Nike Training Club - NTC

I wanted to review a bunch of the Nike apps, as I really like the simplicity, yet effectiveness and usefulness of them. The first app on the chopping block is NTC, Nike Training Club. As a quick note, I am reviewing from an iDevice perspective, as I do not have Android or other mobile OS. With that said, let's dive in.

Walkthrough

First off, you'll need a Nike Plus account. You can either sign up with your own e-mail or use your Facebook account. I am not a fan of how much companies get when I use a Facebook login, so I use it as little as possible, but that is just me. You have less logins to worry about if you use your Facebook account though; that is pretty nice. Anyway, you can learn about the Nike account on your own.

The intro screen is nice and simple. The Swoosh is for the home screen, with My Workouts you can view your recent and saved workouts, Progress shows your training totals in minutes as well as the general info from your workout, and Rewards are the typical Nike fashion of encouragement, which is pretty effective. I do want to note that if you want heart rate and calorie burn information, you will want to get a heart rate monitor, such as the Polar FT40 or similar. The Quick Start option will let you go immediately to the last workout you did, if that is the one you want to perform. Get Workout allows you to browse a very healthy list of workout routines, including:

• Get Lean
• High Interval Cardio Drills to Slim Down
• Get Toned
• Light Weights and Intervals to Add Definition
• Get Strong
• Increased Weights and Reps to Build Strength
• Get Focused
• 15-minute Workouts to Target Specific Areas

After you select what you want, you select an intensity level:

• Beginner
• You Average 4-5 Workouts a Month
• This is really for someone who is not used to doing strength training or is wanting to get back into strength training
• Intermediate
• You Average 2-3 Workouts a Week
• If you have been doing strength training, then you still may want to ease into things with Beginner, or you can take the plunge
• Advanced
• You Average 3-5+ Workouts a Week
• You really want to have most of your current workouts focused on strength training and have a good base
• Typically you will work up to this; it's definitely challenging

Now you will get to see all of the workouts available in the level you selected. The list in the example above is from Get Strong - Beginner. Don't worry if you have no idea what Workout Routine to choose, select one and you can view the workouts and even click on each workout to see a video of that workout.

If you want to listen to music during your workout, go for it! It will be lowered when the voice is instructing you to do your next workout, if you need to switch sides, or just shouting out some encouragement. Then, select Do Workout and go!

During the workout you can Pause whenever you need. Also, if you get to a workout you either don't know or can't remember what to do, you select the Play button and can view the workout. This in essence pauses your workout, so after the video, you will be required to resume. 

The workouts have some simple warm-up and cool-down built in, but if you are a person who is typically very stiff before workouts or suffers from post-workout soreness, I highly recommend additional warming up and/or cooling down.

The Bottom Line

Regardless of any misgivings people have with Nike, this application and its workouts are completely free. It's one of the best free workout routine programs I have tried out. Sure, there are better paid ones out there, but free is free. And you will get a workout from these routines. Now, if you are a BeachBody or hardcore CrossFit convert, then even some of the Advanced workouts may not feel as challenging as you would want...but chances are if you are one of those people, you aren't interested in this app in the first place. Enjoy the burn!