When it comes to staying motivated to work out, there are few things that make a bigger difference than having the right tools on hand.
We all know the feeling of having a busy day ahead and being tempted to skip the gym—only to go home at the end of the day exhausted and feeling like we’ve missed out on something important we could have done for ourselves.
If you’ve ever felt like this, don’t despair! We’ve got your back! In this blog post, we’ll be looking at some of our favorite apps for your phone or tablet that will help you stay on track with your fitness routine—no matter where you are in your fitness journey.
Best Apps For Fitness Motivation
How to Get Motivation for Exercise?
There are a few surefire ways to get the motivation to start and maintain your fitness regime. Through a few simple practices, such as writing down your goals to get continuous reminders, that are great for self-motivation. Another easy way is to set short-term and long-term goals.
Since short-term goals are easier to accomplish, the achievement will motivate you to reach the long-term goals without losing motivation.
Incorporating things you enjoy into your workout routine; for example, if you love music and scenic views, then a music player and a jog on the beach can help keep your drive high.
Getting a workout partner will also make it less daunting, so get a friend or a gym buddy and get to work.
Other motivation methods include going to a gym and seeing a trainer help you keep up with your routine, or to start one. However, ever since the onset of the pandemic, gyms have been one of the first to close down.
This does not mean that you have no way of motivating yourself to work out. There are a lot of ways you can pursue and continue your workout, and one of the best ways is through fitness applications.
Fitness applications benefit from expert teachers, successful methods, and algorithms that help users figure out where they need to focus most. Some of the best fitness apps are great motivators and eleven of the best ones are listed below for you to consider.
Best Apps for Keeping Your Motivation High
One of the best ways to ensure that your workout motivation is high is through applications that promote it.
Here is a list of some of the best fitness motivation apps for you to go through, so you can find one that fits you, and helps you take the step towards your fitness regimen.
Seven App
best fitness motivation apps
Seven app is especially great for regaining fitness motivation because it only makes you train 7 minutes a day. With friendly push notifications reminding you to exercise, all workouts are short and effective.
They also have a fun feature that allows you to choose a trainer of your choice who would best motivate you. For example, Drill Sergeant is trying to break you while Hippie believes in you. My favorite one was the Angry Mom showing tough love while exercising.
Asana Rebel
best fitness motivation apps
Asana Rebel is one of my favorite apps because it’s more than just fitness. It’s a lifestyle change aiming to alter your daily habits little by little. With the yoga-inspired fitness and interactive interface, Asana Rebel is supporting a balanced life.
The way it keeps you motivated is by showing fitness in a simple but still educational way. Every day you must answer fun quizzes that teach you something new about wellness. Or, listen to a mindful meditation session telling you how great you are.
Workout For Women
best fitness motivation apps
Workout For Women is beginner-friendly and will go light on the newcomers.
Personally, I think it’s one of the best motivational apps because it’s free! There’s nothing worse than paying loads of money for a subscription and then feeling guilty for not using the app because it’s not what you expected. Very, very bad..
Strava
best fitness motivation apps
Nothing motivates you more than doing it together with someone else. It doesn’t even need to be your friend (though it would be nice to do it alongside someone you trust).
A complete stranger with a kind heart can change your fitness journey forever. And for that reason, I think Strava is a great app because it has one of the best-supporting communities of like-minded people.
Sworkit
Best Fitness Motivation Apps
Another one on the list of best fitness motivation apps is Sworkit. It’s special because part of their revenue goes towards The Youth Initiative program aimed to fight childhood obesity.
Therefore, by downloading and using Sworkit, you’re also supporting kids’ fitness. How’s that for motivation?
30-Day Fitness Challenge
Best Fitness Motivation Apps
If you have trouble motivating yourself then maybe seeing the end date would help. Based on my experience, when something’s hard or “painful”, what helps me is knowing that it will come to an end eventually.
30-Day Fitness Challenge app helps you to see exactly how many days are left to complete your fitness challenge.
And without knowing, you’ll be over the hardest part of fitness – the beginning! After this, each day will become easier and more fun because the results and progress will start to show!
Freeletics
Best Fitness Motivation Apps
If you’re like me, then your biggest enemy to overcome is yourself! Freeletics is designed in a way that motivates you to beat your previous result (either it’s time or reps).
In this way, you’re always in a battle with yourself. Every time you smash your personal best, a dose of endorphins just flows through your body. That is what I call a motivational boost!
Best workout apps
The best workout apps you can download today
A screenshot from the Apple Fitness Plus workout app
- Apple Fitness Plus
Best workout app for iPhone and Apple Watch wearers
SPECIFICATIONS
Price: $9.99 per month
REASONS TO BUY
+Connects seamlessly with Apple Watch
+Content updated regularly
+Wide range of classes
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can’t sort classes by difficulty
-Only available to Apple Watch wearers
Apple Fitness Plus is one of the best workout apps for Apple Watch wearers. With HIIT, strength, core, yoga, Pilates, and meditation classes amongst others, there’s a huge variety of workouts to choose from, taught by a range of different trainers. During testing, we also liked the fact there were two instructors in the background during classes, showing modifications for beginners, or those looking to push themselves harder — this is particularly handy as there’s no option to filter classes by difficulty.
The app can feel a little overwhelming at a first glance, but classes can be filtered by trainer, time, and the music you prefer to work out to. You can also add classes to your library, which lets you select classes you’ve taken before, or plan on taking in the future, at a glance.
During a workout, you’ll be able to see stats from your Apple Watch on the screen. You can also do group workouts with other Apple Watch wearers using SharePlay. It’s a great experience, but it is limited to Apple Watch wearers, so if that’s not you, you’ll probably want to keep scrolling (or check out our best Apple Watch guide here).
Read our full Apple Fitness Plus review.
A screenshot from the Peloton workout app
- Peloton
Best workout app for exercise bike and treadmill users
SPECIFICATIONS
Price: $13 per month
REASONS TO BUY
- A wide range of motivational classes
- Easy to stack and save classes for later
- Live classes to join with friends
REASONS TO AVOID
-If you don’t have access to an exercise bike or treadmill, you won’t get the most out of this platform
If you can’t afford a Peloton exercise bike or Tread to stay in shape, the Peloton workout app is the next best thing. There are thousands of interactive classes to take that’ll help you strengthen, sculpt, and get that post-Peloton buzz. The instructors stand out from the crowd in terms of their enthusiasm, and there’s also the option to join live classes, and compete with friends.
From strength to yoga, to HIIT cardio, when testing this app, we found it difficult to get bored. The option to stack classes is great, and lets you add multiple classes together so you can seamlessly add a cool-down or stretch to your workout. The classes are easy to follow on a phone or tablet, but to get a real Peloton experience, we’d recommend streaming the workouts on the TV.
The Peloton programs give you a longer schedule of classes to help you reach your goal, whether that be to get stronger, or to “crush your core” in four weeks. There are also different collections of workouts, which make it easier to find a range of workouts by type, for example, strength for runners, resistance band training, or Pilates classes.
Of course, to get the most out of Peloton, it’s worth having access to one of the best exercise bikes, or the best treadmills to take the bike and tread classes, but even without, this is a great workout app with some of the most motivating instructors around. Newbies can get 30-days free to see whether the app is for them.
Download Peloton now: Android, iOS
Read our full Peloton app review.
a screenshot from Sweat, one of the best workout apps
(Image credit: Sweat )
- Sweat
Best workout app for women
SPECIFICATIONS
Price: $19.99 monthly/ $119.94 yearly
REASONS TO BUY
+A number of different trainers and training plans
+Easy to follow
+Nutrition plans are also available
+Apple Watch compatible
REASONS TO AVOID
-Need to manually tap the screen during workouts
The brainchild of Australian personal trainer Kayla Itsines, Sweat started as a series of downloadable “Bikini Body Guides” in 2015 and has now grown into an extensive training app with a number of different programs and recipes to help you reach your goals. There’s a structured program for every woman — from the new mom taking her first steps into post-baby fitness, to the girl looking to gain more confidence in the weights room at the gym.
Trainers include Kayla herself, as well as the likes of Kelsey Wells, Chontel Duncan, Britany Williams, and Stephanie Sanzo. You can switch your program easily and take on-demand classes if you feel like adding the odd barre session to your planner. The workouts are also compatible with Apple Watch. There’s no free version of the app, although newbies can sign up for a 7-day free trial.
During testing, we loved the range of workouts but found it a little irritating having to bend down and manually skip between exercises, although it wasn’t enough to put us off using the app regularly. We’d also say this app is definitely aimed at women, but there’s no reason why guys couldn’t follow the training plans.
Read our full Sweat review here.
Download Sweat: Android, iOS
A photo from the Nike Training workout app
(Image credit: Future)
- Nike Training Club
Best workout app for free workouts
SPECIFICATIONS
Price : Free
REASONS TO BUY
+Content completely free
+Classes labeled by intensity
+Home workouts
+Apple Watch app
REASONS TO AVOID
-Nike removed training programs from app
In March 2020, Nike made its Nike Training Club app content completely free for 90 days, to help people keep fit while they stayed at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the app has been completely free for users, and unlike others on this list, there’s no paid version anymore.
However, with the update, Nike removed some of their training programs, which used to be a popular feature of the app. Instead, you now have the option to filter workouts by muscle group — abs and core, arms and shoulders, or glutes and legs, workout focus — endurance, mobility, strength, and yoga, and by equipment. There is also the option to filter by duration, level, and intensity.
During testing, we found the instructor-led workouts to be engaging and motivating, and also enjoyed the whiteboard workouts, which show you the entire workout so you can follow at your own pace. There’s also the option to connect the workout to your Apple Music. It’s not perfect, but for a free app, there’s plenty to keep you moving here.
Read our full Nike Training Club app review here.
Download Nike Training Club: Android, iOS.
a screenshot from the centr workout app
(Image credit: Loup Pty Ltd)
- Centr
Best workout app for men
SPECIFICATIONS
Price : $29.99 per month
REASONS TO BUY
+Training programs
+Home and gym workouts
+Meal plans
REASONS TO AVOID
-No option to play your own music
When looking for a fitness regimen, you could do a lot worse than opt for the own favored by Thor. Actor Chris Hemsworth has thrown his weight behind Centr, an app that looks to combine exercise with meal planning and mindfulness to help both your physical and mental shape.
Centr offers daily workout videos that you can practice either in the gym or at home, covering a variety of disciplines (HIIT, strength training, boxing and even yoga and pilates). Meal plans let you find healthy, tasty recipes, while guided meditations and sleep tips work on putting you in the right mental space.
During testing, we loved the variety of classes available on the app, but wished there was the option to play our own music during classes. We also wished there was the option to download workouts for when the WiFi in the gym wasn’t working.
Centr features a 7-day free trial, with monthly subscriptions costing $29.99. However, you might want to consider an annual subscription, which offers a very generous discount on the monthly rate, cutting it down to $10 a month.
Read our full Centr review here.
Download Centr: Android, iOS
A screenshot of the running stats on the free version of the Strava app
(Image credit: Future/Tom’s Guide)
- Strava
Best workout app for runners
SPECIFICATIONS
Price : Free/ $5 per month or $59.99 per year
REASONS TO BUY
+Allows tracking for multiple sports
+Community vibe
+30-day free trial of subscription
REASONS TO AVOID
-A lot of in-depth analysis features are behind paywall
Advertisement
Strava is one of the best running apps on the market, with a free and a paid subscription to allow runners, cyclists, and walkers to keep track of their progress. That said, despite its reputation as an app for runners and cyclists, you can track a total of 31 different sports. The list includes hiking, canoeing, an E-Bike ride, rowing, alpine skiing, swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, and yoga.
Of course, it’s important to point out that there are no actual workouts on Strava, so unlike other apps on this list, don’t log on and expect to follow a strength training session — this is an app for tracking your progress.
While the free version of the app is brilliant, the paid version gives users the option to use the Routes tool on Strava, which gives you suggestions based on where other runners in your area have clocked their miles, as well as segments, advanced performance metrics, and training plans.
Strava supports a variety of running trackers in addition to Wear OS devices and Apple Watch. (Just make sure you opt out of the location tracking features if you happen to be around restricted areas. There are also handy features like Strava Beacon, which are designed to keep you safe, by allowing your friends or family members to track your live location on a run.
Download Strava: Android, iOS
Read our full Strava review here.
How to choose the best workout app
The best workout app for you covers the exercises you’re interested in doing at a level that’s accessible to you. Ideally, a good fitness app will support multiple levels of expertise so that as you get fitter and more comfortable, you can push yourself to the next level.
While a handful of apps are free, many of these workout apps require a subscription. Take advantage of any trial period and then try a monthly subscription to see if the app meets your needs. If you like what you see, you can always switch to an annual subscription, which usually lowers your monthly cost.
If you’re someone who likes to mix up your workout routines regularly, it might be a good idea to look for a well-rounded workout app that has a good mix of workouts to suit your mood and prevent you from regretting your monthly subscription.
Several of the options on our best workout apps list will log your exercise data. If you’re an iPhone user, pay special attention to any apps that integrate with the built-in Health app on your phone.
How we tested the best workout apps
To help you make the best decision when choosing a workout app, we put them to the sweat test by using them for a number of different workouts. For each of the apps, we tried multiple workouts and looked at how easy the workouts were to follow, the range of workouts on offer, and how often new workouts were added to the app.
We also looked at the little extras that make using the app more enjoyable — for example, the option to sync the app with third-party music platforms to allow you to listen to your own playlists as you work out, or the option to download workouts to do without phone reception or wifi.
Finally, we’ll look at the cost of the workout app to download or subscribe to, and what you get for your money.
What are the best free YouTube workouts?
If you’re not ready to subscribe to an app, YouTube has plenty of free workouts to try. Don’t believe us? Our Fitness Editor has been putting a few to the test in her quest to get the abs of her dreams:
I tried the Bretman Rock ab workout and my abs are still on fire 24 hours later
I tried the Daisy Keech ab workout with over 9 million views — here’s what happened
I tried the Pamela Reif six pack ab workout — and wow!
Conclusion
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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