The Best Fitness Apps 2022

Fitness apps are a major part of how we use our smartphones, with many different apps available to help you stay in shape. Because of the wide variety of workout apps available, it can be tricky to find the right one for you.

To help you decide, we have taken a look at the best workout apps for iPhone and Android devices, analysing their ease of use and features.

If you are searching for a smartphone to use on your workouts, check out our range of affordable contract and refurbished phones.

Peloton

Price: £12.99 per month
Available on iOS and Android

One of the most well-known fitness brands on the market, Peloton know what they are doing when it comes to workouts. Their official app contains hundreds of live and pre-recorded classes, including everything from muscle strength to meditation. The live classes have become a staple of Peloton’s brand, featuring professional trainers of multiple proficiencies, be it at amateur or expert level.

Competition is encouraged with the Peloton app. Leaderboards enable you to compare your workouts against other users, pushing you to beat opposition scores. During sessions, your performance is also measured as you work out; this is a great motivator if you struggle to make your own goals and need that extra push.

Peloton’s expertise in the fitness industry is on full display with this app. The beautiful, clean user interface makes navigating between sessions and keeping on top of your daily challenges a breeze.

Nike Run Club

Price: Free
Available on iOS and Android

Nike Run Club is another app from a worldwide brand, and this expertise is evident in everything Nike has included here. The core focus of Nike Run Club is, as the name suggests, running, and it’s through this core focus that Nike has built an app with exceptional depth.

Every feature is made to help you get the most out of your workouts. ‘Guided Runs’ are voiced sessions that accompany you on runs, like a pocket personal trainer. Challenges add a competitive edge to Nike Run Club, allowing you to compete with other users and beat your personal bests. If you want to plan runs, you can also use the ‘Run Tracker’ feature to organise routes and follow your progress as you go. Each feature is built around the sole exercise of running.

Nike also understands the value of mindfulness when it comes to fitness. The company has partnered with Headspace to offer calming exercises and guidance from their coaches, preparing you for runs and helping you unwind following a long session. The Headspace features integrate seamlessly with the rest of the app and form a natural part of Nike Run Club’s overall experience.

Helping the user manage their mental well-being, as well as their fitness, really demonstrates the expertise that has gone into building Nike Run Club. For runners, there is no workout manager better.

Fiit

Price: £7.99 per month / £9.99 per month for premium
Available on iOS and Android

Fiit hones in on simplicity to make it an excellent choice for fitness beginners. 30+ exercises and 1000+ workouts are available to dive into, giving you a varied selection each day. Some apps can bundle these exercises with a lot of additional features, such as nutrition support, that not everyone wants to engage with. It is refreshing then to see Fiit focus entirely on its workout plans.

For users wanting to track their vitals as they exercise, Apple & Google Health integration is supported. These can be monitored during community challenges and classes for an all-round workout.

Fiit doesn’t overcomplicate things. It avoids the issue of feature creep (the addition of multiple features over time) by streamlining what it offers to focus on one area: exercise. This makes it incredibly easy to get involved, whilst also giving fitness experts the workouts to push themselves further.

Strava

Price: Free (£6.99 per month subscription available)
Available on iOS and Android

Strava is a fitness app that places its emphasis on community and understands the value of pushing yourself to beat your friends and peers. If you enjoy a particular cycle route, you can record that activity and it will appear on your Strava feed for others to compete against. This focus on social exercise is intuitive due to the stunning, simple user interface when engaging with other users.

Clubs and groups can be formed in Strava to share your fitness passions with like-minded people. Want to form a cycling group in your local area? You can do it in just a few taps. From these clubs, you can see how each member has performed in recent sessions, as well as organise future activities with ease. If something was to happen to a member of your group, the Beacon feature will act as a GPS marker and let nominated users know they are in distress.

The developers of Strava know that exercise is, for many people, not just a solo activity. Being part of a community can drive users to improve their performance, whilst sharing what they enjoy. This makes Strava stand out amongst the many other fitness apps available today.

EXi

Price: Free
Available on iOS and Android

For users who want to exercise, but are constrained by an illness or condition, EXi is a fantastic way to get fit, whilst balancing your medical needs. By filling in your medical report, the app will prescribe you a tailored workout regime built around your needs. Someone with a cardiovascular condition will receive a plan that differs from a user with diabetes, making EXi extremely versatile.

When exercising, EXi will monitor many different metrics, including resting heart rate and blood pressure. The study of your vitals and condition is conducted by medical experts, to give you the best possible exercise plan.

EXi is a brilliant option for users who want to exercise at the right intensity for them. Real-time data ensures that the plan you receive is prescribed just for you, taking into account your medical condition at every stage.

Exercising is important not just for your physical health, but for your mental well-being too. To support your fitness, take a look at our list of the best mindfulness apps and find the right one to help improve your mental health.