Best Fitness Apps That Work With Apple Watch in 2026

By contrast, many workout apps connect you with professionals who can help guide you through and program a custom workout plan for your specific preferences. Once you’re past the beginner stage, you’ll probably need to repeat workouts many times, focusing on progressive overload, to continue to make progress. However, that doesn’t mean workouts should be boring, so we use this category to assess how much variety there is for users, both in terms of training styles (strength, cardio, etc…) and actual workouts. If you’re new to workout apps, or fitness in general, Aaptiv can be a great choice. It offers beginner-friendly workouts for a variety of goals, which means you can try a few different disciplines or modalities to see what you like.

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Each app is a little different in connecting to the Apple Health and Fitness apps, but it’s always done inside the third-party app, not inside Apple Health or Fitness. When installing the app on your watch and iPhone, connect to Apple Health inside the app’s settings. Pliability (previously ROMWOD) is a mobility app with over 1,500+ routines designed to help you move better, recover faster and ultimately improve athletic performance. You can read our full Sweat app review for more details on what it’s like to use. For more info, check out our detailed Alpha Progression review, that outlines what it’s like using the app on a daily basis and the results we got. The developer, Apple, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below.

Common Questions About Strength Training Apps

If an app requires you to have access to a full gym or only has a small percentage of workouts that can be performed with minimal equipment, that was cause for a 1- or 2-star rating. If you’re looking for another great app that works on both Android and iOS, with workouts for a variety of goals, we recommend the free Nike Training Club app. Instead, you follow a series designed to help you gain strength in six weeks, followed by a deload week or two.

• Lifting weights isn’t just about building bigger muscles for better selfies.
• They open Hevy after each session, log their sets, and within eight weeks, Hevy’s graphs show their bench press has climbed 15 lbs — visual proof that progressive overload is working.
• While Apple is doing more for workout recovery these days, it lacks a dedicated feature akin to Garmin’s Body Battery or Fitbit’s Readiness Score.
• Runtastic Results comes from the makers of Adidas’ running app, Runtastic (obviously).
• But we especially appreciated that each set has a countdown timer on the screen so you can see how much work you have left in each movement.
• Hevy is a game-changer for weightlifters, and it ranks among Apple Watch apps for weightlifting.

Maximizing Your Strength Training with Apple Watch Features

Award winning fitness app that harnesses artificial intelligence to generate customized workout plans. But as you need a subscription for most, you don’t want to join loads and spend hundreds of dollars each month. So I try the different training styles, exercise classes, and wellbeing sessions to see if you can get everything in a single app. However, if you’re after an app that does a bit of everything, you might be better off with Apple Fitness+, as Alo Moves is primarily a yoga app, with a bit of cardio and strength training on the side. But this does make it the perfect option for yogis looking to practice at home.

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If you want to see feedback from real users, you can read MadMuscles app reviews from customers who’ve already reached their muscle-building goals →. If you’re looking for a quick overview, these apps offer excellent Apple Watch support. Motion’s community includes Apple Watch users of all fitness levels. Most people don’t want to be athletes, they just want to move more, to feel healthy happy, and improve their energy for hobbies and family.

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That adaptive behavior is exactly what a running-focused lifter needs. Apps that visualize overload progression over 8+ weeks give you measurable proof your program is working — a signal that no subjective “feel” of effort can replace. This kind of loyalty — the “I just need to track my sets” user — is exactly who both apps serve.

Best AI Workout App: Fitbod

It’s something we feel is better for dipping into when we want a specific workout, rather than a progression. Guidance is delivered via visual and audio cues – so you can see what to do for each set. If you’re unsure you can tap the screen on your phone to review the move, which pauses the workout – making it great for beginners. That’s why we put each app to the test before including it in our guide.

The best workout app overall

If Aaptiv has a weakness, it’s the progressive overload, or lack thereof. The programming on a macro-level may not be adequate for intermediate or advanced exercisers, and it only earns 3 out of 5 stars for the category. JuggernautAI costs slightly more than the average app, thought it offers a longer trial period than most so new users can experience the programming.

Best Weightlifting Apps for Strength Training 2024 – Tried & Tested

The seven-day trial period is right on par with other services, as well. Other than interactive features, accountability, and trial period, Shred put up impressive scores across the board, earning at least a 4 out of 5 in nine of our testing categories. If you value accountability and interactive features, check out Future, which earned high marks in both categories. Strength training during best workout app for beginners perimenopause is uniquely effective at combating lean muscle loss and preventing unwanted fat gain, outperforming long-duration endurance exercise, according to Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. Where Fitbod acts as your AI coach, Caliber takes a different approach — it gives you the structure of a coach without the monthly fee. Use the watch for execution and the phone for planning, review, and long-range adjustments.

Best Weightlifting Belts ( : Athlete Choices for Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting, CrossFit and More

Like most apps on this list, it effectively requires a subscription to go beyond the core free features. In Athlytic’s defense, though, there aren’t many fitness apps out there that dig this deep into the numbers in lieu of generic intensity trackers. User reviews put it at 4.8 out of 5 stars, and it has companion iPhone and iPad apps. Liftin’ is designed to make workout tracking simple without spending unnecessary time fine-tuning on your devices.