Have you ever watched a Hollywood movie and wished you could develop the physique of the leading actor? Sadly, many of us cannot afford to hire expert advisers to guide us through every aspect of our well-being— and we have to settle for doing our best to adopt a healthy lifestyle using more modest methods.

Centr is an app that allows us to peek behind the velvet curtain. It's the creation of Hollywood superstar Chris Hemsworth, who developed the app to give us an insight into his world and reveal the secrets behind his success. Centr shares the methods Hemsworth's nutritionists, fitness trainers, and wellness coaches use to help him live his best life.

Is it worth signing up? We take a closer look.

What is Centr?

Centr believes that exercise is only part of the story regarding personal wellness. You must eat a healthy, balanced diet, rest well, and minimize stress. Therefore Centr is packed with advice on all of these elements. The app calls this its "Train, Eat, and Live" philosophy.

Winner of numerous awards from trusted sources, including Men's Health and Google Play, Centr comes well-reviewed and has over a million downloads on the Google Play store.

Getting Started With Centr

When you first fire up the app, you'll answer the customary questions about your fitness, dietary information, and goals. However, this process is less intrusive than similar apps, focusing more on your overall outlook than how many pounds you wish to lose.

When you open the app, you'll see your personalized Daily Planner with a motivational message. It shows your day's workouts and suggests options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There's even a section in the daily planner called Tools & Advice, which presents you with must-read articles for the day. Without too much exploring, you can embark on your wellness journey straightaway.

Download: Centr for iOS | Android (subscription required, free trial available)

Exercising With Centr Fitness Programs

At the heart of Centr is its variety of exercise programs, divided into Coached Workouts and Self-Guided Workouts (there are tutorials to check out before attempting self-guided options). Filtering the extensive lists by time, targeted body area, equipment, and exercise style is easy.

In the Coached Workouts section, you can opt for your favorite trainers from a list, including Hemsworth's personal trainer Luke Zocchi and his stunt double, Bobby Holland Hanton. There's an impressive range of instructors, from yoga experts to kickboxing champions, and new members join the team regularly.

The best place to start, though, is with the Programs section. Here you'll find a series of 20 extended workout programs ranging from four to 13 weeks in duration. Many are suitable for complete beginners. Some require gym equipment, while others can easily be tackled at home, such as the Centr Unleashed and Centr Unlimited programs, which require no equipment.

Take on the Ignite challenges for cardio and strength training, or even sign up for the Centr Align or Centr Fusion programs to train both body and mind. These use yoga and pilates blended with strength training for a truly holistic approach.

No matter which program you choose, the exercises are challenging and the instructors engaging. While it can't replace having your own personal trainer, you'll definitely benefit from taking on a structured training process.

Program content is regularly updated to give you fresh challenges. And the app connects to Apple Health to allow you to track workouts and measure your progress.

Explore Nutrition With the Centr App

When you first embark on your wellness journey with Centr, you'll be asked for your dietary approach, which informs your daily recommendations. The app caters to these diets:

• Vegetarian
• Vegan
• Gluten-free
• Pescetarian
• Regular

Meal plans come from a bank of 800 recipes prepared by nutrition experts, including Michelin-trained chefs. It's easy to swap the daily recommendations for another meal you prefer, and there's an excellent section for healthy snacks, too. Everything is presented clearly with photographs, instructions, and nutritional information.

The Shopping List function is outstanding, allowing you to add the ingredients for each dish with a single click and build your grocery list for the day or even the week. An export function for the Shopping List would come in handy to allow you to send your list to others.

Meditations and Sleep Visualizations

Centr's holistic approach to well-being means an extensive section dedicated to Meditation and Sleep. The centerpiece of this is the seven-day Learn to Meditate course, narrated by Chris Hemsworth himself. If you're a fan, why not use your seven-day free trial to work through this course and learn the basics while listening to those familiar tones?

There is an extensive catalog, including meditations for your kids. And there are numerous sleep visualizations as well.

Learn and Connect With Centr

Each day you'll get at least one recommended article in your planner from Centr's Features and Blog sections. But you can browse and read the whole collection from the Explore section of the app whenever you like. It serves as a wellness magazine, covering topics relating to all aspects of self-care. If you pick up your phone in a spare moment, you can always find positive ideas to read here.

Finally, there's a link to a Centr Facebook community where you can connect with almost 60,000 members.

Is Centr Worth Subscribing To?

Many apps that try to take on too many elements tend to pale in comparison to apps dedicated to just one function. That's not the case here.

Every aspect of Centr is well thought-out and executed with care. There's a unified philosophy of well-being in evidence throughout. And the emphasis on keeping the body and mind healthy is done in a positive, inclusive spirit.

That said, to make the most from Centr, you really need to be willing to engage with the fitness elements, as there are excellent nutrition apps such as these apps and websites to help you go sugar-free, and you can choose to meditate with Calm or other meditation apps. The week-long free trial will help you to decide.

Adopt a Holistic Approach to Wellness with Centr

If you follow all of the recommendations contained in Centr for a whole week, you're bound to notice the difference in your health. Even if this app isn't for you, adopting positive strategies and making time for exercise, healthy eating, meditation, and relaxation are all key to keeping yourself in optimal health.