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10 Best Workout Apps of 2026, Tested by Personal Trainers

7 best fitness tracking apps you can use for free

By May 22, 2026No Comments

We also gave the accountability a 5 out of 5, as your coach keeps you motivated with daily check-ins, reminders to log your workouts, and tips on where you can improve. In addition to our personal experience and expertise, here are the main factors we used to evaluate each workout app. Some positive reviews people have shared are that the app finally got them to be more active, while another says it gave them the freedom to get in shape on their own time frame. If you like to run outdoors, for example, you’ll likely want an app that offers location tracking. If you love to ride your bike but don’t want to hit the road during the coldest days of winter, Zwift is your solution. The app gamifies your workouts, pitting you against yourself, your friends, and fellow Zwift users in races, group rides, and targeted workouts.

Best Alternative Weightloss Add-Ons: Found

Other items, like dumbbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands, can also be integrated into your plan, but the aforementioned pieces are a definite must. Considering the sheer variety of well-designed workouts, our testers gave their overall experience a 5 out of 5. The iFit app features a library of over 16,000 live and on-demand classes that range from mental health and recovery to rowing, running, HIIT and strength classes. 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.

The Outsiders: Athlete Tracker

The electromagnetic resistance is responsive and satisfyingly sensitive. The saddle is comfortable, as far as indoor cycles go, and it adjusts both in height and depth. The handlebars are grippy even when sweaty, and they feel secure, with none of the wobbling produced by handlebars on lesser bikes. The pedal clips, which are Look Delta–compatible, hold the sold-separately Peloton cycling shoes or other appropriate bike shoes securely.

best workout at home app

Jillian Michaels Fitness App

Pricing is typically around £8 to £12 per month or in the region of £99.99 for the year, depending on whether you apply any promotions. Learn how to manipulate training volume (sets x reps x load) within a microcycle to build strength, prevent plateaus, and optimize recovery. 🎉 |Another year of training, growth, and consistency, and we’re grateful to have been part of your journey once again. Price is determined by how many credits & classes you want to book per month. We found the JEFIT app to be the best for a workout in a home gym or with your existing gym membership.

The Best Meditation Apps

You’ll need a compatible treadmill and foot pod to make Zwift work — the company lists compatible devices on its website. (Zwift also works with cycling, but after a 7-day trial, rides require a $15 monthly membership.) If you’ve got the right equipment, Zwift offers a unique way to get more out of your at-home runs. You can measure your progress and workout history, as well as sync with numerous other apps and services and receive detailed reports of your tracked activity.

Best Workout App for Muscle Gain: SHRED

Set new running goals or just hit your weekly mileage with the free Nike Run Club app. You can try the app’s race programs if you’re preparing for your first 5K or go on a guided run with a Nike running coach. The Peloton experience is a little lacking in the accountability department if you go with the basic membership, our tester noted. “If you want more of the at-home gym experience, I recommend the All-Access option,” they said, giving this category a 3 out of 5. As an All-Access member, you can encourage other users in your classes and follow the in-class leaderboard.

Bvlgari Defines Effortless Elegance and Luxury at Watches and Wonders 2026

best workout at home app

Many free apps provide excellent movement, cardio and physical activity that burn calories effectively. 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 unimeal reviews that’s aesthetically sleek and provides fairly standard insight into your health metrics. But what truly sets this one apart is the connectivity to the Garmin community.

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. It also shows the bar path so that you can address any technical issues. Freeletics keeps things simple by getting you to choose how you want to train when you sign up.

Best value for a seamless Peloton cycling experience

The app goes far beyond simple calorie counting, tracking up to 84 different nutrients to provide comprehensive insights into your diet. Cronometer stands out from crowded alternatives by prioritizing data quality above all else, using verified sources like the USDA and Nutrition Coordinating Center rather than unreliable crowd-sourced entries. Research shows that just two strength sessions per week can boost brain function, improve metabolism, reduce aches, regulate stress hormones, and lower chronic inflammation. Strength Well makes achieving these benefits straightforward and measurable. This flexibility is invaluable for anyone who trains in multiple environments. Testers paid close attention to how easy or difficult it was to download and set up each app, from account creation to any onboarding quizzes.

Peloton Cross Training Bike+

Peloton’s app (~$12.99/month as of May 2026) offers far more than cycling classes. Without owning any Peloton hardware, you can access thousands of live and on-demand classes — running, strength, yoga, meditation, and walking — led by world-class instructors. FitOn is a freemium (partly free, partly paid) app offering hundreds of workout classes led by celebrity trainers including Gabrielle Union and Jonathan Van Ness. Its free tier is genuinely generous — most classes are accessible without a subscription, making it one of the few apps where “free” actually means free for the core experience. The best home workout app for most beginners is Nike Training Club — completely free, no hidden paywalls, and packed with guided programmes for every goal.

Eden: Daily Self Care Routine

With hundreds of fitness apps and online programs available, finding the right one can feel like a workout in itself. Some focus on yoga and recovery, others on AI-powered strength programming or personal coaching. The Alive app is SID class of 2024 trainer Gabrielle Savary’s “go-to” for strength training workouts.

  • It’s not glamorous, but Garage Gym Reviews’ analysis of beginner programmes consistently places 5×5-style programming among the most effective for novice strength gains.
  • Finally, this psychological approach to weight loss can be tough, especially since there’s less rigidity surrounding which foods you can and shouldn’t eat.
  • There’s no option to work with a coach, nor is there a live in-app community.
  • Having a workout routine, even a short one, provides a point of consistency and something that is just for you.
  • Some workouts require equipment like a Pilates ball, resistance bands, or hand weights, but bodyweight-only options are easy to find.
  • Flexibility manifests in multiple dimensions beyond scheduling convenience.

Recent data shows that 74% of Americans use at least one fitness app, while 60% have completely replaced gym memberships with app-based workouts. Even more striking, 80% of users now prefer home workouts over gym sessions, indicating a permanent shift in fitness behavior. Plus, you’ll find educational videos such as “pelvic floor education” and breathing exercises.

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