Best Fitness Apps for When You’re Stuck Indoors

One of the nice things about fall and winter is the excuse to hunker down, get cozy and eat seasonal comfort foods. One of the disadvantages is that cooler temperatures make it difficult to keep up with fitness goals.

Fortunately, technology allows fitness freaks and newbies alike to get in shape without leaving the warmth of their homes. There are plenty of free workout apps just a few clicks away on your mobile device.

Here are some of the best fitness apps available for cold weather and indoor routines according to the editors at Health magazine:

• Fitbit Coach and MyFitnessPal.
• Adidas Training by Runtastic.
• Johnson & Johnson 7 Minute Workout.
• Nike Training Club.
• Workout Trainer.
• Challenges by FitNow.
• Strava.
• Peloton Guided Workouts.

Read on for more information about each fitness app.

Fitbit Coach and MyFitnessPal

These two free apps sync together, so you can have a fitness trainer in your pocket while you track your caloric intake. MyFitnessPal helps manage your dietary habits with its sophisticated logging and reporting features and its vast database of foods.

Fitbit Coach recommends workouts tailored to you based on your daily activity tracked with a Fitbit device and increases intensity as you make progress. Plus, most of the workouts don’t require any equipment. You have an option to upgrade your account for $4.99 monthly or between $29.99 and $49.99 annually, but you can still access a couple workouts per week for free. Your fitness progress through Fitbit Coach is added to your calorie tracker in MyFitnessPal to account for the calories you burn through exercise.

Adidas Training by Runtastic

The free version of this app by the shoe company Adidas includes nearly 20 exercises created to target your core. Each exercise is demonstrated in a video, so you can gain perfect form and avoid any injury. It even includes music playlists that match your workout’s intensity and keep you motivated. Bonus: This app syncs with MyFitnessPal.

Johnson & Johnson 7 Minute Workout

This app is a simple tool for those looking for a quick and effective workout. The scientifically proven exercises range from seven to 32 minutes, require no equipment (except occasionally a chair) and sync to your own iTunes music. Workouts can also be integrated into your iPhone’s Health App.

Nike Training Club

Nike’s free training app shows that you don’t need equipment or a gym membership to get in a killer workout. It works as a motivational tool by unlocking more workouts, trophies and recipes as you log more hours on the app. During the workouts, you listen to a voice that encourages you to keep going and switch sides. It also provides updates on how much time you have left.

Workout Trainer

This is an easy-to-use fitness app for home or the gym with a lot of customizing options. You can create your own workouts, schedule reminders to exercise, play your own music and even chat with the app’s community forums for advice and motivation. It features all the latest workout crazes, so you can try them on your own with a guide.

Challenges by FitNow

This is a fun, interactive team-based app that helps you use everyday activities to burn calories and get in shape. You can track movement like housework, playing with your pets or dancing to earn points and prizes. You can also connect with your friends and try to outrank each other. There’s nothing like peer pressure to get you moving, even on snow days. Plus, Challenges integrates with your iPhone to determine how you’re doing compared with your friends.

Strava

Strava is a free fitness-tracking app geared toward runners and cyclists who enjoy competition against their own personal records or against times logged by other Strava users. This app uses your phone’s GPS to track and map your run or bike ride to compare against your previous times and that of other Strava users. This is a great app as long as you’re not shy about sharing your performance and data with everybody else.

Peloton Guided Workouts

If you love spin class but would rather do it from the comfort of your own home, the Peloton app brings you live-streaming spin classes and other exercise classes such as yoga, strength training and stretching. The monthly membership cost of $13 is a bargain compared to the cost of attending similar classes in-person.

Feeling motivated yet? One or more of these free apps is bound to take you out of the winter doldrums and whip you into shape. The best part is they’re all free and don’t require you to leave the house. Who knows – maybe you can even cancel that pricey gym membership. Once the weather improves, you might still enjoy turning to these apps for inspiration.

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