Exercising at home can be really tough. Discover the best home workout apps to guide and motivate you in reaching your goals, wherever you are.
You know the world has changed drastically when going to the gym actually could be a risk to your health as well as a benefit. Oh, the irony.
However these unprecedented times have highlighted the huge part regular exercise plays in our mental wellbeing.
As a result, millions around the world have turned to home workouts to stay active and healthy. Luckily, we have an almost untapped wealth of fitness resources right at our fingertips in the form of workout apps.
Not only can these apps offer a productive diversion to being cooped up inside, but some of them are devilishly effective for almost every fitness goal imaginable.
This could finally be the time that you get that six pack, or get to 100 pushups.
Even the experienced gym-goers like myself could start to wonder if certain apps could replace that pricey gym membership.
Discover the list of the 6 best free apps to get your sweat flowing and body aching.
Best workout app for: All-rounder
1. Adidas Training by Runtastic
The jack of all trades
Price: Free (Premium: £45 per year)
Ease of Use: 4/5
Pros:
✔ Huge database of workouts (33) and exercises (190)
✔ Clear instruction videos and tips
✔ Loads of helpful articles and extra content in the “News Feed”
✔ Tracking your progress is fun and insightful
✔ Chromecast your workout
Cons:
✘ Minimal health and nutrition guides
✘ Won’t fully satisfy harcore gym-goers
Adidas Training is the most well-rounded fitness app for all your home workout needs.
Personalised to your goals as soon as you log in, the app will suggest workouts and create a bespoke plan to help you stay consistent with your habit. If you want to just break a sweat, the huge range of exercises and workouts means there will always be a choice to fit your mood.
The “News Feed” dashboard provides a summary of your recent progress and a window into your friends’ workouts, shamelessly pitting you against each other. The articles in this section are also super interesting and beneficial for correct form and motivation.
If you are looking for one versatile pocket trainer which has a premium look and feel, Adidas Training ticks all the boxes.
Download: Android, iOS
Also recommended: JEFIT (Android, iOS)
Best workout app for: Fitness veterans
2. JEFIT
When you know exactly what you like, any app just won’t do
Price: Free
Ease of Use: 5/5
Pros:
✔ 1300 exercises
✔ Fully customisable workouts
✔ Super detailed progress tracker (including a heat map of muscles trained)
✔ Community aspect to compete with friends
Cons:
✘ Beginners may miss the lack of workout suggestions
✘ Not specifically targeted at home workouts (you can create your own)
✘ No diet information
As an veteran gym-goer, finding an app that matches your workout standard is a tough ask. After all, you’ve spent years discovering what exercises and regimes are most effective, convenient and enjoyable for you personally – how is an app going to match that?
Quite simply, JEFIT just lets you do your thing. It doesn’t suggest a wave of workouts you don’t have any interest in, but asks for your specific goals, and pushes you to create your own awesome custom workout.
This customisation is the best part of JEFIT. An extremely detailed filter allows you to search for exercises by the exact equipment you have available, and muscle groups you want to target.
When you’ve done the same workout 1000 times, JEFIT adds a refreshing chance for you to learn and create something new while allowing you to remain firmly in control.
Smashed it.
Download: Android, or iOS
Also recommended: Fitness & Bodybuilding (Android, iOS)
Best workout app for: Getting started
3. One You Couch to 5K
A simple decision can be the start of a huge change
Price: Free
Ease of Use: 5/5
Pros:
✔ Supported by BBC
✔ Super achievable, bitesize goals
✔ Choose a celebrity as the voice coach
✔ Set your goals (e.g. lose weight, prepare for a half-marathon)
Cons:
✘ No versatility – only good for running
✘ Display while running could be clearer
It can be extremely difficult to take those first few steps to establishing a new habit – especially when your goal seems impossibly far away.
One You Couch to 5K provides a quick and super simple setup which allows you to completely forget about that paralysing end goal with an irresistibly easy start.
Day 1 is a 30 minute workout, most of which you can spend walking, and only 60 seconds spent running at a time. Day 2 is a bit harder, but you did day 1 and that wasn’t too bad. Before you know it, you’re not even doing any walking any more.
Congratulations. You’ve successfully tricked yourself into doing regular exercise.
Download: Android, iOS
Also recommended: Pushups Workout (Android)
Best workout app for: Building lean muscle
4. Home Workout – No Equipment
Turn your bodyweight into a piece of chiseled equipment
Price: Free (until July 1) (Premium: £2.79 per year)
Ease of Use: 5/5
Pros:
✔ Specifically built for home workouts
✔ Simple interface
✔ Clear animations/ tutorials
Cons:
✘ Not very versatile
✘ No exercise database or custom workout option
✘ Annoying Ads
Building muscle at home can be a real challenge.
The lack of equipment can lead to ineffective exercises, or extreme boredom.
After all, pushups and situps can get real old really quickly – especially if you are used to doing low rep/ high weight exercises,
When you just want a simple app that will get your blood pumping at home without any frills, customisation or sign up forms, Home Workout – No Equipment takes the crown.
Even the name leaves no room for error.
The animations are clear and well-designed and there are a variety of workouts for a variety of common goals (fat burning, abs sculpting etc.), none of which require equipment.
But for the most part you can just fire up the app, choose the muscle group you want to shred and the intensity/ how much pain you want to be in tomorrow. That’s it.
And as long as you don’t cheat with the intensity, you will be in pain the next day. I guarantee it.
Download: Android, iOS
Also recommended: Spartan Home Workout (Android, iOS)
Best workout app for: Losing weight
5. Lose Weight in 30 Days
Healthy body = healthy mind
Price: Free (Premium: £36 per year)
Ease of Use: 5/5
Pros:
✔ Personalised workout based on your goals
✔ Simple meal plans and shopping list feature
✔ Emphasises diet for progress
✔ Large choice of workouts
✔ Excellent and clear animations
Cons:
✘ Ads (free version) are very ‘in your face’
Staying physically healthy is so important for our mental wellbeing. Excess weight can be a huge source of discomfort and low self-esteem.
Even if you finally decide to try to lose that weight, any number of factors can make the challenge extremely draining.
Lose Weight in 30 Days immediately helps you overcome a number of those obstacles.
The structure and exercises are personalised to your weight and goals, right up to how much weight you want to shift in what timeframe. The workout plans and in-depth tutorials show you exactly what you need to be doing and when.
The information on diet planning is also a key aspect that many apps ignore, constantly reaffirming the need to be just as diligent with food as with exercise.
The only thing the app can’t do is make you follow it’s instructions and actually get started. It pretty much does everything else though.
Still unsure if this app works? Check out any of the 500k ratings.
Download: Android, iOS
Also recommended: FitOn (Android, iOS)
Best workout app for: Runners
6. Map My Run by UnderArmour
Choose your companion for long hours on the road carefully
Price: Free (Premium: £28 per year)
Ease of Use: 5/5
Pros:
✔ Comprehensive tracking and dashboard
✔ Wealth of features
✔ Training Plans
✔ Connects to My Fitness Pal for nutrition information and meal plans
Cons:
✘ None worth mentioning
It’s quite tough for a running app to set itself apart amongst the competition. Most have the functionality to track your run using GPS, or count calories.
Where Map My Run excels, however, is in the sheer amount of features and overall experience offered to the user.
In addition to the detailed dashboard tracking your progress, you can view automatically generated routes to run near you, general workout routines, or take part in the #wewill global community.
The synergy with UA’s My Fitness Pal also means all your data is connected to the best nutrition planning app available.
Best part? All of these core features are also completely free!
However, If you want to really show off you can upgrade to the premium plan so people can actually watch you run in real time location tracking.
Download: Android, iOS
Also recommended: Strava (Android, iOS)
Don’t see an app to match your goal? You can also try these:
Best app for Yoga: Daily Yoga – Yoga Fitness Plans (Android, iOS)
Best app for Six Pack Abs: Six Pack Abs in 30 Days (Android, iOS)
Best app for Audio Workouts: Aaptiv (Android, iOS)
Best app for Weight-lifters: Strong (Android, iOS)
Best app for Making Exercise Fun: Zombies, Run! (Android, iOS)
Best app for Pushups: Pushups Workout (Android)
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