Which Mobility App Is Better? Complete Gowod Vs Pliability Comparison

Improving mobility is one of the most overlooked aspects of physical performance. No matter your goals, whether you’re looking to lift heavier, run faster, or improve your endurance, adding mobility exercises into your routine will help you achieve them all. Unfortunately, like any other type of training, getting better at mobility can be challenging. If you’re starting from square one, feeling lost and overwhelmed is easy. Fortunately, with the right tools, you can make your mobility journey easier and even more enjoyable. This article will compare the two most popular mobility apps — Gowod vs Pliability.  By the end, you’ll know which app is best for your needs to help you improve flexibility, prevent injuries, and enhance overall physical performance with ease. 

Pliability’s mobility app offers a straightforward solution to help you improve your mobility and achieve your goals. With an extensive library of warm-up and recovery routines, Pliability can help you improve your flexibility and performance, reduce soreness, and help you bounce back faster after training.  

What Is Mobility & Why It’s Important

Mobility isn’t a new concept, but it certainly feels like the up-and-coming popular wellness buzzword, and for good reason. Mobility is more than just stretching. Mobility involves the joints and their movement about their full range of motion. Simply put, your mobility determines how easily and efficiently you can move. 

Think of it like this: 

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• How far can you squat down without falling over or being in pain? Your depth is determined mainly by your mobility, which affects your range of motion in this movement. 
• Is this movement complex for you? If so, you may need to work on your mobility.

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Flexibility vs Mobility: What’s the Difference? 

These two words are often used interchangeably but mean very different things. Flexibility is how well your joint can move passively. I.e., how far I, as a Physio, could move my leg and stretch my hamstring. Mobility is how well you can actively move your joint. I.e., how far can you move your leg yourself (without your hands pulling) to stretch your hamstring? 

Both are integral in supporting our everyday activities, movements, and postures. However, good mobility allows us to take our activities to the next level and unleash our hidden potential. After all, a physio shouldn’t be at your side passively, moving your limbs daily! 

Why Is Mobility So Important? 

Mobility is important because it affects your ability to move freely throughout your daily activities without pain and strain, even outside strenuous movements like squatting. The ease of daily activities are all related to mobility, like:

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• Putting a box on a shelf
• Picking up a baby
• Stepping over a puddle

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The Risks of Limited Mobility

Your body will compensate for limited mobility, leaving you at risk for injury. It’s essential to have a healthy range of motion to move without potential strain or force. Poor mobility can cause even a low-stakes movement, such as stepping over a puddle, resulting in injury if it pushes your joints past their limits. 

Mobility and Performance: The Connection

Ease of movement and range of motion are also heavily affected by movement outside of everyday life, like weight lifting, climbing, running, spinning, and yoga. Not only is injury prevention of the utmost importance during physical activity, but your training, performance, and potential progress are affected when poor mobility is present. Increased mobility means increased potential to train harder, which leads to more growth and results.

Can an App Improve Your Mobility?

A mobility app can make your daily life easier. Many mobility exercise routines are meant to be done regularly. Still, daily life often gets in the way of opening a calisthenics book about mobility or following a mobility program on your computer. 

A mobility app lets you take your exercises to work or on vacation. Most mobility exercises don’t take nearly as long as a complete calisthenics program. Your mobility app allows you to sneak in your training during a break. The app’s nature makes this program intuitive and convenient for most modern people. 

If you’ve used any other app on your phone, you can almost certainly navigate a mobility app successfully. This is coupled with apps, like computers or laptops, allowing for a more interactive experience with HD training footage, all at the press of a thumb or finger. 

The Differences Between a Mobility App and a Mobility Program

The difference between a mobility app and a mobility program is mainly semantic. All mobility apps contain a mobility program. The mobility program is the set of exercises you perform (if it’s a good program) that progress over time.

Online and App-Based Options

Most mobility programs you can follow online via a website login or a mobility app. Practically, there is very little difference in using both phrases. When we say mobility program, we mainly refer to the interactive programs you can follow online. That said, mobility programs were built entirely with the mobility app in mind. 

These work more streamlined on your smartphone and don’t require a browser. Often, they can also be cached in your phone’s memory, meaning you can pre-download them beforehand and then follow the exercises even if you have no internet access.

Related Reading

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• Ankle Mobility Exercises
• Shoulder Mobility Exercises
• Hip Mobility Exercises
• How To Improve Flexibility
• Thoracic Mobility Exercises
• Stretch Before Or After Workout
• Wrist Mobility Exercises
• Mobility Exercises For Beginners
• Best Stretching Routine
• Back Mobility Exercises
• Lower Body Mobility Exercises
• Leg Mobility Exercises
• Mobility Exercises For Athletes

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Which Mobility App Is Better? GOWOD or Pliability?

Pliability comes with an extensive library of routines to make mobility training more enjoyable. Routines are like yoga sessions focusing on long-held stretches to promote:

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• Recovery
• Performance
• Flexibility

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Workout Focus and Variety

At the same time, GOWOD has a more limited selection of workouts, many explicitly designed to aid mobility before or after CrossFit workouts. Both apps include daily workouts that change regularly with new routines to keep training interesting. GOWOD’s daily workouts are primarily designed as warmups and cooldowns for CrossFit training, while Pliability’s workouts can stand alone as their sessions. 

Customization Options: GOWOD vs. Pliability

GOWOD shines in its customization options, mainly for CrossFit athletes. After you complete a mobility assessment test, the app creates a personalized mobility program to improve your performance based on your test results. The workouts are fully customizable, allowing you to select specific focus areas and adjust each stretch's timing. 

Pliability also has customization options, but they’re not as advanced. You can filter routines based on specific goals, but no assessment tests exist to create personalized programs. 

Assessments: Who Needs Them?

If you want to improve your mobility for overall athletic performance, GOWOD is the app for you. It includes a comprehensive assessment that tests your mobility across multiple body parts, focusing on the areas most commonly affected by CrossFit training. 

After you complete the evaluation, the app creates a personalized mobility program with specific routines to improve your scores. The flexibility doesn’t have an assessment but does include an extensive library of routines to help you improve your overall flexibility and recovery. 

Pricing: Which App is More Affordable?

Both GOWOD and Pliability require a paid subscription to use. The monthly price for GOWOD is slightly cheaper at $9.99 per month compared to Pliability’s $12.99 per month. Nevertheless, both apps have annual subscription options that reduce the cost significantly. You can get Pliability for $6.50 per month if you pay $78 upfront for a year. GOWOD’s annual plan costs $99, which is $8.25 monthly.

Which App is Best Suited For

Pliability is best for athletes looking for a yoga-style mobility app to complement their fitness routine. The large selection of routines with varying goals and difficulty levels will appeal to those with different mobility and flexibility needs. 

GOWOD is better for dedicated CrossFitters who need a mobility app before and after workouts. The routines are designed specifically for CrossFit training, and the assessment is beneficial for improving your performance in the sport. 

The Complete GOWOD Mobility App Review for 2024

The GOWOD app is a mobility app designed to help CrossFit athletes and functional fitness lovers improve their performance through better stretching and mobility. The app focuses on personalized routines based on mobility tests to help users:

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• Increase their flexibility
• Recover from workouts
• Improve their performance

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The app has a clean design and is easy to navigate. Its dashboard displays your mobility test results and progress over time. 

Is GOWOD Worth It?

GOWOD is a companion app for CrossFit athletes. The design is very masculine and geared toward functional fitness. The workouts are based on CrossFit’s Workout of the Day, and the app contains mobility routines to help you improve your performance during these workouts. 

A Versatile Mobility App for All Athletes

The features are so good that athletes from other disciplines will want to try this as a mobility and stretching app. In particular, the mobility test is fantastic and one of the best we've tried compared to similar apps. The informational guides accompanying each exercise are also handy and will help you understand how each stretch benefits the various muscle groups. 

A Focus on Functional Mobility

The workouts are very functional, and there aren’t many extras that you might find in other yoga or mobility apps. By default, the individual exercises don’t even flow together in a routine, and you must restart a timer at the end of each stretch. If you want a more traditional yoga app, you should look elsewhere.

The app requires a monthly subscription, though a 14-day free trial gives you plenty of time to take GOWOD for a test. We highly recommend taking the free trial just for the mobility test alone! 

GOWOD Pros

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• The mobility test and personalized workout routine are some of the best we’ve seen.
• Filled with information about the exercises and how they benefit performance.
• A 14-day free trial gives you plenty of time to try the app.
• An extensive stretch library with good search filters lets you find stretches explicitly focusing on the body area.

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GOWOD Cons

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• Slight variation in day-to-day routines; you end up doing the same stretches every day
• Lack of extras such as community features, background music tracks, etc.
• Pricey at over $10 per month subscription
• Workout videos don’t work offline

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Pricing, Reviews, and Signup

The app requires a subscription with a monthly payment option. There is a 14-day free trial to use the app. The minimum subscription term is one month at $11.99. The Apple App Store has an average rating of 4.8, and the Google Play Store has an average rating of 4.7. Signup is required. 

First Impressions

When using the app, you are asked to take a mobility test. This does take a while to complete (around 10 minutes), but trust us when we say it is worth it! We go into more detail about the mobility test in the next section. 

GOWOD's User Interface: Clean and Intuitive

GOWOD is well put together. The design is nice, and navigation around the app is straightforward. An especially nice touch is that the app gives you a dashboard as the starting point. Here, you can find data such as the results of your latest mobility test and how many minutes I have worked out for this month. 

The Mobility Test

This is easily our favorite feature. Many mobility/yoga apps have flexibility tests, which are rarely implemented, like GOWOD. The test results are immediately displayed as a breakdown of five different body areas

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• Shoulders
• Overhead
• Hips
• Post chain
• Ankles

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Understanding Your Mobility Profile

This makes it easy to see where your strengths and weaknesses are and what area requires the most focus. These results then feed into your mobility profile. Here, you can explore the areas of focus, where you are told in detail where your performance will suffer because of these flexibility deficiencies. 

Tracking Progress with the Mobility Test

The results of each test are available on your dashboard. There, you can drill down into the results, including left/right side imbalances, and see how your score has improved (or decreased) over time. You are encouraged to take the test every month to see how you are progressing.

GOWOD even gives you a personalized workout routine with exercises explicitly targeted for your areas of improvement. This makes the Mobility test a super helpful feature for Athletes to track their progress over time.

Workout Review

The two main workout modes in GOWOD are the daily routines and a pre/post stretch to accompany your Workout of the Day (if you are from CrossFit land).

The pre/post stretch mode requires you to enter your workout of the day routine, and GOWOD will then recommend a series of stretches to help with this workout. This clever feature will save you loads of time planning your daily routine. 

GOWOD's Limited Routine Variety

The daily routines are meant to be performed independently of a CrossFit workout to benefit your mobility over time. Unfortunately, they are limited in variation—there are only around 15 routines derived from body area and duration of workout. You may find yourself getting bored of doing the same routines again and again.

In addition to the body area routines, there’s a personalized flow generated specifically from your mobility test. 

Demonstrations and Alternatives

The workout videos themselves feature athletes demonstrating the stretches. They also provide excellent written instructions on performing the stretch and information on how it improves mobility. For every tricky stretch, GOWOD offers a more accessible alternative, a great feature for beginners. Each routine features five to ten stretches, depending on your selected workout duration (8/15/22 minutes).

GOWOD has a library of 240 stretches to help you work out your routines. A good search filter lets you find a stretch based on the body area and equipment (stretch bands, exercise balls, etc.).

There is no audio in GOWOD, neither music soundtracks nor narration to guide you through workouts. This is quite an omission and a common feature in other mobility/yoga apps. 

Training Plans, Progress Tracking, and Achievements

In addition to the mobility test and ability to track progress, GOWOD offers little in the way of training plans or reward systems. There is a minimal challenge mode where you specify a target for how long you aim to work per month, and this is shown on your dashboard every time you log in to the app.

The mobility test is so good that this is all you need to motivate you to stretch daily! 

Other Stuff

There are no community features to speak of. You can save your favorite stretches to make it easy to find them in the extensive library. On the dashboard, you can set daily reminders (no excuse for missing out on that mobility workout).

Related Reading

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• Golf Mobility Exercises
• Upper Body Mobility Exercises
• Mobility Exercises For Runners
• Can You Over Stretch
• Squat Mobility Exercises
• Functional Mobility Exercises
• Why Stretching Is Important
• Foot Mobility Exercises
• Arm Mobility Exercises
• Hamstring Mobility Exercises
• Elbow Mobility Exercises
• Rotator Cuff Mobility Exercises
• Bed Mobility Exercises
• What Are Mobility Exercises
• Full Body Mobility Exercises

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Pliability App Review 2024 – What’s This Mobility App Like?

Ease of Use – 5/5

Pliability is incredibly easy to use. The app’s interface is clean, organized, and intuitive. On opening the app, you’ll see daily routines featured on the home page and quick access to:

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• Programs
• Tests
• Search function

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Navigation is simple, and you can start a routine with minimal fuss to ensure you don’t skip out on your mobility work. 

Exercise/Workout Quality – 5/5

The quality of the routines in Pliability is excellent. The app features over 1,500 routines designed to improve mobility and flexibility. The routines are well-structured and focus on improving joint range of motion. Best of all, they are scientifically backed and designed by experts in the field. 

Performance Tracking – 4/5

Pliability includes performance-tracking features, but this isn’t the app's primary focus. You can take a mobility test to assess your current levels and track progress over time, but otherwise, you’re mostly left to your own devices to monitor how your performance is improving. 

Technical Support – 4/5

Pliability has a good help center and responds to emails promptly. The app also runs smoothly, with few bugs or issues to report. 

Price – 4.5/5

Pliability costs $19.99 a month or $179.99 for an annual membership (which breaks down to $14.99 a month). While this is pricier for mobility training apps, Pliability offers a wealth of content that makes it an excellent value if you're serious about improving your mobility.

What is the Pliability App?

In September 2022, ROMWOD re-branded to Pliability. Initially focusing on CrossFit athletes, the company has expanded its reach to include a broader audience. The app offers:

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• Daily stretching routines
• Structured programs
• Mobility workouts

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We recently featured Pliability as our overall top pick for mobility apps. After testing a wide selection of apps that offer mobility training, we felt Pliability’s app had the best content, features, and user interface.

Daily Routines Keep You on Track

Daily routines were a great way to boost motivation and keep mobility at the top of our list of things to do. A WOD, or workout of the day, is a popular feature in CrossFit, and Pliability has kept this concept to help take the guest out of mobility training each day. If you’re unsure where to start, follow these workouts daily. 

The Key to Improvement

In our opinion, improving mobility requires a “little and often” approach. Doing something each day is better than doing a lot once a month… so following some sort of daily mobility routine can have truly transformative results. This approach is similar to the StretchIt app, which we also rate highly.

Extensive Content Library

There are currently over 1,500 routines in the app, with lots of routines tailored to:

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• Specific goals
• Body parts
• Sports
• Other attributes

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This makes it easy to find super-targeted mobility routines for your goals, especially if you have specific problem areas, such as stiff hips; being able to filter on “hip” routines, for example, is incredibly useful as it means you can prioritize this part of your body.

Expert Programming 

Pliability states that the workouts are backed by science, and we agree with our experience of following sports physiotherapists' programs. The programs include exercises proven to be effective at improving joint range of motion, and they’re similar to what you would probably get prescribed if you were to visit a Physical Therapist. 

A Coach-Designed App for Athletes

Pliability’s access to top-level coaches and athletes also means that if you’re looking for that competitive edge, many of the routines are designed to enhance joint movement and flexibility, helping to improve athletic performance. 

Trusted by Elite Athletes

Pliability is used by an impressive roster of professional athletes, demonstrating the effectiveness of the programming, even for those competing at the very highest level. Since rebranding to Pliability, the app has also expanded its influence into different sports, such as running and golf… and we’d guess it’s likely we’ll see more elite athletes using it due to the positive impact it can have.

Best Stretching App for Athletes

Our review of the best stretching apps includes Pliability as the best option for athletes and those who play sports. The app is second to none in this category. 

Focus on Mobility 

When people search for fitness apps and programs, most are focused on:

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• HIIT
• Yoga
• Strength
• Bodyweight routines

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Physical attributes like balance, coordination, and mobility are often overlooked in such cases, yet they play a vital role in our overall health and ability to move with purpose. Pliability does a great job of making mobility training fun and engaging and something that you want to do. 

Duration and Muscles Worked

A feature we like with the Pliability app is that you can see the duration and muscles worked for specific routines before selecting them. This helps ensure you can follow routines that best suit your requirements. 

If you’re short on time one day, you can search for shorter routines, ensuring you still do something instead of nothing. Another day, you may decide you want to follow a long, full-body routine, in which case, you can cross-reference the duration and muscles worked icons to find mobility routines that best fit that criteria.

Mobility Test 

Although the primary value of Pliability is the content itself, the app also includes some pretty nifty tech, namely the mobility test feature. The mobility test allows you to test your overall mobility to help identify potential weaknesses and areas to work on. 

The app will then make tailored recommendations based on the results, giving you expertly crafted mobility routines explicitly customized to your current mobility levels. Over time, you can re-take the test and get new recommendations, ensuring you always iron out any weaknesses and limitations in your mobility. 

Things to Consider About Pliability 

No Free Version

There’s no free version or plan with Pliability. Your membership, either paid monthly or yearly, grants you unlimited access to everything. But they have a 7-day free trial, so you can try it out in full before committing to it. We’d recommend trying to do a workout each day during your free trial to get the most out of it.

Some Equipment Helps

You don’t need any equipment to follow Pliability workouts. A yoga mat would be helpful, though. Pliability sells very thick, luxury mats, but these are expensive. Having a foam roller, mobility ball, and resistance bands opens up a few more opportunities during workouts, so these basic stretching tools might be worth getting if you’re serious about seeing improvements quickly.

Complete Side-By-Side Gowod Vs. Pliability Comparison

To understand the differences between Pliability and GoWod, look at the feature comparison chart below. The app comparison chart breaks down how each app performs across various features. The higher the score, the better the app's performance. 

Quick Comparison: GOWOD vs. ROMWOD (Pliability)  

GOWOD

GoWod Cost:

• $11.99/Month ($107.99/year)

Available On:

• iOs, Google Play

Best For:

• People are looking to integrate mobility into their current workout plan. It is especially Recommended for people who do CrossFit or Functional Fitness exercises.

Highlights:

• Individualized mobility routines based on weaknesses
• Workout specific warmups/cooldowns with optional equipment (Foam Rollers, PVC Pipe, Theragun)
• CrossFit is focused but would be beneficial for any person lifting weights or into functional fitness

Pliability

ROMWOD Cost:

• $17.99/Month ($179.95/year)

Available On:

• iOs, Google Play

Best For:

• People are looking to add dedicated mobility workouts to their weekly training plan. It is especially recommended for people who enjoy digital workout classes.

Highlights:

• Individualized mobility routines based on weaknesses
• A coach narrates classes
• Mobility Test technology is very calm and uses video to diagnose areas to focus on
• Very peaceful, meditative

What to Look for in a Mobility App

Before you even start looking at different mobility apps, it helps to understand your current mobility level and goals. This will give you a framework for assessing different apps and their programs. For instance, if you have specific injury recovery goals, look for an app with structured protocols to help you recover. 

On the other hand, if you want to improve your overall mobility for better athletic performance, find an app with customizable programs that can meet your needs.

Prioritize User-Friendly Features 

Mobility training apps can have various features to help you improve your mobility. While some are more advanced and cater to specific audiences, starting with an app with user-friendly features is best. Look for a straightforward app so you can easily follow along with the mobility exercises.  

Look for Clear Instructional Videos

If you’re new to mobility training, you’ll want to look for an app that can guide you through the exercises. We find instructor-led video demonstrations are better than graphic illustrations to ensure you know how to move your body—the more precise the instructions, the better.

Find Structured Programs to Follow

To make mobility training more effective, it helps to follow structured programs instead of random routines. We like apps that organize mobility exercises into structured programs so you can follow more tailored training. This way, you can track your progress and get closer to your goals. 

Test for Advanced Features

Impressive features, reserved for the more tech-savvy apps, would be mobility tests that build customized mobility training plans around your existing mobility levels. This applies to Pliability and GOWOD on this list.

Difference Between Mobility and Stretching Apps

Mobility and stretching apps are different. While there’s some overlap, mobility apps are often more dynamic and targeted at improving overall movement efficiency. For example, many “stretching” apps, such as StretchIt, include mobility exercises. 

As a broad summary, mobility training would likely include more exercises, such as those designed to improve the strength and stability around joints and passive stretching, that a dedicated stretching app might focus on.

Improve Your Flexibility with Our Mobility App Today | Get 7 Days for Free on Any Platform

Pliability offers a fresh take on yoga tailored for performance-oriented individuals and athletes. Our app features a vast library of high-quality videos designed to:

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• Improve flexibility
• Aid recovery
• Reduce pain
• Enhance range of motion

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Personalized Mobility Programs for Optimal Health

Pliability provides daily-updated custom mobility programs for those interested in optimizing their health and fitness. It also includes a unique body-scanning feature to pinpoint mobility issues. If you're feeling limited by pain or your ability to move, Pliability aims to complement your fitness routine and help you move better. 

Sign up today for seven days absolutely for free on iPhone, iPad, Android, or our website to improve flexibility, aid recovery, reduce pain, and enhance range of motion with our mobility app.

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