Sworkit is a fitness app that allows you to build custom workouts to do anytime, anywhere. I am a second semester senior, I have tons of work to do, I am always busy, so working out and going to the gym falls victim to process of elimination.

As important it is to exercise, it is not on the top of my priority list. My friend, very animatedly, recommended Sworkit to me after sharing her experience with it. She said she saw results after just a few days. Almost instant result? Who wouldn’t want that? So, I decided to try Sworkit for a week and here’s what happened.

After downloading the free app in the Apple app store, I was asked to sign up with my email, Google+, or Facebook. It then asked for my birth date, current weight, and my workout goals. The workout goals options include, to lose weight, health and wellness, tone muscle, and build muscle mass. It then asks if you would like to choose individual workouts or use one of the built-in plans. I chose individual workouts, only because I was not sure how time consuming the built-in plans were.

I was then directed to the app’s main page, where I was able to choose what type of workouts I wanted to add to my custom workouts – strength, cardio, yoga, or stretching. Out of the four, I was only able to choose three because I did not buy the premium version, which is $4.99 per month. I chose stretching, cardio, and strengthening. Setting up the timing of your workouts is the next step – the shortest amount of time allowed is five minutes and the longest allowed is an hour. I figured since I was going to be exercising at home, I could fit a 30-minute workout in. I customized the timing for each of my workouts – five minutes for stretching, five minutes for cardio, and 20 minutes for strengthening.

The workouts are all body-weight based so additional equipment, like weights, are not required. All the exercises were done in 30 second intervals and I was guided by a trainer’s voice, which told me when a new exercise was about to begin or when to change sides during my current exercise. There is a short video of a person demonstrating each exercise to ensure you are doing it properly. It also gives you the option to pause the workout or skip a specific exercise if it is too difficult. 30 second breaks are awarded throughout, depending on the length of the workout.

After following this workout for a week, with one off day, I was pleasantly surprised. I found that the 30 minutes fly by because the workouts are only done in 30 second intervals. The first two days were difficult, because of how much strengthening I included in my workout, but after the soreness subsided, I was able to fall into the routine easily. My expectations were not high going into this so I was shocked that I felt and saw results just after three days. I felt that my core was much stronger, and there were light traces of “baby abs,” as I like to call them. After a week, I noticed that the workouts were a breeze for me to get through. As for physical results, my jeans were fitting a lot better. Whether I was standing up or sitting down, I did not have any “overhang.”

The app keeps track of how many calories I’ve burned, how many consecutive days I exercised, and how many minutes, collectively, I spent working out. For extra motivation, you are awarded a medal after each workout. A gold medal when you complete a full workout, a silver if you complete half, and a bronze when you complete under half.

I completely stand behind Sworkit. I think it is such an effective and convenient app that caters to you in whatever way it can. It is great for those who do not have time to get to the gym but want to exercise and stay in shape. Upgrading to the premium version, I find, is not necessary but if you choose to do so, you’ll unlock guided workout plans, the ability to save unlimited custom workouts, exclusive pre-built workouts, ad-free workouts, exclusive low impact exercises for beginners and older adults, program custom exercise intervals, and an ask-a-trainer feature.

Sworkit is available for free to download for iPhones, iPads, Androids, and even on the Internet.