Growing year after year, the fitness sector is now worth $32 billion USD. Strangely, personal weight has also shot up at the same time—with global obesity rates doubling since 1975.
Are we exercising more to make up for all those McDonald’s meals we eat? Is the world splitting itself, therefore, between the fit and the husky?
The fitness industry is showing no signs of faltering, whatever the situation. The industry for exercise applications and fitness apps (now valued around US $4.4 billion) is set to expand as gyms slowly reopen in a post-Covid-vaccine environment.
Have you considered starting your own fitness app? In that case, spend some time researching the 10 top fitness apps now available. Study their features, UX design, and how they enable their consumers to achieve leaner, stronger, healthier bodies.
Do you already have a concept for a fitness app you believe shows promise? Schedule a no-cost meeting with one of our Net Solutions consultants to help you investigate your possibilities.
1. The MyFitnessPal
Originally released in 2005, MyFitnessPal is the O.G. of calorie-counting applications. This software provides users a simple toolset to monitor their daily consumption of calories and nutrients alongside the calories they burn (by living, breathing, and exercising) based on the basic idea of calories-in-calories-out.
Users of MyFitnessPal may track every meal by searching the large food database of the site. Should a meal not already exist in the database which is unusual they may input the data manually. Users may also scan the barcode label on prepared items; if the brand is in the database, it will automatically fill the relevant sections. The only thing the user has to do is change their serving size.
What helped MyFitnessPal to succeed?
- Outstanding food database that professionals have researched and deemed somewhat correct
Flawless connectivity with various devices and applications like Apple Watch, Fitbit. - Online chat boards where individuals may interact with others on a comparable fitness path, share their fitness statistics with peers for responsibility, and foster community
2. Planet Fitness Workouts
Among the top free exercise applications out there, Planet exercise ranks high. It’s free as it’s basically a marketing tool for Planet Fitness, one of the biggest gym chains in North America with over 2000 facilities spread across the United States (plus a few sites in Canada and Mexico).
Planet Fitness provides great value meant to compete with 24-Hour Fitness and other competitively priced gym businesses. By adopting a proactive strategy to build a safe environment requiring masks, relocating cardio equipment apart more than 6 feet (2 meters), rigorously enforcing cleanliness, and more they also performed well during the height of the Covid-19 epidemic. They also started a work-out-at-home initiative, wherein individuals could participate in sessions virtually, so maintaining their involvement during lockdowns.
The app itself is excellent for monitoring exercises and provides several advantages for Planet Fitness members, including a tracker to notify users when their local gym is crowded and when it’s a good time to exercise. This not only keeps members interested and returning but also enables the club to run at optimal capacity, hence enabling the business to make the most of its resources.
What contributed to the success of the Planet Fitness App?
- Progress tracker to motivate consistent exercise
- Trainers’ pre-recorded advice on weight lifting and cardio
- Crowd Meter to alert users when the gym is under low capacity
3. Apple Fitness+
The paid fitness app that comes free for the first three months after the purchase of an Apple Watch is Apple Fitness+. Since it was particularly created for the device, Apple Fitness+ has clear advantage as one of the top Apple Watch Fitness applications. Apple Fitness+ tracks your heart rate, steps, and other vitals by means of the Apple Watch, as one would expect.
Apple Fitness+ also offers a great deal of advice on various exercise programs like Pilates, Strength training, and Yoga. Along with guided meditation, it also provides fresh exercises every week. A healthy mind, after all, is linked to a healthy body.
What contributed to Apple Fitness+ success?
- The software complements the Apple ecosystem, particularly its wearable Apple’s Watch
- Users of any Apple device may stream strong training videos
- The simple, clear user experience we have come to expect from Apple
Download: iOS
4. Jefit
For those concentrating on weight lifting what professionals often refer to as resistance training Jefit is a preferred exercise app. Though it does the weight lifting part very well, the app lets users monitor all sorts of exercises, including cardiovascular conditioning.
Those looking for a full-body workout may look for exercises on the app depending on the main muscle area they develop. All the pertinent exercises show up when they perform it. Then users may choose correct form for several strength-training activities. if they have access to a gym with devices with fancy names like “thigh abductor” or “seated leg curl”or if they have nothing but a set of dumbbells, this holds true. Indeed, individuals may even exercise with just their body, doing all sorts of variants on crunches, pushups, and so on.
Jefit employs the freemium concept; the premium edition offers some excellent features that enable video direction to help you build a workout and master appropriate skills. But, among free workout applications, the free edition is very amazing. It enables you see animations showing correct technique, get training routines made by pros, and develop your own exercises.
What helped Jefit to succeed?
- Helpful, clear animations to guide novice lifters in the correct execution
- A comprehensive database of almost every workout under the sun
5. Google Fit
Google has done incredible things with Google Fit. Although on its own it may seem to be simply another fitness app (great for monitoring activities, recording exercises, etc.), what distinguishes it is its integration with a mindblowing quantity of wearables and applications.
Why is this significant? Basically, Google Fit is a center for all your other fitness applications and gadgets. For instance, suppose you monitor your meals using MyFitnessPal, your steps using an Apple Watch, and your weight training with Jefit. All that information is gathered by Google Fit into one location for you to examine. It may then provide tailored recommendations depending on your exercise history and health. And indeed, iOS devices can access it!
What helped Google Fit to succeed?
- Google worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide excellent health coaching advice for its users
Perfect integrations with both software and hardware can turn it into a single center for everyone’s exercise activities. - Users in the Google ecosystem may link to other Google services such as the Google Calendar to build a better experience.
Download: Android
6. 8Fit
A free workout app with a subscription choice, 8Fit’s primary emphasis is sustainable health. Although it offers many of exercises, it’s more about holistic health than being large, buff, and shredded.
Along those lines, 8Fit provides pre-recorded guided meditations, customizable recipes and nutrition plans, and at-home exercises. It also has a large article collection in the following categories:
- Nutrition (e.g., meal planning, nutritious eating)
- Exercise—for instance, at-home exercises, weight training, and yoga.
- Lifestyle choices include sleep, self-care, pregnancy, and parenthood.
- Meal ideas—for instance, simple dinners, healthy desserts, vegan, and keto.
What helped 8Fit to succeed?
- A thorough emphasis on whole health
- Extensive collection of articles
- Exercises that match any way of life
7. Strava
For outdoor sportsmen who would rather run, cycle, and stroll than spend their time in a gym, Strava is the preferred app. Still, users may still aim all their gym activities on Strava, including weight training, ellipticals, and exercise cycles. When you go to their website, it is obvious that in-door training is not the major emphasis of their company. Strava’s website, on the other hand, shows athletic-looking men and women running huge distances and riding spectacular bicycles.
Strava’s calorie counter offers a fair approximation depending on distance and pace; its GPS tracker is very precise. Strava lets athletes monitor their exercises, evaluate their performance, and follow their friends’ activities.
What helped Strava to succeed?
- Particular emphasis on outdoor sports
- Incredible GPS tracker Complete exercise analysis
8. Nike Training Club
Full disclosure: We had previously collaborated with Nike at Net Solutions assisting in the design and construction of the website promoting London’s largest half marathon.
That said, our previous association with this sportswear behemoth has nothing to do with creating our top 10 ranking. This just so happens to be among the top fitness tracker applications now on the market. This free fitness software really delivers given its broad range of exercises—yoga, HIIT, strength training, and much more.
But don’t believe us. With a present 4.9 rating on the Apple store, the Nike Training Club app earned Apple’s Editor’s Choice Award.
What set the Nike Training Club app apart?
- All-inclusive exercise choice
- Many of papers can assist you in enhancing your health
- All users are free; it once cost money. Nike hopes to maintain it that way because it became free throughout the epidemic.
9. HealthifyMe
To rival existing fitness tracker applications, HealthifyMe used a novel method. Although anybody may utilize the do-it-yourself aspect, it also acts as a fitness coach app providing access to personal trainers and nutritionists. The app’s artificial intelligence fitness coach, “Ria,” is available to anybody who cannot pay a nutritionist. Ria can assist users in choosing the appropriate meals and scheduling exercises to support their goal attainment.
What set HealthifyMe apart?
- Do-it-yourself tools, personal training, and nutritional guidance
- Many articles on many healthand fitness-related subjects
- Very practical item with great UX design features
10. Cult.fit
Cult.fit elevates whole health. It offers means to monitor mindfulness training, exercise, and food (like Yoga and meditation), but it goes beyond that.
Subscribers of Cult.fit have many of training options via live courses and individual sessions with trainers, and the app allows them access to medical professionals for online consultations. Cult.fit offers a one-stop-shop for a healthy mind and body; add to that a great collection of materials to study health at any level.
What contributed to Cult.fit’s success?
- An all-encompassing concentration on every degree of health
- Access to medical professionals providing online consultations
- Many at-home exercise sessions can benefit people in various time zones all across the world