That’s not necessarily the case with fitness trackers, many of which need recharging after just a day or two of normal wear. When you’re tracking an activity, like running, the battery use goes up significantly as the sensors go into full tracking mode. If you’re running marathons or ultramarathons, stay away from models with shorter projected battery life as they may not last for a full day of training or racing. No matter how you stay active — be it through walking, running, biking, weightlifting, or swimming — tracking all that information has never been easier thanks to advancements in fitness technology over the past few years. Now you can wear a screenless strap that prioritizes measuring recovery over real-time workout feedback or a GPS watch with a battery that lasts a literal month without recharging.

Are all fitness trackers waterproof?

We gathered feedback from fitness trainers who’ve used these apps extensively. Every app on this list was put through its paces by fitness trainers who know what it takes to run a successful business. Whether it’s answering questions, providing feedback, or sharing encouragement, you can maintain consistent interaction even outside of training sessions. With your logo, branding, and custom design, the app becomes an extension of your services, offering a seamless digital experience for clients. Apps with community features, like group challenges, leaderboards, and shared progress updates, help foster a sense of connection among your clients.

Smartwatch Features

World class personal trainer software for you to build and assign workout programs for your clients, and track their progress. At $149.99/year, it’s easily the most expensive app I tested—twice the price of Strava. I can totally see the price being worth it, though, especially if you have a home gym or a cheap gym membership. Gymverse basically takes the place of a personal trainer—so if you need a lot of guidance, it could be well worth the price. Based on which you choose, the app will put together a running program for you. If I were new to running, this is exactly the kind of experience I would hope for.

Activity Tracking

  • The older Pace 3 is still available, for you true budget hounds, and will save you $50 to get mostly the same watch.
  • I wouldn’t recommend it, however, as you’ll most likely have your phone on you since this isn’t a true standalone watch.
  • The user interface, in general, is incredibly easy to use, earning iFIT a 5 out of 5 in this category.
  • The basic membership is free and then it goes up to $25 for a six-month membership, or $30 annually.
  • With the all-in-one training setup, your bike stays ready for the outdoors, and Zwift Ride always has you covered, indoors.
  • Apple also offers a cellular version of this watch for about $50 more, which has the ability to send and receive calls—without an iPhone—if you have a cell plan that covers it.

Fitness apps can be handy tools for supporting your training and nutrition goals, especially if you’re at the starting line of your training, still wondering, “what is cardio? Plus, they can be ideal for athletes struggling to compile a worthwhile regimen on their own. Below are some of the perks that come with adding one of these services to your home screen.

Different fitness apps can vary in price, depending on the membership you choose and the amount of first-person coaching. Our team selected apps with a variety of prices, so there’s something for everyone. In testing, we appreciated the assortment of available on-demand workouts and programs, but admittedly focused on the 171 available yoga flows.

Personalization has evolved from a premium feature to a baseline expectation, which means apps must demonstrate that they adapt in meaningful ways. When tracking captures load, intensity, and perceived effort in a single, low-friction step, you can see meaningful trends instead of noisy logs. According to Medium, 60% of users find tracking features essential, treating logging as core functionality rather than an optional add-on. Freeletics is a popular app renowned for delivering high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts tailored for bodyweight exercises that require no equipment. It adapts its training plans to individual progress and offers clear workout instructions. BODi offers the most comprehensive collection of fitness, mindset, and nutrition content available right now.

Fitness Tracker Integration

This information is sort of buried in the details, and you could be left scrambling for a dumbbell or resistance band mid-workout if you don’t do your homework prior. The app itself is free to download on iOS and Android devices, and you pay for whichever service you plan to use. For example, the Wall Pilates course starts at $15 monthly which I rate at 3.5 out of 5 — average in comparison to other platforms, but not an absolute bargain. These digital training tools are dedicated to helping your workout performance. The Google Pixel Watch 4 remains the definitive alternative to the Apple Watch for Android users, and is an even better running companion in this latest edition.

best smartwatch workout apps

Whether you’re a marathoner tracking every BPM or just casually interested in your weekly workouts, there’s something here for you. Nathan Kennedy is a UK-based certified personal trainer, online fitness coach, and a representative for Bio-Synergy, a sports nutrition brand. He told Live Science about the potential health and fitness benefits of using fitness trackers. This GPS sports watch offers reliable navigation tools, comprehensive fitness tracking features and impressive battery life, easily making it one of the best Garmin Forerunner alternatives on the market.

Calm is one of the most popular apps for meditation, relaxation, and managing stress. It offers a range of guided breathing exercises to help you relax, focus, unwind, or energize yourself. Another useful feature is mood check-in which lets you track your current mood with the help of emojis and labels.

Best overall fitness tracker

best smartwatch workout apps

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. Although many of the best workout apps require a subscription, most also have a free trial to get a taste of the workout style, instructors, and ease of use. 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. The Sweat workout app is the evolution of several Bikini Body Guides (BBGs) produced by Australian personal trainer Kayla Itsines.

Virtuagym’s White Label Fitness App

Dylan Haas is a Lead Shopping Reporter for Mashable, where he covers all things gaming, laptops, fitness, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day. In Communications from Pace University and contributed to publications like Paste Magazine, Bandsintown, and others following a brief stint as a marketing and management assistant in the music industry. You think you know which app fits, but the one detail most people miss changes everything about how they progress. Force touch (or long press) on the Apple Watch allows you to edit sets, reps, and weight on the fly. Where regular mapping apps sometimes inadvertently send you along the fastest route even if that means the busiest roads, CycleMaps will find you the https://www.healthcarebusinesstoday.com/10-best-muscle-building-apps-in-2026/ route best suited to cyclists. This makes it particularly invaluable in big cities, where using the network of back roads and cycle paths can make every ride far more enjoyable.

The Best Workout Apps to Kickstart Your Health Goals in 2026

Whether you’re walking, hiking, running, riding, or doing another type of workout, you can map your workout and see where you’ve gone. You can map out a route on your watch and Strava will help you follow it by providing directions. With the mapping features, you can discover new routes even while you’re in the middle of a run or hike and Strava will show you the map on your Galaxy Watch. You can set personal goals in Strava and the app will track your workouts and show you how you’re moving towards those goals.

And if you’re privacy-conscious or just not all that competitive, a lot of the strongest features are kind of useless. For example, the COROS Apex 2 Pro advertises 75 hours in GPS mode (GPS + QZSS) and 45 hours with five satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS), and 30 days for daily use without GPS tracking. Each brand of watch uses a slightly different technology to analyze and interpret heart rate data, but they all use similar ways of measuring optical heart rate, known as photoplethysmography (PPG). A green light shines from the back of the watch, through your skin, and reflects off of red blood cells in your veins, measuring blood flow.

For Bodybuilders and Hypertrophy Training

If you’re shopping for a fitness tracker right now, the problem isn’t a lack of options, it’s the opposite. The market is more crowded than ever, with everything from simple activity trackers to recovery-focused bands and smartwatch hybrids all competing for space on your wrist. Comfort and form factor matter just as much as features (if not more), since the best tracker is the one you’ll actually wear all day. Of course, you’ll also need to choose a device that’s compatible with your phone and go-to workout apps. Google Fit is the default fitness tracking option on Wear OS smartwatches and offers seamless connectivity with the Android ecosystem. It helps users achieve fitness goals through customized coaching and actionable tips based on your health and activity history.

Lifesum

Burn.Fit is designed to promote holistic fitness improvement, combining workout plans, nutrition guidance, and habit tracking to support overall well-being. It is designed to support overall health, rather than focusing solely on gym workouts, by integrating wellness and lifestyle elements. It offers classes in multiple modalities, wellness guides, and can connect you with in-person fitness partners to keep you sweating steady on-the-go. The basic membership is free and then it goes up to $25 for a six-month membership, or $30 annually. You can take classes with celebrity trainers like Halle Berry and Gabrielle Union. With Apple Watch, members can keep track of key metrics and view progress over time.