Online videos

Because we always want to know what our community is up to, we posted a poll in our Home Gym Community Facebook group asking what fitness programming our members follow. A whopping 148 members voted that they create and follow their own programming, but many also voted on these programs. Our team hasn’t tried all of these, but since our community loves them, we want to make sure our readers know about them. She says she would’ve signed up for the full version, but as a college student the $29 monthly subscription cost was just a bit too much for her.

• Unlike other apps where anyone can create food entries (leading to errors and inconsistencies), Cronometer verifies all entries to ensure you’re getting reliable nutritional information.
• With a total of 100 levels, there’s plenty of fine-resolution and high-end resistance available, and the transition between levels is smooth.
• This formula provides a convenient way to add collagen into your daily nutrition routine without requiring multiple supplements.
• What distinguishes Berg Movement from generic fitness apps is its laser focus on movement quality, body control, and skill acquisition.
• Gut health can influence nutrient absorption, digestive regularity, and overall daily comfort, making it an important part of a complete wellness routine.
• Yazio understands common roadblocks people face, particularly the tendency to set overly ambitious goals that lead to frustration and abandonment.

Strength training truths revealed

If you’re coming from a smartwatch, it’s a big adjustment, but one worth considering. A solid combo could be a simple analog watch paired with the Fitbit Air, giving you the time on your wrist and health tracking in the background. The Air does a solid job of detecting walks and lifting sessions on its own, logging them in the app with the right duration and heart rate data. In my limited time with the Air, I haven’t noticed any glaring issues, and it’s been reliable enough that I’m not babysitting it.

Exploring FitMe Cancellation Policy in Depth

Centr offers barbell-inclusive programmes within its broader fitness ecosystem. If dumbbells are too expensive or bulky, mad muscle review resistance bands offer an excellent alternative. Apps like Centr and Fitbod allow you to select resistance bands as your primary equipment. Bands provide constant tension throughout the movement, making them highly effective for both upper and lower body isolation exercises. Centr (Chris Hemsworth’s app, ~$29.99/month or ~$119.99/year as of May 2026) combines AI-powered workout generation with meal planning, mindfulness, and celebrity trainer content.

Supports Joint Mobility and Recovery Performance

You can modify workouts based on your readiness level, the equipment available to you, or simply if you want to try a different exercise in the prescribed movement pattern. For example, you can sub back squats for Bulgarian split squats if, say, your hips are extra tight or you want to add some more unilateral work to your day. You can choose from cardio, HIIT, strength training, bodyweight, endurance, and more. To make it easy to find what you’re looking for, the app allows you to filter by workout length, fitness level, type of workout, and equipment. Our full Nike Training Club review goes over workout variety in more detail. As a certified personal trainer and expert product reviewer, I tend to be tough on online workout programs but I could find very few faults with the Caliber Strength Training App.

Best App for Personal Trainers – FitBudd

We’ve tested dozens of workout apps and this one continues to be a top pick for our team. It’s no secret that movement plays a major role in long-term health. Regular exercise has been linked to benefits such as improved cardiovascular health1, better sleep2, and even reduced depressive symptoms3. Yes, you can build muscle mass with bodyweight exercises at home, presuming you employ a method known as progressive overload.

Work out with celebrity trainers

Activate your core and posterior chain (backside of your body) with a bridge. Complete 2 sets of 10 to 15 reps of each exercise, with 30 seconds to 1 minute of rest between each move. Explore stretch sessions, active recovery, foam rolling and other wellness practices. My entire family work out together and we have all increased not only our physical strength but our mental strength. Access your workouts on your phone, tablet, computer or stream from your TV. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

Apple Watch Series 11: The best Fitbit alternative for iOS users

Yazio understands common roadblocks people face, particularly the tendency to set overly ambitious goals that lead to frustration and abandonment. The pricing is reasonable considering the depth of content and Sondre’s expertise. With a free trial available, you can test the app before committing to a subscription.

The one-month free trial is generous enough to evaluate whether the Apple Watch integration justifies the subscription. For men who prefer class-based training, Peloton’s strength and HIIT classes offer high-intensity instructor-led sessions with a competitive leaderboard element that many men find motivating. Even a single pair of adjustable dumbbells (typically $40–$100) unlocks a dramatically wider range of effective strength programming across multiple apps on this list. According to PCMag’s best workout app coverage, very few apps offer genuinely unlimited free access — Nike Training Club and Home Workout – No Equipment are the clearest exceptions among major platforms. You’ve opened ten browser tabs, downloaded three apps, and still haven’t done a single workout. You’re not alone — the number of home workout apps has exploded, and picking the right one feels harder than the exercise itself.

Each class lasts for 25 or 40 minutes and, paired with a compatible fitness tracker or the official Fiit device (£45), you’ll see heart rate, calorie burn and rep data on screen throughout. The option to connect to your TV means you can get the full home gym experience, too. There are currently thousands of workout classes, with around 30 more added weekly. You can pick workouts based on time, difficulty level, trainer and even choose the music you want to hear. If you ever need cues on performing an exercise, you can use Aaptiv’s visual workout guides that show you how to perform 250 movements, such as deadlifts or dumbbell rows.

Healthline’s picks for the best fitness and exercise apps

You can follow your own route or explore Strava’s massive network of roads and trails, built by millions of athletes worldwide. “The mapping tool makes it easier than ever to plan runs and workouts in advance, especially when following a training plan with specific distances and paces,” one runner noted. True to its name, Fitbod will help you both build and maintain a muscular figure.

EIR Training Lite

CorePower offers full-body yoga flows and sculpting, as well as meditation and technique lessons. To help you narrow down your choices, here are a few things to keep in mind when looking into online workout programs. However, Senior Editor for Garage Gym Reviews, Kate Meier, followed the classroom training option for months at a time in various CrossFit gyms. CompTrain is a popular functional fitness workout program designed by Ben Bergeron, a renowned coach in the CrossFit world.

How we rate Robinhood on key features for beginners

The app is designed to gradually increase the running intervals, allowing your body to adapt without getting overwhelmed. With voice prompts to guide you through each workout, you can focus on your run without constantly checking your phone. The free version does have one major limitation if you’re trying to get off the beaten path, though. The app only works in areas with cell service; to be able to download a trail route for offline use, you’ll need the pro version of AllTrails. “This is helpful (and critical, I’d argue) if you’re in the backcountry with questionable cell service, especially if you don’t have any other navigational tools or are unfamiliar with the area,” Amanda argues. When you log a workout, the app will give you neat little celebrations; for example, I was told my total tonnage after a squat workout was like lifting a car.

Garmin Forerunner 265

Or do you want one that can keep up with you at the gym and the activities in between? If you have special health concerns or if you’re trying to conceive or are currently pregnant, you’ll want to find a more advanced tracker. Plus, it has a sleek design that’s aesthetically much more advanced than a traditional fitness tracker. The Charge 6 also features a more advanced heart rate monitor than its predecessors, which paid off in its level of accuracy during my testing. It kept up with my heart rate during high-intensity workouts, which is typically where I find most trackers fail in their ability to measure my varying heart rate accurately. The 5 Minute Yoga app doesn’t offer comprehensive Yoga workouts compared to the Daily Yoga app.

Featured in

With so many great fitness apps available for free, there are a few common features that experts recommend beginners look for. Centr has various workout programs ranging from strength, HIIT, muscle-building, Pilates, yoga, boxing, and even MMA. The meal plan is also customized based on your preferences, whether vegetarian or carnivore.

Are there any workout apps that don’t require a subscription?

• The PunchLab app is full of beginner-friendly boxing workouts led by professional coaches like Arnie Abs and Bobbie Jo Davis.
• This app is perfect for beginners who want to start strong, offering a wide variety of workouts designed by Nike’s top trainers.
• “Every yoga instructor has their own style so it’s really a matter of finding what resonates with you,” says Angelica Wilson, an E-RYT 200 certified instructor.
• The Apple Watch Series 9 gives you the option to compete weekly with friends to see who can crush their move goals.
• I tested a total of 16 top-rated fitness trackers for this story (and our tech editor tested several more); below are the models that didn’t make the cut.
• It’s dramatically less expensive than our best overall—it costs under $300!

Know what you like, what you don’t, and how much convincing you would need to change that. If price is more important to you than features like dual-band GPS, Training Load and Training Readiness, the aforementioned Garmin Vivoactive 6 or make for great, cheaper alternatives. Exercise selection isn’t always optimized for long‑term strength progression.

Nike Training Club (NTC) is like having a world-class Nike trainer coaching you right in your living room. This app is perfect for beginners who want to start strong, offering a wide variety of workouts designed by Nike’s top trainers. Whether you’re into strength training, yoga, or cardio, NTC has got you covered with plans tailored to all fitness levels.

Are There Any Downsides to Workout Apps?

A personal trainer said that the best form of exercise is the one you enjoy doing. That means that even the best, most highly-rated app won’t lead to success if you don’t use it. When shopping around for the best workout app for your needs, be sure the style of exercise you want is available, and the monthly membership fees are in your budget. Consider the following two points about the type of instruction and tracking progress.

It integrates with a variety of major wearable trackers, as well as the My Fitness Pal app, so you can sync your diet and exercise info together for a clearer picture of your health. The website has strength videos so you can use them when the plan calls for a workout. We highlight what makes each one unique, and why, whether you’re just starting out as a runner or you’re a seasoned pro, you will find the two or three apps to your running life. If you love Meredith Shirk’s 7-minute workout, Seven is the app to try out. It’s ultimately based on a study by the Lebanese American University, among others, that suggests seven minutes of exercise per day is all we need to change our body composition. Metric VBT is so unique that it made its way into the WH 2025 Fitness Awards, so naturally, it deserves a shout-out here, too.

I’ve tested dozens of fitness trackers — here are the best ones for beginners, runners and more

With an advertised battery life of up to 16 days, the Garmin Fenix 8 – AMOLED easily takes the crown of the best fitness tracker for battery life, earning a perfect score in this critical category. Most of the fitness trackers we researched lasted about a week to 10 days, depending on usage, so this Garmin smartwatch is definitely at the top end of battery life. We wanted to get a feel for how these devices truly fit into our whole day whether we’re running or not. Whether you’ve never run before in your life or you’re returning after a break, the Coopah app is a welcoming and helpful tool for building your running fitness. It creates personalized plans tailored to your goals, or, if you don’t have a specific event in mind, you can choose the ‘Just Run’ option.

Bad Guy Booty: A Glute Workout Inspired by Billie Eilish

This app lets you choose from hundreds of bodyweight workouts, with training plans that push you to stick to your daily goals. It also includes progress tracking and a “days active” calendar for extra motivation. One of the best workout apps free on the market, Nike Training Club offers daily exercise plans and audio-guided sessions. Its mix of HIIT, strength, yoga, and mobility makes it ideal for both beginners and pros. Free versions of workout apps offer many features; if you find an app you enjoy and wish it offered more advanced features, consider upgrading to its premium version.

Full-Body Yoga Workout: Weight Loss & Toning

The best app for you depends on your goals, equipment, and time commitment. That said, one of our favorite workout apps for beginners is Caliber thanks to its tiered membership system, impressive coaching capabilities, and large library of available strength exercises. As a personal trainer who has worked with clients of all fitness levels and ages, I think on-demand sessions tend to be too fast for beginners. Also, an app that offers one demonstration video per exercise guarantees you can go through the workout at your own pace. This means you can watch and listen to the instruction several times before attempting the new movement yourself.

How we rate SoFi on key features for beginners

With better technology, many fitness trackers can be tools for recovery and wellness. REM cycle information and general sleep tracking can help you know how to optimize your training for tomorrow. If you didn’t get good sleep the night before (sleep experts say adults need 7-9 hours), then it might be time for a rest day or a lighter workout. If you’re looking for a smaller GPS smartwatch for everyday living, consider the Vivoactive 4s. It features all of the tracking that you could need—heart rate, blood oxygen level, sleep, step counting, plus training, planning and workouts—in a more petite package. Could you imagine not needing to charge your watch for almost 2.5 weeks?