I liked the workouts I tried, which mainly consisted of bodyweight-only exercises and made it clear in the description if they required extra equipment. The instructions are easy to understand and the moves are demonstrated by a 3D-animated avatar, which I didn’t love aesthetically, but adequately provides correct form cues. Skimble also lets you connect with personal trainers on the app, though there is an extra charge for that service and I didn’t try it out. I also didn’t test the newer heart-rate training option that allows you to pair a heart rate chest strap to the app for additional training feedback.
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. Fitness apps can provide helpful instruction, engaging workouts, and even personalized coaching, but you need to have some willpower to use the assistance in your personal fitness journey. It’s best to think of fitness apps as tools — they can make the job easier, but you need to do the actual work. Between these prompts and logging your reps, sets, and weight totals, you’re in the app a lot, but our tester noted that the experience wasn’t overwhelming or annoying. Plus, all that logged data makes it easier for the AI platform to curate your recommended training schedule as it learns and progresses with you in the gym. It’s hard to believe that this app is totally free, to be honest.
With online workout apps, you can get a workout at any time of day. You won’t have to worry about coordinating with a personal trainer or dashing out of work to catch your favorite class. With an app, you can complete your workouts any time of day—first thing in the morning or on your lunch break—it’s totally up to you. If you’re new to workout apps, or fitness in general, Aaptiv can be a great choice.
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More recently, Strava has doubled down on Athlete Intelligence, a tool that utilizes your workout history to assess the quality of a specific workout and provide context for your improvement over time. Essentially, Strava offers personalized, tailored workouts, without committing to a long-term plan. Or, use a spreadsheet to lay out your long-term workout plans, then a specific running or strength app to put those plans into action. I used that method to plan my months-long marathon training (see above), paired with my Garmin watch, and it was highly effective.
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If you prefer a structured regimen that’s planned for weeks, this may not be the best fit. If you need a good assortment of instructor-led workouts and don’t mind taking your sessions in a “choose your own adventure” aesthetic, this can be an excellent pick. The app also offers a unique skill-based library of series that can be great for developing your abilities. I tried the handstand program for two months and actually nailed the move! There’s no option to work with a personal coach here, so you’re on your own when it comes to consistency.
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A 3-star rating meant the app offered a typical seven-day free trial. Nike offers a free strength-based training app that reduces the barrier of entry for weight-based workouts at home or in a commercial gym. A free training program may have the power to free your mind of any woes about designing an effective workout for yourself and worry about more pressing matters (like what you’re going madmuscles review to have for dinner). Boostcamp offers better features than the average workout app in nearly every category, which is why we consider it to be the best app for strength training.
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A third and final three-year membership is also available for $899, or $505 saved when compared to a monthly subscription for the same duration. Learn how smarter volume, recovery, progression tracking, and hybrid training will drive better results—and how to apply them with JEFIT. In the Good Housekeeping Institute Wellness Lab, we’ve tested everything you need for a home gym, including treadmills, dumbbells, gym bags and even health apps. Below, you’ll find workout planners for everyone, from beginners to those trying https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2025/02/24/madmuscles-review-real-results-without-hidden-fees/ to amp up their training.
Best Value Workout Planner
It supports a wide range of fitness levels and goals, from bodyweight workouts to strength training. Jefit is one of the best workout apps to track your fitness journey and share it with friends. While the app has pre-made workout plans, exercise guides, and even paid coaching, the best part remains the workout tracker.
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If you want a little more from FitOn, such as personalized meal plans and the ability to connect to Fitbit or Garmin devices, you can pay for a Pro account. Just keep an eye out for discounts, which can bring the price down significantly. The developer, Strong Fitness PTE Limited, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. Finally, we enjoyed the user interface of this app and felt its layout to be rather intuitive after the first few workouts.
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You receive a personalized plan that would costs hundreds of dollars elsewhere, and you don’t need to go to the gym to meet with a trainer, which is why we think it’s the best workout app for home use. If you’re past the beginner stage and want a little more progressive overload in your strength training, we recommend a workout app such as Boostcamp. There’s a basic community feed that allows you to view others’ workouts, but not much else. It’s a simple, streamlined app that’s very beginner-friendly, but it’s not the best choice if you prefer to have access to more advanced features. Whether you’re looking for bodyweight workouts, strength training, mobility, or you like to rotate between workout styles, you’ll have plenty to choose from with Aaptiv. The Aaptiv fitness app is a great pick for women (or anyone, really) because it offers a variety of quality workouts, multiple methods of accountability, and a reasonable monthly subscription fee of $14.99.
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However, it’s clear that the workouts are designed by AI, not a personal trainer. Fans of Cassie Ho, the founder of Blogilates, will appreciate her 90-day journal that allows you to fill up 90 days of workouts (whether you do Blogilates videos or do your own plan). It features progress charts, daily food, workout, mood and meal tracking so you can stay on top of your goals, though the font and boxes may run a little small to fit it all. It’s bright and colorful enough to get you excited to fill it out for the full three months — and the color-coded tabs labeled by week along the edge allow you to open up to the exact page you’re looking for. Those building a workout routine for the first time could use some extra structure, and that’s what this straightforward journal excels at.
- Swipe left and right to see yesterday’s routine or plan tomorrow’s workout.
- Jefit’s free version allows you to log and track your workouts, as well as gives you access to some workout routines, although many are locked behind the elite subscription.
- The race day sheet helps you keep all your races in one place, noting PRs or milestones that may move you toward your goals.
- Our team selected apps with a variety of prices, so there’s something for everyone.
- RepCount is a straightforward workout log app designed for strength training.
- I looked at how intuitive the apps were to navigate, and if the free version had significant limitations or annoying upgrade requests.
Fitbod uses machine learning to generate personalized workouts based on your available equipment, fitness level, and recovery status. The algorithm considers which muscles you’ve trained recently and adjusts recommendations to prevent overtraining. What sets Hevy apart is how it makes training social without being intrusive. You can keep your workouts private or share them with followers. Seeing friends hit PRs or complete challenging workouts creates accountability that solo apps vinnews.com/2025/02/14/mad-muscles-review-no-hidden-fees-just-full-access-to-everything-you-need/ can’t match.
What You Should Know About Workout Apps
GymBook, free for iOS, provides unlimited workouts, exercises, log notes, and detailed workout analysis. Fitbod will suggest a workout of the day, with suggested sets, rep counts, and weights based on A. HeavySet’s smarts don’t mean you give up control over setting up routines. You can specify rep ranges, pick your weights based on intensity, or define custom supersets. Get started with popular programs (Stronglifts, Starting Strength, PPL, and more) or make your own.