Support
A seven-minute bodyweight workout for iPhone and iPad
Something not working, or an idea for the app? Write to sevenminuteplus@icloud.com. It reaches a person, not a queue.
The coach's voice sounds robotic
This is the most common thing people run into, and it is fixable in about a minute. iOS ships with basic voices, and installing a better one — free from Apple — makes a large difference. On your device, open the Settings app and follow:
- Settings
- Accessibility
- Read & Speak
- Voices
- English
- Voice
Pick a voice marked Premium or Enhanced and tap to download it. Then return to SevenMinutePlus — it starts using the new voice on your next workout automatically, with nothing to select.
On older versions of iOS, Read & Speak is called Spoken Content.
What the sounds mean
- A quiet tick marks each second while you work.
- Three low notes and a high one count you out of a move — the high note lands as the move ends.
- Two French-horn chords play once, at the very end, when the whole workout is done.
The metronome and the coach's voice can each be muted from the buttons at the top right of the workout screen. The countdown notes are deliberately not mutable — they are how you know where you are without looking.
Building your own workout
On the home screen, under Your Workouts, tap +. Name it, choose how long each move and rest should last, how many circuits, and add exercises from the list. Tap Edit beside Your Workouts to rename or delete one later.
Turning the warm-up on or off
The switch at the top of the home screen adds two minutes of easy movement before every workout. It is on by default and applies to all workouts, built-in and custom.
Do I need equipment?
A chair and a wall. Nothing else — the workout is your own body weight throughout.
Does it work offline?
Always. The app never uses the internet at all, so it behaves identically in airplane mode. Nothing you do in it is recorded or sent anywhere; see the privacy policy.
Before you start exercising
This app is not medical advice. Talk to your physician before beginning any exercise program. Work at your own level, and stop if you feel pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath. The authors of the research the workout is based on advise particular caution for anyone who is detrained, previously injured, or elderly, and note that the isometric holds — the wall sit, plank, and side plank — are not recommended for people with hypertension or heart disease. Dynamic exercises can be substituted.
About the workout
SevenMinutePlus builds on ideas presented in a 2013 paper by Brett Klika and Chris Jordan in ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, which set out a twelve-station circuit of bodyweight exercises. SevenMinutePlus is an independent app: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the authors, the journal, or the American College of Sports Medicine.