Fitness apps came into their own during the pandemic. When the gyms shut their doors, we turned to our phones to provide workout motivation, downloading run trackers and online workout apps for our hit of exercise-based endorphins.
While we used to find our motivation from peppy instructors in gym classes, fitness apps give all the inspiration we need in our quest to become our best selves – without having to step foot out of your front door.
From chilled-out yoga sessions to cult run mappers, these are the best fitness apps to download now.
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1. Results Wellness Lifestyle
Price: From £14.99 per month with free 7-day trial
Lucy Mecklenburgh's fitness app Results Wellness Lifestyle prides itself on the ability to house all your health apps in one place with 1000+ workouts, 600+ recipes, a variety of mindset courses and weekly live workout classes, all in the palm of your hand.
Workouts range from chilled-out evening yoga sessions to intense step classes and super-fun dance classes (no rhythm required!). The app also has an amazing pre and post-natal workout section, Results With Bump.
They've recently launched a six-month Health and Happiness programme with Frankie Bridge, which houses over 800 recipes, easy-to-follow workouts with Frankie and live workouts with her too. If sweating it out with a former Saturday doesn't motivate you, we don't know what will!
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2. Apple Fitness+
Price: £9.99 per month
Apple's Fitness+ app works best when integrated with an Apple Watch. From there, users can sync metrics recorded from each workout completed on the Apple library to their iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. As you'd expect from Apple, there's a huge variety of workout options, with everything from yoga, spinning, Hiit, dance and strength, in all different lengths so you can easily fit it into your day.
Fitness+ has some seriously impressive features, including 'Time To Walk' sessions, which are edits of music, stories and photos hosted by well-known faces including Dolly Parton, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes as well as fitness icon Jane Fonda. They share life lessons and stories from their careers, as well as a short playlist of songs that have given them motivation and inspiration. New episodes launch each Monday and they've between 25 and 40 minutes long each time.
DOWNLOAD APPLE FITNESS+ APP
3. Strava
Price: From free
Strava's sense of community is what sets it apart from its rivals. Over the years, it has served to cement the app as the UK's most popular cycle and run tracker, thanks to the ability for users to share routes and PBs with friends. Though Strava is best-known for tracking runs and cycles, you can record all of your workouts on it
The challenges on the app are a particularly fun element. You can earn badges in the app (strangely addictive) as well as unlock discounts with top brands such as Sweaty Betty by completing challenges. If you sometimes lack motivation to get your daily steps in, you'll love the walking challenges.
DOWNLOAD STRAVA APP
4. Nike+ Training Club
Price: Free
Sportswear powerhouse Nike's master trainers curate four-six week personal training plans for each NTC user, recommending workouts from a library of over 190 classes – just input your goals and how long you want to spend on each exercise session.
DOWNLOAD NTC APP
5. BetterMe
BetterMe not only has hundreds of workouts at your fingertips - designed to meet a diverse range of wants and needs - but advice from a personal coach too.
Loved by over 100M subscribers, the app itself is designed to help you change your body by changing your mind. As well as the workouts, you'll find nutrition plans by expert nutritionists, guided meditations, professional advice on how to change your mindset and a whole lot more. Think of it like your own cheerleader in your pocket.
6. FIIT
Price: From £10 per month
FIIT boasts a bevy of top trainers that have joined forces to provide 600+ classes and 20+ training plans for everyone from fitness beginners to advanced athletes. Members can choose between live and pre-recorded sessions, while you can also create private classes with friends. Classes include stength, cardio and yoga-style balance sessions and you can filter by your goals as well as the type of workout you fancy. Maya Jama and Fearne Cotton have both worked with Fiit in the past, so it has a celebrity seal of approval.
7. Peloton
Price: £12.99 per month, or free for a 30-day trial
Peloton might be renowned for at-home spin bike (and treadmill) sessions but the brand has also made its fitness app accessible to those without any equipment. Workout tutorials run the gamut from yoga to walking, with the option to select duration and complexity.
Peloton's USPs are the trainers, which have become mini-celebrities in their own right, plus the sense of community. In lives classes you can see who else around the world is working out with you, with shout outs from trainers serving as the ultimate motivation.
DOWNLOAD PELOTON APP
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8. Couch to 5k
Price: Free
Amateur runners need look no further than the C25K app. As the name suggests, it provides beginners with a plan proven to help hit the 5k finish line by combining interval training, sprinting, and distance runs. All that's required is 30 minutes of exercise per day, three days a week for nine weeks.
The BBC has a couch to five km programme too, narrated by everyone from Jo Whiley to Sarah Millican.
DOWNLOAD C25K APP
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9. MapMyRun
Price: Free
Activewear maven Under Armour is the brains behind MapMyRun. The run-tracking system uses GPS to offer real-time audio coaching that will update you on your current distance, speed and elevation, before logging each session to a handy record that allows you to review your progress.
DOWNLOAD MAP MY RUN APP
10. Interval Timer
Price: Free
Fine-tune your fitness sessions according to high-intensity bursts and rest periods with Interval Timer. There are a few handy features to take note of: the colour-coded interface to keep track of timings from afar, the ability to individually configure intervals, and a choice between various sounds to mark the end of each block.
DOWNLOAD INTERVAL TIMER APP
11. Asana Rebel
Price: Free
Whether you want to master your vinyasa, practice your poses or solve your sleep issues, Asana Rebel is the one for you. Yoga is the underlying ethos, but workout classes cover everything from Hatha to HIIT.
DOWNLOAD ASANA REBEL APP
12. MyFitnessPal
Price: Free
Under Armour also owns MyFitnessPal. Using your height, weight and goal, it calculates a recommended daily calorie and macro intake for you to monitor as you record foods eaten throughout each day. Search for the food and brand on the app's 5million-strong database before saving it along with its nutritional information.
DOWNLOAD MYFITNESSPAL APP
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13. David Lloyd Club @home
Price: Free
Now available free of charge to residents of the UK, the David Lloyd Clubs @home offers access to over 600 classes ranging from yoga and Pilates, to high intensity interval training (HITT) and post-natal workouts. Plus, children can also make use of the app on their parents phone, by joining a virtual afterschool club which boasts sport skills, cooking and story time. Pretty cool, right?
DOWNLOAD DAVID LLOYD CLUB @HOME
14. Cloud Nine Collective
Price: £13.99 per month
The Cloud Nine Collective app aims to be a positive space where users can take a break from life to concentrate on doing something great for themselves - improving their wellness. With over 100 workout to follow, recipes and custom meal plans, you'll feel empowered to make a change for the better when you open up this app. All of the workout content, from pilates to stretching to power workouts, is video-based, so you can follow full workout sessions from the comfort of your living room or garden.
DOWNLOAD CLOUD NINE COLLECTIVE APP
15. Body By Ciara
Price: £17.99 per month
Created by PT Ciara Madden, AKA Ciara London, who has trained the likes of Maya Jama and Rita Ora, this app offers full-body training with over 45 workouts per week, both live and on-demand. Ciara is best-known for her booty-building workouts, so expect some serious glute-toning sessions, with Notting Hill Carnival vibe music. These are feel-good workouts at their very best.
DOWNLOAD BODY BY CIARA APP
16. Able
Price: £8.99
Have your own pocket personal trainer by using Able. This wellness app is the perfect way to coach you through your health goals whether it’s weight loss or just building healthier food habits. Designed with in-app trackers to help you manage your diet and exercise routines and access to one-to-one conversations with wellness coaches, Able makes sure you stay motivated to achieve your health and fitness goals.
DOWNLOAD ABLE APP
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