10 Best Workout Apps of 2026, Tested by Personal Trainers
10 Best Workout Apps of 2026, Tested by Personal Trainers
The biggest difference here is that the Train tier lets you create your own workouts and is available on equipment touchscreens. This helps the app earn a 4 out of 5 from our tester in the value category. While BetterMe is more affordable than the average workout app, it doesn’t have quite as many strength-training plans.
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We also ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest. Subscription transparency represents the foundation of smart app selection, as hidden fees and restrictive cancellation policies can quickly transform affordable solutions into expensive commitments. Understanding pricing structures, trial periods, and upgrade pathways prevents costly surprises down the road. Users can experiment with new workout styles, practice proper form through video repetition, and progress without external judgment.
Peloton Indoor Training Bike
His background as a professional performer and coach means the programming is both practical and effective. The community aspect adds valuable motivation, with members sharing progress, asking questions, and celebrating milestones together. This social element can be crucial for maintaining long-term commitment to calisthenics training. Pliability (formerly ROMWOD) sits firmly at the top of the mobility app category, offering a comprehensive library of mobility sessions backed by sports physiotherapy principles.
The best fitness apps to use whenever you want, wherever you are
- 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.
- In addition to our personal experience and expertise, here are the main factors we used to evaluate each workout app.
- Sure, your workouts are still a key part of what these devices do, but in addition they’re also tracking your sleep, heart rhythm patterns, blood oxygen levels, HRV, stress, and even caffeine consumption.
- I think this app is best for experienced trainers because of how challenging the PWR program is.
- The most important are training readiness, training status and HRV (heart rate variability) status, which work in tandem to help optimize your training and recovery.
- Daily Burn’s challenge board provides community-driven motivation through group goals and friendly competition.
It could easily be our top pick for strength work on this list, as you can use it in the gym or at home with equipment, too, by choosing workouts based on what you have. Fitbod is an excellent app for anyone starting resistance training in the gym or looking for a way to plan workouts ahead of time. You’ll get to plan all your workouts with details for reps and sets, and see a quick demonstration of each exercise.
Exercise Tips
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.
In this FunFitLand app, you’ll experience a new way to work out with boxing, dance, meditation, stretching where every session is crafted by world-class combat and dance specialists. You can also connect HOLOFIT to your compatible fitness machines — such as a rower, bike, or elliptical — for a more realistic and immersive experience. Many free apps provide excellent movement, cardio and physical activity that burn calories effectively. Most fitness apps with adaptive goals apps sync through Apple Health, allowing workout data and activity metrics to be shared across platforms. Strong allows users to track strength workouts and analyze performance trends.
Best for Personal Training
Workouts cover different modalities, from strength training, HIIT, and cardio, to yoga, pilates, and mobility exercises. Equipment is needed for most workouts, but Amanda says you can filter your search for workouts by the type of gym equipment needed. At almost £30 a month, it is one of the more expensive apps on my list, but it’s worth the spend if you prefer exercise classes over working out on your own, as this will be much cheaper per month. Now you have access to various workout programs that can be done at home or in the gym, such as yoga, strength and Pilates, all taught by different women personal trainers.
The best fitness apps for 2026 are:
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. If you already work with a trainer, it is worth asking whether they use an app to program and track your workouts, allowing you to combine professional expertise with the convenience of digital tools.
Can you do personal training through workout apps?
You can get the full studio experience virtually through iFit, and is a great boost to any home gym set-up — with or without equipment. We love how tailored Future is to your specific needs — our testers gave their overall experience a 5 out of 5. Once you complete a quick quiz about your fitness level, goals, injury history, and your preferred coaching style, you’re paired with your instructor. You video chat with them for an introduction, and from there, your training plan is customized to your abilities and available equipment. The app allows you to stream classes in 10 different categories (cycling, running, bootcamp, outdoor, strength, and more) anywhere, with live studio classes uploaded daily to an extant library of over 10,000. We especially love attending the live classes, because you get the actual push from those around you and from Peloton’s lineup of fitness-celebrity trainers.
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There isn’t an online community or platform to join, which means you’ll have to be self-motivated or find online classes to attend. The Domyos allows the freedom and flexibility of keeping fit with a little homemade spin class at a low cost. Being the Fitness and Commerce Editor of Men’s Health means I get my hands on every piece of new health equipment that releases, sometimes before it releases. Building this list of the best smart scales, started with taking the best-selling smart scales on the market and putting them up against newly-released options. With such a loyal following and a gamut of industry-leading tech, we would be remised if we didn’t include Garmin’s smart scale on our list. As with all things the brand produces, the Index S2 scale delivers an option that’s aesthetically sleek and provides fairly standard insight into your health metrics.
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ConnectivityThe ability to connect, typically via Bluetooth or ANT+, to a third party app allows you to join virtual classes, rides and training programmes. This is a feature of all of the more expensive smart bikes, but isn’t always an option on cheaper machines. Clearly, they have their place for people with limited space and looking for a low-impact cardio workout at home. For experienced cyclists, it is certainly worth considering some of the best rollers or smart turbo trainers instead. Horizon Fitness offers an indoor exercise kit that costs under $1,000, with the 7.0 IC model including a Bluetooth heart rate monitor.
That way, you’ll have options ready to go, whether you have internet access or not, keeping your routine consistent no matter where you are. Every workout and meditation incorporates American Sign Language, with trainers learning ASL together in weekly classes led by a Deaf-certified instructor, so those who are deaf or hard of hearing feel included. The monthly price is incredibly reasonable for all the content it delivers. We love a workout app because there’s very little downside to giving one a try. Most offer a free trial, which lets you explore the workouts, features, and overall vibe before committing. Compared to an in-person gym membership, fitness apps are typically more affordable, far more convenient, and they take the guesswork out of programming our own workouts.
