No need to go to the gym to build muscle and work on your flexibility.
The best home exercise trainer apps provide clear instructions in video and/or audio form. They encourage you to progress thanks to real coaches and also offer a wide range of exercises so that you never get bored. Finally, personalized profiles allow you to set your goals and track your progress.
We are interested here in applications that provide exercises that you can perform at home. Although most also offer tips for improving your fitness outdoors, in a gym or gym. We have included in our selection both free and paid programs that will correspond to different types of profiles.
Which connected bracelet to choose to keep your good fitness resolutions?
Best watches for athletes: beginner or confirmed athlete, there is bound to be one for you
Best headphones and earphones for sports: surpass yourself in music
The Best Sports Apps
1.Fitbit Premium
Fun workouts to track with or without a Fitbit device.
Fitbit Premium workouts are taught by professional and dynamic instructors. You choose yours before starting the aptitude test. It then guides you through your journey. Each move is explained with clear video instructions. Not sure how to perform a particular exercise? Just type it into the search bar and the coach will show you exactly how to do it safely. An invaluable advantage when training alone.
After signing up for Fitbit Premium, you’ll be prompted to take an eight-minute fitness test. Then you can select particular training programs, depending on your personal goals.
The plan offers you personalized plans based on your progress and goals, audio training for running and walking, a large selection of trainers and several music stations. For an annual subscription of €79.99 (or €8.99 per month).
Contrary to its name, you don’t need a Fitbit smart device to use Fitbit Premium. But if you have one, pairing is child’s play. The app can also connect to Facebook and Google Fit, allowing you to share your records with your friends. Another great motivation to get off the couch and get moving.
- Adidas Runtastic
A free offer rich in videos as well as audio advice
The Adidas Runtastic program has one major advantage over most home coaching apps: it offers a decent range of free features. As you can imagine, the Adidas brand is taking advantage of the application to expand its notoriety. But it’s not just a marketing tool – it’s an app that really comes complete with or without the three stripes logo.
You have the option of choosing from many ready-to-use exercises. And if you don’t like anything in the standard base, you can create custom workouts. Just configure the body parts you would like to work and the duration of the exercises. A well-thought-out feature that avoids wasting precious time scrolling down the long list of content posted online.
You are guided during your sessions by video tutorials and audio narration. We regret, however, a lack of gamification to motivate you. The app simply tells you what to do and for how long. When you try a new exercise, it’s good to keep your screen at eye level so you can compare your goals with the chosen exercise. But once you get the hang of it, you can settle for voice prompts.
The premium subscription is available for €59.99 per year. As with similar apps, this complementary service delivers new exercises. Nevertheless, the free application is more than enough.
- Nike Training Club
Over 190 workouts at home at no added cost.
Much like the Adidas Runtastic app, the Nike Training Club offers an impressive free archive. And conversely, it does not have any premium formula. You will pay nothing, Nike is committed to it.
Signing up is simple, and after entering a few fine details about yourself, including your activity level, you’ll receive a set of exercises that will suit your needs. Can not find what you are looking for ? You can filter the exercises by muscle area or by theme (endurance, strength, mobility or yoga). For those in a hurry, short training sessions, without the necessary equipment, are also available. At the time of writing this guide, more than 190 courses were made available. The publisher adds more regularly.
The videos in this home coaching app are well done (although not as polished as some premium offerings) and have plenty of customization options. Do you like to train to music? There is a button to activate your special fitness playlist. Want to turn off audio narration? it is possible to turn off the sound completely and be satisfied with the images. Bonus: said videos can be streamed to your TV in seconds.
The only real downside is that each workout program needs to be downloaded before running (not all of them are included during installation). You will therefore need an active internet connection, with some storage capacity on your smartphone.
- Aaptive
The virtual coach that surpasses the real ones.
While the bulk of home exercise coaching apps show videos to demonstrate your fitness exercises, Aaptiv employs the audio format and vocally describes each step. Which means you don’t have to hold your phone or tablet and stare at your screen to retrieve your instructions. The app also features licensed music, so there’s no need to run Spotify or Deezer in the background to get pumped up through your music playlists.
The first time you log into Aaptiv, you are prompted to set a goal. Like improving your pace and running speed, losing weight or simply working on your muscle tone. You will also need to fill in some information about your physical fitness and exercise habits. Finally, you’ll be asked to specify the equipment you have access to, so only workouts you can perform will be recommended.
The workouts are divided into categories, such as strength training and stretching. Each of them comes with an estimated duration and level of difficulty, as well as ratings given by other users (in the form of stars) to help you make your choice.
All of the virtual trainers in the app turn out to be devilishly cheerful and encouraging. They inspire you to push your limits and make solo training much more enjoyable than training in a hectic gym.
All this for an annual cost of $99.99 (around €90). It’s a substantial subscription, of course, but it offers you more than 3,000 versatile courses, as well as many collective challenges to motivate you. You can of course try the application before subscribing: the free trial period is seven days.