When it comes to fitness and workout, not many people can find the time or the resources to walk into a gym every day. Though it is essential to consult a professional trainer, keeping up with the daily fitness routine becomes increasingly difficult over time. Whether you want to get six-pack abs or lose your weight, you need a coach or trainer who can guide you appropriately.
What if your smart phone could become a professional fitness and bodybuilding instructor? As smart phones get better, fitness apps have become more versatile as well. In fact, whether you are looking for a simple running exercise or strength training, your smart phone can become your most trusted workout partner.
However, choosing the right app can be a daunting process as app stores are overflowing with fitness and workout apps. So, we went through dozens of apps and came up with the list of only the best ones for you. Here is a list of the best fitness and workout apps.
Fitness & Bodybuilding
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: $2.99 per download
Fitness & Bodybuilding is one of the most professional bodybuilding apps out there. The app provides detailed videos of workouts for each muscle group. You can save and track data such as weight gain or loss and the number of repetitions performed for each set of exercise.
Though you can’t watch the workout videos offline, you can download them from the home screen. It comes with built-in timer and calendar. So, you can create customized workout plans. Alternatively, you can also choose from pre-set workout plans for two, three or four days per week. With this app on your smartphone, you don’t have to consult expensive trainers.
JEFIT
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: Free
JEFIT app comes with over 1300 unique exercises with descriptions and animations. You can either choose from pre-set workout programs or create a customized workout schedule as per your needs. As the app keeps track of your previous workouts, repetitions, and weight gain or loss, it becomes easier to identify your weak spots.
The best part is you can connect with the JEFIT community and share your progress with the members. You can also share your workout photos, videos with the community members. The app is available on both, Android and iOS platforms. However, it also has a website where you can save your workout data and track your progress.
BodySpace
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: Free
Developed by Bodybuilding, one of the most popular health and fitness websites on the planet, this app is a complete fitness and workout package. The biggest advantage of using this app is that you can get fitness advice from qualified doctors, nutritionists, athletes, and trainers.
BodySpace works like a social media platform such as Facebook or Instagram where you can directly connect with thousands of like-minded people. Instead of using pre-programmed workouts, you can customize a daily exercise routine based on weight, gender, age and even muscle groups.
Sworkit
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: Free
If you can’t afford to spend a couple of hours in the gym every day, this app is the best workout partner for you. The unique no-gym approach of the app offers you more than 160 pre-set exercises that you can do from the convenience of your home.
In fact, its holistic fitness approach focuses on creating targeted workout routines without any equipment. Plus, you get to design customized workout routines as per your fitness goals. Sworkit makes sure that each workout is different so that you don’t get bored with your daily exercises.
C25K
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: Free
C25K is an acronym for Couch to 5K. In other words, it is a fitness app that transforms couch potatoes into 5k runners. Over five million people have already lost weight and finished their first 5k runs with this app. It tracks your distance, pace, and calories accurately.
You can listen to music when running as the app integrates with your Music app, Pandora, and Spotify. There is no need to toggle between apps as you can control the music from the workout screen. If you enable the social media platform integration feature, the app automatically shares your workout progress with friends. C25K currently integrates with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Pocket Yoga
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: $2.99 per download
Pocket Yoga is one of the most flexible yoga apps. It lets you learn and practice different yoga positions at your pace and time. As the apps don’t require data connection, you can practice yoga almost anytime, anywhere.
It comprises more than 200 images with correct postures and alignments. The detailed audio-visual instructions make it easier to practice every pose including inhalation and exhalation steps. You can save your workout progress for future reference.
Strava Running and Cycling
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: Free
This app is the complete package for running and cycling exercises. It focuses on the social aspect of running and cycling, distinguishing itself from its competitors. Strava lets you connect and compete with yourself, your friends, and other Strava users in your area.
You can keep track of your achievements and challenges on the built-in leader board. The app developers have recently added a new real-time safety feature called Beacon. With the help of this feature, runners and cyclists can share their whereabouts with select contacts. These contacts can locate the runners and cyclists in case of emergency.
30 Day Fitness Challenge
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: Free
The 30 Day Fitness Challenge app comprises more than 25 workout challenges. They are 30-day programs for various muscle groups such as abs, arms, thighs, and full-body workouts supported by video and animation tutorials. As time progresses, each challenge becomes more strenuous than the previous one, pushing you to your limits.
If you are looking for a motivating workout app, 30 Day Fitness Challenge is the best option. You can sync this app with Google Fit to keep track of your weight loss and burned calories.
Endomondo
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: Free
One more fitness app in our list, Endomondo keeps track of your running and cycling exercises. However, this app does a lot more than just calculate the workout timing and calories burned. You can also record pep talks for your friends and vice versa in real-time from the news feed and comment on their workouts. The built-in audio coach will motivate you through every step of your workout. The app will also track your heart rate.
Apart from running, walking, and cycling, you can indulge in more than 40 other sports using this app. You can record every step of your workout progress for future reference. You can also customize the main screen to show the most significant information.
Nike+ Training Club
Platform: Android and iOS
Price: Free
This fitness app from the global sportswear brand comes with more than 100 preset workouts. Each workout has three difficulty levels focusing on smarter personal training by professional athletes. You can create a customized 4-week program as per your fitness goal. You need to choose the difficulty level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced exerciser) and the app will generate a fitness plan. You can share your workout photos the Nike+ community.
The app can stream your workouts on a TV or tablet using Chromecast or HDMI cable. You can also listen to music from your phone library during the workout. Nike+ Training Club app offers a great alternative to those who don’t have time to get to the gym and want to sneak a quick workout into their busy schedule.
Conclusion
If you want to carry your personal trainer around in your pocket, downloading a fitness and workout app is the easiest way to do it. However, with hundreds of such apps competing for your attention, choosing the one that fits your requirement is a rather laborious task. The above list of the best fitness and workout apps will certainly narrow your search down. You can try all of them and find out which one suits you the best.
Author Bio:
Swati Kapoor is a qualified dietitian at Practo. She has a Masters degree in Dietetics and Food Service Management. She is a strong believer in spreading the goodness of ‘nutrition through healthy eating’. As a responsible dietitian Swati examines her patients’ health history carefully before recommending any diet or workout regimen, because everybody has different requirements.
