The best free fitness apps and videos to get your sweat on

The world of free fitness just got better. good night, really good.

Gone are the days when “at-home fitness” meant VHS tapes and a lot of hope. These days, there’s an entirely digital world of professional workouts at your fingertips, from strength circuits and mobility flows to hip-hop kickboxing. You can do this in your living room, backyard, or anywhere you have enough space to sweat it out.

The best part? Many of them are worth exactly $0.

The rise of the free exercise economy

We’ve seen an increase in top-notch online home training, at least in part thanks to unforgettable global events. (You know.) When the gym closed, we were devastated. We’ve turned our living spaces into studios, downloaded fitness apps in record numbers, and learned how to plank next to the coffee table. From January to November 2020, more than 2.5 billion health and fitness apps were downloaded globally. This is a 47% increase compared to the previous year.

The trend has plateaued. By 2023, approximately half of exercisers will actually prefer to exercise at home due to convenience, privacy, and significant cost savings. (Who needs a $250-a-month gym membership when your phone is basically your personal trainer?)

Below, we’ve rounded up the best free YouTube channels and fitness apps worth your time, energy, and sweat.

Best Free YouTube Fitness Channels

During lockdown, YouTube became the gym’s biggest competitor – and we’re still hooked. The platform includes free full workouts led by certified trainers. Here are some of the most useful and consistently high-quality free fitness channels on YouTube:

fitness blender

The channel is run by husband and wife duo Daniel and Kelli, who focus on efficient and practical workouts. Our library contains thousands of videos, from 10-minute core finishers to 45-minute full-body strength circuits.

Yoga with Adrienne

With over 13 million subscribers, Adriene Mishler’s channel is home to friendly, thoughtful yoga instruction. Her videos are categorized by goal (e.g. ‘Mental Health Relaxation’ or ‘Yoga for Abdominal Strength’) and span all levels.

PS fit

If you want variety, this is great. The channel offers a variety of classes, from HIIT to dance cardio to boxing, with workouts lasting 10 to 30 minutes.

Body Coach TV (Joe Weeks)

Joe Wicks is best known for his HIIT routines that require very little equipment and are easy to follow at home. He offers everything from 5-minute quick moves to 30-minute full-body sessions in his (quite frankly) dreamy British accent.

Best free fitness apps

Do you prefer following a plan or tracking your workouts on your phone? Here are some of the best free fitness apps (no credit card requirements or tricky trials required).

Nike Training Club (NTC)

This completely free app from Nike includes over 200 professionally designed workouts. You’ll find strength training, cardio, yoga and mobility sessions, most of which can be done using your body weight or minimal equipment. Workouts can be easily filtered by duration, intensity, or muscle group. You can also choose your coaching voice and music type, so you can feel like you’re conducting a studio session on your phone.

Nike Run Club (NRC)

It’s a solid launcher app that’s completely free. It offers guided runs, training plans, and GPS-based run tracking. Like NTC, it’s clean, well designed, and completely free. No paid upgrades required.

7 – 7 minute workout

This is for those who are short on time. All workouts are based on the scientifically backed concept of high-intensity circuit training in 7-minute blocks. No equipment required. We guide you through bodyweight exercises such as squats, planks, and push-ups with audio and visual guidance. Plus, if you have more time (or energy) to burn, you can use this app to build up your circuits.

Best fitness apps with free options

Finally, some popular apps offer useful free tiers (beware of upsell attempts). Some notable fitness apps with free options include:

fit on

FitOn offers an amazing variety of workouts in one free app, including strength training, HIIT, Pilates, yoga, and even prenatal workouts. Workouts are led by certified trainers (some of whom are famous on TV or celebrities), and the app includes features like workout reminders, group challenges, and social sharing. You’ll be prompted to upgrade to Pro, but the free version includes unlimited workouts.

down dog

Unlike static video lessons, the Down Dog app creates a new sequence each time you practice. You can choose the style (vinyasa, recovery, power, etc.), level, duration, and even voice and music. There are paid tiers, but the basic version includes a ton of free guided flows.

Strava

Strava is an app that tracks outdoor cardio exercise (running, cycling, swimming, etc.). The free version includes GPS-based distance and speed tracking, personal records, and a social feed to follow and encourage friends.

MapMyFitness

This app tracks a variety of workouts, from treadmill running to weight lifting. The free tier includes audio coaching, route mapping (for outdoor workouts), and integration with devices like Apple Watch and Garmin. The app also connects with MyFitnessPal for food tracking.

MyFitnessPal

Best known for food tracking, this app syncs with a variety of fitness trackers to record your workouts and steps. The free version gives you access to a massive food database (including barcode scanning) and lets you track calories, macros, water and weight. There are ads and some features, like custom goals, are locked behind premium, but you can use them effectively without upgrading.

The post Best free fitness apps and videos to get your sweat on appeared first on RetailMeNot’s The Real Deal