Our 8 favorite workout apps for your phone or tablet

Working up a sweat after a long day of work or school can be satisfying. Runners open endorphins after a good cardio session, while athletes build muscle to improve strength and stamina. Everyone has a goal and a confidence level they want to attain. But reaching our fitness goals can be daunting, which is why we turn to our trusty smartwatches and mobile apps for assistance.

Many great Android apps specializing in workouts require a subscription, locking essential features behind a paywall. So, we took it upon ourselves to study the most accessible workout apps that offer free trials or have a healthy selection of exercises you can try before subscribing. Time to hit the ground running with these fantastic workout apps!

1 FitOn

Workout app with plenty of accessibility

FitOn is one of our favorite fitness apps. The app offers indoor exercises, including cardio, Yoga, and Pilates. It also has a dedicated section for 10-minute workouts, which is great when you have little time to spare. Inside the app, you can create a body-specific workout plan.

The intensity levels per activity vary (there’s a short survey when you sign up), so it’s a welcoming addition to beginners and veterans. It also includes a Pro plan that adds meal plans, recipes, cast workouts, real-time heart rate measurements (via your watch), offline downloads, and music. But don’t be fooled by the paywall; you can access all the workout options for free.

2 Workout for Women: Fit at Home

Detailed weight loss programs for women

Women have different physiques than men, requiring tailor-made programs for weight loss and fitness training. One of the best workout apps for women is Workout for Women: Fit at Home.

You’ll receive an optional questionnaire when logging into the app for the first time. The provided answers will prepare a personalized program to help you get started. Inside the app is a training tab with workouts, including options like Yoga, 7-minute workouts, stretches, and summertime workout regimens. Workout levels are split between beginner, intermediate, and advanced, so there’s a workout level for everybody. But free accounts require watching a video to unlock exercises. Each exercise has onscreen instructions, but clicking the video icon redirects you to a video showing how to do it. Overall, the app has a lot of resources to empower women to live a healthier life.

3 Fitbod Workout & Fitness Plans

Great workout app for strength training

Starting the app for the first time will ask you questions about your experience in lifting weights, reasons you’ve signed up for Fitbod, the location you primarily exercise at (answers will determine your available starter equipment), muscle groups you’ve worked on, and how often you can work out. Exercises then get split into three sections: instructions, target, and equipment, and are also timed. And if you require more guidance, you can also watch a demo. Other features includes the ability to save workouts, create your own, and share it. So, once you’ve made good progress, don’t be shy to flaunt your achievements!

4 Freeletics

Specializes in AI coaching to help your routine

The Freeletics app is an excellent addition to your home exercise regimen. It includes personalized workout plans based on your fitness goals. The Freeletics app provides all the tools you need to begin your workout (no external equipment required). Freeletics focuses on HIIT (high-intensity interval training) to improve your cardiovascular health. Still, if that’s not for you, you can set the intensity on the workout level.

The app asks for a lot of personal information to create your profile, so that’s one negative. It also locks parts of your fitness profile behind a paywall. However, despite these shortcomings, we found the Freeletics app to be a great choice. The app provides excellent resources for those who strongly prefer to focus on bodyweight exercises while having additional learning styles at their disposal (such as audio coaching).

5 Fitify: Fitness, Home Workout

Custom workouts that respect your needs

Fitify: Fitness, Home Workout has a decent list of paid and free workouts. When you open the Fitify app, you will be greeted with questions about your fitness goals and workout experiences. The questions will help the AI determine a personalized workout plan. After you’ve signed up, the app will show several screens to register for a paid subscription; you can exit the page and return to the main home page for all the free features. Inside the Fitify app, you can access workouts (free and paid), recipes (paid), workout plans (paid), and your personal profile.

The downside of the Fitify app is that it locks the majority of its features behind a paywall, but at the very least, you can still pull up a sizable workout list inside the workouts tab; selecting a workout includes some custom options like changing the duration, adding music (which redirects to the Spotify app), a warmup toggle, and a quiet workout toggle. So, you can use the app to create custom workouts that fit your conditions.

If you’re seeking a personal trainer, Fitify has a standalone app for finding a personal 1-on-1 trainer.

6 Home Workout — No Equipment

Includes detailed tips for improving your workout

Home Workout — No Equipment is another app by the Leap Fitness Group. Like the Workout for Women: Fit at Home app, it has a pool of exercises you can perform on the spot. The app offers daily reminders of your exercise routines, so you don’t need hold yourself accountable (for keeping track). It also provides various exercises, from warmups to more intense body-targeted training; there are plenty of options whether you’re a beginner or a workout veteran. The detailed notes for each exercise make this workout app stand out; selecting an exercise will show common mistakes, illustrations, and breathing tips (the text display is well-optimized for mobile).

The app uses ads to keep the costs down, but it doesn’t require an account to access any of the features — you can also remove ads with a one-time fee.

7 Seven — 7 Minute Workout

Short HIIT exercises in all forms

Are you looking to get in and out of a workout in less than 10 minutes, or are you simply trying to stretch your body after a few hours of sitting? Seven — 7 Minute Workout is an excellent app for those looking to work up a sweat without strings. However, even if this workout app primarily focuses on HIIT, you can change the workout plan to include your own set of exercises (like crunches, push-ups, and hip raises).

Similar to the other apps on this list, you must create an account and answer a questionnaire (though it is relatively short). Also, it is worth noting that not all workouts are available in the free tier; listed exercises with a lock icon require a premium subscription. Despite the restrictions, there are more than enough workouts to get you started. Another upside of using the Seven — 7 Minute Workout app is that you can publicly document your activity, complete challenges, and earn achievements — after all, any form of motivation can spark a newfound healthy routine.

8 30 Day Fitness — Home Workout

Creates a monthly plan with ease

After reading this workout app list, you may already be keen to begin your fitness journey. But getting into the routine can prove more challenging than it should be. Part of the magic in progressive workout apps like 30 Day Fitness — Home Workout is having a set goal and plan to achieve it.

Loading up the app for the first time includes a small questionnaire to help determine your workout plan, but free users can ignore this and go straight to the month-long fitness challenges; inside the app, you can select abs workout, arm workout, and more. The workout challenges are split into three plan levels (easy, medium, and hard) based on how often you can commit to exercising. All listed workouts include an animation guide and instructions (text-based and video); tapping on the video icon inside the listed exercise will bring up a video of a person performing the exercise. Overall, it’s a great workout challenge-focused app offering plenty of hands-on instructions.

Get aid from fitness trackers

The first step is getting into the daily habit of exercising and committing to an entire workout plan. But we have a few steps to go before we can reliably maintain our routine. But we don’t have to do this alone. We can turn to fitness tracking to monitor our progress and remind us about all the daily health and fitness goals we wish to attain.