November 11, 2024

Healthy About Liver

Masters of Health

The Best Fitness Apps That Will Program Your Workouts for You

The Best Fitness Apps That Will Program Your Workouts for You

No time to plan your workouts? Let one of these apps come to the rescue.

Image Credit:
LIVESTRONG.com Creative

For many of us, getting in regular workouts is hard enough. Who wants to go through the trouble to figure out exactly what their weekly workouts should be on top of that?

Thankfully, there are plenty of apps on the market that take the guesswork out of training. Some apps focus on running, others pair you with a personal trainer and some give you a little of everything. All you have to do is pick one and go.

Here are seven trainer-recommended apps that will program your workouts for you.

We tapped certified personal trainers and fitness experts for their favorite workout apps. We took their recommendations (and some of our own tried-and-trues) and chose apps that fall under the following criteria:

  • Price
  • Class variety
  • Free trial and membership options

1. Best Overall: Freeletics

Identify your goal; decide when, where and how you’d like to train; and let your coach build a customized training plan. Every workout in this top-rated app from Europe even includes a warm-up and cooldown.

“The app adjusts the weights for the following sessions after you upload each completed workout,” says Jordi Sadurní, a cycling coach and personal trainer at JS Cycling Training.

Give your coach feedback along the way so your sessions keep working for you. Plus, track your progress and join the app’s online community.

Freeletics also offers a nutrition app, which gives you a customized eating plan designed to help you reach your goals.

​Download it‌: iOs, Google Play;‌ Price:‌ $34.99/three months or $79.99/year

2. Best for Circuit-Style Workouts: Movement With Julie

Shelby Lane, co-founder and trainer at Bellabooty Fitness, loves this app from personal trainer Julie Ledbetter.

“While her workouts can be done from anywhere, this is a great app for people looking for guidance on how to get in great workouts from home using the weights you have available,” she says. Ledbetter teaches app users how to work out with minimal equipment.

Through the Movement With Julie app, you’ll score five brand-new workouts each week: an upper-body, lower-body, cardio and core, shoulders and glutes and full-body. Expect 30- to -45-minute sessions that mix circuit-style strength training with cardio bursts to help you burn fat and build muscle. Every workout comes with video demonstrations, pointers and space to track your progress.

The app also gives you access to an online community of other users for accountability and support.

3. Best for Variety: Alo Moves

“This app is great if you’re looking for a broad range of workouts,” says Whitney Berger, founder of WhitFit NYC, a Pilates studio in New York City. You can choose from thousands of classes, as well as pre-built beginner, intermediate and advanced programs led by individual trainers. Programs include yoga, HIIT, strength, barre and more.

Bonus: Alo Moves also offers meditation and skills series. You can learn how to do a backbend, inversion and even arm balance moves.

​Download it‌: iOs;‌ Price: ‌$20/month or $199/year with a 14-day free trial

4. Best for Goal-Focused Workouts: Centr by Chris Hemsworth

With Centr by Chris Hemsworth, you can get personalized workout programs from Hemsworth’s health and fitness team. Decide if you want to focus on losing weight, building muscle or getting fit and toned. Then, pick a program that appeals to you.

The app features 1,400-plus workouts, including HIIT, strength, Pilates, yoga, muscle-building and more, so you’re sure to find something you enjoy.

“One thing that sets this app apart is that it offers an extensive meal plan suitable for all dietary needs,” Berger says. Find more than 800 easy-to-follow recipes for snacks, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The app also offers meditations, sleep visualizations, health and fitness advice from Hemsworth’s team and 24/7 community support.

​Download it‌: iOs, Google Play;‌ Price: ‌$20/month (billed quarterly) or $29.99/month (billed monthly) with a 7-day free trial

At $150 a month, Future is one of the spendier personal training apps on the market. But “unlike most apps out there, you get matched with a personal trainer and receive personalized workouts that are suitable to your skill level and goals,” says Emily Higgins, CPT, a NASM-certified personal trainer and founder of Girl Let’s Glow.

You start by filling out a fitness survey and picking a personal trainer who’s right for you. Then, you and your trainer will hop on a FaceTime call to get to know each other and create a custom training plan that suits your goals and interests.

Each week, your personal trainer will send you guided workouts designed to fit your schedule, goals, equipment and travel. Rest assured your coach will be nearby.

“The trainer checks in with you every day for accountability and incorporates your feedback into your workouts,” Higgins says. Our Fitness Editor Danielle Zickl credits the app with bringing back her workout motivation; read her full Future review here.

​Download it‌: iOs;‌ Price: ‌$149/month with 50 percent off your first month

6. Best for Running: Nike Run Club

No matter if you’re just getting started with running or preparing for a race, you’ll find training plans from expert running coaches in the Nike Run Club app. You’ll even have a coach in your ear during guided running workouts. This way, you’re never running alone.

The app also includes training advice, tips for health and wellness and motivation from coaches and athletes. A pace tracker, running log and distance tracker help you stay on target.

This app from certified personal trainer Madeline Custer offers six unique programs with guided workouts.

Choose between an endurance-focused program, a beginner program, a prenatal program, a minimal equipment program, a strength-focused program and a popular “Weekly Moves” program that features five new workouts per week that focus on body composition changes.

All programs are designed to be accessible no matter where your workouts take you, and you can switch programs any time.

Log your workouts, track weights and reps, see your weight history and even rate your workouts. You can also connect with like-minded folks in an exclusive (extremely active) Facebook group and cheer on other members in the app.

“Moves by Madeline is my favorite workout app I’ve tried,” says LIVESTRONG.com Senior Fitness Editor Jessica Campbell-Salley. “All you have to do each day is log in and go — the workouts are all there for you, with modification suggestions and warm-ups and cooldowns.”

​Download it‌: iOs, Google Play;‌ Price: ‌$20/month or $200/year