Why not open the App Store or Google Play Store and peruse some fitness apps? With untold thousands of health and fitness apps available, it could be hard to choose just one, but we’ve gathered some of the top performers with proven results.
Calm is one of the most recommended meditation apps on the market right now. With over 100 guided meditations and a calming, aesthetic interface, Calm helps users navigate through anxiety, sleep issues, focus issues, stress, and relationships, to name a few. Users can choose from guided or solo meditation, Sleep Stories, Calm Body, and soothing music. Sleep Stories contains bedtime stories read by a plethora of celebrities to soothe users to sleep, including Stephen Fry and Matthew McConaughey. Calm Body allows users to learn mindful movement combined with light stretching. Calm offers both a free and a Premium application. The Premium version contains more meditations, Sleep Stories, and a Calm Masterclass.
HeadSpace is another one of the most recommended meditation apps out there, and provides new users with a free 10-meditation trial. As they complete each meditation, another is unlocked. With a paid subscription, users can access a full library of meditations in both single and series formats. The single meditations are based around one-off topics: fears, walking, etc. The series style meditations are packs of 10-30 sessions across various topics like health, performance, relationships, and stress management. HeadSpace allows users to download sessions for offline use, as well as incorporating HeadSpace Kids content.
Out of all the meal-tracking apps out there, My Macros+ is one of the most user-friendly. In addition to meal tracking, this app has water and body-weight tracking. MyMacros+ was created by a former bodybuilder, so it allows you to be as meticulous as necessary when it comes to tracking. It also allows you to change your macro goal each day and input macro goals in grams or percentages. My Macros+ has a library of over five million foods and barcode and nutrition-fact scanners. The best part of My Macros+ is that it is easily accessible, available on web, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Apple Watch. There is also a pro version of My Macros+ that provides more in-depth insights into your tracking.
Type: Meal Tracking Apps
Price: $2.99 one time fee or $1.99/month for the Pro version.
MyFitnessPal, by Under Armour, is one of the most popular meal-tracking apps in the fitness world today, with over 11 million foods in its database. It also allows you to compare progress photos, as well as sync your Wi-Fi scale to the app itself. The free version of MFP is bare bones, but the premium version allows access to specific macro counting, different goals by day, food analysis, and much more.
MyPlate, by LiveStrong, seems to incorporate the standard meal-tracking features, but its easy connection to Apple’s Health Kit puts it above MFP. MyPlate’s at-a-glance summary provides users with daily, easy-to-read content, and it also shows users their calories burned in the app’s dashboard. Not only does MyPlate give users a simple, easy way to track and create custom foods, it also provides water reminders to ensure users are hitting their hydration goals. MyPlate also provides a free and Gold membership version.
If you’ve been training for a while, you’ve probably heard of the Wendler Method, also known as 5/3/1. This training method was made popular by Jim Wendler, whose main focus was building strength slowly and consistently. Wendler combined the “Big 4” with accessory movements to support each lift. The 5/3/1 Strength app allows powerlifters (and those who are just trying to get strong) to focus on squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press, by prescribing the percent of their maxes for each four-week cycle. This program style can be used by anyone, from beginners to advanced lifters. This app is best paired with a hypertrophy-based accessory plan, since it only includes the “Big 4,” and is only available in the App Store.
Peloton Digital is by far one of the best “All Access” apps a fitness fanatic can download. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t all cycling. Peloton Digital offers outdoor and treadmill running classes, in addition to strength, yoga, stretching, meditation, boot camp, walking, and cardio-style classes. Users can filter classes by length, class type, genre of music, or just simply choose their favorite instructor. The best part of the Peloton app? The digital subscription costs less than $20 and you can cancel at any time.
Nike Training Club (NTC) is one of the top fitness apps out there right now, and it’s free! When users first download the app, they are prompted to choose how many workouts they’d like to complete per week. After that, NTC starts popular recommended workouts, but users can also create customizable plans. NTC allows users to choose whether to incorporate cardio or not, and whether or not they are training in the gym. After users have answered the prompts, they are able to see an overview and description of the plan, as well as the list of exercises incorporated in each workout. NTC links to the Apple Watch and allows users to share workouts with their friends.
Katy Hearn has made a name for herself in the fitness industry, and Fit By Katy is just another win. Hearn and her husband are the brains behind the Workout Generator, which provides users with a new planned workout every day. The Workout Generator allows you to pick between an at-home or an in-gym session, and provides you with the exercises to fit the equipment you have. With the basic version, you have access to 400+ workout combinations. However, the Premium version of the app contains all of Katy’s previous seasonal challenges, her nutrition guide, premium workout features, and monthly newsletters from her other businesses. This app is geared toward women, but the Workout Generator can be used by anyone; male or female, beginner to seasoned lifter.
Type: Lifting Apps
Price: 2-Week free trial; $4.99/month for basic; $18.99 for premium
Although it doesn’t have a physical iPhone/Android application, BioLayne’s Workout Builder is at the top of this list. With 33 different 12-week programs, it’s safe to say Layne Norton knocked this out of the park. From powerlifting to bodybuilding and beginner-focused strength, there’s something for everyone. In order to gain access to the Workout Builder, you’ll have to have a Gold membership to BioLayne.com, which will run you $12.99 per month.
Megan Gallagher—you might know her as MegSquats—and her team at StrongStrongFriends.com developed a strength-building program with no expiration date that refreshes every Sunday. Stronger By The Day (SBTD) contains periodized training to ensure that any members can break their plateaus and focus on what their body can do, not just how it looks. This program is four days a week, with an optional fifth day. It incorporates an abundance of unilateral movements, in addition to the squats, deadlifts, and bench press. SBTD doesn’t have an application for iPhone or Android, but its desktop/mobile version is easy to follow in the gym.
