(repetitive music imitating a game app)

(Molly Wood) Fitness is a big trend 
in gadgets and apps right now.

But if you're trying to get in shape,

can a fitness app, and maybe 
a calorie counter do the job?

Or should you go old school 
and get a real personal trainer?

I decided to find out.

(exercising music)

I'm launching a month-long 
fitness challenge,

comparing an app called Fitstar, 
which does personal training,

and counting my calories 
with MyFitnessPal

Going up against Fitstar is Alison.

She's a personal trainer
with multiple certifications,

and she'll also help me create
a nutrition plan.

I'll evaluate which trainer keeps me 
most motivated, accountable,

and which works best for me 
in the long run --

and of course, 
which one kicks my butt the most.

(exercising music)

(Alison Roessler) I never do 
two workouts twice

and I'm always constantly changing

the different things 
that I throw at my clients,

the different stresses 
that I throw at them

throughout exercises,
because really, it'll get boring

and it's not sustainable
if there's not enough variety.

(Journalist pants; 
Alison says something inaudible)

(Journalist) Alison seemed overwhelming
at first.

Her workouts were really scary,

and she sent me home 
with tons of cardio homework

and this long food journal 
that was in a spreadsheet.

Plus, each session with her
is 100 bucks.

Not sure I'm going to be able 
to keep that up.

So I just finished my first full session
with Alison

and I'm sweaty and starving,

and I've definitely underestimated
how hard that workout was going to be:

it was fantastic, but I'll clearly have
to up my game with Fitstar

because Tony Gonzalez is no Alison

(Tony) Reverse shoulder-up

(Molly) Fitstar was easy and 
convenient from the get-go.

The app is free or $40 a year.

I chose the pay version 
to get more work-outs

but I loved that you can do it anywhere:
no gear required.

That is sustainable

(Dave Grijalva) It' like in a workout DVD
and the experience is very similar to that

but different every time,

and it's different in the way that 
it actually adapts to you.

We wanted the experience to feel authentic
and feel real,

and we wanted to put real people on 
the screen,

and having Tony's personnality 
that really helps a lot.

(Tony) Good job.

(Molly) I like how the workouts 
include a variety of strength and cardio

and you can specify your fitness level
and rate each exercise

in terms of how hard it is.

I found that Fitstar did progress over time,

but it didn't really push me as hard
as Alison did,

and even though it reminds me to work out,
it's still kind of easy to skip --

like, I totally ignored it 
when I went on a vacation.

Even though I kind of dreaded 
my workouts with Alison,

I did not miss a single one.

Plus, she was able to modify 
those workouts

for this kind of nagging foot injury 
that I have and that was great.

She also held me very accountable
for my food, my sleep and my stress.

(Alison) I don't think that an app
can take the place of human interaction.

I think that they can be positive
pieces of the puzzle,

but I don't think that it's going 
to ever replace

working with a trainer 1 on 1.

(Dave) You know, personal 
trainers provide a lot of things

that are really hard to do with software.

And so, what we're trying to do is 
provide that type of an experience,

in a way that's accessible to everyone,
and really convenient.

(Molly) When I started 
this challenge,

I hadn't really worked out 
in about a year.

So if I were just getting started 
with only Fitstar and MyFitnessPal

I would see progress, but I might be slow
and I could get frustrated and give up.

Alison was definitly a huge jump-start
in terms of getting back in shape,

but one month with her was $400.

Ouch!

And ultimately, sticking 
with the workout plan

is about creating good habits.

So while Alison kicked my butt 
in the short term,

in the long term, Fitstar is the one
that fits into my life.

After that initial push, 
the app is where it's at.

(music)