The Thenx App has recently had a complete overhaul and that’s prompted me to finally write a review of the app.

I’ve previously used the app for workout inspiration when I’m training by myself, but I’ve never really wanted to write a review because up until now it has been lacking. I’ve always thought the Thenx app had so much potential but I’ve found it hard to use and full of bugs, which means I couldn’t bring myself to write the positive review it deserves.

In fact, this is word-for-word my brief overview of the app on the Calisthenics 101 homepage:

Granted, the Thenx app is a usability nightmare and could do with a complete overhaul, but what it lacks in design it certainly makes up for in content.

The Daily Workouts are a massively underrated resource and are hugely useful. Every day you can follow either a beginner, immediate or advanced version of the daily workout and each exercise has a short demonstration.

…it’s almost like the guys over at Thenx heard me!!

What Makes The Thenx App So Great Then?

Those downloading the app will get the most benefit from the Daily Workouts which you can freely access without requiring a paid subscription.

These are workouts which are posted once a day and are easy to follow, with a high-quality video demonstration of each exercise, and a clear description of how many reps and sets you need to perform to complete the workout.

An example of one of Thenx’s how-to type videos can be seen below, which is “How to Muscle-Up in 5 Minutes With 3 Easy Steps” (filed in 2016!):

Each workout also has a Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced version, allowing you to preview each version and following the one that you feel is best suited to your ability. This is useful as you may find the difficulty levels inconsistent.

Pro tip: I find myself best suited to the Intermediate version, but if I find this version of the workout too easy or too hard on any given day, then I simply swap exercises in and out from the other versions. I also sometimes add or remove exercises depending on how much time I have available for my workout.

Is Thenx Right For Me? What About Other Workouts Such As The Reddit Recommended Routine (RR)?

For me, the USP (unique selling point) of the Thenx app which sets it apart from other bodyweight workouts is the variety of exercises and workouts available.

The variety of workouts is enormous compared to something like the Recommended Routine, which is a much more linear program, however, that isn’t to say that you should pick Thenx over other programs.

Finding a program that works best for you completely depends on what your primary objective is.

Although Thenx offers a mix of different workouts, most of the workouts are typically suited towards building up your endurance and increasing the number of reps you can achieve. Other programs like the RR are, by design, much better for building strength and working towards a specific handful of skills.

What Makes Thenx Different From Similar Apps On The Market?

The quality of the Thenx video content is what really sets the app apart from others in the same space. The Thenx team have their own gym setup which they use to shoot all their videos, and the professionalism of these videos has not gone unnoticed.

This can be seen in all their video content, from the quick overview videos used to demonstrate each exercise, to the much longer technique guides available to paid subscribers.

Where Could The Thenx App Improve?

The main thing I found problematic in the previous version of the app was there was just so much going on in the app. It also felt like you had to try hard to wade through some of the features to find the good stuff. Not only that, but the navigation was clumsy and it wasn’t always clear where you were in the app.

The update has made huge improvements to these issues and the Thenx team have done a great job of removing a lot of the unused features, but there are still a few things in the app that could be removed.

A prominent section of the app is the Feed/Community area, but this doesn’t seem to be heavily used, is quite hard to engage with, and simply does a poor job of trying to do something that Instagram is better used for.

All that said, as long as Thenx continues to build on their extensive workouts and programs and stay focused on this area of the app, I think the app will remain as one of the strongest competitors in the Calisthenics space.