10 Best Workout Apps of 2026, Tested by Personal Trainers

I found the recovery time predictions useful for planning my daily movement after working out, including how many unimeal reviews consumer reports walks to take and when to go to bed. I was also able to create my workouts within the Garmin Connect app and load them onto the watch, down to the sets, reps and exact exercises. Most importantly, I’ve seen improved results in the gym, like PRs (personal records) during lifting and greater endurance after following the watch’s post-workout recovery advice and sleep tips. Out of all of the trackers I tested, the Venu 3 was the most accurate while still being easy to use. Its large 1.4-inch touchscreen and bright display made it easy to check my stats mid-workout and cycle through different health features (of which there are many). Our favorite fitness tracker for beginners, the Fitbit Charge 6, is back at its lowest price ever The battery life lasts nearly a week on a single charge, which https://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/g19543131/seven-fitness-weight-loss-apps/ is convenient for busy families. The device is slim, light, and waterproof, so your child can wear it while playing or even during water activities. While you do need to use a separate app for setup and syncing, the overall set of features is straightforward and practical for beginners. The screen is easy to use and provides clear visuals, even in bright conditions. With over 70 different watch faces and the ability to customize the look, you can make it match your own style. Garmin Vivoactive 6 When it comes to tracking distance, the Fitbit Charge 6 performs well and has built-in GPS, which the Inspire 3 does not. You’ll need a Google account, though, even if you already have the Fitbit app. The Charge 6 added a helpful haptic side button for easy screen navigation. Smartwatches Your daily data is presented on a super-sharp color AMOLED display, which offers lots of detail in a very small space. The Garmin Forerunner 165 Music is my pick for the best fitness tracker for running. It’s also one of the best fitness trackers for heart rate monitoring despite using Garmin’s older optical sensors. It wasn’t always bang-on in testing but it handled most workouts with a reliability equal to some of Garmin’s pricier watches. US Market Bloodbath: Historic Crash in Stocks and Crypto Sends Shockwaves – What It Means for Indian Markets on Monday The Garmin Vivoactive 6 is more than enough for most fitness activities, but people training for a race, marathon or triathlon will appreciate what the Forerunner 265 has to offer. If you want broad exercise and health data, plus all the latest apps, a smartwatch from Apple or Google is a good fit. The Garmin fēnix 8 AMOLED blends smartwatch and adventure watch features into one highly advanced wearable with a vibrant AMOLED display. Imagine getting real-time updates on your fitness goals right on your smartphone screen. Even though there are now three subs tiers ranging from £169 to £349 per year including the tracker, that won’t be for everyone. Finally, choose a tracker that lets you set daily goals and sends reminders for activity or hydration, keeping you motivated and on track with your fitness journey. Even so, this is the most full-featured fitness smartwatch a Samsung phone owner can buy. The Apple Watch SE 3 was released alongside WatchOS 26, which includes additional fitness and wellness features. Workout Buddy uses your fitness data to generate personalized insights, advice, and pep talks through a virtual assistant. Your Workout Buddy will remind you of your goals, recent achievements, and recap your results at the end of your workout. Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) – Overview Finding the right affordable fitness tracker can be challenging, but with smart shopping and knowing what to look for, you can easily discover budget-friendly options. Start your journey with these 3 affordable fitness tracker options that promise to enhance your routine without straining your budget. These trackers aren’t just about counting steps but about improving your overall fitness and helping you lead a healthier life. The Fitbit Charge 6 is a slightly more advanced step and health tracker. It offers the same step, wellness and sleep tracking as the Inspire 3, but with more connectivity. Budget Fitness trackers do far more today than the rudimentary clip-on wearables Fitbit introduced in 2009. Now, it’s like wearing a personal trainer and life coach right on your wrist. The best fitness trackers count steps, recommend workouts, track sleep habits, and motivate you to keep active. Of course, a fitness tracker isn’t worth buying if it doesn’t offer some health and fitness features, of which there are plenty on the Inspire 3. Runner-up: Fitbit Charge 6 Thankfully, the options on this list are just that, and with some offering battery life up to a month and a half, you’ll be able to keep it on your wrist for weeks. In any case, it’s a comfortable watch that has access to a whole host of apps thanks to watchOS, which lets it run the likes of Strava and other apps natively, while also being light and easy to wear all day. Incredibly affordable but very capable, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 may be lacking on-device GPS, but it has great battery life and is so small it’s easy to forget you’re wearing it. If you’re only using it at the gym to count your steps and your heart rate, a simpler, less expensive fitness tracker will suit you fine. The Garmin Vivoactive 6 is my favorite Garmin fitness tracker and a perfect alternative to folks considering the Fitbit Sense 2 or Fitbit Versa 4 smartwatches, both of which are near the ends of their lives. Even when connected to your mobile phone, it hangs on to battery life for up to 14 hours in GPS mode and 24 hours if you turn off heart rate monitoring. Get Personalized Training Plans For Specific Races While hiking in a remote part of Tasmania, we safely navigated our route

The barbell and dumbbell bench press are proper and effective exercises for targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps during push workouts. Both movements have a good overloading potential and help develop strength for other upper-body lifts. The upper/lower workout split can provide advantages over other workout routines. Since you’re always alternating between two workouts, you train all the muscle groups at a higher frequency. With the example above, you would train all the major muscles three times every two weeks, instead of twice. Next, lower your right leg to starting position and continue alternating sides for the rest of the set. Begin by stepping right while bringing your feet (and knees) together and elbows down into “goal post” position. Then step left, pressing your hands back up to the sky, and repeating the exercise on alternate sides going forward. Perform as many reps as possible, with one rep constituting a step to both sides. The focus isn’t on “lasting” but on moving your joints through a safe range of motion while increasing your body temperature. However, targeted fat loss (“spot reduction”) is a myth (12). Lastly, raise back up to return to the starting position, squeezing your glutes at the top. At this point in your fitness journey, we want to improve your strength and your strength endurance. How do you know if your workouts are working if you don’t track your progress? “Mastering bodyweight strength is crucial if you plan to add strength training to your overall fitness plan. Just follow the exercises one after another, for a minute each. The Sissy Squat is generally considered the best isolation movement because it removes the glutes and hamstrings from the equation, placing almost 100% of the load on the quads. Any type of movement will benefit your body, health, and well-being. In both cases, eating too few calories can affect your results, so be careful and monitor your body weight to stay on the right track. The most important thing is to leave the gym feeling tired and accomplished, but not completely exhausted. Like other things, this is somewhat individual and will largely depend on your available time to train and your experience level. Day Split vs. 5-Day Split Don’t switch the range of movement exercises – you’re probably struggling with them because of the lack of flexibility. Stick with them and this will improve significantly in time. We all progress at different rates and it depends on where you’re starting from, but I’d suggest a minimum of 2 weeks on this program. Do that with light weights, so you can focus more on the health of the movement, and less on the burn of the muscle. Your rep count also depends on the exercises you’re doing. Whether or not your workouts burn fat depends on how exactly you’re integrating weight training into your routine. If you’re burning more calories then you’re taking in, you’ll lose some fat. In general, though, it won’t burn as much fat as a workout whose sole purpose is to ramp up your heart rate, such as a running workout. But weight training is increasingly blended into high-intensity interval (HIIT) circuits; these ramp up your heart rate while also challenging you to move weights. How Long Before Weight Training Will Yield Progress? Gymnasts are some of the strongest athletes around and they build incredible strength by just using their own bodyweight as resistance. Although these essential movements are taking place all day they are often performed badly and with compromises due to a lack of strength and mobility. You now have a bodyweight workout you can do in your own home. A resistance band is a great tool to help build strength for proper pull-ups. It’s part of our arsenal for getting your first pull-up. Bodyweight training has been one of the top trends in the fitness world for the last few years, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Glute Emphasis (Full Body Workout Glute Focus) If you’re looking for a free, highly effective bodyweight workout for strength and fat loss, you’re in the right place. As always with progressive overload, only change one variable at a time. Don’t start with resistance bands and tempo training at the same time. # ELEVATED PUSH-UP: The lunge helps develop better balance and coordination, which translate into everyday activities. Lunges also provide some great glute stimulation, even without weights. Finally, unilateral exercises like the lunge can help improve muscle imbalances. You’ll improve mobility as the squat has your body move through multiple planes of motion to complete the exercise. Moreover, you stand to gain more leg muscle as the squat targets your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and hip flexors. To reduce your risk of injury, be sure to dedicate time to a warmup and cool down. # STEP UP: Typically when I see people write articles about bodyweight exercises, forward lunges are always included. Additionally, bodyweight squats help develop your calves and core muscles. Not all bodyweight exercises are good for beginners, even though they look simple on the surface. As a reminder, you can grab our beginner bodyweight tracking sheet, which includes a brand-new variation perfect for people who need to prioritize low-impact movements to start. Complete Guide to Getting Back Your Energy Laying on your back, lift yourself into a v-sit position and bring your opposite elbow to your opposite knee. Then, return to start position but keep your shoulder blades and heels hovering off the ground between reps. Perform as many reps as possible, with one rep containing both sides. Start by balancing on your right foot, with your arms straight in front of you and your left leg bent. Keep the weight in your heel as you slowly lower into a one-legged lunge. The deeper you sink into the squat the more of a challenge it is. Once you lift yourself back to the top of the squat that’s one rep. Finish the set on your right leg and then switch to your left