There’s a gym in your phone. Here’s how to find it.
You don’t get in your car to get a workout. You have a gym in your pocket. All you have to do is choose from one of these fitness apps to find a workout to match your mood, clear some space, and do it.
You can even choose from a vast array of workout styles. Want to dial up a quick HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout to maximize your minimal time? Curious about different forms of yoga? Want a dance workout that will make you laugh and sweat? It’s all out there. And the instructors are top-notch.
Here are ten of the best fitness apps to get you started.
Daily Burn
$14.99 to $19.95 a month after a 30-day trial
The Daily Burn is one of the most popular fitness apps out there and for good reason. There are so many programs, classes, and instructors, you’re unlikely to ever get bored. If you don’t have an in-home studio, there are audio workouts you can take with you. Have a treadmill or bike? Join a class or put on headphones for in-ear coaching. There are workout plans to take you where you want to go, whether that’s the yoga mat, HIIT, rock-solid abs, strength training, and more. Or feel free to dabble in everything. There’s a new live class every day at 9 a.m.
Obe Fitness
$27 a month after a 7-day trial
If your workout vibe is pastel and neon, Obe Fitness is your place. Come here for the yoga, Pilates, strength training, running, HIIT, and just about every other method of getting in shape and stay for the mellow, colorful mood. With loads of dance options, a vast array of yoga styles, boxing you can do at home, and walking workouts you can take with you, this place is determined to make you like your workout. The instructors are adorable and upbeat. Everyone is having fun.
C25K
Free to start. $4.95 for the entire plan.
Want to run a 5K? Of all the fitness apps out there, this is the most focused on that goal. Load C25K onto your phone and you will have a coach in your pocket to help you get there. This app will take you from couch potato to running a 5K. (That’s its actual claim.) It’s laser-focused on that goal. Put on some headphones and do what it tells you: Walk when it says walk. Run when it says run.
It even includes music designed for the pace you’re setting today. The folks who make this app also make similarly focused apps for training you to do pushups, sit-ups, and more.
Gaia
$11.99 a month after a 7-day trial
Gaia has been in the business of teaching yoga through video for a long time. These reputable classes stream on just about any device, including your phone.
You’ll find yoga classes here taught by some of the world’s yoga elite and filmed in beautiful locations around the world. Gaia has also become a content channel featuring documentaries on mind-expanding topics.
This is a great place to start your yoga – or meditation – practice, whatever style calls to you and to explore your spiritual growth. There are also classes in Qui Gong, Tai Chi, Pilates, and more.
Alo Moves
$20 a month after a 14-day trial
You might be more familiar with Alo yoga clothing than Alo yoga teachers but the Alo Moves online yoga studio is just as pretty as the clothing. If mellow, gorgeous, and chill is the vibe you look for in a real-world workout space, you are going to love this place.
The yoga runs the gamut from 10-minute, strength-training snacks to intensive full-course meals of intensity with world-famous yoga masters. Oh, there’s also Pilates, strength training, HIIT, and more – all blended with a hint of yoga.
The instructors are gorgeous. The sets are varied, mellow, and stunning. The workouts are hardcore but chill at the same time. And if you want mindfulness training with your fitness, this is the spot.
Nike Training Club
Free
All the programs and workouts here are run by Nike Master trainers and they will take you from where you are now to fit. All you have to do is show up and do it.
Cardio, HIIT, Yoga, strength training, and more. This app also teaches nutrition and coaches you on the way to wellness, mindfulness, and better sleep.
There are 185 classes here, all high-quality and – here’s the part you’re going to like – it’s all free right now because the site is “evolving as the world is evolving.”
Neou Fitness
On sale for $59 a year after a 30-day free trial
If you want to take a real class, led by an inspiring fitness leader and you don’t who that person is yet, this is where you will find that experience.
There are also canned classes so if you show up and want a class with the Barre(d) studio, CrossFit world champion Annie Thorisdottir, any one of dozens of elite athletes, or other fitness personalities, you’ll find them here, too.
Also? If you have a cardio machine – elliptical, bike, etc – there are workouts for that. High-quality video is shot in real studios.
Pelotin Fitness
$12.99 a month after a 30-day trial
You don’t need a Pelotin machine to tap the famous Pelotin bike workouts. In fact, you don’t need any kind of bike. There are plenty of non-machine workouts at the Pelotin online studio.
There’s everything from meditation to strength training. Of course, there are plenty of bike and treadmill workouts and you can follow along on them without a Pelotin machine.
But there are also a seemingly endless supply of yoga, bootcamp, stretching, and more. There are even audio-only classes you can take outside as you run or walk. Maybe these classes will convince you to buy a Pelotin bike. Or maybe you’ll just let wealthier folks subsidize these incredible instructors.
Fiton
Want to work out with a celebrity for free? This is your studio.
FitOn is loaded with workouts – whether you want a 10-minute ab burn, a yoga practice, some help with strength training, or an intense 45-minute HIIT class.
It’s easy to find classes that fit what you want and where you are because that initial interview sets up a schedule for you. Many of the classes are taught by celebrity fitness experts.
It offers nutrition advice, too. And it tracks your progress. You can pay for a Pro plan and get custom music or just stick with the free membership for as long as you want.
Strava
$5 a month after 60-day free trial
If your bike or running shoes are the gym you’ve chosen but you want some coaching, performance data, and run buddies, download the Strava app.
Start the app at the beginning of your workout to get oodles of tasty data on your performance, heart rate, distance, elevation, and more (depending on your smartwatch, head unit, or other gear you connect Strava to.)
You can also connect with like-minded athletes virtually and set up some friendly online competitions and training support. You might even find an online group to join. And because so many people use it and log their routes, you can use it to find new paths for your cycle or run.
Seven
Free but money unlocks more features
No time? Short on motivation? Still want to be healthy and fit? Seven might be the very thing. Each workout is only seven minutes long. But that’s an intense seven minutes.
So, if your life is also intense and leaves you little time to pull up a yoga mat or lace up your sneakers, open this app and follow along. You take a ten-minute break a couple of times a day, right? That’s time to get a workout and a glass of water.
This app doesn’t even leave the motivating to you. It pesters you through your phone to come do a workout. No equipment is required. And you can connect with your friends on here for fun and even more motivation.