Personal training app Fitplan has announced a new $4.5 million funding round headlined by Corazon Capital, Major League Baseball veteran Alex Rodriguez’s A-Rod Corp and 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov. Prior investors Lerer Hippeau, Bullpen Capital, Imaginary and Advancit Capital also participated.

WHAT THEY DO

The Fitplan app delivers on-demand video workout sessions and exercise tracking to consumers for a monthly or annual subscription. These sessions are headed by one of the company’s dozens of fitness coaches, with a collection that includes well-known personal trainers, former professional body builders and, now, Rodriguez himself.

Workout routines range from shorter, 20-minute sessions to 90-minute courses and multi-week regimens. And while the primary app is available for both iOS and Android devices, the company also offers an Apple Watch version that can track heart rate and calories burned over the course of the workout.

"Personal training with the world's elite trainers often costs upwards of $250+ per hour," Cam Speck, cofounder and president of Fitplan, said in a statement. "With Fitplan, for as little as $8 per month, our members can work out with the world's best collection of trainers anytime at home, outdoors or in a gym.”

According to Fitplan's website, the service has brought on more than 1,400,000 members since its 2016 launch.

WHAT IT’S FOR

The company wrote in its announcement that the new funding will go toward further development of the product, and will help Fitplan bring more athletes onto its roster of featured trainers.

"We built Fitplan to be the home for the world's best trainers, athletes, and fitness personalities, so it was a perfect fit for Alex to join," Fitplan cofounder and CEO Landon Hamilton said in a statement. "Alex has also already been instrumental in helping us line up even more amazing athletes for Fitplan. We can't wait to launch those athletes' Fitplans in the coming months."

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Despite recent data suggesting that fitness apps may not drive significant behavior improvements, the subscription digital workout space is nothing short of bustling. This past year alone has seen numerous fundraises ranging in size from Freeletics’ $45 million round in December to Gympass’ $300 million raise at the beginning of the summer. And that’s to say nothing of workout machine-driven services like Peloton, which recently released the prospectus for its well-watched upcoming IPO.