GymBook ・ Strength Training App
Designed for those with busy schedules, the app offers science-backed seven-minute workouts that target various muscle groups. With its intuitive interface and Apple Watch compatibility, the app guides users through each exercise, ensuring proper form and maximising the efficiency of short but impactful sessions. With our advanced training plans, you’ll get a variety of runs to help your body adapt to different speeds, paces, and workout structures. This will help you progress faster and prepare you for longer and more difficult races – so, if you’ve got your eyes set on a new distance you’d like to try, Runna is the perfect mad muscle review app for you.
Edge – Best for Strength Training as Part of a Complete Fitness Plan
You can sync all our running plans with your Apple Watch to get the best running experience and make the most of each training session. If you’re looking for the best Apple Watch training plans for runners, you’ve come to the right place. As our expert reviewer Amanda Capritto points out, these options can offer the motivation and instruction to help athletes work a variety of different muscle groups. If you don’t want to pay for a personal trainer or gym membership, the best workout apps are a great alternative you can use anywhere, anytime. Edge takes a fundamentally different approach to strength training.
Strong – Best Simple Workout Logger

If you’re an avid Apple customer, Apple Fitness might be the first fitness tracker you try. That’s because it comes standard—and free—with every iPhone. Zapier is the most connected AI orchestration platform—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft.
Best workout app for running
Programming Quality – Does the app follow evidence-based strength training principles? We assessed whether programmes included progressive overload, appropriate volume management, exercise variety, and periodisation. Sessions follow progressive overload principles, target all major movement patterns, and adapt as you get stronger. You’re not just repeating the same workout every week – the app builds in variation, deload periods, and progression that mirrors what a qualified coach would programme. Effective strength programming follows periodised blocks, balances muscle groups, manages fatigue, and builds toward specific outcomes. The best apps handle this behind the scenes so you don’t need a sports science degree to train properly.
Your upper body session on Monday should account for the conditioning workout on Wednesday. Edge handles all of this automatically, balancing training stress across the week so each session complements the others rather than competing with them. I like using a simple training journal to track workouts and progress. Strong isn’t really actively developed anymore, Hevy is getting regular updates. A web interface is great if you’re making new workout routines if you don’t enjoy pecking around on your phone doing this stuff.
Advanced Apple Watch training plans for any goal, from a faster 5k to an ultramarathon
Apps that assume you already know what a Romanian deadlift is are excluding a huge audience. The developer, Appwise GmbH, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. Paid for the one off lifetime subscription which was around $100 AUD. I use Strong but it’s definitely simple and does what it does well but doesn’t have many bells and whistles.
Best workout app for personal training
- If you don’t want to pay for a gym membership or a personal trainer but still need guidance, a workout app is a great option that can help you figure out exactly what to do when you exercise.
- With Cora, the data flows into recommendations that account for how you train, how you recover, and how you fuel.
- While smartwatches and sports watches will track reps (with varying degrees of accuracy), none view strength training through the same lens as Whoop’s platform does.
- This helps you focus on your run and make the most of each session, helping you improve your performance week after week.
- While, of course, a glistening home gym replete with the best power racks, benches, and plates would be ideal, they also noted its flexibility in required equipment, rating that category a 4 out of 5.
- Your personalized running coach with tailored training plans to achieve your goals, from running a faster 5k to finishing your first marathon.
Matt Cummings is a NASM-Certified Personal Trainer with years of experience as a fitness instructor and running coach. He combines his passion for writing with his desire to help others lead healthier lives. As a former collegiate athlete, Matt still can’t shake his competitive streak. In his free time, you’ll find him playing soccer, lifting weights, hiking, or doing anything outdoors. Before committing to a new weightlifting app, there are few key factors to consider, like the equipment you have on hand, how much accountability you may need, and the types of workouts you want to take on. Also consider how much you can spend monthly to secure access to the type of training you’re after.
Which Apple Watch training plan should I pick?
#1 Emulate the best-of-the-best apps — reinventing the wheel can take precious time out of your budget and bog down the development process with (possibly) unrealistic goals. That’s why we recommend emulating the highest-rated apps out there, like the ones on our list. We evaluated exercise instruction quality, form guidance, and access to real coaching support. Progressive Overload Implementation – Does the app systematically make you stronger? We tracked whether prescribed loads, volumes, and intensities increased appropriately over time. I follow one of the 5×5 programs which I’ve added some other exercises to.

The free version limits you to a certain number of routines, while the pro subscription removes those limits. Apple Fitness+ offers a comprehensive range of workouts, from high-intensity interval training to mindful cooldown sessions. With real-time metrics displayed on your Apple Watch, you can track your progress seamlessly across the Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
Sleep & Recovery
You can store up to four routines and add up to seven custom exercises for free. “Even when opting for the push notifications, they’re few and far between,” they noted. With several levels of membership, we found the pricing structure a bit confusing. After reaching out to customer service (whose quick and clear response earned them a 5 out of 5), we learned that the $200 monthly subscription requires a three-month commitment. However, as a personal trainer themselves, our tester thought all three levels deserved a 5 out of 5 for value.
Like the workout when they actually work
The workouts are easy to follow because there are video demonstrations of each exercise, along with the allotted time you should spend on each one. This prevents you from losing track during your workout and mentally prepares you for the next exercise. The app also connects to your Apple Watch to provide health metrics such as your heart rate and logs your activities. Gentler Streak gives you a generous free version for basic workout logging, real-time heart rate zones, and activity monitoring right out of the gate, making it accessible without paying upfront.
How can I make the most out of each running session with my Apple Watch?
Workout apps make it easier to work out anywhere, with or without equipment, and they take out the guesswork for you. If you opt for the all-access membership, it costs $50 a month and can be used whether you own the bike, treadmill or rower. Peloton also recently updated its search function, so it’s easier than ever to find your favorite artist, class title and genre. If you’re not a fully converted Peloton junkie, the Peloton app One is a good stepping stone to see what the hype is about and whether you enjoy the classes. Answer a few quick questions about your goals, schedule, and kit.
