13 Best Fitness and Workout Apps for 2026, Tested & Reviewed

One of the newer safety features on the Strava app is called the Beacon, which lets you share your location in real time with an emergency contact. The app is free to download, but you can upgrade to a paid subscription or make in-app purchases for a more premium experience, which includes sound reminders to drink instead of just push notifications. With the paid version, you’ll also get an ad-free version and access to more drinks for tracking within the app. Nicole found the free version to be more than enough for her needs, and thus rated the pricing as a 5 out of 5. To start, you’ll enter a few basic stats—height, weight, age, gender, the weather where you live—and the app will calculate your daily water target. Basically, it will break down your overall water goal into smaller, incremental goals that can help you develop a lasting behavior change.

Strava Subscription

There’s no question the program pushes positive concepts, such as exercising and paying more attention to what you eat. But the question remains whether it goes too far and demands too much. “If you’re focusing on self-improvement and you’re noticing these changes, that visual cueing and feedback can be really validating and rewarding,” acknowledges Dr. Sacco. The goal is simply to commit to doing activities to boost fitness while also building determination and dedication.

• Talkspace does accept insurance, so the amount you ultimately pay will depend on your insurance carrier.
• As a bonus, you can record right in the app so you don’t have to clog up your phone’s camera roll with strength training videos (unless you want to).
• She recommended working on understanding how to balance meals so they fill you up while tasting great at the same time.
• My beat includes home fitness equipment, outdoor athletic accessories, and a wide range of running gear.
• As a world-leading fitness app, Sweat has transformed the lives of millions of women since 2015, all the way from Sydney to Singapore to San Diego.
• Evlo is about what it calls “gentle consistency,” which means you’ll be doing efficient, targeted movements to build strength while avoiding exercises that leave you overly sore or burned out.

Best workout app if you don’t like to work out

There is also a section for ‘helpful tips’ that includes videos about how to start and what to expect. Then there is a place to schedule live sessions, a place to track your progress, and a settings tab where you can update your coverage or change your provider,” she says. Frieda admittedly did not love the text-based therapy and said she ended up waiting until her scheduled live sessions to bring things up with her therapist. However, if you prefer to communicate via text, the basic program could work for you.

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On the app, you’ll have access to customized strength plans based on how often you want to work out per week, nutrition guidance, and “A++ quality” videos, says Woerner. It’s best to determine your budget before purchasing a subscription. Some workout apps, like YogaRenew, also offer a week-long free trial period to see if it fits your needs. When I tried out this app, I signed up for a kettlebell class called Body & Bell, and what’s great is you get video demonstrations for the different exercises you’ll be doing. The videos also tell you the type of weight you should be using (light, medium, heavy) and the length of time of the exercise. You can also connect with your coach via the chat in the app if you ever have questions about your training or want to chat with other members on your team.

Sleep Cycle

Having this kind of information readily available is crucial, and the way Carb Manager sorts all relevant data makes it easy to quickly access when needed. The base app is free but there is a premium option for $3.33 per month that offers more recipes, integration with other products like Fitbits and Garmins, and personalized meal plans, among others. The Noom app includes features you’d expect, like a food log, calorie tracker, and activity monitor. It also provides incentives for you to be more active but more mindful, taking into account caloric intake, fitness levels, and a variety of variables.

Amanda Capritto, certified personal trainer and former GGR team member, tested the app and said the only thing better would be working with a personal trainer in person. Lindsay Boyers is a functional nutritionist, writer, and editor with over a decade of experience in online media. She’s written 14 books and hundreds of articles on fitness, wellness, nutrition, and lifestyle.

What to Look for in Health Apps

The free version of the Google Health app will display the same metrics that are available in the free version of the Fitbit app. The base and middle-tier subscriptions provide plenty of specialized activity data, including coaching features that provide tips for exercise and sleep. Combined with manually entered data in Apple’s Health app (such as height, weight, gender, and age), these sensors help Apple estimate metrics like steps, distance, and calories burned. I found that the AirPods Pro 3 tracked these basic metrics fairly accurately. For example, counting a known 1-mile distance as 0.97 mile, and coming within the range I expected for estimated calories burned doing a test workout. The Apple AirPods Pro 3 earbuds feature sensors that can track your heart rate and motion, including during workouts, and send the data to a paired iPhone.

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I tested the most popular workout apps to help you find the ones worth the cost–some are even free. Below are some apps to consider if you’re looking to move intentionally. Both versions of the app also have a Beacon feature, which lets you share your location with up to three people at once. This safety feature gives peace of mind for those running/walking alone, although we always recommend staying acutely aware of your surroundings anyway. “Anyone who’s been training for an extended period of time knows that it’s tough and sometimes impossible to perform at the same level week after week.

It’s Time to Upgrade Your Home Workout Space

There is a minimal free version and a few reports that the app is not very user-friendly. Another area where WeightWatchers shines is in community support. Research shows that having community support during a weight loss journey can help keep you accountable and tie in a much-needed social aspect1. WeightWatchers has a huge community in the app and on social, and you can connect with millions of other people who have used it.

Health classes and programs

A runner is going to want something totally different from someone primarily looking for an app that will help them strength train. Some workouts may also require equipment in order to follow tutorials in select apps. Whether you are new to meditation, intermediate or advanced, Headspace is your magic wand to putting you in a calmer, happier place. GH testers can’t rave enough about these easy-to-follow guided meditations. There are hundreds of mindfulness and breathing exercises to choose from, including ones geared toward improving anxiety to helping with focus and concentration with the soothing sounds of musician John Legend.

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Everything from the fonts to the colors to the white space in between icons is nice and obviously thought out. The meditations, lessons, and modules are organized into categories and you can search for key terms. Another mental health option, Headspace is our top pick for those looking to calm their nervous system via meditation. The app asks mad muscles review a couple questions about why you’re changing and what you need, then will give you a few alternative therapists to choose from.