Top 5 Home Workout Apps: Get In Shape This New Year!
Home workout apps have increased in popularity and regular use since the now defunct Fit Phone was released in 2010. By 2018 there were approximately 250,000 fitness apps reported as being in service, although not all of them appeared to actually work. One year later the number of home workout/fitness apps in the Google Play Store pared down to 37,143, although over 318,000 general health and wellness apps are reported to exist market wide.
Downloads of home workout and runner tracking apps increased by twenty-one percent in the U.S. during the first half of 2020 alone. Global downloads increased by an average of forty-six percent during that same period of time. What is the reason for the recent surge in downloads and popularity of home workout and runner tracking apps? Certainly COVID-19 played a major role, especially when considering the timing of the popularity and usage surge. Home fitness was on the market long prior to the pandemic reaching America’s shores, however. Read ahead for more information about home workout and runner tracking apps and the top 5 home workout apps available today.
Brief History of Home Workout Programs
Jack Lalanne, Jane Fonda, Richard Simmons, Denise Austin and many more fitness gurus had workout TV shows, which were also available on VHS tapes. When the internet began to advance and expand, especially with the later advent of multiplicitous social media platforms, the home workout and fitness app industry was changed dramatically. Today home workout apps are available for laptops, smart phones tablets, advanced fitness equipment and even smart technology watches. The Google Play Store and Apple Store each have a huge variety of fitness apps from which to choose. How do you know which app is best for you?
Working Out Safely During Strange Times
One of the best features of home workout apps in modern times is the ability to keep people safe, fit and well during pandemic-based lockdowns and gym closures. Gyms offer a lot of machines, gear and other features not plausible for many consumers to own. Gyms also contain shared locker rooms and exercise machines, which is an unfortunate reality not necessarily a problem in 2019 and before. The advanced technology of many new home workout machines makes connecting to apps and exercising at home feel like a gym experience, however. As the need to stay safe while working out increases, the top home workout and runner tracking apps are also increasing features and effectiveness. Some are even reducing prices.
Top 5 Home Workout & Runner Tracking Apps
What makes a home workout or runner tracking app reach the top of a popularity and best-features list? Some people work out to lose weight. Some work out to gain muscle tone and/or mass. Others are building endurance, flexibility and even hand-to-hand skills. Home fitness programs safely and conveniently assist people with achieving all this in unique ways. The top 5 home workout and runner tracking apps available today are:
- Peloton.
- Nike Training Club.
- NeoU.
- Runkeeper.
- Running by Daily Burn.
1. Peloton
Peloton sells what became rapidly popular workout bikes and treadmills in a short period of time. The bikes cost approximately $2,463 including delivery, setup, additional equipment and the membership fee for your first month. The treadmills cost even more, although both include Wi-Fi-enabled touchscreens and intensive workout programs and features. People not ready to spend such an amount on exercise equipment have the option of using the masterful Peloton workout app. The app includes top-tier trainers, yoga classes, weight training and bootcamp. It offers the cycling, running and spinning features also included with the actual machines. The Peloton app/subscription even includes meditation classes. Overall there are 10+ workout types from which to choose. Peloton offers a thirty-day free trial, and then charges $12.99 per month ongoing.
2. Nike Training Club
The Nike Training Club app includes 185+ free workouts. The amount of workout types is impressively large, and includes programs for beginners, advanced performers and everyone in between. Yoga and weight training programs are included with cardio, weight loss and more. Nike recently removed the Nike Training Club (NTC) Premium subscription, making both the regular and advanced programs available for free. Programs are designed for men, women and children. There are also options to create a customized plan best suited for your home workout needs.
3. NeoU
NeoU is popular due to the seemingly endless amount of workout programs it makes available for safe, home fitness training. New classes are added each day including Pilates, core training, boxing, treadmill, elliptical and yoga. NeoU even provides dance-based workouts and training. Classes range from five to ninety minutes in length. Classes include kettle bell and bodyweight training. There is also a mobility and stretch course designed to take the edge off and help cool down/unwind. NeoU offers a thirty-day free trial and charges $15 per month thereafter. The best part about NeoU pricing is the annual subscription being deeply discounted to only $50 per year.
4. Runkeeper
Runkeeper is a staple in the runner tracking app market due to its vast assortment of features and pinpoint accuracy. Runkeeper is also highly user friendly. This app is designed to accommodate runners from beginner to competitive levels and has a large variety of features in order to do so. Some of those features include pre-created route planning, distance GPS tracking, pacing, timing, goal setting and progress monitoring. Runkeeper also provides options for biking, hiking, fitness walking and more. One of the best features offered by Runkeeper includes its ability to synchronize with other running apps or devices for free. There is also a program designed for competitive runners training for marathons or other races. Runkeeper is a free app, and now even its premium services are free when using the Runkeeper Go! app.
5. Running by Daily Burn
Running by Daily Burn continues the platform’s highly enthusiastic and motivational training styles with an emphasis, of course, on running. The programs are customizable pursuant to speed, distance, indoor/outdoor, recreational runs and treadmill work. Difficulty levels are available from beginner to advanced. One of the best features of all Daily Burn programs, included in Running by Daily Burn, is the detailed questionnaire filled out prior to beginning any workout or running programs. While the app also has a plug-and-play simplicity to it, the questionnaire allows it to formulate detailed workout plans distinctly set to your fitness goals. There is even a motivationally competitive option to share your top run performances with other runners, which allows people in the Running by Daily Burn community to uplift and push each other for better results.
