introductory email from them. Looked around. Not for me and can’t keep it at that price. Unsubscribe. During the next week, anytime I opened Centr , I would get three solicitation emails within an hour. I don’t really like being actively tracked this way. I unsubscribed to the email list and despite deliberately checking off I didn’t want to receive these types of communication back on the first use, I am still getting bombarded a week later.

If you need motivation to “do something” and aren’t overly concerned with progression or clear training protocols, this might be worth a look. However, for the subscription fee I think it should be more. I have other free training apps that provide a clear progression path and more structure at no cost.

by FalseAdvertising333

No music. No clock. No guidance. No list of upcoming exercises. No instructor energy. The exercise videos are just not at a level you would expect from a purchased app. There’s no clock to tell you how much time is left, just a meaningless bar at the bottom of the screen. The instructors don’t provide suggestions to improve technique. There aren’t additional people in the videos showing modifications. This format is certainly not for beginners, as they’ll quickly become frustrated. The lack of music in the videos contribute to the overall lack of energy. The lack of ‘workout buddies’ in the videos also make for a poor video. There’s no opportunity for the instructor to show good form, modifications, or even banter. What you end up with is a very flat, uninspiring workout video. There isn’t anything special about the routines. Pretty standard stuff. Compare this to the energy, excitement, and variety you get in a Les Mills or Beachbody workout, and you’ll instantly understand what I’m talking about.

I tried this, because programs like Les Mills lack the overall integrated diet and wellness plan, but those features can’t overcome what the this app exercise routines are lacking.

by Beginner 23

I tried the 1 week trial but decided not to purchase at this time. I enjoyed the workouts where the coach spoke to you but many of them had no vocal instructions with them. They simply showed the person doing the exercise but didn’t discuss technique which is what I expected on the coached versions. I’m a beginner and hearing the little tips helps tons; for example in other workout video they said “put your weight through your heels not your toes” that one thing completely changed what I did even though the motion I performed looked similar to the video. Without that coaching it felt empty and I didn’t look forward to it. Adding music would also help, but they do have a great feature where you can link your own songs. Features I loved were the ability to filter on the coach, the integrated meal plans, and daily schedule. It was awesome to be able to go search by coach or focus area. All of the meals looked amazing I wish I had time to try them all. I would have kept this if all of the coaches talked to coach you through the exercise. Even if they dub the voice over the existing videos this wold be improvement and be very helpful for beginners. I’d also like to see stretching integrated at the beginning of the workout. Sometimes they used large gym equipment not typical for a home and it would be nice to have alternative moves suggested. I’m going to look around a bit more but hope the voice coaching is added to the videos this would probably bring me back.

by JDAWG327658

this app is great for people of all backgrounds! It’s app is easy to use and has a great variety of workouts! They also structure a plan in a way that is easy to follow. However this is not receiving 5 stars simply for their backend customer service. I cancelled my plan the day before the next billing cycle because of financial reasons. What they do next is charge me and then proceed to send an email asking why I cancelled. Now I had every intention of signing back up again once I get some more financial stability, but the fact they charged me after I cancelled is where I am upset. Once I realized what had happened I filed for some help on the customer service page. No number and said they will get back to me in 2-3 days. Enough time for payment to finish processing… Now I do understand I should have taken the initiative to cancel sooner, but it goes to show how much I enjoyed using this app. I’m just disappointed in their lack of backend service. Will change this review if situation improves… but for now all those considering this app, just be aware that their backend service is awful.

by Scotheous

This is a decent workout app, there are some solid exercises in here and routines. It does the basics of giving you a schedule and helping to keep yourself accountable throughout, and from what I’ve read the meal planning is great (haven’t done it, I’m comfortable with my meal planning already).

As far as the instructionals, they are supremely lacking. When it comes to performing certain exercises, there is little to no guidance given as far as what to feel, how your body should be positioned, proper form, etc. The most guidance you will get is from the Pilates portion. But I would go as far as saying it is dangerous for novices jump right into some of these workouts. Otherwise, you need to really slow yourself down and analyze the instructors’ body movements to get the full effect or you’re just going to injure yourself.

Some of the advanced moves like in Da Rulk’s training and Luke’s is great, but it needs to be explained. If not broken down, I can see a lot of people easily being overwhelmed from the get go and giving up before even starting their journey. It seems like they attached a few famous names to a workout app and asked them to send in videos of them working out. I was in the physical fitness industry before this pandemic, and I want to see people succeed but I feel like this could put a lot of people off as well.

by Cj Morrison

The concept of incorporating a workout routine, daily diet, and other self-help things like meditation, etc into a daily and weekly planner is great, but for me so many things were missed. First of all the workouts were challenging but simple and mundane. Also much of the core work involves a lot of intense exercises that require a lot of “knee” work like gorillas and what resembles floor work breakdancing! These moves are really not made for people like myself that are over 40 and have had knee surgeries and issues. The meditations and self help things during the day would be more helpful if a suggested schedule or even an alarm to “take a break” and do a 5 to 10 minute meditation would be more useful. Most days I would skip this because I work out in the afternoon and not see them during the day. As for the diet, well, it’s just ridiculous. There was one breakfast recipe that required an hour of preparation!? Not even on a weekend day would that makes sense. Many days have things like leftovers from previous days recipes and most required 10+ ingredients and most prep times 30 to 45 minutes and frankly we’re not really even that healthy. On top of that there were some tech quirks like not being able to listen to your music while their video was running. So I hope they improve it but for me it was not a great match.

by DanRice92

I absolutely love this app’s system for living a healthier life. Great workouts, great recipes, and great meditations make it an easy choice to sign up. You have a ton of flexibility to do workouts that fit your needs, and change your regimen to whatever works best for you.

Personally I use the apps for the iPhone and Apple Watch, and the web app sometimes from a larger device tablet because the recipe view is better on a big screen. I find it handy to AirPlay the workouts to my Apple TV so I’m not squinting at my phone during a workout to figure out what I’m doing next. It’d be even better if an Apple TV app is in the works!

HOWEVER, there are a few serious issues with the Apple Watch app that I’d love to see resolved. Trying to click the Stop button from the Watch doesn’t stop a workout or respond in any way for me on my Series 4, and a workout completing on the phone does not consistently end the workout on the Watch. Also, if I click “Start Workout” from my phone, it frequently doesn’t give me credit for my workout in the Apple Fitness app. I have to make sure to click “Start Workout” on the Watch. I don’t mind doing this, but it feels like I shouldn’t have to remember which yellow button with the same label does what I want.

All that said, thank you to the this app team for making such a great, holistic health app! I’ve lost 10 pounds using this app and plan to keep on going!

by Storm Break

Let me start this by saying that I first purchased Centr back about midway through COVID. I was super excited and wanted to workout in some way despite gyms being closed. Unfortunately and understandably, the pandemic and other factors kept me from using Centr to its full extent. I was unmotivated and genuinely in a difficult spot with the pandemic. Fast forward a year later, I KNEW that my body needed to get active and that I could achieve my goals and more with Centr if I was in a good space mentally. So, when I was, this time around I was going to use Centr to its fullest extent. You can customize Centr in every way possible. From the type of food (vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, gluten free, dairy free, etc) to the types of workouts. Styles such as boxing, MMA, yoga, Pilates, HIT, and MORE. Since recommitting to my health journey, I have genuinely fallen in love with eating delicious food and working the heck out. Centr also provides articles that are credibly sourced. There are also a ton of other golden nuggets in Centr. I absolutely Centr, thank you Chris Hemsworth and his team for the heart and soul put into this. Also, I’m a huge marvel fan so when I saw that I could basically get in shape like Thor - I couldn’t refuse. I mean who wouldn’t want to get jacked like that legend!? GET Centr :)

by 126rogue4

I’ve been using this app for over a year and thought it was time to do another review. I regard the this app Program as a must have. To have workouts, meals, snacks and other educational info at my fingertips has been terrific.

I work from home now and needed a program that would work in a small space and this app exceeded my expectations. I liked the choice of trainers and training routines, though after a year I have picked the trainers I like the best and work the best for the type of training I enjoy the most.

After sitting too much during the initial stages of the pandemic I had packed on those dreaded pounds that became increasingly difficult to lose. So the program provided the incentive to try different workouts, HIIT , Functional Training, Boxing, MMA, Pilates and Weights. Features and blogs were full of useful information that made it even easier to stick with the program.

So after a year we lead a healthy lifestyle, weight is down, started running again 4 miles - 4x a week, and Rulk’s Functional Training is still an unbelievable challenge.

We unfortunately had a breakthrough COVID infection a couple months ago though still feeling fatigued. I credit the this app Program with helping with those lingering symptoms. Is it worth the cost, yes without a doubt. I’ve tried different programs and never liked them well enough to keep up with them. This strikes just the right chord and it is well worth a try.

by ADK~~Vet

So you’re probably a lot like me. You’ve tried several things but nothing seems to work. Life gets in the way you lose motivation etc etc. Honestly this is the first app that has ever worked for me. I struggle with knowing what to eat but don’t mind cooking and let me tell you the meals are REALLY good. First week you’ll find yourself spending a bit extra for groceries but once you have all the random seasonings you may need you’ll be set. The portions of the meals are very satisfying too. I’m finding myself not wanting to snack or binge to not ruin the next good meal. And if you know you won’t like the meal option it’s very easy to swap out. And the workouts. Okay I’m not in shape haha at all but the workouts you can adjust the intensity to from beginner to expert and throughout the video there’s plenty of ways to modify and the instructors show you how. I genuinely have fun with the exercises they keep you entertain. Honestly it’s a good app but the final factor is keeping your own motivation

by EireAngel

I have just joined and I’m giving Centr five stars. I think that for what Centr gives you, it’s a really great option. Yes, there are probably going to be some speed bumps, Centr just went live.

From what I’ve explored so far, the recipes look really great and the select few that I have tried so far have been really good. I like that the recipes are a little bit outside of my comfort zone, because my comfort zone is what got me to where I am now. I’ve only tried a couple of the exercises so far, but I really like them.

I think what you need to understand with Centr is that it just went live. It needs time to grow and to change. They will listen to your feedback. If you don’t like the recipes, then you can modify them. Centr gives me a planner and helps me with my accountability. The Facebook group also associated with Centr gives me a community of people that I know are like me. I am really glad that I joined and I cannot wait to see where Centr is going to take me.

by MillieFi

I joined this app at its inception and I am so happy that I made the choice. this app has kept me focused and motivated through many different changes to my exercise regiment. I have done CrossFit for the last seven years and wanted to change up my routine. I love the variety between hiit workouts, and yoga is my absolute favorite (Tahl is awesome) Pilates also challenges my core and mobility which I desperately need!! I also love that there are amazing recipes and ideas for snacks and smoothies that keep me and my two daughters on track with our diet. I recently started the fusion program and I am on week two and enjoying the challenge of workouts that I have not engaged in before. Overall this is by far been my favorite app purchase. I’m so thankful for the trainers and coaches and I’m so excited to see the changes in my body as well as my mind and focus and don’t forget about the meditation component, definitely helps me quiet my mind and focus when I need it! Chris’ medications crack us up! Thank you this app!!

by J3ssy482

Wow honestly, and I know this sounds cheesy, Centr is life changing. It is BY FAR one of the best fitness apps on the market right now. They do so many incredible luxury of life changes that most other apps don’t offer that alone is enough for the five star review. These luxury of life things are just like simple bits other apps totally leave out like the grocery list, choosing what level of workout you want, the option to either watch a video along to your workout or just go by the pictures and giving you the option of making everything a check list or not. The workouts are soooo great!! I work up a huge sweat every time I do one even if it’s on beginner!! And all the people who coach the workouts are wonderful! I never thought a Australian MMA fighter was what I needed to motivate me to get through some of these workouts but it is!! I also really enjoy all of the recipes I have tried so far. They are not to hard and actually taste super great while not being to restrictive. Anyways I love Centr, well worth the membership fee and log into it at least once a day.

by Bluebooecho

I’ve been looking for a while for an app/program/trainer that could match what I was looking for in a healthy lifestyle. I needed workouts that pushed me, easy to make food that was healthy and actually tasted good, and I really needed someone who understood the importance of mindfulness. this app is exactly what I’ve been looking for.

I get overwhelmed pretty easily and when that happens it’s easy to revert to bad eating habits, skipping workouts or phoning it in, and forgetting to meditate. this app makes it easy by having meals, workouts, and meditations ready for me in the planner, and if I don’t particularly feel up to those suggestions I can easily swap them out for other meals or workouts that are more inline with my capabilities or supplies. I don’t have to stress about it. I just have to show up (metaphorically speaking).

The team and community are extremely helpful and welcoming. There’s a lot of support and positive encouragement amongst all the members. It’s only a few days in but I already feel so much better. If you’re thinking about getting Centr , get it, show up, commit, I promise it’s worth it.

by Mommato6

I signed up just for the workouts. What I got was so much more! First off, the workouts are amazing! There are world class trainers ready to help you reach your goals, no matter what your fitness level. You want strength training? How about yoga or Pilates? Do you just want an incredibly sweaty, fat burning workout? They’ve got it all here. The trainers are super helpful and even answer questions on social media and post frequent videos to help the members out. You have the choice to do what workouts your planner gives you daily (plus, what to eat, including recipes and a really awesome shopping list) as well as some meditations to help you sleep or just de-stress. If you don’t want what this app has chosen for you, you simply push the ‘switch it up’ button and pick something else. They even have some great info on having healthy relationships. I could go on and on about what this app has to offer. You really just need to get it and do it. And to all those complaining about the price, I’m paying 27 cents a day to better my life in so many areas! Shhh, don’t tell Chris Hemsworth but I would pay a lot more for this incredible app! ❤️💪

by Blbdude

I’ve never seen such innovation in balancing a healthy lifestyle. Centr raises the stakes for companies and developers alike. This is not a tailored approach to your specific needs. It is a tailored lifestyle guide to ANYBODY to live healthy and wholesome.
The workouts are simple, guided, intense, yet very approachable to anybody interested. There is no obligation to do any of them, but many are tailored to avoid the gym if that is what you are after.
The meals force you to shop! I have NEVER felt so comfortable in the grocery store. The first day, it was a nuisance building up my pantry. After that, I found the wholesome ingredients more beneficial and WAY cheaper than eating out since I was using them on a regular basis. Centr allows you to build a check-off shopping list (based upon portions) with a simple click of a button! What’s novel.... you just add the meals you want to eat. Not all of the one’s that are suggested! I haven’t come across a single meal that I have been disappointed with (considering the wholesome ingredient approach). Everything has been beyond tasty, wholesome, and healthy.
I still have yet to take more advantage of the lifestyle tools, but I’m telling you C.H. and his team did a phenomenal job.

by Danny_Tin

After the free 7 day-trial, I knew Centr would work for me. I explored Centr , and with my intermediate workout experience, decided that it was perfect. You first enter your fitness goals and Centr automatically tailors a weekly plan to help you reach your goals. The weekly pan includes: daily workout, quick meditation, three meal recipes, and a post work out shake recipe. Majority of the workouts have three levels of difficulty you can experiment with, two levels in some cases(intermediate or advanced.) There is also a library full of various type of exercises to keep you busy if you want to mix it up. It’s important to be flexible with the workouts and meals, since it’s not realistic to expect a “one size fits all” plan to basically dictate your life. Don’t be afraid to make adjustment. Personally, I modify some exercises with body weight vests if they’re too easy, or take longer breaks if they’re too hard, for example. The meals keep me satiated, energized, and I’m eating less now than before. Overall it’s been a 10/10 for me.

by Kcrushing

Was extremely excited about Centr but the application itself seems to be a glorified web app and works about as well. No iPad version so don’t plan on watching these workouts on your tablet. I tried loading up the workout for day 2 and found that Centr really wants you to own an Apple Watch. To the point that I couldn’t get a couched workout to play without viewing the health settings for the watch. I get that it makes it better but if I don’t have my watch I guess that means that I don’t get to workout the way I want. I did grab my watch and do the boxing workout fantastic workout but not sure it did anything special but then again it’s just the first week. Oh but when I went to stop the workout I got nothing but errors. I’m actually pretty certain Centr is still running a workout on my watch.
The recipes seem interesting but do require some new staples. By my estimate about $130 of just staple ingredients and then any week to week produce and meats you need.
Anyways with the subscription costs, the food costs, equipment/gym membership and the apps general usability this is a don’t buy from me. Hope it improves!

by Vėnüs

My experience was pretty bad honestly. Just error after error after error. All was good up until I tried exploring Centr . I would tip on the recipes and snacks and all that would show up was a frayed out book and “nothing found, please broaden your search”. I hadn’t even put anything into a search. I didn’t even realize we COULD search. So that irritated me a bit, but I figured maybe it’s just because of the plan I chose. So I explored some more, checked out the shopping list option. I thought maybe it’d give me a list from those recipes to choose from, I couldn’t even get past the first page because it was not letting me tap on a date. After several tries, I gave up, went to go check out the work out section. I thought “this is primarily an exercise app, this page has GOT to work.” Nope. Same “no results, broaden your search” message came up, but this time instead of letting me leave the page it just logged me out completely. It won’t let me log me back in either. I’m only 30 minutes into this subscription and already ready to cancel it. What’s the point in a free trial if nothing works during that trial, y’know?

by Smore132

Centr is in its infancy and that’s something to consider when writing this review. I think the video content is great, but some lack audio direction. It’s meditations are short and very helpful. It’s nutrition plan is... well very daunting to someone who is very busy or is trying to be budget conscious but receptors are simple and look great. I have issues with the Apple Music sync which is very annoying with the workout videos that are silent. There should be an option to include the audio walkthrough/commentary to the video for home workouts so your not constantly having to look if it’s over or moving on. I also expected it to be a bit more personalized in diet and exercise. Maybe an option to add body fat percentage and dietary goal (calorie allowance), parts of body you want to focus on etc. That being said I think it has superb content, it just needs to smoothen out the rough edges and then it’ll be the best app out there. I’m going to stick with it just because i really like it and expect improvements.

by Mary_Kidd

this app has been a wonderful fit for me. I’d previously done the Zoco Body Pro beginners guide, however after two repetitions of that 12 week program I found myself getting board with the repetition. this app has a ton of variety. I especially like the guided workouts. The coaches have great advice and are positive and motivating. I also like that you’re not locked in to a specific program. You can go between beginner, intermediate, and advanced easily based on your preference for that workout. You can also change your dietary plan between regular, vegan, etc... I think that’s an awesome and special thing, most other programs make you spend more to unlock new workout levels or new diet plans. I absolutely love Centr and have committed to a year long subscription. I also love that you can access it from the website. I tend to use that most of the time as I like to play the guided workouts on my large computer monitor so it’s easier for me to follow along.

by Shonse

I’ve only spent a week with Centr, but I love it. I’ve got five kids and I’m a typical mom when it comes to my health level. I work out sometimes, I belong to a gym that I use sometimes, and I eat all the treats. But I want more, so I jumped into Centr and committed to following it carefully for the free week trial.
It’s totally doable and fun! I was doing another workout plan app that I loved, but their food plan wasn’t reasonable, and I was paying for features I wasn’t using.
I’ve been to the gym every day this week and kept up with work and family because the workout routines are quick. And believe me when I say they pack a punch! Some days I even just did the workout at home because that fit my schedule better at the time. I’ve followed the meal plan easily because it’s not only delicious, but it’s all normal food! I have a laundry list of food allergies, and I have had no problem with these recipes because they already thought about many of those and their foods are all clean eating. No gimmicks.
Because I’m following their meal plan, there’s no need to track food l-which I loathe. Plus. I get to tell my husband I worked out with Thor’s trainers today and he nods because that’s impressive.

by Rnb2007

Sorry if this seems scatter brained but I can’t say enough great things about this app and the team involved with Centr. It is just amazing. My schedule is crazy being a full time student, working full time, and a dad, so the gym isn’t an option. I’ve always loved home work outs too and after being a subscriber to a competitor, I’m so thankful I made the switch. Everything i need is already planned out for the day and if it doesn’t work for me or I want something else, I can easily swap it out. The meals are great, full of flavor, cost effective, and filling. The workouts are short and I’m actually sore all over from each one so far but it’s just the right amount so I’m not needing to skip a day. All I have are dumbbells, a resistance band, and a jump rope, and that’s all I need so far. To everyone involved, thank you so much because I can already tell after a short time that this is going to be a life changer.