This guide breaks down the best swimming apps available for training, tracking, and improving performance. It compares leading platforms such as MySwimPro, Strava, Garmin Connect, and Swim.com, and highlights how GOWOD supports mobility, recovery, and movement efficiency. Together, these tools help swimmers build structure, monitor progress, and improve how their bodies perform in the water. Route discovery is another area where running apps perform well. Tools like Komoot and Strava let runners plan routes, explore popular running paths, and understand terrain and elevation before heading out.
Read our full Peloton app review, and our Peloton Tread review here. There are also handy features like Strava Beacon, which are designed to keep you safe, by allowing your friends or family members to track your live location on a run. Our weekly newsletter is expertly crafted to immerse you in the world of streaming. Stay updated on the latest releases and our top recommendations across your favorite streaming platforms. No matter if this is your first Half-Marathon or your fifth, this plan will get you to that finish line faster.
Best for Tough Workouts
- A unique feature, the Adidas Running app includes a “Story Run” feature for runners to enjoy immersive running experiences.
- To see progress with Strava, you manually scroll through history comparing efforts.
- Running five days a week is recommended to ensure both benefits and safety.
- Another popular app, Nike Run Club (NRC) offers structured training plans and motivation for runners of all levels with the support of a large Nike runners’ community.
- I go back and forth on whether I want a running shorts to have a lining layer; if the fit is just the tiniest bit off, bunching can take place, and when it does, it takes place in… the worst place.
- It is the venerable Nike Run Club, which doesn’t even require you to wear a watch.
”—you need an app built specifically for longitudinal progress tracking. This guide covers the best apps for seeing if your training is working, especially during the months between races when improvement feels invisible. Without races to validate fitness with PRs, track progress by comparing similar training efforts over time. Surgent does this automatically by finding comparable workouts (same distance/effort level) from months ago and showing trends in heart rate, pace, and perceived effort.
If you just want to go for a run, and are willing to make a spur-of-the-moment choice about what to listen to, this is a great app. If you want a running app that works well on the Apple Watch, this is a great app. For the Endurance Monster, long runs, marathon training, tempo runs and any workout at long distance race paces are a breeze and usually invigorating.
Best Workout App for Muscle Gain: SHRED
Every other running app I’ve seen offers training schedules to only members who pay for a monthly subscription or make in-app purchases, and even then they usually aren’t adaptive. The My Asics app—yes, it’s made by the sneaker company—specializes in designing a training schedule for each runner based on her next race distance, goal time, and current fitness level. It doubles as a run-tracking app, and depending on the data it gathers, adjusts its training schedules. The only drawback is that the run-tracking part of the app captures only the most rudimentary data.
But the plans have two major drawbacks, besides the lack of personalization. One is that you have to use that specific guided run to get the checkmark. With so many guided runs in the library, it’s a shame that you can’t explore and choose something different. When you do a run from the training plan screen, you’ll earn an orange checkmark next to it. Each day’s workout comes with a suggested guided run, or you can choose to run unguided. Then, you can start training for your first 5k race with one of our faster 5k running programs.
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Never forget to replace overstrained running shoes or bicycle parts again. Runkeeper also works with a variety of smartwatches and fitness devices such as the Apple Watch and Wear OS devices. Experience the excitement of race day with fellow Runkeeper members at premium race experiences near you. Lifehacker has been a go-to source of tech help and life advice since 2005. Our mission is to offer reliable tech help and credible, practical, science-based life advice to help you live better.
Running app that reduces training uncertainty for self-coached runners
However, to achieve effective results, you should choose quality shoes and comfortable, breathable clothing that fit your body. If you own just one pair of shoes, you may face difficulties, such as when it rains or when running on muddy terrain. To avoid disrupting your training, it’s a good idea to have 2 to 3 pairs of shoes to switch between in case of issues. The last 18 months have been tough for my physical (and mental) fitness. Running while masked, without a fellow group of runners to keep me motivated, was awful. I never wanted to be the jerk panting all over other pedestrians, and the CDC guidelines on outdoor activities stating it was safe to exercise unmasked outdoors took over a year to arrive and assuage my paranoia.
The None To Run Running App Is An Easier Alternative To Couch To 5K
When I tested the fitness-tracking abilities of the Pixel Watch 3, I found that the Hevy watch app was miles better than any of the watch’s native strength-training features. But it does give you a wrist-based interface to track the lifts you’re doing, and the watch app updates the phone app and vice versa. Hevy also works with the iPhone and Apple Watch, and of course you can use it just on a phone. Between training sessions Mobility can also be used on rest days or lighter training days to maintain joint health and address common restrictions that build up over time. Many runners use guided mobility routines from the GOWOD app or explore exercises within the mobility library to focus on specific areas that affect their running mechanics. Over the next two months, I’ll be periodically checking in with my findings.
Best running app for finding routes
If you’re in this demographic and asking “Am I actually getting better? The best part of TrainingPeaks is that they act as a shared log between the coach and athlete of subjective feedback. How hard were they working compared to what they expected for the session? Does the athlete have any theories why they felt the way they did? The coach and athlete relationship is streamlined since we have one space where we can look at all the hard numbers through the lens of the athlete’s experience. Again, when you’re finished with your workout, your GPS watch app will sync again to TrainingPeaks, almost instantaneously, so that you can comment and rate your workout as soon as you’re finished.
From your runs to your AI coach — in 2 minutes
It doesn’t have any advanced metrics that runners might want to record, and it doesn’t work with other apps or devices. It will, however, track the miles you put on your sneakers, which may not be surprising given that it’s made by a sneaker company. Most running apps have options to, say, pair with a heart rate monitor or connect to another device that might record changes in elevation or foot-ground contact time. If you care about these details, I recommended continuing to record your runs with another app, running watch, or activity tracker.
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Just be aware that you might need to use it with another run-tracking app or device to get the rest of what you need for running support. Real data-loving runners may lament the lack of heart rate information in particular because it’s often used to help runners maximize their training. There is another device and app that together give training advice accessnewswire to runners in real time based on heart rate. It’s called Pear Personal Coach and Pear Mobile Training Intelligence. The gear you have to buy to use it is a little expensive, though.
Start your analysis now
If you have more than eight weeks before your 10K, switch to an easier (shorter) schedule to build an endurance base. Budget is a big factor, even though most workout apps cost far less than regular sessions with a personal trainer. Some are free or offer limited free tiers, while others charge a monthly or annual subscription. Think about what you realistically will use—if you won’t tap into coaching or advanced features, you may not need the most expensive option. Paying for a plan is only worth it if it helps you stay more consistent than you would with free content.
Below is a table displaying important information about Strava. Most running apps focus on tracking workouts and analysing performance data. Mobility routines address a different part of training by helping prepare the body for running and supporting recovery afterwards. Improving joint range of motion and reducing stiffness in the ankles, calves, and hips may help runners move more comfortably during training. But if you’re training consistently and asking “Am I actually getting better over time?