Prior to testing the Ultra, she was already very familiar with Apple Watches—she’d owned the Series 4, 6, and 7. If you’re looking for your first fitness tracker—or you aren’t interested in a bunch of extra bells and whistles—Felbin says the Inspire 3 can’t be beat. Visualize your health data and see daily progress with our free and easy-to-use app. From trackers to home gym equipment, here’s how you can level up you workout in the new year. Over time, with a premium subscription, the SmartTrainer tool learns about your workouts and can auto-generate new routines based on your preferences and your existing workout history. It’s a lot like Garmin’s technology, which recommends running workouts based on your historic performance, but more gym-focused.
Apple Watch Series 11
The tracker’s bright, intuitive touchscreen interface is easy to use and navigate, allowing for quick selections of different activities. We also love that the tracker seamlessly syncs with the Garmin app, which we use to customize and analyze our data, review healthy insights, and get motivated with fun challenges and rewards. The app’s recent revamp makes it far more intuitive than other smart ring interfaces I tested. Smart rings typically struggle with tracking workouts, and very few offer advanced health features like ECG or blood pressure monitoring.
- If you own an iPhone, chances are you’ve either tried Apple Fitness Plus or you’ve got a free trial waiting for you.
- The Oura Ring 4 initially felt bulky, but within a week, I barely noticed it at all.
- So even though the indoor tracking feature needs improvement, Runkeeper can be a solid option.
- You can also search by muscle group, workout focus, and equipment to find a class.
- The Oura Ring 4 is the best smart ring money can buy—though it’s also the most expensive.
- Compared to an in-person gym membership, fitness apps are typically more affordable, far more convenient, and they take the guesswork out of programming our own workouts.
Oura Ring 4
The developer, Plankk Media Inc., indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. The developer, 晗钦 王, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. Matt’s a keen runner, ex-kickboxer, not averse to the odd yoga flow, and insists everyone should stretch every morning. When he’s not training or writing about health and fitness, he can be found reading doorstop-thick fantasy books with lots of fictional maps in them.
Most apps also include video demonstrations for each movement, along with progress tracking and structured plans to help you stay consistent and accountable. With that said, there are a couple of fitness apps that have a fully functioning app and all of its features are available for free—no subscription needed. One such app is Nike Training Club, which has been completely free since 2020. If you are on the hunt for a free workout tracker, Hevy enables users to create routines, monitor progress with exercise charts and personal records, make exercise-specific notes, and connect with other users.
Best Fitness Tracker for Everyday Use

It was very comfortable to wear at night and offered in-depth analysis and sleep improvement tips based on comprehensive data. The impressive battery life of up to eight days also makes it convenient for continuous wear. Plus, with guided meditations and breathing exercises in the app, this discreet device is perfect for incorporating more mindfulness into our daily routine. We found the device intuitive and easy to set up and use, even for first-time fitness tracker users. We also like that the battery can last up to 14 days on a full charge, making it easy to wear the watch continuously.
How to use Smartgym — the best gym-based workout app for Apple Watch and iPhone
The biggest pull of the Apple Watch is that it syncs with your phone, with apps already on there. Combined with activity detection that gets what you’re doing right pretty much every time, using and recording data is pretty seamless. Information is split across the separate Health and Fitness apps and even a Fitnesss+ subscription doesn’t give you the same level of insights and tips as Whoop or the Oura Ring. Smartgym’s free version only allows you to exercise for 10 sessions before you have to pay for a premium membership.
Best Free Workout App for Community: Hevy
So whatever your goal is in 2025, here are the best fitness apps to help you achieve it. Over the course of several months, I tested four fitness rings directly against each other. Although most were comfortable to wear and provided reliable biometric data, the Oura Ring 4 easily rose above the pack. The insights provided by the Kira+ app do lag behind the likes of Ultrahuman and Oura, but the company has now released new algorithms for workout tracking.
Which is the best full body workout app?
At just 2.4 g, it’s lighter and smaller than its predecessor, making unimeal reviews complaints it more comfortable to wear—and it remains our favorite subscription-free smart ring. However, since its release in June 2023, rivals have begun to offer hardware and software that are equally compelling. Many of the rings we’ve encountered so far have been designed to monitor aspects of your health and fitness.
There are plenty of online yoga instructors to try if neither personality quite gels with you. If Adriene cooing that a pose is “yummy” makes you cringe, you can also give Jessamyn Stanley or Yoga with Tim a shot. I also enjoy Cosmic Kids Yoga with my children on weekend afternoons. For more tips, check out our story on Everything You Need for Your Yoga Practice. For more fitness recommendations, read our guides to the Best Fitness Trackers, Best Treadmills, and Best Protein Powders.
If you love exploring new routes, we recommend Polar Vantage’s M3 Smartwatch for its accurate GPS navigation, sharp display, and accurate metrics. During testing, we found it to be very sophisticated and accurate in its activity tracking capabilities, with dedicated screens and metrics for about 150 different sports and activities. Plus, we appreciate the seamless integration with third-party apps like Strava and other devices such as chest strap heart monitors, which allows for easy data sharing and analysis.
Wear Audio Recorder
The experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition & Fitness Lab have tested more than 40 workout apps, combining hands-on evaluations with real-life feedback from GH staffers and consumer testers. This comprehensive approach gives us a clear picture of which apps deliver results, which are enjoyable to use, and which fall short. Free workout apps have great value, providing basic instructions with libraries of exercises and workouts at no cost to you. Some of our favorite free workout apps include Caliber, Nike Training Club, and Map My Fitness. If those don’t do it for you, we have more free workout apps to choose from on our best free workout app roundup.
Accessibility
Unfortunately, if you primarily work out indoors, you won’t get much out of the app. It’s just not great at tracking activities like Pilates or weightlifting. And if you’re privacy-conscious or just not all that competitive, a lot of the strongest features are kind of useless. My husband, who’s an avid cyclist, mentioned that Strava also connects directly with bike computers and indoor road bike trainers like Zwift. Because I don’t bike enough to have that fancy schmancy equipment, I didn’t test either of these features—though I can see why they would be a huge plus for cyclists.
What our tester says:
Unlike most apps on this list, Nike Training Club doesn’t have a free and premium version; it’s just free. Our top picks range https://www.nutrition.gov/topics/basic-nutrition/online-tools/food-and-nutrition-apps-and-blogs in modes of training and fitness levels, so you’ll want to read on for our selection of the best free workout apps. Looking for the best workout apps can be tough, especially if you’re looking for a free app. One of the most frustrating things about browsing an app store on your Android device or iPhone is that almost every workout app says they’re free, but with in-app purchases. Once you install the app, however, you realize that the in-app purchase is to unlock full use of the workout app.