On a typical workday, I can be found hunched over my desk in full gremlin mode with rounded shoulders and my elbows at odd angles. If I decide to take a break and go outside, I can be spotted roaming my city with the worst posture imaginable. Yes, hi, hello, it’s me — your friendly neighborhood sloucher.
Turns out there are thousands of others just like me, which is likely why the Bend app is going viral. Bend has over 25 million views on TikTok and nearly 90,000 positive ratings in the app store, and it promises to fix bad posture and other issues like a lack of flexibility and joint mobility all over your body.
Once you sign up, the app guides you through a personalized stretching plan based on your needs and goals. The more you use the app the more flexible you become, and you might notice other positive side effects, like reduced stress, improved balance, and even better sleep.
Here’s what it was like to give the Bend app a try and all of the features it has to offer.
Fast Facts
- Price: Free to download, $13.99/month, $39.99/year
- Best for: Improving flexibility, posture, mobility, tech-neck
- My rating: 4/5
- What I like: Easy to use, sleek design, personalized stretches
- What I don't like: Most of the app is behind a paywall
What To Know About The Bend App
Bend is all about making stretching an easy part of your everyday routine. The app offers quick, convenient moves to fit into your schedule, like those brief moments right after you wake up or before bed.
The app has hundreds of physical therapy-inspired stretches and yoga poses to try for spot treatments, like a stiff neck, as well as stretch challenges and other routines to follow for days or weeks. There are simple moves for true beginners, like 30 second quad and hamstring stretches, and more complex routines for intermediate and advanced stretchers.
According to the app — and fitness experts everywhere — having a regular stretch routine is one of the best things you can do for your overall well-being and quality of life. Not only does stretching increase the mobility of your muscles and joints, but it also helps relieve aches and pains like lower back twinges, tight shoulders, and more.
Stretching is the go-to way to reduce injuries from tough workouts, sports, and other activities since improved range of motion means fewer sprains and tears. If it seems like you pull a hammy every time you run, take it as a sign that you need to stretch more often.
There’s a multitude of other benefits to be had, too. According to Bend, frequent stretching can help improve your sleep quality, strengthen your core and reduce back pain, boost blood flow and circulation, and even speed up post-workout recovery time.
How To Use Bend
This app is as sleek and user-friendly as they come. Under the Home tab, you’ll find a five-minute “Wake Up” flow, which guides you through eight static stretches that you hold for 30-seconds each, like a wide leg bend and a touch touch. This stretch sesh comes free with the app and it’s a good place to start when you pop out of bed as a way to loosen up.
Once you pay for a subscription — for $13.99/month — you’ll unlock a 15-minute Full Body stretch that has over 20 moves. This routine covers all the major muscles and joints in your body with chest openers, upward dogs, side lunges, child’s pose, seated twists, and more. Give it a click and you’ll see a timer pop up that counts down each move, as well as a little image demonstrating the correct position to get into. It beeps as you reach the end of a stretch and then gives you a second to shimmy into the next stretch.
If you’re feeling stiff or sore at your desk, tap on the four-minute Posture Reset. This combo has moves that zero in on the areas prone to feel tight when you work at a desk, like your shoulders, back, and neck. You’ll do helpful poses like cactus arms, neck rolls, and divers that you do while seated.
There’s also a 10-minute Sleep routine that’s designed to help you unwind and de-stress before bed. It features rounds of rag dolls, child’s pose, knees-to-chest, happy baby, and other classic yoga moves that you can do in your pajamas.
Last but not least is the 30-minute Expert stretch, which covers every major muscle group. It offers more complex moves like squat stretches, reverse lunges, toe squats, pigeon pose, folded butterflies, and seated straddles.
If you don’t want to try one of these pre-planned routines, you can browse the app by body part — think hips, lower back, hamstrings, etc. — or scroll through your Recommended stretches, based on your needs and goals. The app curated a lot of neck and shoulder stretches for me.
There’s also a Quick & Easy section with simple moves to try when you’re short on time or feeling low-energy, as well as various Series you can click whenever you want a a little more guidance. Think beginner routines, neck stretch 101, etc. And if you’re feeling fancy, you can go to the Customize tab to create a unique routine of your very own.
When you finish a stretch sesh, the routine moves to the My Library tab so you can see what you’ve done and return to your faves. Want to track your progress? Check out the Dashboard tab to see your “Bendometer,” which reveals how consistent you’ve been. Bend suggests coming back daily to keep your Bendometer above 90% for best results.
The Dashboard reveals your Streaks, too, or how many days you’ve stretched in a row. If you don’t mind notifs on your lock screen, you can also set Reminders to pop up on your phone.
My Experience
When I first downloaded the app I had to scroll through a series of questions about what I was hoping to work on, my stretching experience level, and my health conditions or limitations. That way the app knew which moves to avoid and which ones to suggest to target my tightest muscles while also fixing my pesky posture.
Since it had been a few months since my latest yoga kick, I decided to go with the beginner moves to start back at square one. I also made sure the app knew I wanted to work on my tech neck, sore upper back, tight hips, and hard-as-rock hamstrings.
To kick off my journey — and boost my Bendometer — I clicked on the five-minute Tech Neck routine meant to fix rounded shoulders, forward head posture, and a curved upper spine. It combines stretches that lengthen the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and neck like chin retractions, doorway pec stretches, and one-arm hugs.
By the time the five minutes were up my shoulders were looser, my neck was less stiff, and it was way easier for me to sit up straight at my desk. I decided right then and there to do the Tech Neck routine regularly.
The next day around 3 p.m. I went ahead and tried Bend’s four-minute Desk Reset stretch. This combo is about improving your posture, so I knew it was meant for me. It uses seated stretches to correct “habitual posture problems” by increasing flexibility in your shoulders, neck, and back.
Over the four speedy minutes, I did 30-second rounds of shoulder rolls, overhead reaches, side bends, cactus arms, neck flexes, neck rolls, neck laterals, and more divers, which involves reaching forward as if you’re about to swan dive off your desk chair. I didn’t realize how hunched I’d been until I started bending and moving in a new way. It felt like my muscles were waking up after months of being asleep.
I’ve been loving the simple Wake Up stretch routine, too. While I’ll always be a fan of morning yoga flows on YouTube, this one only takes five minutes and it does seem to loosen up my stiff muscles. It makes a huge difference in how I feel as I start my day, and it also sets me up to look forward to doing more stretches later on, like those desk stretches.
The Takeaway
Even though Bend’s stretch routines are short and sweet, I’ve already noticed a difference in my posture and overall flexibility. Now, whenever I walk by a reflective surface or catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror, I notice that my neck is way less rounded. I can also tell that my shoulders and upper back are more mobile and strong, and that makes it easier to maintain good posture throughout the day.
Next up, I plan to lean into the hamstring stretch routines — I’d love to be able to do a split or at least touch my toes with ease — and more hip mobility moves, since those are so important for anyone who sits at a desk. (Seriously, try a hip-opening pose after work and thank me later.)
This app is a handy guide for anyone looking to become a little more bendy. I’m so into the sleek design and how easy it is to use, as well as the Bendometer, which encourages me to return every day.
The simple routines on Bend make it worth the money, though I don’t think you need to pay for it forever. I’d recommend following along for a few months so you can figure out which stretches you need and from there you can fall into a routine on your own. Cheers to being as flexible as possible.
Studies referenced:
Hotta, K. (2018). Daily muscle stretching enhances blood flow, endothelial function, capillarity, vascular volume and connectivity in aged skeletal muscle. J Physiol. doi: 10.1113/JP275459.
Kim, B. (2020.) Core Stability and Hip Exercises Improve Physical Function and Activity in Patients with Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Tohoku J Exp Med. doi: 10.1620/tjem.251.193.
Turmel, D. (2022). Tailored individual Yoga practice improves sleep quality, fatigue, anxiety, and depression in chronic insomnia disorder. BMC Psychiatry. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-03936-w.
