The Best Fitness Apps 2022: Top 10
Where do you prefer to work out? At a gym? Outdoors? At home? No matter what you answer, you’ll always benefit from a good app. It will show you how to do any exercise, allow you to make a custom workout, or offer you one of hundreds it has already. If you work with a coach, they may also instruct you on how to use apps; if not, you’ll find a virtual one. Anyway, a fitness app is a great motivator. In addition, using even quite an expensive app is still more affordable than frequenting a gym.
But which app should you choose? There are dozens of them, and while some seem to copy each other blatantly, others have their unique features, like a built-in nutrition assistant, a focus on yoga po powerlifting, or musical abilities. There is no undisputed champion (how would you compare Salah, Świątek, Carlsen, and Rousey?), but there are ones that deserve your respect.
How We Choose
And now a couple of words on how we do the choosing.
- We only chose the apps that are available for both Android and iOS. Ones native to their platforms (like Apple Fitness+ or Google Fit) are left out, and so are third-party projects for just one OS.
NB: some of them have versions for Apple TV, but on Android TV, many of them will just display the phone version.
- We’re all about fitness, so pure nutrition managers or pedometers, important as they are, also remain out of question.
- No companion apps to wearables. No matter if you use the original Apple or Pixel Watch, lean and mean Fitbit, shiny Samsung, aristocratic Garmin, or affordable Xiaomi. The apps we review are brand-blind: they work with anything supported.
The Top 10 Fitness Apps
Now, three, two, one, go.
Gymshark
What’s so great about Gymshark is that the app lets you choose your workouts by any parameter. You’ve got little time? Choose by duration. Want to work on certain muscles? Choose the group. Got certain pieces of equipment? Find what you’re up for with these. It offers both time- and rep-based workouts.
It has hundreds of free exercises and workouts recorded by famous athletes and coaches. And no subscription is required! In fact, Gymshark operates as a sportswear seller, so you can buy yourself clothes and equipment right from the app.
What’s to love:
- Completely free
- Greatly recorded workout
What’s not:
- No comprehensive workout filter
FitOn
This app is not for weightlifters: it’s focused on yoga, cardio exercises, and Pilates. It’s not meant for record breakers, rather for those who use workouts to both keep in shape physically and mentally. There are strength apps, but as a bonus; mostly it’s about light workouts (that still break quite a sweat out of you).
It does have an advanced search filter, a huge selection of workouts recorded by different coaches, and even an Apple TV app. What else it does have is a subscription plan, which is not the most affordable, and without it FitOn isn’t worth much.
What’s to love:
- Extremely rich in workouts
- Greatly filmed sessions
What’s not:
- Fully unfolds with subscription only
Freeletics
It’s the most popular fitness app in Europe, and for a reason. Rich in workouts for strength, cardio, and motivation, this one is AI-assisted: as it tracks how you perform (with a little help from you), it creates workouts for you, just like Spotify generates playlists.
Without subscription, though, you’ll hardly see what’s so great. Luckily, a 14-day trial is provided, so you can start tracking your progress and see whether the team of an AI coach and dozens of protein ones do the trick for you.
What’s to love:
- AI-assisted personal coaching
- Affordable subscription
What’s not:
- The free version is a nuisance
BetterMe: Health Coaching
This claims to be the definitive well-being app, and for a reason. There’s more than just fitness: this app has a nutrition manager, a progress tracker, and even a tip manager using cognitive therapy. With this app, you can adjust your workout schedule and your nutrition tracking to your lifestyle. It has lots of workouts, from yoga and cardio to strength exercises. The all-in-one approach, though, has pros and cons, the latter being too many features to master at once.
What’s to love:
- The most functional app
- Meal plans along with those for workouts
What’s not:
- The app is a bit overloaded
Adidas Running/Training
This app duo caters to both running fans and those who prefer gyms or home workouts. Instead of making an all-in-one monster, Adidas made two separate apps for various activities that can, though, sync through Apple Health or Google Fit if you use both. Adidas Training has an Apple TV companion app which helps you watch it while working out. The most unusual, though, is its references to pop culture, like the recent Wakanda-themed update. Who said only Fortnite can?
What’s to love:
- Frequent updates
- Two apps for different activities well syncing
What’s not:
- Two apps instead of one? Hmmm.
Nike Training Club
Nike couldn’t miss this competition and comes up with its own app that focuses on home workouts. The range, though, is wide: from yoga to weight exercises, with lots of videos by world-class coaches. It also features livestreams that often bring lots of useful information. With it, you can build a schedule, plan your week, and focus on certain body parts you need to get into shape. Finally, it has a wellbeing section that has hundreds of tips, from healthy recipes to psychological guidance.
What’s to love:
- Completely free
- Comes with a well-being guidance
What’s not:
- Not meant for gyms or outdoor workouts
Sworkit
Again, it’s an app for home workouts. Sworkit has everything you may need: workouts with any equipment or without it, customizable workout plans, and guided videos. One of the best features of Sworkit is one-on-one chats with coaches – in fact, your personal trainer within the app. There is an Apple TV version, so you can watch the video guides on your big TV. This highly acclaimed app is just as popular in America as Freeletics is in Europe. And all this richness comes at quite a low price.
What’s to love:
- Incredible content quality
- Deep customization (up-to-text formatting in notes)
What’s not:
- Meant mostly for indoor workouts
Jefit Workout Plan & Gym Log Tracker
This one is for weightlifters. This is the app you take with you to a gym and use it together with your coach, so it’s focusing on making and following routines. Along with workout-guided videos, it has tons of theoretical information about how your muscles work and grow and how to keep them in shape. It has prebuilt and custom plans, and, unlike other ones, it’s good at tracking your progress.
What’s to love:
- Deep approach
- Advanced logging and planning tools
What’s not:
- It’s mostly a gym companion
Seven - 7 Minute Workout (by Perigee)
There are many apps with similar names, given how popular are seven-minute workouts among constantly busy audience. We chose the one by Perigee, mostly because of its high ratings. Its routines are short and require little to no experience and equipment. Still it offers hundreds of exercises organized in short workouts you can do while taking a break. Its artistic approach results in artistic coaches that take roles of Cheerleader or Drill Sergeant, making your workout a bit of LARP.
What’s to love:
- No equipment needed
- Artistic approach
What’s not:
- As you grow, you’ll need something bigger
FitCoach: Fitness Coach & Diet
It’s never too late to begin: that’s the motto. FitCoach is an app tailored to make it easier for beginners to start living more actively. It’s not catering to professional athletes’ needs but focuses on more mundane aims like losing weight, gaining new healthy habits, and finding time to care about yourself. You can choose the best workouts for your age and shape and create your personalized plan that fits into your schedule, with quality videos and reminders.
What’s to love:
- Great for beginners
- High personalization level
What’s not:
- The subscription is quite expensive
The Cool-Down
Of course, there are other great fitness apps for any purpose you might imagine. After the lockdown years started, fitness apps became much more popular, and more and more people discover how great it is to work out independently at home. We hope you will also benefit from using such an app which will both motivate and guide you.
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