Home fitness has been around for decades, but it has taken a new, much more crucial role during the pandemic. More and more people are turning to home workouts to help them stay healthy and avoid putting on extra pounds. With Christmas just around the corner, we’ve rounded up the best mobile apps to help you get in better shape at home and keep you healthy this holiday season and beyond.
1. 30 Day Fitness Challenge
Price: Free / $59.99 per year
30 Day Fitness Challenge (Android | iOS) is a great app for those who were never fitness freaks before but would like to start being more active. You don’t need to make a profile to begin using the app. Just select a specialized workout routine targeting the full body, abs, arms and more.
The app provides you with 30 days of workouts ranging from easy to hard. As you continue using 30 Day Fitness Challenge, the routines get progressively harder as new exercises are added to the roster.
Don’t worry if you never did any of these exercises before – there’s an animated coach (in the free version) who shows you how to do the exercise and provides helpful suggestions. The app gives you a 30-second break between exercises (that you can skip), which fitness noobs will no doubt appreciate.
The Premium option unlocks professional coaching videos with real trainers, personalized workout plans, and additional workouts. It removes ads as well.
2. Nike Training Club
Price: Free (during the pandemic)
This free, no-strings-attached app from the world’s foremost maker of all things sporty is, as you’d expect, one of the most polished and detailed mobile fitness platforms around. Nike Training Club (Android | iOS) all about body-weight workouts, ranging from yoga to conditioning to raw power.
To begin, enter your details and what you want to achieve into the app. Based on that, you’ll get drills and workouts tailored to you. It also features celebrities showing you their favorite workouts in the hopes of inspiring you.
3. Adidas Training
Price: Free / starting at $9.99 per month
The Adidas app (Android | iOS) for home workouts is built similarly to other competing apps. It asks you a series of questions when you first sign up, then creates workouts especially tailored for you. You’re shown what to do through videos and audio narration, so if you’re pretty new to working out, you won’t have a problem getting the gist. Unlike other apps, however, there’s plenty of free content to take advantage of here.
There is a large variety of workouts to choose from, and each one is thematic. For instance: “Feel-good stretching” and “Fired up core workout.” The app also lets you create your own personalized workouts by allowing you to target a specific body part, choose the difficulty level and equipment involved, and the amount of time you’re willing to invest in it.
Obviously, the app shows your progress over weeks, months and years, and you can even sign up for various plans, such as “Toned Abs in 6 weeks.” Mind you, not all of these are free, so you’ll have to upgrade to Premium to unlock some of them. In addition, the subscription will also offer access to additional features, such as a health & nutrition guide, bookmark workouts, and access to previously featured workouts.
4. 8Fit
Price: Free / $24.99 per month
8Fit (Android | iOS) is a great app that gives you access to workouts and helps you maintain a healthy diet. The only caveat here is that most features are sealed behind a paywall. With the free version, you get access to a few basic workouts and articles, as well as the ability to track your weight and activities from the free app.
While the monthly subscription to the app is quite expensive, the six-month ($59.99) and yearly plans ($79.99) are priced more competitively, so we suggest taking a look at those. What we appreciate about this app is that it allows users to test some of the features out before forcing them to subscribe. While the free resources don’t compare with the Adidas app, for example, 8Fit still provides plenty of options so that you can get an idea whether this app is for you.
Upgrading to Pro will unlock the full library of workouts available under categories, as well as exclusive weekly classes, personalized meal plans, healthy recipes and a shopping list.
5. Freeletics
Price: Free / starting at $64.99 per 6 months
If you want exercise ideas that require nothing but your body, then Freeletics (Android | iOS) is ideal. The app gives you plenty of workout inspiration that doesn’t require any additional tools or equipment to perform. There are options for those who are a bit more advanced as well.
You can manually set your goals in the app, including specifying designated exercise days. It even invites you to challenge your friends to help you hit goals together.
A paid version of Freeletics is available and includes access to all workouts, an AI Coach, recipes and tailored meal plans, more than 100 audio sessions and Spotify integration.
6. FitOn
Price: Free / $19.99 per year
FitOn (Android | iOS) is a comprehensive app that provides users with a wide range of workouts led by popular trainers such as Sydney Belina, Gabrielle Union and more. Workouts offered in this app cover Yoga, Stretch, Meditation, HIIT, Kickboxing, Pilates and more. Of course, not all these are accessible in the free version, so if you want to get unlimited access, you are invited to subscribe to PRO – which is quite affordable.
Doing so will unlock a wide range of additional features, some of which aren’t always available in other apps. For instance, you can invite friends to join you doing workouts via video call or download specific workouts for later offline use. FitOn is also a nutrition app allowing you to create healthy meal plans and giving you access to countless recipes and videos to keep you informed.
The app has a social component, too, that allows you to add friends and encourage each other. You can view their updates in a feed and you also have access to an advice section to read countless interesting articles on various health-related topics.
7. Daily Yoga
Price: Free / starting $9.99 per month
Yoga: everyone is doing it, so it’s only fitting that you get your phone involved in the action too. Of all the yoga apps out there (and there are many), Daily Yoga (Android | iOS) is the multi-platform one that is very popular among the health-conscious crowd.
There are new yoga videos uploaded to the app every day, and you can choose all kinds of intensities and lengths for your exercise – from 5 minutes to 70. With hundreds of individual exercises, the workout combinations are virtually endless. More avid Yogis will be happy to learn that this app knows its Vinyasa from its Ashtanga, making it an app for people of all levels.
The Premium tier unlocks additional features, including a smart coach, Master’s workshops, pose library, yoga fundamentals, music packs, the ability to create your own plan and more.
8. Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout
Price: Free
COVID-19 vaccine producer Johnson & Johnson also wants to help you remain fit and healthy during the pandemic with its 7 Minute Workout app (Android | iOS). This is a great app for beginners and more advanced users alike. Most workouts last seven minutes, but if you’re feeling motivated, you can go beyond that with programs such as Intermediate 16 Minute and more.
You’re given both verbal and visual instructions during workouts, and if you’re curious, you can even read about the science behind the workouts proposed by J & J. Based on your current motivation levels, the app can also generate custom workouts for you.
9. Calorie Counter
Are you more interested in keeping your eating habits in check than exercising? Then this app might be what you’re looking for. From the people at MyNetDiary comes Calorie Counter (Android), a great way to keep on top of what you eat. It contains a database of foods which can be searched to see just how many calories each one has.
If you’re in the store and deciding between two items, the barcode scanner on Calorie Counter can fetch the information you need quickly. It also keeps track of your steps and can upload all relevant data to services such as FitBit.
A Premium version is also offered which includes additional options such as daily feedback and advice, and AutoPilot and Macro tracking. It also unlocks a list of premium diets and recipes.
10. MyPlate Calorie Tracker
MyPlate Calorie Tracker (Android | iOS) is a great tool if you have a specific calorie intake goal in mind. This app allows you to set a target that you must not go over during the day. You can use the app’s large food database to add your meals and snacks and measure how you’re doing with your calorie goal. It also comes with its own community where you can share success stories and snacking woes with fellow dieters!
The app offers a Gold subscription which adds additional member benefits such as Daily average macros, top food sources, calories burned, and clean eating guide. It also removes ads.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why should I pay for a Pro/Premium tier?
You don’t have to if you don’t want to. There are many apps, such as 30 Days Challenge, which provide users with full exercise routines for free. However, if you’re a more advanced user who wants to dabble in more than just standard exercises, you may need to pay for a subscription. Your specific needs will dictate whether you need to spend to unlock more options or not.
2. Should I work out everyday?
it’s not necessary. Three or four home workout sessions each week are enough to sustain a healthy lifestyle. By the way, it’s a good idea to balance the week with a mix of cardio, strength and yoga or Pilates.
3. How often do I need to rest?
It depends on your individual fitness level, but overall you should have at least one day of rest per week to allow your body to regenerate and repair so that you can become stronger.
Make sure you don’t ignore your mental health either during the pandemic, and if you want to ensure that both your body and mind stay active, check out these brain training apps.
Alexandra is passionate about mobile tech and can be often found fiddling with a smartphone from some obscure company. She kick-started her career in tech journalism in 2013, after working a few years as a middle-school teacher. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra likes to know how things work and to share that knowledge with everyone.
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