Check out our 23 apps to help you achieve your fitness results and boost motivation. If you spend a lot of time in hotel gyms—or in your home-office-that’s-also-sometimes-a-workout-space—you know what a struggle it can be to stick to a routine when you have limited access to facilities. And that can quickly kill any consistency you’re working towards.
Are online workout programs as effective as in-person training?
When starting, look for videos labeled specifically for beginners and make sure your doctor clears any new exercise routine. Most apps also include video demonstrations for each movement, along with progress tracking and structured plans to help you stay consistent and accountable. Testers also loved the energizing, motivating workouts for all levels, as well as the wellness series focused on sleep, nutrition, and self-care. Many classes are filmed in stunning locations and led by instructors like Emily Sferra, Anabella Landa, and Bianca Wise, who keep sessions interesting and never boring. “The instructor, Bianca, was beautiful, the setting amazing, music perfect. I’m absolutely hooked on her workouts,” a tester commented. Some workouts require equipment like a Pilates ball, resistance bands, or hand weights, but bodyweight-only options are easy to find.
Move your body
Our tester, a CrossFit Level 1 Instructor, used Future during a beach vacation that took them away from their normal free weights and home gym machines. A score of 3 shows the app offers a fair amount of content and functionality for its price. Apps that are inexpensive or provide exceptional features relative to the cost earn higher marks. Meanwhile, platforms with expensive monthly subscriptions that aren’t justified earn a 1 or 2.
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A free version also exists, but doesn’t offer any coaching support but rather a library of trackable fitness coaching platform gym workouts and instructional videos. Our testers tried out the premium version to give an all-encompassing review. Our testers note that the workouts are easy to comprehend and feature simple, clear information for each session, rating the clarity at 4 out of 5 for the workout app.
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If you’re thinking, “Oh, I don’t do cycling classes so this isn’t for me,” then just give us a minute of your time before you click away. Peloton offers workouts across multiple categories, including running, meditation, yoga, strength training, boxing, Pilates, and so much more. Whether fitness apps “work” is a subjective question, as your results with each platform rely heavily on how dedicated you are to using the services.
Jefit: Strength Training and Bodybuilding
Take classes from popular coaches to help you get your run done and dusted. Aaptiv’s membership costs $14.99 per month and offers a free seven day trial. However, you do need to get the entire year plan in order to try the seven week trial, which isn’t the most convenient. You also track your activities throughout the day — exercise burns calories, after all — and Noom is capable of pairing with the best fitness trackers to monitor your weight and daily step count. The app itself is free to download on iOS and Android devices, and you pay for whichever service you plan to use. For example, the Wall Pilates course starts at $15 monthly which I rate at 3.5 out of 5 — average in comparison to other platforms, but not an absolute bargain.
- It’s not just a series of tasks you perform before hitting the sack, it’s the act of practicing detaching from your busy day, slowing down and getting into a restful mindset.
- However, in most cases, the programs above can be modified for most people’s equipment.
- Apart from tracking your workout, Jefit also tracks your body progress.
- Get in touch for an alternative perspective on your fitness app idea.
- We also like that it syncs with your Apple Watch and other fitness trackers.
- Featuring specific plans for powerlifting, weightlifting, bodybuilding, and more, we rate Boostcamp a 4 out of 5 for workout variety.
RockMyRun: Music for Running
How do you go from a fitness app idea to iOS and Android fitness application development? The question becomes less intimidating if we divide the process of custom developing your app into separate steps. If we want a comprehensive picture of user training stats, we might need to pull data from various trackers, such as Fitbit or Apple Watch. Another option is to connect with other applications and collect missing data pieces from them.
(Membership is free for owners of Peloton bikes.) Peloton offers guided workouts in everything from yoga to cardio to stretching. An update to the Peloton app introduced a Tags feature that allows users to participate in group workouts. Joining a Tag provides workout guidance and will enable users to see which of their friends are exercising so they can motivate each other to stay fit. I tested it again, this time using the Runkeeper app on my Apple Watch. Outdoor mode also offered more of the metrics I would expect from an app called Runkeeper, so if you mostly run outside (or have an Apple Watch), it can work well. So even though the indoor tracking feature needs improvement, Runkeeper can be a solid option.
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These workouts and flows focus on specific activities and movements like flexibility, allowing you to fine-tune your skill set as you advance further in your fitness journey. Additionally, our tester noted that the usability of the app is somewhat limited, which we’d expect with any free service. According to their notes, some of the tracked metrics like reps and workout time were hard to read at times, which can lead to confusion during sessions. Still, it’s hard to criticize the value at hand — other “pay for play” services are light years away from the quality of NTC. The same cannot be said, however, when it comes to some of the exercise names.
Workouts
7 Club membership ($9.99 per month or $79.99 per year) gives users personalized training plans and access to all workouts. Workout apps are a fantastic tool for guidance, structured routines, and cues to help with form. However, they cannot fully replace the individualized attention and expertise of a personal trainer in a one-on-one session. Some apps, such as Future, offer virtual personal training so you can receive tailored guidance from the comfort of your home.
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If you’re someone who travels frequently and doesn’t feel like you have a stable workout routine, this app could help you feel a sense of normalcy and continuity. Log workouts in seconds and follow simple, structured progression that keeps you improving week to week. See what’s working with clear PRs, trends, and muscle balance insights—while keeping your data yours. Finally, we enjoyed the user interface of this app and felt its layout to be rather intuitive after the first few workouts.
First, Aaptiv is primarily audio-guided, which means you can listen to the instructions on your headphones without having to watch the video playing. Aaptiv will also suggest workouts to follow based on your goals, and there are more workouts to choose from in Aaptiv. You can choose workouts that target the glutes and legs, various types of interval training, and even select quick five-minute workouts if you’re in a pinch. Workouts are further classified into basic equipment, full equipment, and no equipment workouts, so you don’t need any gear to get started.