Benefits of Fitness Apps: Are They Actually Worth Using?

Fitness apps have exploded in popularity and changed the way we train. They allow us to have our entire training program on our phone and in our pocket. They're generally cheaper than hiring a personal trainer, available whenever you want to work out, and can keep your entire training history in one place.

But not every fitness app is created equal or even effective. Some provide little more than a library of workouts, while others make tracking unnecessarily complicated. And even the best app has limitations.

So, what are the real benefits of fitness apps, where do they fall short, and what should you look for when choosing one?

What Is a Fitness App?

A fitness app is a type of mobile app designed to either simulate a trainer or provide an individual with a training program. They promote physical activity and improve health through workout programming, activity tracking, and progress analysis.

Their popularity has exploded over the years with hundreds of millions of users worldwide. This is a testament to their effectiveness.

What Do Fitness Apps Do?

Fitness apps make staying healthy fun and organized. They usually help you do a few key things: 

• Track movement: They count your daily steps, distance walked, and calories burned.
• Show exercises: They provide videos and instructions for workouts like yoga, running, or weightlifting.
• Provide custom Plans: They ask about your goals and make a weekly calendar of workouts just for you.
• Log food: They let you type in what you eat to monitor your daily nutrition.
• Set goals: They help you plan targets, like drinking more water or exercising three times a week.
• Connect with friends: They allow you to share your progress or compete in friendly health challenges.

The Benefits of Fitness Apps

1. They're Much Cheaper Than a Personal Trainer

Cost is one of the most obvious benefits of fitness apps, as they can be substantially cheaper than a trainer. Some are free, but even those with monthly subscriptions cost less than a single training session.

On the other hand, working with a personal trainer provides: 

• Individualized instruction
• Feedback
• Accountability

These all have value, but regular sessions can quickly become expensive.

An app can't completely replace hands-on coaching. However, for someone who primarily needs structured programming, exercise demonstrations, and progress tracking, it can provide many of the tools they need at a much lower cost.

2. Your Workout Is Always With You

Another major benefit of fitness apps is convenience. No more scheduling workout sessions or calling in because you have to work late.

Your phone is probably already with you at the gym, so your workout program, exercise instructions, and training history can come with you. There's no notebook to remember or screenshots to save.

This becomes especially useful when your routine changes.

You might normally train at a commercial gym but occasionally work out at home or while traveling. A good fitness app keeps everything organized wherever you train.

A good app can also adjust workouts based on your available equipment and provide substitutions when your normal setup isn't available.

3. Built-In Workout Tracking

One of the most useful features of a fitness app is built-in workout tracking. Strength apps can record:

• Exercises
• Sets
• Reps
• Weights
• Personal records

When you return to an exercise, you can immediately see what you did last time rather than trying to remember.

This makes it easier to identify whether you're actually progressing.

A good app can also turn your training history into graphs, trends, workout summaries, and personal records, giving you a much clearer picture of your progress over time.

4. Apps Can Take the Guesswork Out of Programming

Walk into a gym without a plan, and you're immediately faced with dozens of decisions.

• Which exercises should you perform? 
• How many sets and reps? 
• How often should you train? 
• When should you increase the weight?

A good fitness app can remove much of that uncertainty with structured programming.

Instead of randomly choosing exercises, you know what you're doing today and how it fits into your overall program.

That's especially useful for beginners overwhelmed by the amount of fitness information online. Most people don't need hundreds of random workouts. They need direction and a clear plan to follow.

5. Progress Is Easier to See

Fitness apps make progress easier to see by tracking strength, personal records, workout frequency, running pace, distance, and other useful metrics.

Fitness progress doesn't always happen quickly or be obvious. Adding one repetition or a few pounds to an exercise may seem insignificant, but those small improvements accumulate over time.

You might discover you're lifting considerably more than three months ago or training more consistently than before.

Seeing those improvements can provide motivation while also giving you useful feedback about whether your current training program is actually working.

6. More Flexibility Than Traditional Coaching

Personal training and group fitness classes usually require you to train at a specific time.

Fitness apps don't and allow you to exercise whenever your schedule allows.

Good apps can also provide flexibility when things don't go according to plan. Maybe the equipment you need is occupied, you're traveling, or you only have 30 minutes instead of an hour.

Advanced apps can also adjust depending on your situation and can help your training adapt.

• Exercise substitutions
• Adjustable workout durations
• Flexible scheduling

Instead of one disruption derailing your entire program, you can make an adjustment and keep moving forward.

7. Accountability and Motivation

A fitness app can't force you to exercise, but it can provide additional accountability.

Reminders can prompt you to train or remind you of various tasks such as walking.

Researchers have found that fitness trackers and workout apps can cause an increase in physical activity, equivalent to approximately 1,850 additional steps per day (Laranjo et al., 2021).

Perhaps less obvious, apps tell you what to do. If you're a new trainee, sometimes making a workout easier to start can be just as valuable for consistency as trying to find more motivation.

The Downsides of Fitness Apps

Despite their advantages, fitness apps have limitations; some of them significant. One important factor is not to assume all fitness apps are equally effective.

Research has even shown that apps with better features have a direct effect on adherence and overall activity levels (Romeo et al., 2019). 

Lack of Individual And Specific Feedback

A trainer can watch you perform an exercise and immediately notice something you're doing incorrectly. A good trainer can even read bar speed or facial expressions to judge effort.

An app generally can't provide the same level of real-time feedback and largely relies on:

• Exercise demonstrations
• Written instructions
• Videos 
• Questions.

These can definitely help but generally require the user to have a certain level of knowledge and experience. Someone learning a complicated movement may still benefit from hands-on coaching.

This is especially important when someone doesn't know whether their technique is correct in the first place.

Over-Reliance on the App

Fitness apps are supposed to help you understand and manage your training, but they can sometimes do the opposite.

If you allow the app to make every decision, you may follow the program without understanding why you're doing it.

That becomes a problem when something changes. Maybe an exercise causes discomfort, equipment isn't available, or the prescribed weight simply doesn't feel right that day.

A good fitness app should provide structure while still helping you understand your training. The goal shouldn't be to make you dependent on the app to know what to do.

Generic, One-Size-Fits-All Programming

One of the biggest problems with fitness apps is generic programming disguised as personalization.

Two people can have completely different training experiences, goals, schedules, equipment, and preferences. However, the app provides essentially the same plan.

Now, this is getting better and can vary depending on the app. And if we're being honest, the same thing can occur with personal trainers.

This just means you need to be mindful when you're buying an app. A good fitness app should be able to adjust at least some aspects of the program based on the individual using it.

Poor Progression

Having hundreds or even thousands of workouts isn't necessarily useful if there's no structure connecting them.

Random workouts can make you tired. They don't necessarily create a coherent training program.

A good app should provide a way to progress. That might involve increasing weight, reps, sets, difficulty, distance, or another training variable over time.

Information Overload

More options aren't always better and can often be an app's downfall.

Humans are naturally curious beings. When they see a bunch of buttons and options, they can get carried away instead of concentrating on their program.

An app containing hundreds of exercises, dozens of programs, challenges, classes, and training styles can become overwhelming, especially for beginners.

Someone who doesn't know what to do doesn't necessarily need more choices but rather better guidance.

This is one of the most prevalent issues seen with fitness apps today as they try to "one-up" other fitness apps.

What Should You Look for in a Fitness App?

The easiest way to judge a fitness app is to look at the problems people commonly encounter with exercise and ask whether the app actually solves them.

The theme running through all of these features is simple: 

A fitness app should reduce confusion.

The best fitness apps don't simply give you more fitness content. They make training: 

• Easier to understand
• Easier to track
• Easier to consistently perform

Fitness App vs. Personal Trainer: Which Is Better? 

Fitness apps and personal trainers each have advantages.

Personal trainer can: 

• Offer real-time feedback
• Watch your technique
• Answer questions immediately
• Adjust a workout based on what they're seeing
• Provide direct human accountability.

Fitness apps can:

• Save you money
• Provide a program wherever and whenever you want to train
• Automatically maintain your workout history
• Allow you to exercise without scheduling appointments
• Provide reminders and be a source of encouragement

For experienced exercisers who already understand proper technique, an app may provide all the structure they need.

Beginners or people with more complicated needs may benefit more from working directly with a trainer.

However, for many trainees, the best option is to use both!

Choosing between the two is a false dichotomy. A fitness app can complement personal training by integrating benefits from both.

Are Fitness Apps Worth It?

Fitness apps can be extremely useful, but the number of workouts or features an app offers isn't necessarily what makes it valuable. A good fitness app solves problems, makes training simpler, and helps you when you come across issues.

Ultimately, the biggest benefit of a fitness app you should look for is that it makes regular, structured exercise easier.

If it does that, it's a good workout app.

If it doesn't do that, it's not a good workout app.

FAQ: Benefits Of Fitness Apps

Are fitness apps actually worth using?

Yes, a good fitness app can make structured exercise more affordable, convenient, and easier to track. The most useful apps provide clear programming, progression, and flexibility rather than simply offering a library of random workouts.

Can a fitness app replace a personal trainer?

A fitness app can provide programming, exercise demonstrations, progress tracking, and accountability, but it can't fully replace hands-on coaching and real-time feedback. Experienced exercisers may need less direct coaching, while beginners can benefit from combining an app with a qualified trainer.

What are the main benefits of using a fitness app?

Fitness apps can provide structured workouts, track your progress, reduce the guesswork of programming, and let you train on your own schedule. They're also generally much less expensive than regular personal training sessions.

What should I look for in a good fitness app?

Look for structured programming, simple workout tracking, clear progression, exercise demonstrations, and personalization based on your goals and experience. A good app should also accommodate changes in your schedule, available equipment, and workout duration.

What are the disadvantages of fitness apps?

Fitness apps can lack individualized feedback, provide overly generic programming, or require too much manual input. They can also overwhelm users with exercises and features without providing a clear path for progression.

References

Laranjo, L., et al. (2021). Do smartphone applications and activity trackers increase physical activity in adults? Systematic review, meta-analysis and metaregression. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 55(8), 422–432. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102892

Direito, A. et al., (2017). Using the intervention mapping and behavioral intervention technology frameworks: Development of an mHealth intervention for physical activity and sedentary behavior change. Health Education & Behavior, 45(3), 331–348. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29216765/ 

Romeo, A., et al(2019). Can smartphone apps increase physical activity? Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(3), e12053. https://doi.org/10.2196/12053