It might be difficult to workout on your own especially if you can’t make it to a gym or an exercise class in person, apps can help you start acting. There are lots of fantastic alternatives out there, whether you’re searching for the best exercise apps to keep you motivated or ones that can help you start a new fitness program from the beginning. However, there are so many possibilities that deciding on one may be difficult.
To help you decide, we’ve compiled a list of apps for every type of exerciser, whether you want to start jogging (or prepare for a marathon), become stronger by lifting weights, or add some soft, restorative movement into your routine like yoga. And if you’re not sure, that’s all right, too: Many of these applications are free or have a trial period, allowing you to try them out before making a purchase. All you need to do is try and start to be active.
Kinds of Workout Apps
Short Workouts
When you’re short on time, a fitness app with brief routines is the ideal option. Even if you’re new to working out, devoting just five, six, or seven minutes to your health may make a difference. It is typically the app with the basic seven-minute workout that can be done anywhere. Some workouts are longer than seven minutes, while others are shorter. Some are more rigorous, while others are less intense, and so on.
Workouts on Demand
There are a plethora of apps that provide on-demand exercises, but not all of them are of similar quality or cost. Those on this list provide high-quality training and are either reasonably priced or completely free. Because not everyone is seeking the same thing in exercise instructions, their methods differ. You could wish to alternate between a high-intensity workout and an intermediate yoga class one day and a general stretching session the next, or bodyweight exercises followed by a general stretching session. Some on-demand exercise applications use pre-recorded films to guide you, while others use video streams to connect you to live courses or trainers. You can buy at-home exercise equipment that has its app in addition to standalone applications for on-demand exercises.
Workout Music Apps
Several fitness applications specialize in choosing music that will help you get through your exercises, whatever they may be. You may receive professional DJ-quality mixing, music that matches your jogging speed, or tracks designed specifically for your activity, such as elliptical training or yoga, using these applications.
Pear
The PEAR Personal Fitness Coach applications are all about hands-free, eyes-free audio coaching, with a wide range of guided exercises for different fitness levels and intensities that adjust to your performance. You can choose from several exercise packages and coaches, and the app is compatible with a broad range of fitness trackers and gadgets, allowing you to track your progress and exchange information with other fitness applications.
Jillian Michaels Fitness
The Jillian Michaels Fitness app, also known as My Fitness by Jillian Michaels, combines exercises and food planning to provide a whole fitness experience. Jillian Michaels, a celebrity trainer, will be your instructor throughout each exercise. You watch her on-screen and listen to her voice-over as she makes no excuse for you not to complete each workout. Everything about the app can be customized, from the items in your meal ideas to the sorts of activities you undertake. You also evaluate routines as easy, medium, or difficult to ensure that they remain challenging for your fitness level.
Skimble’s Workout Trainer App
Skimble’s Workout Trainer software provides exercises and training regimens for both gym beginners and seasoned gym-goers. A short questionnaire that assesses your physical fitness yields recommended workouts and training regimens that are tailored to your fitness objectives. Notifications, reminders, and streak and stat monitoring all assist to keep you on track; customers may even engage one-on-one trainers with a variety of fitness specialties.
Keelo
Keelo is a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) app that allows you to link a heart rate monitor to your exercise. You may change movements for alternative options based on your ability level or available equipment for every exercise you pick. For example, box jumps may frequently be substituted with a step-up action, and rigorous pull-ups can be substituted for leaping pull-ups. Nonetheless, it’s best used at a gym. When you browse the app’s workout catalog, you can see a preview of each session before you begin, which includes not only all of the exercises and equipment but also a workout functional map that informs you if you’ll be doing aerobic activity and which sections of your body will be working out.
Map My Fitness
Map My Fitness is the finest exercise-tracking software for those who are new to fitness or who are just getting started and have a long way to go. The reason for this is that this software allows you to record almost any action, from walking the dog to vacuuming. When you’re going to undertake an exercise, you open the app, select the activity, and begin tracking how much time you spend doing it, how many calories you burn, and other metrics that vary depending on what you’re doing. The software is free, but upgrading to an MVP membership unlocks additional features like cadence and heart rate. You may manually log your workout if you forget or don’t want to track it in real-time.
Openfit
Try Openfit if you enjoy live fitness sessions but can’t get to them or find them too expensive. You sign up for live courses using your Openfit account on your phone or computer (tablet support coming soon) and then stream them when it’s time to work out. You may sign up for a class ahead of time to get it on your calendar, or you can select any video exercise from a previously recorded class on your own time if you can’t make it. To locate classes that you enjoy, arrange them by style. Barre, circuit training, kickboxing, pilates, weight training, jogging, stretching, yoga, and other exercises are available.
Fitbit Premium
Fitbit Premium takes the data from your wearable device to the next level, using your Fitbit daily activity data to suggest activities and give personalized feedback. It offers access to premium challenges to make working toward your goal fun, whether you’re looking to simply increase your activity, gain total-body strength, or try out HIIT. It also recommends programs and fitness plans for every goal, whether you’re looking to simply increase your activity, gain total-body strength, or try out HIIT. It also includes a new Health Metrics dashboard, which allows users to measure anything from breathing rate to heart rate variability to skin temperature.
Studio Bloom
The Bloom Method studio in Boulder, Colorado, has created an app with workout videos geared to pregnant women and those who have just given birth. The Bloom Method courses, developed by certified personal trainer and pre-and postnatal corrective exercise specialist Brooke Cates, are meant to be safe throughout pregnancy and after. More than 100 instructional and fitness videos, as well as guided meditations and pre-and postnatal nutrition advice, are available in the Studio Bloom app. There’s also a segment for stretching and mobility, which is a fantastic way to unwind after a workout.
Trainiac
Trainiac is an iPhone-only exercise software that allows you to build your training routines with the help of a personal trainer. When you initially join up, you must fill out a brief questionnaire about yourself, your fitness level, the equipment you have on hand, and your workout objectives and reasons. Trainiac then recommends personal trainers. You read their profiles to learn more about their areas of expertise—some are dietitians, some have worked with pregnant mothers, and so on—and then select someone with whom you’d want to train. You’ll have an introduction chat with your trainer, who will then assist you in developing a training plan.
RockMyRun
RockMyRun is an app that takes care of it for you, producing expert-curated, high-energy exercise mixes to keep you motivated. The app’s Body Driven Music function will tailor the music to your workout by matching it to your steps, adjusting the beats per minute to a certain tempo, or even matching it to your pulse rate.
8fit
8fit combines on-demand exercises and food planning into one app. Based on the outcomes you wish to see, the app generates a tailored food and activity plan for you. It’s for those who enjoy a lot of direction, advice, reminders, and directions. You set a goal for yourself, whether it’s to reduce weight, be in better shape, or develop muscle. Then you narrow down your objective, such as reducing body fat to 20% in three months. When developing your fitness plan, 8fit takes into account a variety of information about you, such as what time of day you work out and if you’re a good chef or prefer easy meal prep.
Barre by Down Dog
Barre by Down Dog, a spin-off of the famous yoga app Down Dog, offers the same innovative material in a different discipline. This program is ideal for novices interested in barre because it can be done at home with only a chair as a prop. These are total-body, low-impact, high-rep exercises with clear, guided teaching that goes down each action in great detail. Furthermore, you’ll never receive the same barre workout twice, so if you want variety, the routines in this app will keep you guessing as you continue to improve your confidence in this discipline.
TRX
If you have a TRX suspension training system and want to construct an at-home exercise environment, this software can help you make the most of it. You’ll learn a ton of new TRX exercises (and how to do them correctly), and due to the app’s expert trainers, you’ll be able to incorporate them into whole workouts. The programs are tailored to your abilities, allowing you to measure your development over time. The workouts aren’t only TRX-based; there are also routines for running, HIIT, yoga, cycling, and other activities.
FitOn: Fitness Workout Plans
FitOn provides on-demand exercises that you may search for based on how much time you have, the difficulty level you desire, or the sort of activity you want to complete (yoga, butt, and thighs, abs, stretching, etc.). You may view your heart rate on the screen while watching the movie if you wear a linked heart rate monitor while doing out. You may also compete with other users or a group of friends on the leaderboard. FitOn gives you a lot for free, including all of the video exercises.
ROMWOD
You might be tempted to call it a day after a difficult HIIT or CrossFit exercise and head straight to the sofa. However, a thorough cool-down is critical for recovery, and ROMWOD (Range of Motion Workout of the Day) can assist you. This app, which includes thorough voice and visual coaching to master every posture and has over 1,500 flexibility workouts, can help you relax up while increasing mobility. Weekly routines are introduced, so you’ll never be bored.
YogaGlo
YogaGlo is an app that allows you to perform yoga and guided meditations whenever and anywhere you choose. Answer three easy questions, and the app will provide you with a variety of alternatives to truly customize your practice. You’ll never run out of alternatives with the app’s over 4,000 on-demand yoga sessions, and you can even download your favorites to make them even more accessible. There’s a flow for every mood and experience level, whether you’re in the mood for a long, heart-pumping sweat session or a fast, soothing flow.
Today
The Today app helps you stay on track with your fitness objectives by allowing you to create a “streak calendar” for your exercises or other goals (like getting more sleep or drinking enough water). You’ll get a visual picture of your exercise habits if you check off your workouts (and scheduled rest days). It’s really rewarding to see the tiny green boxes stack up as you develop consistency, and it also serves as a reminder of your longest streak so you can stay motivated to break it. Keep up the excellent job, and the app will award you with badges. Apple Health Charts, to-do lists, charts, a blog, photo galleries, and other habit-supporting tools are included.
Jefit
Jefit is a workout app that focuses on strength training, although it can be used to create a variety of exercises. The software has regimens to follow as well as a database of exercises to choose from based on the muscle groups they target. Jefit includes tools for tracking reps and a calendar for keeping track of your exercises. There’s also a calendar for scheduling exercises and rest days, as well as a training program that summarizes what’s coming up in the future days. The free version has restricted functionality and is ad-supported.
Obé
Obé, which stands for Our Body Electric, has a schedule of strength, power, dance, and HIIT sessions that you can either attend life—there are 22 live classes a day, so you’ll be sure to find one that suits your needs—or sweat through a prerecorded class. Take a peek at Obé’s videos to see what all the fuss is about: Their exercises seem like a small party, with bright colors, neon touches, and an electrifying pastel palette (particularly when you’re tuning in to one of their dancing sessions). Obé offers both strength and cardio-based courses, all of which are under 30 minutes long.
Peloton Digital
The sleek Peloton Studio can stream cycling and treadmill workouts to any location. Peloton’s bikes and treadmills have revolutionized exercise, but if that’s not in your budget, a Peloton Digital membership gives you access to their live-streamed courses. They’ve evolved into something more than just cycling or running: You may also use your app to sign up for strength, yoga, meditation, barre, or Pilates sessions. Register for a live class or browse their thousands-strong on-demand library. The playlists are accessible in the class description, so you may double-check that the music is appropriate before you begin.
Aaptiv
Whether you want to try out new tracks or stay with the classics, Aaptiv provides audio courses taught by trainers and precisely matched to the finest exercise songs. The voice of a trainer takes you through a fitness studio-style session during Aaptiv’s on-demand audio courses. There’s no shortage of alternatives with over 2,500 programs to select from (and more than 30 new ones introduced each week), including cycling, yoga, weight training, stretching, elliptical workouts, and more. Workouts range in length from seven minutes to whole training regimens.
Endnote
The best fitness apps can help you choose an exercise that you enjoy, develop confidence, and make progress—all while making your exercises easier and more accessible. It will be on a case-to-case basis, what you need to do is you must discover what appeals to you and what works for your body. Some individuals want to be held accountable, so they may seek a workout app that allows them to be seen by an instructor via video feed. Some folks prefer privacy and might be better served by listening to an offline movie or listening to an audio coach over their earphones. However, to reap those benefits, you’ll need consistency and discipline to stick with a regimen long enough.
Kristine Decena is a professional editor with over 10 years of experience in the publishing industry. She specializes in editing food and drink, footwear, clothing, and other lifestyle content. She has worked for such notable companies as The New York Times Company, Food Network Magazine, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., Hearst Corporation and Condé Nast International. Kristine is a graduate of Ohio University where she obtained degrees in English Literature and Journalism before embarking on her career as an editor.
