A guide to choosing the best fitness apps for men
Fitbit’s success came from making the loop legible, not from inventing a richer game on top. Many people just need a clean system that helps daily movement feel countable and slightly more social than it would otherwise be. Even if a single Core Drive is good enough to launch a product, a single-Core-Drive product is fragile. Story, stakes, and surprise create a backup engine for the days when the user does not feel particularly accomplished but still wants to know what happens in chapter eleven.
Weekdone: Best for OKR Goal Alignment
Used thoughtfully, a food tracking app can support weight loss, but it’s most effective when paired with personalized, expert guidance. Whether you’re trying to hit New Year’s resolutions or just need a good workout or diet tracker, the best health and fitness apps can help you get there. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed (or underwhelmed) by the choices available, I’m here to share personally-tested workout and planning apps to get you started. Starting a new fitness challenge, program, or routine can be really daunting, especially for first-timers. If you own a smartphone, however, there are a ton of great apps out there that can really help you get on top of your fitness goals for 2025. Either way, starting out with one of the best fitness apps can be one of the best ways to help your fitness goals.
Clockdiary: Best for Time Tracking and Productivity
All MyFitnessPal members can track their weight goals, exercise, and water intake alongside calories and nutrition. MyFitnessPal Premium members have many additional features, including our NEW Intermittent Fasting Tracker. Ansari says that you may be asked about your goals, as well as whether you have a specific medical condition and want to meet a particular nutrient need or decrease, maintain, or gain weight.
Accountability
Christina is a health commerce staff writer at Fortune with more than a decade of experience crafting engaging content for digital platforms. There are also a few red flags to watch for when you’re evaluating options. There’s an old adage that you can’t out-train a bad diet, and it’s sadly true. All that hard work in the gym isn’t going to matter if you aren’t doing the heavy lifting in the kitchen. Get expert-tested reviews, real data, and no-BS recommendations sent to your inbox. It’s also an intuitive app to use, as Nicole rates both the setup and ease of use a solid 5 out of 5.
What Is Pre-Workout? An RD Reveals the Gym Juice Scoop
A fitness app can replace a personal trainer for many people who mainly need workout structure, exercise demonstrations, and progress tracking. It may not be enough if you need hands-on form correction, injury-specific programming, or highly personalized coaching. If you are lifting heavy, returning from injury, or managing a medical condition, consider using an app alongside guidance from a qualified professional. A fitness app should make your progress visible without turning every workout into data entry.
Best for Running: Nike Run Club
Check the ratings in the app store, or what users are saying on review sites that you trust. Also look out for recommendations from leading sports and fitness publications, such as Men’s Health and Sports Illustrated. Don’t forget that investing in your health and fitness can have long-term benefits, including for your wallet. Many Centr members have come to us with concerns such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and pre-diabetic, then gone on to receive a clean bill of health from their doctor. Breaking them into smaller, manageable milestones keeps you focused and prevents burnout.
Healthline
- Starting and stopping timers is quick and intuitive, and the pie chart summaries provide a fast breakdown of where time was going each day.
- We’d recommend this polished app to anyone seeking a new challenge from both home and gym workouts, or in need of an extra push to hit their health goals.
- Or maybe you think reaching your goals is going to require depriving yourself of all your favorite foods.
- There’s no easier way to track your food, activity, steps, water, weight and measurements than MyFitnessPal.
- Nike Training Club is a free fitness app with a robust workout library that includes one-off workouts as well as periodized programs led by certified instructors.
- Instead, you follow a series designed to help you gain strength in six weeks, followed by a deload week or two.
Habitica is a unique habit-tracking and productivity app that turns your daily tasks and goals into an engaging role-playing game. As you complete tasks and habits, you earn experience points (XP), gold, and in-game rewards to level up your character. You can also join guilds and parties, where progress benefits the group as well as the individual.
Toodledo User Ratings and Reviews
Users who built a personal history inside the product have, on a few occasions, had to migrate. Trust in fitness apps compounds slowly and breaks quickly, because users are not just losing data. In Octalysis terms, the app blends Core Drive 2 (Development & Accomplishment), Core Drive 3 (Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback), and Core Drive 5 (Social Influence & Relatedness). The choose-your-own-coaching-voice and adjustable plan length handle empowerment.
Best Workout Apps Comparison Table
It does not provide the training and wellness services deepest lifting analytics, but its class quality, clean layout, and accessible programming make it the easiest recommendation for most people. If you’re new to workout apps, or fitness in general, Aaptiv can be a great choice. It offers beginner-friendly workouts for a variety of goals, which means you can try a few different disciplines or modalities to see what you like.
ATracker User Ratings and Reviews
Nike’s product team understood that runners are not a single archetype. Several of the options on our best workout apps list will log your exercise data. If you’re an iPhone user, pay special attention to any apps that integrate with the built-in Health app on your phone. However, with the update, Nike removed some of their training programs, which used to be a popular feature of the app. Instead, you now have the option to filter workouts by muscle group — abs and core, arms and shoulders, or glutes and legs, workout focus — endurance, mobility, strength, and yoga, and by equipment.
