Well+Good is your healthiest relationship, hooking you up with the best, most interesting things/people/food in wellness. And nothing gets at this concept better than the plus-sign in our logo, which acts like a gallery window where we showcase the most exciting, transformative objects and ideas that add wellness to your life. And this week we’re spotlighting the undeniable rise of… apps for on-demand wellness services.
If you can get a driver to arrive at your door within just a few taps on a screen, why not a trainer, a massage therapist, or a nurse with a vitamin-drip IV on demand?
Actually, you can.
Fitness and wellness has officially entered the era of Uber and Seamless, something we saw coming in a big way. An increasing number of apps now allow you to sweat, eat well, de-stress, and beautify tout suite—often without leaving the house (or scheduling your appointments out that far in advance).
What do we want? Wellness. When do we want it? Now.
"I definitely think that consumers expect technology to make all aspects of their lives, including fitness, easier," says Find Your Trainer founder Dave Hung. "For us, that means making the entire process of finding the perfect trainer, booking sessions, and paying for them super-convenient." Evidence: Find Your Trainer launched in 2013 as a service that made finding great trainers at gyms easier, and when they added an in-home training option (that's also remarkably affordable compared to convention), it seriously took off. They now have 600 trainers in 25 states using the service.
And every week, it seems that a new app launches—promising to put yet another problem-solving option—meditation, aromatherapy, and facials, oh my!—just a few taps away from total access.
Keep reading to find out how other fitness and wellness services are being Uber-ized—and moving into your living room—every day.
Fitness and yoga in your living room
"In-home training has become our most popular option and now comprises the majority of our business," says Hung, of Find Your Trainer. The website is a bit like Match.com for sweat-searchers, connecting users to the perfect fitness trainer. It also saves you time getting to and from the gym and is much cheaper than booking sessions at a gym, since there's less overhead, Hung explains.
Other companies have followed suit. The team behind swanky gym and health center La Palestra recently launched TRN, an app that also pairs exercisers with trainers who come to them, and Namaste New York allows you to book custom in-home sessions with trainers, Pilates and yoga instructors, bodywork practitioners, and more.
Beauty and wellness at your place
The proliferation of on-demand at-home beauty and spa treatment apps was one of our predicted wellness trends for 2016, and we weren't wrong. Want a facial in your living room? Use The Ritualist. A blowout or makeup? Try Glamsquad. A mani-pedi? There's Priv.
And if you're more interested in de-stressing chez vous without Netflix, you can book a same-day affordable massage through Zeel or if you need a serious vitamin B boost or a quick cure for jet lag, download an app that will send a nurse to your door with an IV.
Healthy food and nutrition without cooking
Of course, in the beyond-Seamless space there are almost too many healthy food delivery apps to mention that will send you a nutritious meal fast. There's Munchery, Maple, Sprig, Goodmeal, and the list goes on and on.
The only thing we haven't found yet? An app that that will send a nutritionist to your house at the moment you're totally failing at weekly meal planning to critique your choices while you cook. Go ahead, run with that idea.
What else are we seeing on the wellness frontlines? Last week we spotlighted a new healthy sugar substitute and recently the body-positive yogis changing the "yoga body" image. And here's something happing in at-home fitness to get excited about: How virtual fitness craze Peloton is killing it IRL.
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