10 Best Workout Apps of 2026, Tested by Personal Trainers

Using a sauna can come with risks, especially if you’re doing it wrong or going too often. And, if you have any kind of chronic health condition, it’s best to talk to your doctor before trying out the sauna. In fact, a study showed that it can be an effective way to bring relief from lower back pain. The study authors recommend giving it a try for a couple of sessions to see if it helps lessen symptoms before regularly using it as part of your treatment plan.

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Fitness applications usually include goal-setting features that allow users to personalize their workout experience. A fitness application can recommend exercises and meals to achieve the goal. Instant feedback and support motivate users to stick to their goals and achieve more. For example, Noom, the application for weight loss, asks users for their ideal weight and sets it as a goal.

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However, the free version has limited access to athlete coaches and programs. For accountability features, GetFit AI scores a 3.5 out of 5—while the AI chat provides motivation, it lacks community features like progress sharing or group challenges found in some fitness apps. Of course, scrolling the app store can feel overwhelming, and not every fitness app delivers high-quality programming. That’s why our exercise professionals in the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition & Fitness Lab tested more than 40 workout apps to find the ones that truly stand out. We evaluated everything from the quality of the workouts and variety of classes to how intuitive the apps felt to use. We also brought in real-life testers to share their experiences, including how challenging the workouts were, how engaging the classes felt, and whether the apps helped them stay motivated.

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It’s perfect if you want to walk into the gym and put your brain on autopilot while your muscles do the work. Whether you want to lift heavier, build endurance or simply move more, there’s an app built for your goals. The key is to start small, choose a platform that fits your lifestyle and let progress fuel your momentum. With the right app in your pocket, the journey from dad bod to steel core begins when you press start. Fitbod focuses on resistance training, using AI to generate workouts based on your recovery, history and available equipment. Its algorithms follow principles like non-linear periodization, ensuring that every session builds on the last without risking burnout.

• You also track your activities throughout the day — exercise burns calories, after all — and Noom is capable of pairing with the best fitness trackers to monitor your weight and daily step count.
• If you’re not a fully converted Peloton junkie, the Peloton app One is a good stepping stone to see what the hype is about and whether you enjoy the classes.
• This eliminates the guesswork and helps prevent both undertraining and overtraining.
• Fitness apps can also be great for creating a studio-like training experience right in your own home.
• JuggernautAI costs about as much as the average workout app, however you’re not working with a real coach, and there aren’t any workout options that focus on cardio, cycling, or other activities.
• It includes a Health Monitor feature that can detect deviations in metrics, give alerts, and generate health records to share with specialists.

Other Interactive Features

StretchIt has routines for specific body parts, too, in case you want to work on, say, back or hip flexibility. A monthly membership is pricey at $19.99; the $159.99-per-year membership is a better deal. Take advantage of the seven-day free trial and try out some free sessions before you start paying. Trim down or bulk up, run faster, or bike farther—however you exercise, our favorite workout apps help you stay committed to physical fitness. Compared to some of the other apps on this list, this app is also pretty affordable. You can sign up for a free trial to see whether it’s for you, and after that, there are two different membership options to choose from.

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The watch also tracks your sleep duration, stages (awake, light, deep, and REM), and overnight SpO2. The square Garmin Venu Sq 2 is a comfortable GPS-connected smartwatch with long battery life and all the best health and fitness features of the circular Venu 2 for a more affordable price. Here’s how to pick the right one for you, along with the best fitness trackers we’ve tested.

The same cannot be said, however, when it comes to some of the exercise names. There have been multiple instances where a certain exercise has been given a convoluted moniker, which can lead to some challenges when trying to follow along to a given routine. It’s a minor inconvenience that I’ve learned to adapt to over regular use, but it can sometimes be difficult to madmuscles app decipher all of the training regimens when trying to choose a program for your needs and wants. For this reason, we rate it at 3 out of 5 for interactive features — still a decent score for an app with no human on the other side of your conversation. It’s an impressive feature, but making the most of iFIT may mean shelling out an additional chunk of change for a compatible machine in addition to the $39 monthly subscription.

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Most offer a free trial, which lets you explore the workouts, features, and overall vibe before committing. Compared to an in-person gym membership, fitness apps are typically more affordable, far more convenient, and they take the guesswork out of programming our own workouts. Since you can use them anytime, anywhere, they’re also one of our favorite tools for staying consistent (and seeing real results). Inside Apple’s Fitness app is Fitness+, a membership offering a variety of video workouts.

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While the Caliber app earns the nod on our best workout app for men, women can also achieve great results since it offers something for everyone. There is a robust free-forever version and two paid options that grant you access to either group coaching ($19 per month) or a fully customized one-on-one coaching program (starting at $200 per month). His works have been previously featured by DICK’S Sporting Goods as well as Gear Patrol.

Instead of juggling various apps and programs for my timer, form cues, and workout schedule, everything is conveniently consolidated in one location. To get started, browse through dozens of certified trainers to choose one that best fits your goals and need. From there, your Future Coach creates weekly, highly personalized training programs just for you, and adapts them whenever you need.

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At its premium price tag, the absence of top-tier features (like Multi-Band GPS and an ECG sensor) also feels like a significant sacrifice. Samsung’s most premium smartwatch bears a striking resemblance to the Apple Watch Ultra to a comical degree, yet it remains unique for Android users. And that’s still true in 2026, with the brand quietly releasing a slightly better edition of the Galaxy Watch Ultra alongside the Galaxy Watch 8 series last July. The polished design, accurate heart rate sensor, and the game-changing utility of Google Gemini make it a top smartwatch for most people, especially if you own a Samsung phone. While it lacks the dual-frequency GPS of the Ultra line, its standard GPS and optical heart rate sensor remain deceptively excellent and more than good enough for most users. Trying to rank the top smartwatches is a complex task; no two devices are the same, nor are the people using them.

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It is especially popular among experienced users who want to monitor their results and not lose data between sessions. Most workout apps are customizable for both at-home and gym-based exercises. If you prefer at-home exercises, customize the workouts to suit the space and equipment that’s available to you. Also known as calisthenics, these are exercises that require little to no equipment.