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The 12 Best Free Workout Apps Tested by Experts 2026

The app gamifies your workouts, pitting you against yourself, your friends, and fellow Zwift users in races, group rides, and targeted workouts. Pliability isn’t just an app—you can also stream its content on your computer—but iPhone users can access all of the content natively on their device. If you want more than just workouts, the Alo Moves app has a plethora of mindfulness and wellness classes, from breathwork and meditation to Reiki and nutrition.

Best for Yoga – Yoga-Go

We’ll kick things off with floor-slide pull-ups, building directly from towel rows—lying face-down, you’ll mimic the pull-up movement, engaging your upper back muscles and improving your pulling strength. Next, the squat hold will challenge your leg strength and endurance by maintaining a controlled, deep squat position, progressing from previous squatting exercises. Here is the third workout of the week, building naturally on the exercises we’ve done previously. You can engage with other Ladder users to help spur you on to greater PRs and loftier goals without trying to make awkward small talk at your gym. Fortunately, many of these sessions are now available for free in the Nike Training Club app. That’s why we put each app to the test before including it in our guide.

I appreciate having video tutorials, too; they help me understand exercises better and guarantee I’m using the right technique to avoid injuries. Plus, I enjoy the variety of formats, whether it’s bodyweight exercises or equipment-based routines. Regular updates with new workouts keep my motivation high and prevent workout monotony, helping me stay committed to my fitness goals. Choosing a fitness app for guided workouts can feel overwhelming, especially with so many options available.

Core and pelvic floor exercise programs that fit your life

Furthermore, some apps reward badges for hitting new personal records which, just like a follow on social media, can feel very rewarding. “I think the social network-esque aspect of it is what really differentiates it from other free cycling GPS apps,” our tester and long-time Strava user Amanda Capritto says. “You can follow people on Strava just like on Instagram or Twitter.” Along with that, Strava encourages group challenges and interaction  with other athletes through clubs.

KIC Wellness: Movement, mindset, rituals.

Most programs (BetterMe, Pvolve, Obé, Daily Burn) offer plenty of bodyweight or minimal-equipment workouts. BetterMe, SHRED, and Simple use AI for personalized plans, which users find more motivating and effective (The Sun, 2025). Ladder pairs you with a certified coach for strength-focused programming, featuring daily routines and expert feedback. Your program adapts to your environment, whether you’re at a fully equipped gym or training at home.

Best for Longevity – Strength Well

After her first daughter was born six years ago, she became especially passionate about prenatal and postnatal fitness, teaching stroller bootcamp classes and working with expecting moms as clients. Post-journalism school, Nicole worked in print media as a magazine editor for eight years, then went freelance for a while, writing for fitness websites and manufacturers in the industry. Now, as director of content at GGR, she brings her expertise in fitness to writing and editing honest reviews on everything you might need for your home gym. The best online workout programs of 2025 deliver more customization, variety, and expert coaching than ever before. Whether you’re a beginner or an athlete, there’s a program that fits your needs, budget, and lifestyle. When I’m choosing a fitness app for guided workouts, I always consider a few key factors.

Best Free Workout App for Gym-Goers: Jefit

AI-powered virtual trainer providing customized workouts with real-time adaptive coaching and comprehensive progress tracking. The app introduces the concept of “strengthspan” – your overall strength capability for long-term health and longevity. Using 9 carefully selected exercises, Strength Well provides personalized strength scores and targeted recommendations to build functional strength that matters for everyday life, not just the gym. Fitbod also integrates seamlessly with Apple Health, allowing you to track your workouts alongside other health metrics.

  • “After my first workout I felt inspired and genuinely excited to continue working out. She is always my biggest cheerleader and so encouraging and for the first time in my life I thoroughly enjoy working out.”
  • 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 ensures you’re always progressing optimally without the guesswork that plagues most gym-goers.
  • Whether you’re aiming to lose weight, gain muscle, improve flexibility, or train for a specific event, choose an app that specializes in the type of workouts and progress tracking aligned with your objectives.
  • In addition to the built-in music player, the app also allows you to listen to audio cheers sent by friends, as well as encouragement from Nike’s pro athletes.
  • Zing Coach automatically adjusts workouts based on your estimated fatigue and overall activity.

Best workout app for meal plans

Well-known for P90X, Insanity, and 21-Day Fix, BODi now adds new workouts and nutrition support. Full Set – This complete fitness deck includes 50 different exercise cards that you can mix and match… Signature blends advanced strength techniques, anaerobic power, and endurance challenges to push your limits. SHRED’s AI suggests weight, rest, and tempo each week—adapting as you get stronger, faster, or leaner. She’s been covering all things shopping and tech, including shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, for Mashable since 2019.

MTNTOUGH is tailor-made for hunters and outdoor enthusiasts to help them get the most from the days they spend in the backcountry. It features a variety of programs spread across seven exciting categories, including Backcountry Hunter Training, Military & LEO Application Training, and Minimal Equipment Training. Our team of Men’s Health fitness editors, including certified trainers and former athletes, have tried every new app that’s entered the market over the past several years. That’s on top of our expansive experience with digital fitness since it became a “thing.” We also consulted our large network of experts, including our Men’s Health Advisory Board, to share their insights. In LES MILLS+ workouts, you’ll find motivating coaches and good pump-up music, just as if you had gone to your local studio.

workout apps with guided workouts

Best Workout Apps Video Review

For complete beginners with no equipment, Daily Burn offers the most structured on-ramp via its True Beginner program and Daily Burn 365 live classes. The average gym membership in the U.S. costs $720 per year ($60/month) — and the average gym member visits twice per month. For a beginner who follows a streaming program 4 days per week, the cost per workout works out to about $1.15 — significantly lower than the gym’s per-visit cost (~$7.50 for the average member).

workout apps with guided workouts

Daily Burn — Best Overall for Beginners

Finally, we’ll finish with elevated glute bridges, intensifying glute and lower-back activation to further develop your strength and stability. Lastly, we’ll introduce Superman raises, strengthening your lower back and glutes, helping balance out your core training and improve posture. We’re also stepping up your core game with elbow side planks, progressing from knee side planks to fully engage your obliques and improve overall core stability. Next, we’ll introduce reverse lunges, stepping back into the lunge to further challenge your stability and lower-body strength. We’ll start with WTY raises to activate your upper back and shoulders, improving your posture and shoulder health—take it slow home fitness solutions and controlled, emphasizing good form. After mastering the knee plank, we’re now introducing the knee side plank to further engage your core muscles, especially those on the sides, enhancing stability from another angle.

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According to our tester, the videos are “amazing and super easy to follow,” and fresh workouts are added every day. It’s truly a fantastic resource for anyone looking to elevate their training ecosystem. “I like hypertrophy training by body part, so I have Shred suggest daily workouts—upper body, lower body, full body, or abs,” Schlinger explains. “If I did upper body yesterday, I can choose a ‘custom’ workout and pick a different body part, and it creates a new session. Each exercise shows full instructions and videos.” Metric VBT is so unique that it made its way into the WH 2025 Fitness Awards, so naturally, it deserves a shout-out here, too. It also shows the bar path so that you can address any technical issues.

Also, the app can allow you to train wherever—either at-home workouts or while traveling—cutting down on commutes to a commercial gym. The free app will analyze basic workout stats, but for a deeper dive into statistics, the premium subscription is needed. Also, GPS apps like Strava aren’t incredibly private and can reveal a lot about your location and other information. This may be something to consider before jumping into an app like this. You can read all of our thoughts on this app in our Strava fitness app review. You filter out the workouts by the equipment you have as well as skills.

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