Best Free Fitness Apps for At-Home Workouts
My Best Workout App Winners Are: Fit On and Runkeeper
If you’ve found the quest to find a really good fitness app seemingly impossible, it’s because, well, it is. There are at least jillions of at-home apps, and some of them are awful, some of them are too expensive, some of them don’t get you excited about the workout, and then there’s that itty-bitty little percentage that really are good, but incredibly hard to find.
I’m sharing two of my tried-and-true favorites, Fit On and Runkeeper, why I love them, and how I use them. The best part, they’re free! Well, I use the free versions. Both do have paid options, FYI.
My Favorite Fitness Apps
So let’s talk about the first free workout app, Fit On, and why I love it.
Firstly, for about a week after downloading, I was convinced that I was somehow going to be billed. Why? Because it’s that good. I’ve used decent free fitness apps that are great, but really limited. This is not one of those apps.
I’m not sure how many total workouts they have, but it seems infinite. And the variety can’t be beat. From yoga to HIIT, from strength training to flexibility, they honestly have it all. Users can also sort by what they want to target - abs, legs, arms, for example.
I’ve done a huge variety of workouts and have yet to have had an instructor who didn’t seem qualified. They’re sorted by a variety of factors - obviously the type of workout, but the length and difficulty level as well. I did a Pilates workout this week that OMG! I don’t know if it’s the best app for Pilates lovers but wow! That was a good workout!
Additionally, Fit On has a little bit of a social media aspect to it. You can add your friends and you’ll be notified when they start a workout. You can also do workouts “together,” or join in when you see someone has started.
My initial reaction to that was, “no thank you,” but it’s actually been so much fun and super uplifting to be able to cheer each other on and be held/hold one another accountable. It’s not like Facebook, where people are constantly oversharing, it’s only Fit On app oriented.
The “Pro-Membership” also has some incredible features that I look forward to trying when my budget allows, including personalized meal plans and recipes, the ability to download workouts for offline use, fitness tracker integration and premium music from top artists.
The other fitness app I use most frequently is Runkeeper - I’ve actually used this for YEARS!
If you are a new runner/walker, I would actually recommend their subscription based programs ($27.99/year) which help ease into a run or walk. I did and it very much helped me learn “how to” run. Whenever I started running in the past, thinking I could do it on my own, I would just pick a distance to get to and think I should always be able to run that far or further…like, everyday.
It was an adjustment to do their programs, which incorporated a variety of distances, and !gasp!, days when I walked only.
The Runkeeper app really did help train my body into running.
That said, I’m no longer using the paid version for a several reasons. One, I’m trying to incorporate a variety of different workouts in (hence the use of Fit On), but this leads me to why I love the free version so much:
The ability to set up my own running/walking workouts, with cues.
I have a number of my own workouts that I select based on the day. BUT, also included in the free program are what they call “One-Offs.” They’re the, again, cue-based options that guide you through a run or walk (or combination). My opinion is that those are a little more advanced (at least if you’re trying to run the entire time), but very good.
Another great thing about Runkeeper? You can listen to your outside music or playlists while the app runs in the background. I thought this was standard on running apps, but learned a few weeks ago that’s not the case with everything else.
If you’re interested, here’s a post I did awhile ago, all about how I learned to run, with Runkeeper.
I posed this question just a little bit ago to my Instagram stories: what’s your favorite fitness or workout app? So far, I have quite a few Peloton lovers but also a few of you who love Fit On. I haven’t used Peloton but did just look - 30 day free trial and then $12.99 per month after that.
Athleisure Outfit Details
You guys, these Zyia leggings are literally EVERYTHING. They suck you in at all the right places and have become my go-to options when I’m PMS-ing and nice and bloated. My friend Christy introduced me to the brand this winter - their selections are crazy good. Trust me. You’ll want every single thing.
A New Day at Target seriously has the best t-shirts. I think this is my 3rd one and I'm trying to make it my mission to get every color and print (they have long-sleeve options too). Plus, they're only $5:)
Unfortunately, A New Day isn't doing well in terms of ethics in their manufacturing practices according to this info. I believe they manufacture in several locations, but my tees were made in Vietnam.
My exact New Balance sneakers for women are an older style, but you can find a similar pair at Nordstrom. New Balance manufactures in both the USA and China.
