15 Must have features for Fitness App Types of Fitness Apps
If you’re looking for a top all-rounder, we recommend downloading Centr, the app developed by actor Chris Hemsworth. In line with the Garmin’s for battery life were the Amazfit Band 7 and Samsung Galaxy Fit3. Both trackers last about two weeks under normal usage, but neither has a built-in altimeter or GPS, so they draw significantly less power during activities. We appreciated the user-friendly charging cords, which both have strong magnetic connections between the cord and charging ports for easy connections, even in the dark. Since fitness trackers need to be worn to collect data, we considered the wearability of each device an important metric. To evaluate this, we scored devices on their overall size as well as how big they felt while wearing them.
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Its straightforward method of weightlifting makes JEFIT an absolute favorite among gym-goers. Physical fitness often is inextricably linked to mental well-being and Headspace provides a unique method by combining mindfulness with physical exercise. Peloton’s social-minded approach and lively classes keep customers returning to learn more.
Apple Watch
A well-calibrated tracker can provide the kind of granular data that helps you set realistic goals and improve over time. But we’ve used our intel on the market, findings from our own testing and previous reporting, plus winners from GQ Fitness Awards of the past to pad out these recommendations. Nick Harris-Fry is a journalist who has been covering health and fitness since 2015.
It offers tailored workout routines based on individual fitness levels and goals, ranging from beginner to advanced exercises. However, you get personalized coaching based on your heart rate while exercising, and you can track your calories burned, pace, distance traveled, time spent exercising, and heart rate in the app. Fitness+, Apple’s tracking app connects to your Apple watch and displays fitness data collected by the device. You can view a daily summary of your steps, time spent exercising, and time on your feet. I love the flexibility smartwatches provide, and these apps show how powerful tracking information can be on your wrist.
Advantage 2: Apple Health as Universal Hub
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. Choose apps that align with your goals, respect your privacy, and make fitness tracking feel effortless rather than burdensome. Your health data deserves both protection and purpose—select wisely, track consistently, and let technology amplify your fitness journey.

Best workout app for yoga
You can look at your stats free of charge in the brilliant Garmin Connect app, where there are also guided workouts to try, plus running and cycling training programs. During our Garmin Vivosmart 5 review, we were particularly mad muscles review impressed by the automatic sleep tracker. Every morning you get a mini sleep report including a ‘sleep score’ to help you understand how much rest you are getting. But note, it does not track naps – so if you like a snooze this could mess up your nightly sleep data. We thought this budget fitness tracker did a good job at capturing our workout stats. However, for the price of this tracker and the ease with which it seemed to capture our workout data, we were pleasantly surprised.
One-to-one coaching
We’ve tried these apps ourselves to see if they’re easy to use, fun, and worth the money you need to pay in subscription fees. However, for strength workouts, Centr is an excellent option, especially as you can filter classes by the equipment you have at hand. AllTrailsIt’s not formally a workout app, but if walking is your preferred form of exercise, AllTrails is the perfect companion.
If you’re working out at the gym or on a bike ride, the last thing you want to do is pull out your smartphone to keep painstaking track of your workout progress. Whether it’s the new Galaxy Watch 6, Pixel Watch, a fantastic Android smartwatch can be a great way to manage your activities at a glance without taking away from the experience. With these smartwatch apps, you’ll be crushing your goals quickly with better fitness and nutrition. In addition to robust fitness-tracking features, the device includes dual-band GNSS and offline maps. In my testing, the features delivered reliable navigation even in tougher terrain, reinforcing that this watch is designed for real adventuring. The most distinctive additions come in the form of a dedicated diving toolkit, including 150m water resistance and sonar-based underwater communication, something I haven’t seen on any other smartwatch.
Improve your smartwatch experience with these awesome apps
The app provides customizable meal plans with recipes to support diverse dietary preferences and goals. It also includes guided meditation sessions and wellness tips to promote mental well-being. For trainers who understand that exercise is only part of the equation, Virtuagym’s Nutrition Coaching App is a must-have. Deliver a professional, seamless experience that keeps your clients engaged and your business running smoothly. Despite being sort of built-in (only on the Nike editions of the Apple Watch), I really don’t care for this app at all. The interface is fairly sparse and I didn’t see a way to customize it.
Home Workout Apps
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. This app costs $25 a month ($135 a year) but lets you test it for free for seven days if you’re a new member. This is a good way to determine if the workouts on the app are the right fit for you and your goals. If you opt for the all-access membership, it costs $50 a month and can be used whether you own the bike, treadmill or rower.
Tracking metrics
The Vivoactive 5 also has automatic nap detection that is very successful in our testing. The Forerunner 265 tracker is our premier recommendation for athletes, passionate runners and cyclists, and triathletes. It’s also particularly great for those who venture beyond cellular coverage and charging capabilities for extended periods. This tracker is capable of providing a plethora of data, analytics, and even predictions & recommendations on all of your training activities in a user-friendly wrist-based device. The Forerunner 265 is our top recommendation for athletes looking to up their performance monitoring capabilities. The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is the best overall fitness tracker that we recommend to most people.
Native Health Platforms
It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to lose weight, or if you’re simply trying to up your deadlift at the gym – there’s probably an app out there to get you there. In fact, there are probably a whole lot of apps that want to help you accomplish your goal – too many, even. While this might seem like a great problem to have, building up the motivation to finally hit the gym (or simply get outside and start running) is difficult enough on its own. Toss in an app that slows you down, or frustrates you, and you’re essentially dooming yourself to the couch forever.
- Suitable for all fitness levels, the Nike Training Club app provides expert guidance from Nike trainers and integrates seamlessly with other Nike apps.
- Keeping you phone out of the sweaty splash zone, all exercise tutorials, graphics and rep counts are moved to your smartwatch, guiding you through everything from crunches and twists.
- Fitness apps with built-in messaging systems let you stay connected with clients effortlessly.
- The Forerunner 265 is our top recommendation for athletes looking to up their performance monitoring capabilities.
- Our lifestyle tracking metric evaluated all of the tracking that should occur in the background of everyday life.
- In addition, the app can keep track of body fat and skeletal muscle mass.
Key Features Trainers Should Look For in Fitness Apps
The full membership, Les Mills+ premium, gives you access to all classes and starts at $9.99 per month. As a BodyPump fan, I would watch the classes on my TV, and send my heart rate soaring without leaving my living room. These classes do require you to have a decent amount of equipment at home, however. I don’t have an exercise bar, but I used a set of the best adjustable dumbbells and still got a great workout.
It requires a $1.99 in-app purchase (3-month subscription), but if you are like me and have 7+ years of workouts in one ecosystem, that is a small price to pay. It allows you to generate .FIT files (common workout file format) from Apple Watch workouts. One of the reasons I think Workouts++ is the best standalone run tracker is that it’s not trying to be a running ecosystem.
Automatic workout detection does exist on this smartwatch, but it is not always 100% accurate. For outdoor exercisers, this watch features offline maps, an altimeter, compass and the all-important built-in GPS — although bear in mind this is single-band and so isn’t fantastic but sufficient. Tracking accuracy was generally OK, with heart rate measurement performing well even at the higher levels. Accuracy was around where we’d expect it to be for the bracket this watch sits within, although those looking for incredible accuracy may want to look elsewhere. Virtuagym’s Fitness Coaching App is an exceptional app for fitness trainers, offering a comprehensive platform to manage and scale your business. It allows you to create a custom workout and nutrition plans tailored to each client’s needs while tracking their progress in real time.
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