You’ll need to have some knowledge of the activity to start with and know how to use free weights and gym equipment to safely and effectively use the app. If you’ve already been going to the gym for a few years or are looking to move away from in-person personal training sessions and plan your own workouts, this could be the app for you. While there are form demonstrations available to help with technique, there are no follow-along video workouts available. Yes, all the workout tracker apps listed above support bodyweight exercise tracking.
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. There’s free and paid options, but you get plenty of value if you do decide to pay, and you can access a free trial if you’re unconvinced. 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. It’s not perfect, but for a free app, there’s plenty to keep you moving here. 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.
JEFIT Workout Plan Gym Tracker
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. These are the workout apps that will make exercising at home a breeze.
Wearables for the gym: What to consider
If you’re an iPhone user, pay special attention to any apps that integrate with the built-in Health app on your phone. 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.
Strength Trainer in 2026: Room to grow, but change is coming
On sign-up, you’ll find several filters to tap through, including workout duration, equipment, current fitness level, and the muscles you want to target during your workout. You can also choose to blend bodyweight moves with resistance and add an app-led warm-up or cool-down to your session, which makes the app entirely customisable to your needs. Setgraph, Fitbod, Hevy, and Strava all have Apple Watch apps, with some also supporting Wear OS devices. Research shows that tracking your workouts can significantly improve results. A 2018 study found that people who log their exercises are 60% more likely to reach their fitness goals compared to those who don’t track their progress.
But with Strong I can see all my previous workouts, all my previous lifts of a specific exercise, and I can easily copy/paste the workout from Strong to a TrainingPeaks comment as text for my coach to see. Others are free but come with an ongoing monthly or annual subscription. We’ve name-checked the Series 11 here, but remember that any Apple Watch that can update to the latest software (watchOS 26) will track workouts the same way. As teased by Whoop founder Will Ahmed in August 2025, a big update is coming to Strength Trainer. Called ‘Strength Trainer Trends’, Ahmed describes a tool that will enable the analysis of performance progression, total weight lifted, and personal bests over time. There’s no form tracking or repetition counting; it’s just a simple measure of exertion gleaned from assessing your cardiovascular load.
Track & Plan Workouts
However, I’ve also made sure to include plenty of options for those with no equipment at all, and those who have access to a full gym. Beginners will benefit most from apps that provide exercise guidance and structured workouts. Fitbod and StrongLifts 5×5 are excellent choices, offering detailed instructions and progressive workout plans. Like Strong and Hevy, Gymverse creates a suggested training plan for you. But where it stands out is that the app features integrated video tutorials for each exercise.
Key Features:
Many wearables promise to track a range of gym-related activities, but few can track metrics specific to those activities. A workout profile may suggest that it will track push-ups, but few will log that movement and capture reps. Many startups have valiantly attempted to become the go-to option for strength training in that time, but almost all have failed. If gym workouts, exercise classes, and functional movements are the cornerstone of your fitness routine, you’ve been woefully unsupported in the world of wearables in recent years. However, for strength workouts, Centr is an excellent option, especially as you can filter classes by the equipment you have at hand.
- There’s tons of different classes to choose from, and they are extremely motivating.
- If you live a busy life and struggle to squeeze in a workout, Hevy is great for helping you find ways to keep fit.
- It has a great workout builder though and is super easy to use once you get it set up, it’s definitely the best free app I’ve ever used.
- For instance, if you like intense, high-energy classes, then the Peloton app might suit you.
- It also connects you to friends on the app who can cheer you on or comment on your posts that get uploaded to your Strava feed after your workout.
- EvolveYouIf you’re someone who likes to mix up your workouts, alternating between cardio or weights, Pilates or HIIT, the gym, or workouts in your living room, EvolveYou is a workout app worth considering.
Factors to consider when choosing a workout app
If you like to run outdoors, for example, you’d likely want an app that offers location tracking. Similarly, when looking into a specific app, figure out whether its classes require you to have certain equipment on-hand, like dumbbells or a yoga mat. In October 2025, Peloton announced an overhaul of its bike and treadmill machines with the Cross Training series. The upgraded Bike+ now comes with a 306-degree swivel screen, better speakers, and Peloton IQ. Together, these take Peloton from being a cardio-focused training app into a multi-disciplinary workout platform to at least rival (if not outperform) any other strength https://megagrass.com/community/question-and-answer/forums/4133-general-questions/topics/2805151-mad-muscles-for-fat-loss-anyone-tried-it training app. There are hundreds of video-led workouts available already in the app (including almost 300 strength-specific workouts) with live workouts scheduled every week.
Data Linked to You
However, given that it launched only in early 2023, I expect Whoop to build on this initial platform with features such as progression recommendations, workout plans, and lifting history. Essentially, the actual ‘tracking’ element here is still fairly basic. We’ve also experienced long-standing bugs—now fixed—with features like supersets and exercise re-ordering in the iOS app.
Can you do personal training through workout apps?
Fitbod is the strength training app I’ve had in the aptly named ‘Gym’ folder on my phone for the longest. It’s specifically designed to be used in the gym (but it does have bodyweight workouts available) as the main function of the app is to design a reps-and-sets-based workout plan. A good workout tracker app combines ease of use with comprehensive tracking features. The best workout tracking apps allow quick logging of exercises, provide visual progress reports, and offer customization options to match your workout style.
Data Not Linked to You
AllTrailsIt’s not formally a workout app, but if walking is your preferred form of exercise, AllTrails is the perfect companion. You can find local routes, explore paths before you head out, and read reviews so you’re prepared for the conditions. That’s all free, and there’s the AllTrails+ subscription, which adds offline download and live navigation.