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While the landscape is changing for the better, the gym and training environment can still be intimidating for some athletes, especially beginner male athletes that don’t want to be perceived as weak if they ask for assistance or need advice mid-workout. (5) The best fitness apps work to absolve that anxiety with helpful guidance, workout tracking, and motivation...
The post The 10 Best Workout Apps for Men of 2024 appeared first on BarBend.
While the landscape is changing for the better, the gym and training environment can still be intimidating for some athletes, especially beginner male athletes that don’t want to be perceived as weak if they ask for assistance or need advice mid-workout. (5) The best fitness apps work to absolve that anxiety with helpful guidance, workout tracking, and motivation — all from your smartphone. The best workout apps for men can be a great tool to keep on-hand when looking to update your training setup, regardless of your fitness level.
While these digital platforms and quality online workout programs aren’t inherently gender-specific — a good fitness app is a good fitness app — there are still some factors that can make the services appealing to a male audience. So, we subscribed to over 40 training plans, compiled our research, and measured each app against one another to determine our favorite workout apps for men available today.
The 10 Best Workout Apps for Men in 2024
How We Tested
The BarBend team is made up of competitive athletes, certified personal trainers, and lifelong fitness enthusiasts. For this round-up, we subscribed to 42 top-ranking fitness apps and online workout programs targeting personal training, nutrition, and a variety of different disciplines. We brought a multi-point methodology to each app, rating factors such as ease of use, accountability, instruction, and interactivity on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).
During our testing, we experimented with apps incorporating weightlifting, cardio, home workouts, yoga, and other popular workouts. While some platforms provided an immersive, detailed experience with engaging instructors and daily check-ins, others served more as a training log that relied on one’s experience level in the gym rather than beginner-friendly instruction.
Additionally, we looked at how robust the workout libraries were for each app, which can help keep every training session engaging, entertaining, and progressive. We also noted the equipment requirements for each service — could we support a workout with simple bodyweight exercises, or did we need access to a full-fledged gym or a personal training space filled with our home gym essentials?
Naturally, cost was also considered in the curation of this guide. After all, is an app truly a worthwhile download if its performance doesn’t earn its price?
Ready to comb through the app store for a new training partner? Let’s dive into our findings.
Best Overall Workout App for Men: Future
Future Online Personal Training
Future Online Personal Training
Future offers online personal training in every facet of fitness. Every client gets a certified fitness professional who will prescribe training programs, follow up daily to assess progress, make program adjustments as needed, and offer accountability.
Shop Future
Specs
Pros
Cons
For male athletes wanting an immersive, personalized workout regimen at their fingertips, we view Future as one of the best fitness apps on the market (err, App Store). The app pairs you with a personal trainer of your choosing that helps curate a plan that’s aligned entirely to your goals. Reports indicate that a majority of clients utilizing personal trainers are men, meaning this could be a popular option for male athletes looking for that customized experience. (6)
Upon signing up for Future, you’re taken through a brief survey — a fitness assessment of sorts — to get a handle on your personal goals, experience levels, available equipment, and other metrics. From there, you’re given suggestions on which coach fits your workout needs best. According to our tester, a certified personal trainer, the suggestions are accurate, but they also appreciate that you can do your own research and choose from the Future’s roster of available trainers, if you so choose.
Kate Meier, BarBend editorial member and NASM-Certified Personal Trainer, said the app experience is exceptional when it comes to ease of use, rating it 4.5 out of 5.
“I enjoyed how available my coach was for assistance from the start. For example, I had some issues in finding the ‘pause’ button at first for some added warmup time, but my personal trainer was right there to guide me to its location,” she notes. “I also appreciated the visual and audible instructions during workouts. I think this is a great way to cater to both visual learners and more experienced athletes.”
We also like how Future can be adjusted throughout your fitness journey based on how you’re feeling and where you’re taking your workouts. We attribute this to the excellent interaction you have with your coach, which we rated a 4 out of 5. Our tester, a CrossFit Level 1 Instructor, used Future during a beach vacation that took them away from their normal free weights and home gym machines.
“To accommodate my travels, my coach gave me bodyweight workouts since I didn’t have any of my typical equipment with me,” they said. “I enjoyed how simple it was to switch up my routine, and the communication between athlete and trainer is top notch.”
Future is an excellent tool for personalized training, and pairs seamlessly to an Apple Watch (and other fitness trackers), according to Meier. That said, it’s not a direct substitute for in-person guidance. There’s no real-time feedback from your coach during exercise, meaning you’ll need to record your movement and then send it to your trainer for any corrective guidance. Our testers had no real complaints about this format, but it may be too lagging of a structure for athletes wanting immediate feedback mid-set.
Finally, we’d be remiss not to speak on the monthly subscription cost of this app. At $199 monthly, Future is not the most budget-conscious download — especially if you’re an athlete that doesn’t enjoy the personal trainer experience. That said, in-person trainers can range in price from $25 to $100 hourly, so Future may earn its price in the long run. (1) This workout app is still an investment, but it could be a worthwhile option for men wanting that customized fitness experience.
Read our full Future App Review.
Best Workout App for Men for Personal Training: Caliber
Caliber
Caliber
With two coaching subscriptions to choose from (one group oriented and one individualized), Caliber can be an excellent tool for guiding your fitness journey. The prescribed workouts can be tailored to your available equipment, and you’re in constant communication with your personal trainer through the app’s chat feature and video call capabilities.
Shop Caliber
Specs
Pros
Cons
Looking for a personal trainer to help guide you toward your fitness goals? Caliber’s roster of dedicated professional coaches can help you hit your marks in training and beyond. The introductory survey was quick and painless, with our tester, a certified personal trainer, matching up with a respectable, knowledgeable coach in no time. In terms of setup, they rated it a 5 out of 5.
For the sake of this round-up, our tester trialed the Premium version of the app, which is where you can get one-on-one personal training. Caliber also has cheaper subscriptions that follow different workout structures and in-app capabilities (more on those later). Speaking to the Premium version, they gave the service a 5 out of 5 when it comes to both instruction and workout accountability across their structured weekly programs and daily workouts.
“I found the video demos for each movement to be very well-done, and I liked how much communication you have with your prescribed coach,” they noted. “You also get weekly asynchronous check-ins, which might be my favorite part of the app experience. My coach would give me feedback along with incremental goals each week, which really kept me motivated.”
Caliber’s personal trainers can also be helpful for male athletes wanting assistance when it comes to their nutrition, sleep, hydration, and mobility. Be mindful, though, that the coaches are certified nutrition coaches — not registered dieticians. This may seem like a small title difference, but CNCs operate in general nutritional advice, so while they can be helpful in learning how many calories you should eat in a day, they cannot provide customized meal plans or other individualized routines.
Screenshots of the Caliber app
While Caliber’s premium one-on-one personal training subscription earns the app its moniker in this guide, we’d be hard-pressed to not mention the other packages available on the platform. Caliber offers a group-oriented fitness subscription for $19 monthly, as well as an always-free version of the app that lets you to track your workouts and engage with its library’s more than 500 exercise classes.
Of course, the paywall between the three available subscriptions limits how much the app has to offer at the free, $19 per month, and $200 per month price points, but the varied levels are a nice touch for different budgets and training preferences.
Is Caliber going to be the answer for every athlete? No. In testing, we found that most workouts centered around traditional strength training, which may be less ideal for cardio enthusiasts or dedicated runners. If you are looking for an added sense of support for your next lifting session, though, it’s worth the subscription, in our opinion.
[Related: The 8 Best Online Personal Trainers of 2023]
Best Workout App for Men for Classes: iFIT
$25 Off
IFIT Class Subscription
IFIT Class Subscription
The iFit app features a library of over 16,000 live and on-demand classes that range from mental health and recovery to rowing, running, HIIT and strength classes. You can get the full studio experience virtually through iFit, and is a great boost to any home gym set-up — with or without equipment.
Shop IFIT
Specs
Pros
Cons
Okay, so maybe you enjoy a shared experience when it comes to your workouts. For athletes wanting that class-like structure to each sweat session, iFIT is tough to beat. The app — available for both iOS and Android — offers over 17,000 live and on-demand fitness classes across multiple disciplines, including cardio, weight training, yoga, pilates, barre, and more. Our tester, a certified personal trainer, also loved its charismatic trainers, rating the app’s overall instruction a 4.5 out of 5.
The iFIT experience is truly unlocked, however, when you pair a subscription to a compatible piece of fitness equipment from NordicTrack, ProForm, Freemotion, or Matrix. These brands make some of the best cardio machines for home fitness and the iFIT integration allows you to seamlessly stream your favorite sessions mid-workout.
This integration also allows you to take advantage of iFIT’s AutoAdjust feature, which is available on several of their machines. AutoAdjust automatically adjusts your machine’s resistance to the recommendations of trainers during classes or the terrain during scenic rides. This way, you can focus on your sweat without having to fiddle with settings.
Browsing iFit on the NordicTrack Commercial X22i
It’s an impressive feature, but making the most of iFIT may mean shelling out an additional chunk of change for a compatible machine in addition to the $39 monthly subscription. As such, we rated its equipment demands a 4 out of 5.
According to our tester, a certified personal trainer, the instructors provide excellent guidance throughout your workouts, bringing a good sense of energy and engagement that makes you want to return to the platform day in and day out. We rated iFIT a 3.5 out of 5 for accountability, though, because your regular use of the service is highly reliant on your interest in the classes.
“I found that the app was mostly self-guided, meaning you didn’t have any notifications or check-ins to work out like you’d have with other services,” they said. “The app does offer challenges, though, which can help you hit any pre-set milestones for strength or weight loss. There’s even a post-accomplishment email to congratulate you on the progress.”
Our tester also said that it helps to take a few minutes before hopping into an on-demand course to make sure you have everything you need to complete the workout. Equipment lists can be buried in the details at times, so it’s best to take some pre-workout precautions and read through everything to avoid multiple pauses to grab a forgotten resistance band or set of dumbbells.
Read our full iFIT Review.
Best Workout App for Men for Strength Training: Juggernaut AI
Juggernaut AI
Juggernaut AI
This AI-powered strength training app curates workouts for you based on your initial fitness levels and daily readiness. The more you log your data, the more your algorithm learns in an effort to keep you progressing through PRs.
Shop Juggernaut AI
...
Click here to view the article.
The post The 10 Best Workout Apps for Men of 2024 appeared first on BarBend.
While the landscape is changing for the better, the gym and training environment can still be intimidating for some athletes, especially beginner male athletes that don’t want to be perceived as weak if they ask for assistance or need advice mid-workout. (5) The best fitness apps work to absolve that anxiety with helpful guidance, workout tracking, and motivation — all from your smartphone. The best workout apps for men can be a great tool to keep on-hand when looking to update your training setup, regardless of your fitness level.
While these digital platforms and quality online workout programs aren’t inherently gender-specific — a good fitness app is a good fitness app — there are still some factors that can make the services appealing to a male audience. So, we subscribed to over 40 training plans, compiled our research, and measured each app against one another to determine our favorite workout apps for men available today.
The 10 Best Workout Apps for Men in 2024
- Best Overall Workout App for Men: Future
- Best Workout App for Men for Personal Training: Caliber
- Best Workout App for Men for Classes: iFIT
- Best Workout App for Men for Strength Training: Juggernaut AI
- Best Budget Workout App for Men: BodyFit
- Best Free Workout App for Men: Nike Training Club
- Best Workout App for Men for Logging Workouts: Strong
- Best Workout App for Men for Yoga: Alo Moves
- Best Workout App for Men for Outdoor Workouts: Strava
- Best Workout App for Men for Beginners: Aaptiv
How We Tested
The BarBend team is made up of competitive athletes, certified personal trainers, and lifelong fitness enthusiasts. For this round-up, we subscribed to 42 top-ranking fitness apps and online workout programs targeting personal training, nutrition, and a variety of different disciplines. We brought a multi-point methodology to each app, rating factors such as ease of use, accountability, instruction, and interactivity on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).
During our testing, we experimented with apps incorporating weightlifting, cardio, home workouts, yoga, and other popular workouts. While some platforms provided an immersive, detailed experience with engaging instructors and daily check-ins, others served more as a training log that relied on one’s experience level in the gym rather than beginner-friendly instruction.
Additionally, we looked at how robust the workout libraries were for each app, which can help keep every training session engaging, entertaining, and progressive. We also noted the equipment requirements for each service — could we support a workout with simple bodyweight exercises, or did we need access to a full-fledged gym or a personal training space filled with our home gym essentials?
Naturally, cost was also considered in the curation of this guide. After all, is an app truly a worthwhile download if its performance doesn’t earn its price?
Ready to comb through the app store for a new training partner? Let’s dive into our findings.
Best Overall Workout App for Men: Future
Future Online Personal Training
Future Online Personal Training
Future offers online personal training in every facet of fitness. Every client gets a certified fitness professional who will prescribe training programs, follow up daily to assess progress, make program adjustments as needed, and offer accountability.
Shop Future
Specs
- Price Per Month: $199
- Training Discipline: Strength and Conditioning
- Equipment Required: Bodyweight, Home Gym, or Commercial Gym
- Available On: iOS, Android
Pros
- You’re paired with a personal trainer of your choosing after a quick initial survey for a complete, customized training routine.
- Post-workout check-ins allow you to alter your routine based on travel, injuries, and progress.
- Our tester said this platform pairs well with an Apple Watch for seamless tracking and extra motivation.
Cons
- At nearly $200 per month, Future is one of the more expensive workout apps for men we’ve tested.
- There’s no real-time coaching available, which may dismay athletes who want immediate feedback on form and performance.
- Those who prefer group fitness classes or on-demand workouts should opt for a different service.
For male athletes wanting an immersive, personalized workout regimen at their fingertips, we view Future as one of the best fitness apps on the market (err, App Store). The app pairs you with a personal trainer of your choosing that helps curate a plan that’s aligned entirely to your goals. Reports indicate that a majority of clients utilizing personal trainers are men, meaning this could be a popular option for male athletes looking for that customized experience. (6)
Upon signing up for Future, you’re taken through a brief survey — a fitness assessment of sorts — to get a handle on your personal goals, experience levels, available equipment, and other metrics. From there, you’re given suggestions on which coach fits your workout needs best. According to our tester, a certified personal trainer, the suggestions are accurate, but they also appreciate that you can do your own research and choose from the Future’s roster of available trainers, if you so choose.
Kate Meier, BarBend editorial member and NASM-Certified Personal Trainer, said the app experience is exceptional when it comes to ease of use, rating it 4.5 out of 5.
“I enjoyed how available my coach was for assistance from the start. For example, I had some issues in finding the ‘pause’ button at first for some added warmup time, but my personal trainer was right there to guide me to its location,” she notes. “I also appreciated the visual and audible instructions during workouts. I think this is a great way to cater to both visual learners and more experienced athletes.”
We also like how Future can be adjusted throughout your fitness journey based on how you’re feeling and where you’re taking your workouts. We attribute this to the excellent interaction you have with your coach, which we rated a 4 out of 5. Our tester, a CrossFit Level 1 Instructor, used Future during a beach vacation that took them away from their normal free weights and home gym machines.
“To accommodate my travels, my coach gave me bodyweight workouts since I didn’t have any of my typical equipment with me,” they said. “I enjoyed how simple it was to switch up my routine, and the communication between athlete and trainer is top notch.”
Future is an excellent tool for personalized training, and pairs seamlessly to an Apple Watch (and other fitness trackers), according to Meier. That said, it’s not a direct substitute for in-person guidance. There’s no real-time feedback from your coach during exercise, meaning you’ll need to record your movement and then send it to your trainer for any corrective guidance. Our testers had no real complaints about this format, but it may be too lagging of a structure for athletes wanting immediate feedback mid-set.
Finally, we’d be remiss not to speak on the monthly subscription cost of this app. At $199 monthly, Future is not the most budget-conscious download — especially if you’re an athlete that doesn’t enjoy the personal trainer experience. That said, in-person trainers can range in price from $25 to $100 hourly, so Future may earn its price in the long run. (1) This workout app is still an investment, but it could be a worthwhile option for men wanting that customized fitness experience.
Read our full Future App Review.
Best Workout App for Men for Personal Training: Caliber
Caliber
Caliber
With two coaching subscriptions to choose from (one group oriented and one individualized), Caliber can be an excellent tool for guiding your fitness journey. The prescribed workouts can be tailored to your available equipment, and you’re in constant communication with your personal trainer through the app’s chat feature and video call capabilities.
Shop Caliber
Specs
- Price Per Month: Starting at $200
- Training Discipline: Strength Training
- Equipment Required: Bodyweight, Home Gym, or Commercial Gym
- Available On: iOS, Android
Pros
- Caliber’s one-on-one personal training plans offer customized workout programs.
- The workout app also provides suggestions for boosted nutrition, sleep, hydration, and mobility.
- Caliber also offers a group-oriented subscription package for $19 monthly, as well as a free version covering basic workout instruction and exercise logging.
Cons
- The personal trainers are certified nutrition coaches, meaning the nutritional guidance is more general than customized to your specific needs.
- The app mostly focuses on traditional strength training, so those looking for more cardio-focused workouts may feel underserved.
- Uploading photos for coach-oriented feedback can be taxing, according to our tester.
Looking for a personal trainer to help guide you toward your fitness goals? Caliber’s roster of dedicated professional coaches can help you hit your marks in training and beyond. The introductory survey was quick and painless, with our tester, a certified personal trainer, matching up with a respectable, knowledgeable coach in no time. In terms of setup, they rated it a 5 out of 5.
For the sake of this round-up, our tester trialed the Premium version of the app, which is where you can get one-on-one personal training. Caliber also has cheaper subscriptions that follow different workout structures and in-app capabilities (more on those later). Speaking to the Premium version, they gave the service a 5 out of 5 when it comes to both instruction and workout accountability across their structured weekly programs and daily workouts.
“I found the video demos for each movement to be very well-done, and I liked how much communication you have with your prescribed coach,” they noted. “You also get weekly asynchronous check-ins, which might be my favorite part of the app experience. My coach would give me feedback along with incremental goals each week, which really kept me motivated.”
Caliber’s personal trainers can also be helpful for male athletes wanting assistance when it comes to their nutrition, sleep, hydration, and mobility. Be mindful, though, that the coaches are certified nutrition coaches — not registered dieticians. This may seem like a small title difference, but CNCs operate in general nutritional advice, so while they can be helpful in learning how many calories you should eat in a day, they cannot provide customized meal plans or other individualized routines.
While Caliber’s premium one-on-one personal training subscription earns the app its moniker in this guide, we’d be hard-pressed to not mention the other packages available on the platform. Caliber offers a group-oriented fitness subscription for $19 monthly, as well as an always-free version of the app that lets you to track your workouts and engage with its library’s more than 500 exercise classes.
Of course, the paywall between the three available subscriptions limits how much the app has to offer at the free, $19 per month, and $200 per month price points, but the varied levels are a nice touch for different budgets and training preferences.
Is Caliber going to be the answer for every athlete? No. In testing, we found that most workouts centered around traditional strength training, which may be less ideal for cardio enthusiasts or dedicated runners. If you are looking for an added sense of support for your next lifting session, though, it’s worth the subscription, in our opinion.
[Related: The 8 Best Online Personal Trainers of 2023]
Best Workout App for Men for Classes: iFIT
$25 Off
IFIT Class Subscription
IFIT Class Subscription
The iFit app features a library of over 16,000 live and on-demand classes that range from mental health and recovery to rowing, running, HIIT and strength classes. You can get the full studio experience virtually through iFit, and is a great boost to any home gym set-up — with or without equipment.
Shop IFIT
Specs
- Price Per Month: $39
- Training Discipline: Cardio, Strength Training, Yoga, Pilates, Mindfulness, Barre
- Equipment Required: IFIT-enabled Cardio Machine, Bodyweight, Dumbbells, or Exercise Mat
- Available On: iOS, Android
Pros
- The library of live and on-demand courses contains over 17,000 classes dedicated to cardio, yoga, strength training, and more.
- iFIT is compatible with cardio machines from NordicTrack, ProForm, Freemotion, and Matrix for on-equipment streaming.
- The app offers regular challenges for an added zest of entertainment and motivation.
Cons
- You may need to purchase an iFIT-compatible machine to get the most out of the app.
- Men wanting a personalized workout plan may want to opt for a more individualized app experience.
- Our tester said the home screen can feel busy at first with a lot of information upfront.
Okay, so maybe you enjoy a shared experience when it comes to your workouts. For athletes wanting that class-like structure to each sweat session, iFIT is tough to beat. The app — available for both iOS and Android — offers over 17,000 live and on-demand fitness classes across multiple disciplines, including cardio, weight training, yoga, pilates, barre, and more. Our tester, a certified personal trainer, also loved its charismatic trainers, rating the app’s overall instruction a 4.5 out of 5.
The iFIT experience is truly unlocked, however, when you pair a subscription to a compatible piece of fitness equipment from NordicTrack, ProForm, Freemotion, or Matrix. These brands make some of the best cardio machines for home fitness and the iFIT integration allows you to seamlessly stream your favorite sessions mid-workout.
This integration also allows you to take advantage of iFIT’s AutoAdjust feature, which is available on several of their machines. AutoAdjust automatically adjusts your machine’s resistance to the recommendations of trainers during classes or the terrain during scenic rides. This way, you can focus on your sweat without having to fiddle with settings.
It’s an impressive feature, but making the most of iFIT may mean shelling out an additional chunk of change for a compatible machine in addition to the $39 monthly subscription. As such, we rated its equipment demands a 4 out of 5.
According to our tester, a certified personal trainer, the instructors provide excellent guidance throughout your workouts, bringing a good sense of energy and engagement that makes you want to return to the platform day in and day out. We rated iFIT a 3.5 out of 5 for accountability, though, because your regular use of the service is highly reliant on your interest in the classes.
“I found that the app was mostly self-guided, meaning you didn’t have any notifications or check-ins to work out like you’d have with other services,” they said. “The app does offer challenges, though, which can help you hit any pre-set milestones for strength or weight loss. There’s even a post-accomplishment email to congratulate you on the progress.”
Our tester also said that it helps to take a few minutes before hopping into an on-demand course to make sure you have everything you need to complete the workout. Equipment lists can be buried in the details at times, so it’s best to take some pre-workout precautions and read through everything to avoid multiple pauses to grab a forgotten resistance band or set of dumbbells.
Read our full iFIT Review.
Best Workout App for Men for Strength Training: Juggernaut AI
Juggernaut AI
Juggernaut AI
This AI-powered strength training app curates workouts for you based on your initial fitness levels and daily readiness. The more you log your data, the more your algorithm learns in an effort to keep you progressing through PRs.
Shop Juggernaut AI
...
Click here to view the article.
