Best Expert-Tested Workout Apps and Services for 2026

From the inspiring Robin Arzon to the hilarious Cody Rigsby and feel-good Alex Toussaint, there is an instructor to fit nearly every workout vibe. If you’re an avid Apple customer, Apple Fitness might be the first fitness tracker you try. I’m a regular exerciser who relies on it heavily for stress management, so I know how difficult it is to hit pause on your fitness routine. But thankfully, there are some tech solutions out there that mean you don’t have to—you just need to think about your exercise routine a little differently. Richard D. Harroch is a Senior Advisor to CEOs, management teams, and Boards of Directors. He is an expert on M&A, venture capital, startups, and business contracts.

How to choose the best workout app

With augmented reality technology, you can bring nature indoors and create your very own personalized zen space. Feeling overwhelmed by anxiety and depression can be a heavy burden to carry, but what if there was a way to lighten the load? While there is no known cure, research has shown that controlling your breath can help lessen the symptoms. This app takes breathing to another level with its visual exercises that have helped many people reduce anxiety and depression symptoms. The coolest part is that you can receive safe and secure support from your dietitian, psychologist, doctor, personal trainer, or whoever else you’ve got in your corner, right there in the app. Scan barcodes or search manually for any item for instant access to plain-spoken nutritional information, a personalized letter grade detailing each item’s value, and suggestions for healthier alternatives.

Body Butter

The app offers live classes every day of the week — filmed in a fun neon studio — in addition to its extensive on-demand library of more than 7,000 classes. This app brings the feel of a boutique group fitness class to your living room. It offers more than 20 types of classes, including HIIT, dance cardio, sculpt, and more. Limited research suggests that people may be more likely to stick with apps that include coaching from fitness professionals rather than peers and emphasize user control of their experience.

This isn’t just any old meditation app – Gardzen takes things to the next level by transforming your living room into a peaceful, serene zen garden. Our personal favorite is sleep mode, where a soothing voice combined with ambient sound will transport you to a peaceful state of mind. You’ll feel your body relax and release all the tension of the day, allowing you to drift off into a deep sleep. The user interface is incredibly user-friendly and straightforward. You can choose your preferred mode, enter your wake-up time, and select a background sound and relaxing narration to create the perfect environment for a restful night’s sleep.

This app may be best for people new to running who want to build up their fitness. Glo provides online yoga, meditation, pilates, and fitness classes. Other studies found that while tracking was the most common feature of these apps, apps that combined exercise education and tracking or turned exercise into a game were more successful. Use your smartphone to get instant and accurate nutritional info for more than 900,000 verified packaged, grocery and restaurant foods ranging from chips to Chipotle burritos.

App 3: Overview and Features

Data-driven insights empower users to make better decisions regarding their lifestyle. With charts and progress reports, individuals can visualize their improvements over time. Personalized notifications keep users on track with reminders for workouts, meals, and meditation sessions. As technology continues to evolve, healthy living apps become essential tools for achieving and maintaining overall wellness. Plus, check off any equipment you don’t have access to so you get customized exercise recommendations.

• A subscription usually unlocks full training plans, larger video libraries, form cues, wearable integrations, custom workout recommendations, recovery guidance, nutrition tools, or direct coach feedback.
• This app will also help you when you’re in the kitchen, walking you through each recipe step-by-step, complete with cooking timers and notifications when it’s time to move on to the next step.
• Today, wellness apps are key for a healthy lifestyle, offering everything from workout plans to mental health support.
• This app best suits people with higher body weights, disabilities, or those new to exercise.
• This app costs $25 a month ($135 a year) but lets you test it for free for seven days if you’re a new member.
• If you prefer a workout app that’s more specific to your interests, such as yoga, we recommend others in the list below.

Best workout app for strength training

It also offers a built-in community to help you stay motivated and feel supported. “[MyFitnessPal] is an excellent tool to help my clients recognize and build on their habits, including working out, getting enough sleep, and eating well,” Grainger says. Turoff appreciates the “Beacon” safety feature, which allows you to share your live location with up to three people.

Best fitness app for race training

Enter your goals and the app breaks everything down into clear steps by day and frequency to help you stay focused. The app helps you stay motivated by encouraging you to beat your own personal best at each repeated task, then rewarding you when you do. View trends over a period of time, create a flexible and personalized goal schedule, and easily check off your healthy to-do list. Connect to Apple’s Health app to compare your sleep to other health measurements. Pillow’s intelligent alarm clock helps you wake up rested by waking you at the lightest sleep stage.

What to Look for in a Fitness App

Apps with web access and smart TV support are better for home workouts where a larger screen improves form and pacing. Watch compatibility is more useful for runners, cyclists, and anyone tracking heart rate, pace, or calorie estimates during sessions. Before subscribing annually, confirm that the app works with your phone, watch, gym setup, and preferred workout environment. If you’re looking to train at home or in the gym, using one of the best workout apps can help you access motivational, qualified personal trainers in just a few taps. Nike Training Club (available on Android and iOS) is free and offers a wide variety of workout videos.

Various meal planning features provide users with healthy recipes tailored to dietary preferences, such as vegan or gluten-free options. Many apps also include grocery list functionalities, streamlining shopping for nutritious foods. By offering daily meal suggestions, these apps assist users in making informed dietary choices to support their well-being. The Alive app is SID class of 2024 trainer Gabrielle Savary’s “go-to” for strength training workouts.

Is there an app that tells me what to do at the gym?

Do you just want to get moving more often, or are there specific fitness milestones you want to hit (like running a certain speed or lifting a certain amount of weight)? Some apps let you personalize your goals or even connect with a personal trainer to help you meet them. Gymverse also offers really great wearable connectivity; when I tested it with my Apple Watch, I could start, track, and end workouts on my watch rather than needing to open the app on my phone. And if that’s not enough, Gymverse offers calorie tracking when paired with a wearable, which is a nice addition and helps you get a better view of your overall fitness. When you connect Runkeeper with Zapier, you can orchestrate multi-step workflows that turn your workouts into insights and actions across your apps. For example, you gym apps for beginners can automatically store your Runkeeper activity in Google Sheets, use AI to spot patterns or summarize progress, and update your goals in your habit tracker or another spreadsheet.

Best Running App

Our new top pick for 2025, Zing Coach is an AI-powered app packed with tools and a chatbot that’s ideal for any workout type. Better yet, remove the TV from the eating area if you have one there. Research shows that families who eat together tend to eat more nutritious meals.

Sleep Cycle

If you crave community, tune in to Daily Burn 365, a 30-minute online group workout class that takes place at 9 a.m. You can even chat with community members and trainers during and after the class. Understanding and reflecting on changes in your mood can seem challenging, especially if you have a mental health condition that makes it hard to control your emotions or moods. Charity Miles – You’re going to workout anyway, so why not workout with a purpose! This app lets you earn money for causes you believe in simply by tracking your bikes, walks or runs. Each mile you complete will be even more rewarding because you’ll know you’re helping support organizations that are making the world a better place.

The videos are clear and well-produced—perfect for people new to strength training. Many wellness apps include core features that are essential to the standard use of the app. Every user will likely use these, but to effectively use the app, take a look at the advanced features offered. These features can provide additional insights, new workflows, and valuable data trends that can change how you approach your general health. By using features such as notifications and accomplishment badges, users can be engaged and motivated to continue using the wellness platform. When users accomplish the goals they set in the wellness apps, they will feel confident and accomplished, making them more likely to set new goals in the app.

During COVID-19, 32% of app users used them more, proving their value in keeping fitness goals. You can improve strength with Caliber, lose weight with WeightWatchers, or get support for mental health from Talkspace. The right app comes down to your fitness targets, how you live, and what you like. This way, you make your wellness journey personal and practical using your phone. The WeightWatchers app uses a point system for foods based on nutrition.