Apps have made almost every aspect of our lives more convenient—including how we exercise. But needing a fitness tracker or certain equipment for certain workouts limits this convenience.
Luckily, there are many high-quality apps that let you try out great workouts with just your smartphone and your body. Here are a few of the best bodyweight exercise apps that you can try out.
1. You Are Your Own Gym
Just like the app’s name says, your own body is all you need to get a full workout with this solution. You Are Your Own Gym offers exercise plans from fitness instructor and author Mark Lauren. Choose from programs as brief as two minutes or as long as 36 minutes. Wherever you are and however long you have to exercise, you’ll find something suitable from this app.
When you’re ready for more, the app offers 10-week fitness programs for all levels. If you have an Apple device, you can integrate You Are Your Own Gym with HealthKit to save and track your exercise programs in the Health app. The only downside of this app is its price. Still, it’s a bargain compared to a gym membership you rarely use.
Download: You Are Your Own Gym for Android | iOS ($5)
2. BodBot
Technically, BodBot does include exercises that use equipment. However, during setup, you can restrict the app to bodyweight-only exercises. BodBot stands out thanks to its high level of personalization and fitness assessments. This means that the app identifies which body parts you need to focus on, tailors your workouts to your schedule and needs, and takes into account how your body reacts to particular exercises.
While many apps boast that they provide tailor-made programs, few take into account such specific factors such as hip mobility and shoulder mobility. When BodBot says it’s suitable for all fitness levels, it means it—including people who may struggle significantly with certain exercises due to injury or weakness.
Most of the app’s features are available for free, however, a subscription is available if you want to take the personalization to a heightened level. The subscription unlocks features such as recovery tracking and food tracking within the app.
Download: BotBot for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
3. Freeletics Bodyweight
Freeletics offers a variety of exercise apps, but the one dedicated to bodyweight training is its most highly-rated. The app uses details such as your age, top three workout goals, fitness level, and your BMI to recommend the workout programs best suited for you.
Each training program includes details such as the length of sessions and the expected results. The first week of programs is often dedicated to assessing performance so as to further customize other weeks. However, all Freeletics Coach-recommended workouts are locked behind a subscription.
If you manually browse through the exercises, you can access many of them for free. Workouts include timers and video demonstrations showing how to perform each exercise. You can also customize repetitions for each.
In addition, the app lets you filter the free workouts according to difficulty level, targeted body zones, duration, and more.
Download: Freeletics Bodyweight for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
4. 8fit
Though it’s free, 8fit contains a range of quality programs and exercises that put some paid exercise apps to shame. The app contains timed workouts with exercise previews and descriptions that make sure you get the best out of your training.
There’s also a great level of customization since you can specify your fitness level and goals. This includes replacing exercises in your workouts if they don’t suit you. These workouts are all available for free, but if you want to view specific classes, such as yoga are surf-style training, you need the premium version of the app.
The explanations and moving images included with each exercise make the app incredibly user-friendly. It’s no wonder that the app is an Editor’s Choice selection on the Google Play Store.
Download: 8fit for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
5. Seven
If you’re strapped for time, Seven is a great option for bodyweight training and workouts. The app offers seven-minute workouts that don’t require any equipment, making it easy to dedicate time to your fitness in small sessions.
The free version of the app gives access to a free daily workout, along with an introductory 12-exercise workout. The app includes a timer for each exercise and animations to show you how to do them.
Every two months, a new workout will permanently unlock for free users However, the vast majority of the app’s exercises are available through the subscription plan. This grants instant access to 200 exercises, along with the app’s coaching functions. This makes the free version of the app quite limited, even more so than many other apps that offer both a free and subscription version.
Download: Seven for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
6. Keep
Keep was named among the best self-improvement apps of 2018 in the Google Play Awards, thanks to its great selection of exercises and social features. Many of the routines and exercises in Keep are available for free. However, it also holds premium workouts, available through a subscription.
What makes Keep stand out are its unique workout collections aimed at specific goals. For example, it has stretches and exercises available in collections dedicated to rehabilitative goals, such as posture correction and pain relief.
You can also save your favorite workouts to your home page and follow friends’ workouts and achievements in the app.
Download: Keep for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
7. Home Workout – No Equipment
Home Workout is a free app from the developers of a suite of exercise and health apps. It is one of the few completely free exercise apps. In fact, the only in-app purchase is a small one to opt out of ads.
While the app caters to both beginners and advanced users, it’s one of the most challenge-oriented exercise apps. You can set goals for the number of workouts you want to complete in a week and complete 7×4 challenges. It has a great variety of simple workouts that focus on specific areas of the body. However, its focus is definitely on getting results relatively quickly.
It includes demonstrations of each exercise, either through animated images or demonstration videos that take you to YouTube. This means that it’s very simple to figure out how to do the exercises.
Download: Home Workout – No Equipment for Android | iOS (Free)
More Apps to Help You Achieve a Healthier Lifestyle
Exercise is an incredibly important part of living a healthier life and preventing certain lifestyle diseases. But there are also other ingredients required for creating a healthier you.
Your mental health is extremely important too, and can even make a difference in your physical wellbeing. Make sure to read about some of our favorite self-care apps to keep your mind feeling positive and help you reduce stress levels.
Read the full article: The 7 Best Body Weight Exercise Apps for Fitness Anywhere