10 Best Workout Apps of 2026, Tested by Personal Trainers


If you don’t feel the need for an online support system, there are still ways to stay on top of your workouts. Some apps will add calendar reminders or push notifications to help remind you of your workout schedule for the week. If you are on the hunt for a free workout tracker, Hevy enables users to create routines, monitor progress with exercise charts and personal records, make exercise-specific notes, and connect with other users. Matt is a writer and fitness coach who’s been working in the fitness industry for 13 years. Caine is an Olympian, placing 9th in weightlifting at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Prior to 2020, the Nike Training Club app had both free and premium versions, but since the pandemic, Nike has made the entire workout library free to use. The app is also easy to download from the Apple App Store or Google Play, and we found it easy to set up and get started. While we love Boostcamp, and there’s a free version, it’s pretty limited in terms of scope. Some popular programs, as well as advanced analytics, are locked behind the Boostcamp PRO paywall.

Can a workout app replace a personal trainer?

As you become more fit, you’ll want to exceed that in order to reap maximum benefit. A natural way of splitting up the 150 minutes might be to do a 30-minute session five times per week, or you can break it up and do two 15-minute sessions during a single day. Activities like walking, swimming, dancing, and cycling, if done at sufficient intensity, get you breathing faster and your heart working harder. Aerobic exercises burn fat, improve your mood, reduce inflammation, and lower blood sugar.

top workout apps for fitness motivation

Regardless of your fitness goals or favorite way to move, there’s bound to be an app that’s right for you. Healthline tester Candice Abellon said that following other people on the app — including people she knows in real life and high profile athletes — motivates her. However, she mentioned that data privacy concerns are something to keep in mind when deciding which activities to keep private and whether to start and end your activities at your home. Designed by prenatal and postnatal exercise specialist Brooke Cates and taught by other experts, Studio Bloom classes help expecting and new parents perform workouts safely during and after pregnancy. And it’s why over a million trainers and fitness lovers from 174 countries chose ISSA. ISSA stands out with the #1 Job Guarantee in the industry and our flexible online learning platform.

Best for downloadable yoga classes: Glo

The app measures a variety of metrics such as your pace, distance run and mile splits; it also includes a variety of coaching plans that adapt to your fitness goals and progress. Strength training, sometimes called resistance training, should be performed two to three times a week. Squats, lunges, push-ups, and the exercises performed on resistance machines or using weights or bands help maintain and even build muscle mass and strength. Strength training also helps prevent falls, keep bones strong, lower blood sugar levels, and improve balance.

Best workout app for iPhone users

  • If you’re a runner who prefers to clock your miles indoors, finding an app that makes treadmill running more fun can be a challenge.
  • For example, a standard plank is done by holding yourself parallel to the floor with only your forearms and toes touching the mat.
  • Additionally, ‍ interactive elements such as ⁤challenges, ​leaderboards, and rewards systems⁢ can motivate users​ to stay consistent ⁢and compete with friends or​ the app community.
  • 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.
  • Instead of juggling various apps and programs for my timer, form cues, and workout schedule, everything is conveniently consolidated in one location.
  • All of the workouts can be done from home, and for most of them, you’ll only need one set of dumbbells.

I’d recommend if you’re new to weight lifting or took a long break from it, try out one of the beginner 12 week programs. This has helped me get into working out in addition to the running/ cardio I do outside of weight lifting. After taking a quick intro questionnaire, you’ll be provided with a personalized plan. The app boasts plenty of progressive programs and challenges, unique features like health talks, metric and data tracking beyond what’s on the scale, and even cycle-syncing workouts and perimenopause support. For anyone who gets bored of their training programs fast, Ladder is the solution you’ve been looking for.

Master Trainer Bundle

This can be a little subjective, but this score is based on whether we feel the cost justifies what you’re getting. To earn 3 out of 5 stars for value, we feel that what you get for the price is fair, while high scores are given to apps that provide exceptional value for the cost. Our product testers were tasked with evaluating multiple fitness apps and rating them on a 1-to-5-star scale across a variety of categories. Our in-depth methodology covered categories ranging from overall value and ease of use to workout variety and equipment demands. JuggernautAI costs about as much as the average workout app, however you’re not working with a real coach, and there aren’t any workout options that focus on cardio, cycling, or other activities.

Exercise & fitness

Free workout apps have great value, providing basic instructions with libraries of exercises and workouts at no cost to you. Some of our favorite free workout apps include Caliber, Nike Training Club, and Map My Fitness. If those don’t do it for you, we have more free workout apps to choose from on our best free workout app roundup. Also known as Map My Run, the best free workout app for runners goes to Map My Fitness, with its expansive GPS tracking and other free features.

top workout apps for fitness motivation

The Rapidly Rising Cost of Whey Protein

Unfortunately, we weren’t too thrilled with the user interface, rating it a 3 out of 5. “There’s not much here that I couldn’t already see in my Apple Health app,” our tester said. 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 https://cybersecuritynews.com/madmuscles-review-2025-is-madmuscles-legit-full-breakdown-of-data-privacy-encryption-and-legal-status/ and daily step count.

Stay Connected

Any functional fitness lover will appreciate the variety of CrossFit exercises available on SmartWOD. This app is a WOD generator as well as a WOD creator, so you can search for workouts or make your own custom workout using the app’s integrated timer and marking off reps and rounds. If you’re looking for a quick, new workout to do, SmartWOD can provide it. If you’re looking for guided workouts, ClassPass can be used in two ways. The first, and more well-known aspect of ClassPass, is that you can search for and participate in local fitness classes—HIIT, boot camp, kettlebell classes, plus salon appointments. This requires a paid subscription plan, where you get a monthly amount of credits to use towards dropping into a class.

Best For Running: Nike Run Club

“You can follow people on Strava just like on Instagram or Twitter.” Along with that, Strava encourages group challenges and interaction  with other athletes through clubs. While many of their workout plans are locked behind the subscription plan, the app still provides some free gym workouts, like the 3-Day Core Superset Routine, which Kate did and enjoyed. Navigating through workout plans is pretty easy as well, leading Kate to rate the ease of use a 4 out of 5. While TR[Ai]NER doesn’t offer a free-forever plan, per se, it gives you up to three workout programs for free.

Your wellness journey starts here!

Compared to most other apps, Fitbod is very reasonably priced, though the trial is a little short. While you can upload photos to send to your trainer, you can only send one at a time, according to Amanda. “Not only are there video demos for every movement in the Caliber app (which are really well-done), but you can even send form videos to your coach,” Amanda explains.