5 fitness apps that can help you build muscle in the gym in 2026 – Sama Al-Naser

The 9 best fitness apps

سما النصر — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:13:48 +0000

According to many online reviews, the Mi Fit app, the corresponding app to Mi Band, has many glitches and syncing problems. Many viewers explained that they had trouble with receiving accurate results on sleeping, distance and time measurements, as well as the app staying connected to Bluetooth during workouts. If you’re already dedicated to using Apple products—Macbooks, iPhones, or iPads—the Apple Watch is a convenient add-on. It easily syncs with the iPhone and Macbooks, enabling auto-login when within a few inches of either device, message and call alerts, as well as other notifications on your iPhone. You can also sync workout goals with other users and initiate friendly competition within the Apple Watch community. What stood out to us is the Emergency Alert, a fall-detection sensor that will auto-call 911 if no motion is detected.

Best AI Workout App: Fitbod

8fit is a fitness app that combines personalized workout plans with customized meal planning to help users achieve their health goals. Testers also loved the energizing, motivating workouts for all levels, as well as the wellness series focused on sleep, nutrition, and self-care. Many classes are filmed in stunning locations and led by instructors like Emily Sferra, Anabella Landa, and Bianca Wise, who keep sessions interesting and never boring. “The instructor, Bianca, was beautiful, the setting amazing, music perfect. I’m absolutely hooked on her workouts,” a tester commented. Some workouts require equipment like a Pilates ball, resistance bands, or hand weights, but bodyweight-only options are easy to find. The monthly price is incredibly reasonable for all the content it delivers.

Best personal trainer-led fitness app

Just keep in mind that although the instructors provide modifications, true beginners may find most of these workouts too challenging. Our new top pick for 2025, Zing Coach is an AI-powered app packed with tools and a chatbot that’s ideal for any workout type. Find local and online events— Connect with your community, get wellness tips, or volunteer.

Flo Cycle & Period Tracker

In order to move on to new workouts and learn different exercises, you have to complete your previous workouts. Our tester appreciated this, as the app pushes you to master your current workout before moving on. IFIT’s cheaper tier is more affordable than the average workout app, but the app’s self-guided nature might not be a fit for everyone’s training style. It has a nutrition function where you can track calories or gather healthy meal ideas. It doesn’t get better than this, except for being with an in-person trainer.

Even simple features like the activity ring is a customizable animal that celebrates reaching the daily goal with a variety of animations. The third-generation OnePlus Watch features a classy design, standout battery life, and useful safety and wellness features, including AI-powered health insights, fall detection, and wrist temperature sensing. In our testing, it lasted an impressive 98 hours on a charge with its always-on AMOLED display enabled, outperforming its Wear OS and watchOS peers. The OnePlus Watch 3 achieves its impressive battery life by utilizing two distinct operating systems to conserve power. The Apple Watch Series 11 offers a comprehensive suite of lifestyle, fitness, health, and safety tools, along with the best third-party app selection of any smartwatch. It features a harder, more scratch-resistant screen and longer battery life than its predecessor, while adding 5G connectivity for faster downloads when you’re separated from your phone.

How to choose the best fitness app for you

Nike Training Club is free to join, which is ideal if you’re already paying for a gym membership but want the guidance and support of classes, or if you don’t have room in your budget for an additional expense. You can choose from nearly any type of workout, and the app has informational videos about mindset, movement, nutrition, recovery and sleep. It offers a variety of training programs, including strength, cardio, and yoga, suitable for all fitness levels. Burpee Be Stronger is a fitness and exercise app that helps you stay active using just your body.

Best for Android users

Strava’s detailed analytics help users track performance and set new goals. The app features energetic instructors and a vibrant community, enhancing motivation and engagement. The beauty of Virtuagym lies in its ability to connect fitness and nutrition seamlessly. The app also supports wearables and smart devices, syncing data to give you a complete picture of your client’s habits. Proper nutrition is essential for client success, and this app makes coaching in this area as seamless as possible.

7 Minute Workout

Virtuagym Coach enables you to monitor progress metrics like weight, calorie burn, and performance improvements, ensuring your clients stay on track and feel accomplished.
Most offer large on-demand libraries of guided classes with knowledgeable instructors, as well as customized workouts and programs based on your goals and current fitness level.
Fitness trackers also use GPS signals for distance and, when prompted, display specific exercise modes you can choose from for better accuracy.
You can deviate from the workout plan given by BetterMe, though, as there is an entire workout library.
The app is user-friendly; it contains a live coaching feature as well as a large social community to help keep users motivated.
Equipment is needed for most workouts, but Amanda says you can filter your search for workouts by the type of gym equipment needed.

The app’s focus on a variety of formats helps appeal to all fitness levels, though some workouts may lack continuity for consistent progression. It stands out by enabling users to have honest conversations with AI versions of these legendary athletes for guidance, motivation, and personalized adjustments to workout madmuscles strength training app plans. The app offers a blend of at-home and gym workouts, so you can get your training in no matter where you find yourself.

Top 10 Best Workout Apps for 2026

You can definitely fire up a class on your phone or iPad at the gym, but using Peloton’s actual hardware makes things easier. Our top pick is the Garmin Vivoactive 6 ($300), which works well with Android and iOS, but we also recently tried blood panels with the Oura Ring ($349) and the Whoop MG ($359 with annual subscription). Don’t forget to check out our other fitness and health guides, like the Best Smartwatches, Best Smart Rings, Best Sleep Trackers, and Best Heart Rate Monitors. If you don’t feel the need for an online support system, there are still ways to stay on top of your workouts. Some apps will add calendar reminders or push notifications to help remind you of your workout schedule for the week. We also made the distinction that free apps mean that there is a free version of the app available—not just a free trial.

Smart Scales

Alo Moves focuses on yoga, pilates, and barre, boasting over 3,000 tailored programs across different skill levels. It offers a simple, intuitive setup with customized class recommendations based on a user quiz. Instructors provide clear, detailed guidance suited to both beginners and advanced practitioners. The app’s niche focus is on flexibility and skill development, though it lacks accountability features such as reminders or community engagement. ClassPass blends access to local fitness classes with hundreds of free trainer-led workout videos covering strength, HIIT, Pilates, and yoga. Users can buy monthly credits for local class attendance or enjoy on-demand content without a subscription.

Best for Personal Training

Instead, for the devices we couldn’t obtain, our team read through and took notes from dozens of customer reviews, complaints, and concerns of each product. Our sources include community forums, social media posts, app store comments, company website reviews, tech product review websites, and our peers. It may offer Bluetooth syncing, but does the customer experience glitches? One company may have a lenient return policy and guaranteed refund, while another may have more strict policies. Fossil smartwatches, generally made of stainless steel, are known for their elegant, classy look. For users going for a more relaxed look or planning to wear the watch during athletic activities, the “Sport” version is made of silicone and caters to more casual and workout attire.

The Best Fitness Apps, According to Personal Trainers

سما النصر — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 06:58:28 +0000

Luckily, there are plenty of free workout apps for both Android and Apple. FitOn also comes with a live leaderboard, allowing you to compete with friends and other users of this app. It is incredibly easy to track the workout progress and monitor real-real-time heart with Apple Watch and Apple Health. You’re also welcome to join the online community, where there are further workout data analysis and friendly challenges between the app users — to push your limits. There’s a complete entry for treadmill, spinning, as well as weightlifting exercises. Users can create their own training plan, depending on their schedules and the muscle groups they want to target.

Are there fitness trackers for seniors?

You can also reserve a class, from Aqua to Yoga, from Cycle to Zumba, from HIIT to Les Mills, from Silver Sneakers to Pilates, and much more. You can view reservations for upcoming classes, personal training sessions and even a custom coaching session. The Gymshark app brings a community of active people together through a vast library of workout and training videos to inspire you to get moving. Gymshark also provides workout plans that you can choose based on your training goals that can be done from the gym or even at home. Here are our top 12 picks for the best fitness apps for metabolic health, customizable workouts, activity tracking, and more. The fitness tracking apps that you are choosing should be based on strong analytics to provide actionable insights that improve your workout and health.

If you click on a run, you’ll be able to see your time, distance, and calories, as well as more in-depth data on your pace, speed, timing, heart rate, stamina, and more. Compared to Fitbit and Apple, Garmin Connect gives you a huge amount of data, without asking you to pay an additional monthly fee. Peloton offers a month’s free trial for their app, which is a fantastic amount of time to really test its different features (there are cycling and strength training workouts on there too).

Then, it’ll use AI to track your progress and suggest new weights as you improve your strength.
Exercise libraries should be comprehensive but not overwhelming.
You also get calendar features, the ability to create custom exercise routines, and cloud storage options for backup and restore.
Still, the amount of workouts you get with this app may still be worth it.
However, it’s worth noting that you can’t download videos for offline viewing.
Cyclists can record routes or activity on Strava feed, where friends and followers share their progress to encourage each other.

Factors to consider when choosing a workout app

It logs workouts, sets, reps, and weights to monitor the progress. Strava (available on Android, iOS, and the web) offers access to over 30 types of sports, making it perfect for those who love to cycle, hike, golf, rock climb, run, snowboard, or swim. With Strava, you compete against yourself or others who have run, biked, or swum the same segments you have. The app uses the GPS from your phone or a connected device, such as a running watch or fitness tracker, to track your location and speed. Newer features allow you to predict your finish time, compare it with previous efforts, receive custom routes, and add points of interest.

Depending on which watch you buy, you’ll also be able to use the app to access Garmin’s advanced training metrics. Under the Performance Stats tab of the Garmin Connect app you can see your Training Status, VO2 Max, Race Predictor, and Training Readiness Score, amongst others. Relatively new to the running app market, Stride allows you to track your runs and walks via your phone’s GPS and play against other users nearby to control the biggest territory. You can play with neighbours or friends for champion status, and you’ll get rewarded for determination over speed.

Apple Watch Ultra 3

This entirely FREE fitness app is the best for versatile workouts that will easily become your new routine. When it came time to do my first AI-generated workout, the experience continued to shine. PUSH made it intuitive to start a workout and to follow along as the app pushed me through the program it had created for me. It even cued me when it was time to take a break between sets.

Best overall workout app

It includes three weekly home workouts that can be done in 15 to 20 minutes with no equipment. There are many fitness apps on the market, from simple activity trackers to comprehensive exercise programs that plan and let you log every workout. Some apps appeal to cardio fiends; others cater to /best-fitness-apps-that-work-with-apple-watch/ weight lifters. And some incorporate other components of fitness and wellness, such as mindfulness, nutrition, sleep, and recovery. Before we delve into the specific apps, let’s talk about why these digital tools can be a game-changer for those looking to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

Best Free Fitness Apps

If you’re on a family plan, you can share access to Apple Fitness Plus with up to five family members. Level up your game and your motivation with access to premium amenities and exciting GX24®studio classes – at any location throughout your region. The system has a nifty graph of your weight, telling you how you’ve done over time. It’s simple but requires a bit of user input to get the best use out of it.

Garmin Connect

The app is free, with an optional $5.99 donation version to support development. Our Body Electric, Inc. has developed a fitness tracking app for Android and iOS named. This fitness software provides on-demand workout sessions. There are over 10,000 on-demand exercises and more than 20 live training sessions offered every day.

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The app displays pace and distance results in an easy-to-read graph so a person can track their performance. One of Apple Health’s standout features is its ability to store medical ID details and emergency contact information, which can prove vital in emergencies. More so, it encourages mindfulness by reminding users to take breaks and breathe. The best part of this app is that it’s free and provides access to numerous resources, whether you’re a beginner or more advanced.

Best fitness watch for athletes & water sports lovers

The starting price for an Apple Watch is $400, which can be expensive for someone just looking for a simple fitness tracker. Also, the battery life is said to last up to 18 hours, which is shorter in comparison to other fitness trackers and hybrid smartwatch brands that cost much less. For strength training focused on progressive overload, Setgraph provides the fastest, most intuitive tracking experience.

It’s enjoyable, low-impact, and perfect for socializing with friends or tuning into a podcast while you go solo. Caliber starts at $200.00 a month with multiple options to upgrade and better suit your needs. While another found it very “user-friendly” and found her coach to be “responsive, encouraging, relatable and fun.” You won’t find that kind of customer service through cheaper AI platforms. I’ve been writing and editing technology articles for more than seven years, most recently as part of PCMag’s software team.

Depending on your preference, you can get a fitness tracker that shows your stats and data, such as steps, heart rate, and calories burned, on its screen in real-time. If you’re looking for a fitness wearable with smart features, such as phone calls and message alerts, these more than likely need to be synced with your smartphone. For this reason, you should analyze your fitness goals first.

Frequently asked questions about workout apps

Your entire health ecosystem works together, giving you a complete picture without manual data entry. Daily Yoga is used by over 60 million yogis worldwide, and in just two weeks, the app claims to make a significant difference in your yoga journey. Furthermore, it offers an intense exercise method that not only stretches your body but also enhances your overall well-being. As a result, it goes far beyond meditation, providing a holistic experience that nurtures both your mind and body.

Popular routes are divided into segments, and you can see how your time compares to other athletes. This gamification element keeps cardio training engaging. We also examined privacy policies to understand how each app handles your workout data. Some apps sell anonymized data to third parties, while others keep everything private. Along the way, he’s tested hundreds of supplements and built a deep well of supplement knowledge. His work has appeared in Muscle & Strength, Testosterone Junkie, The Sport Review, and more.