Top Fitness Apps for Home Workouts
If you’re concerned about how to stay in shape now you can’t get to the gym, don’t worry: it’s never been easier to keep fit from the comfort of your own home – and you don’t need fancy equipment. In this article, we present the best apps to keep your body and mind well trained and firing on all cylinders.
1. Body Weight Workouts
Freeletics
If you’re lacking the imagination for how to make the most of that small space between the sofa and the television, Freeletics has your back. This fitness training program creates 10- to 30-minute workouts using only your body weight: jumping jacks, burpees, diamond push-ups, and pistol squats, among others. With over 900 training moves complete with explanatory videos, it’s easy to get started. Should you want to make things a little more personalized, an upgrade is available for bespoke coaching and nutritional guidance, including meal plans. However, the free version is excellent for maintaining fitness without targeting a specific goal.
Free on iOS and Android, freeletics.com
Seven
If the current lockdown means that, between trying to work from home and preventing your kids from turning feral, you don’t have time for lengthier workouts—how about giving it your all for just, yes, seven minutes? You can tailor options by gender, frequency, and goals (“lose weight”, “get strong”, etc.) and choose from 200 different HIIT challenges that only involve body weight. Each move is outlined with textual and visual explanations and lasts for 30 seconds. While some may prefer audio guidance during exercises, others will appreciate the absence of distractions.
£9.99/$9.99 per month on iOS
2. Flexibility
Glo
You might not have your favorite yoga instructor demonstrating impossible stretches in front of you, but you can still strive to reach your fitness goals. Glo offers thousands of yoga and Pilates sessions aimed at improving posture, mobility, muscular strength, and core stability. Moreover, you have the option to save lessons for offline use, which is especially useful for those with unreliable internet connections.
£21.50/$18 per month on iOS, glo.com
3. Cardio
Zwift
As a pioneer in the gamification of cycling and running, the Zwift app transforms turbo bike sessions and treadmill runs into fun, sociable experiences. By simply logging in and pairing your Bluetooth-enabled treadmill or static bike to the app, you can power your avatar through various workouts while surrounded by thousands of others worldwide. With virtual courses such as Innsbruck and New York, motivation is never far away.
£13/$15 per month on iOS and Android, zwift.com
4. Rehab
Pain Therapy
If you’re dealing with persistent conditions like pyriformis syndrome, this app serves as a helpful alternative to traditional physiotherapy. Pain Therapy offers an extensive library of exercises, stretching, and rolling videos targeted at all body parts. You can search by muscle group or type of exercise, and although an internet connection is needed for the first video play, subsequent access is offline.
£2.99 plus in-app purchases on iOS
5. Rest
Sleepscore
Sleep is critical to overall health and fitness, impacting everything from weight management to mood regulation. With Sleepscore, you can assess your sleep quality effortlessly. Simply leave your phone on your bedside table, and the app will use your phone’s microphone to analyze your breathing rate and movements throughout the night, ultimately providing a detailed breakdown of your sleep stages and a nightly score. It even offers personalized tips to enhance your sleep quality.
£5.50/$5.99 per month on iOS and Android, sleepscore.com
6. Nutrition
MyFitnessPal
A standout among nutrition-focused apps, MyFitnessPal won’t dictate what you should eat but will effectively track how you’re eating. By inputting your weight loss target and time frame, you receive daily macro and calorie goals. You can manually enter your meals or scan barcodes, allowing you to utilize the app’s extensive database for nutritional information. Furthermore, you can log any exercises completed, adjusting your calorie targets accordingly, making MyFitnessPal a valuable tool for anyone on a fitness journey.
Free or £9.99/$9.99 a month on iOS for more detailed customization options, myfitnesspal.com
7. Meditate
Calm
The benefits of meditation and mindfulness are widely recognized today, ranging from reduced stress to improved mental clarity. Calm provides a variety of calming resources to help you progress toward becoming a Zen master, including guided meditations, soothing sounds, gentle music, and bedtime stories narrated by noteworthy voices like Matthew McConaughey and Stephen Fry.
£36/$59.99 per year on iOS and Android, calm.com
