Best Online Home Workout Apps & Plans

Want to workout at home? Get an overview of the best online workout apps & plans in this post! 

A lot of us are working out at home these days. So today I’m rounding up some of the best online home workout apps and plans I’ve found. Some I’ve tried and some I’ve just heard a lot about, but I noted when I’ve personally tried one!

What if you don’t feel like working out? I’d encourage you to get some intentional movement, if only walking for 20 minutes a day. Stress causes a ripple effect on the rest of your life – work, relationships, parenting, everything. But working out lowers cortisol, the stress hormone, and that’s why working out is even more important right now.  (Now, exercising can increase cortisol so don’t overdo it if you have a lot of time on your hands!)

This is a perfect time to mix things up and try something new!

Sometimes we don’t reach our goals because we do the same thing over and over expecting results. To see change, you need to change something. Whether your fitness goals involve losing weight, improving running, burning fat, getting stronger, creating better habits, and/or eating better, I hope this post helps you! (If you want to focus on running, make sure you get on the waitlist for my running course launching in a few weeks!!)

Since my gym has been closed, I’ve been doing a lot more body weight or lower weight strength training. And it’s been amazing to see how I get sore from those considering I’ve love to lift heavy. But, my body isn’t used to the movements I’m doing or the higher rep count. And that leads to change (and soreness!)! I’m also stretching after every single workout, even if it’s only 5 minutes to hit the main muscle groups.

Okay, let’s dive in to some at-home workout apps and plans!

The best online home workout apps & plans

Quick tip: This post has some of the affordable fitness equipment I have at home and some that I want to get. So if you’re open to getting a few things to help your at-home workouts, a few things can really elevate the intensity!

The Rookie Runner Program

The Rookie Runner Program is the running course I developed specifically for beginners. It teaches you everything you need to know to become a runner and stick with it. Most running apps – free or paid —  only show you your time, pace and distance. But there is SO much more to running. In the Rookie Runner Program, you’ll learn what type of shoes to buy, how to warm up, what to eat beforehand, what to eat after a run, what stretches to do, how to run faster, how to choose a training plan and more.

The Rookie Runner Program is $137 for lifetime access vs. a recurring monthly charge like most workout apps. You also get access to a private Facebook group of fellow rookie runners, private coaching calls and access training plans for 5Ks, 10K and half marathons. Join the Rookie Runner Program here.

Peloton and Peloton App 

Tommy and I gave each other a Peloton for Valentine’s day this year and we’ve been very glad we made that choice. (You can read my review here.) However, I know that buying a Peloton or large piece of equipment for your home isn’t feasible for everyone. But, the Peloton Digital App is WELL worth the purchase even if you’re working out at home in a small space. It’s especially worth trying right now since there’s a 90 day free trial! The Peloton App has tons of classes –– including a lot of non-cycling classes. I do their guided meditations, body weight strength, yoga practices and stretching classes regularly!

The app costs $12.99 after your trial is over, and I think that’s a great deal when you consider the variety of classes you get. The app offers classes like running, bootcamp, strength training, etc. I’ve tried a lot of them and I’ve been really pleased. (More details on those here!) They have on-demand classes and you can see when others are taking the class at the same time, which makes it feel more like an in-person class. You can also connect with your friends who also use the bike and/or app. If you need some accountability for working out, this app is great for that.

Details

The app costs $12.99 after your 90 day free trial. It’s compatible with the web, iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets and Fire TV.

Aaptiv

Aaptiv is another workout app I’ve tried. One difference to note about this app is that it is audio-only vs. most of the Peloton classes have video with it. For some, this is great. I like this feature because you can set your phone down and grab your headphones (I love Airpods) and workout with the class without watching anything. Aaptiv has tons of online coaches that tell you what you should be doing in detail and encourage you through the class, and it’s all set to music. They do have a video feature to show you the moves that you’ll do in that classl, in case you need a refresher. The classes include running, pilates, yoga and mediation, stretching, strength training and more.

You can choose the genre of music, level of difficulty for your fitness level, and class length. I’ve done many of their short core and stretching classes after a run. You can also set up a customized workout plan on their app to help you reach your goals. And they’ll remind you to do things like complete your daily workouts and drink water.

Details

The Aaptiv app costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 for an annual membership. They have a 7 day free trial, so if you want to check it out first, just remember that you’ll be charged on the 8th day if you don’t cancel. You can use the app on iOS 10.0 and above and Android 5.0 and above. You also must have a wifi connection or use 3G, 4G, or LTE. They upload up to 30 new classes a week.

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Nike Training Club

The Nike Training Club is an app put together by Nike, with their Nike Master Trainers. This app offers a diverse list of classes as well. They have no-equipment-needed classes and they have classes that use lots of equipment, if you have more things available at home. You can do multi-week training programs that are targeted to specific goals, and most of those also include meal planning ideas and an accountability feature.  Details

The Nike Training Club is FREE! It’s compatible with iOS and Android as well.

The app has 185+ free classes and their sessions range from 15 minutes to full hour classes. And a plus with the NTC app is that it’s compatible with the Apple Watch, if that’s something you have.

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Johnson and Johnson 7 Minute Workout App

This app is new to me, but I hear great things about it. The Johnson and Johnson 7 Minute Workout App has 72 exercises and 22 additional workouts that are made to create HIIT circuits. You can use these exercises to create over 1000 different workouts. This way you can do more than 1 circuit, but keep it super simple since the workouts are made to be repeated. The app offers tons of variations for body parts in case you need to do things a little differently for any reason. If you’re interested in keeping your workouts really simple, this is the PERFECT app for you.

Details

It’s FREE! This app is compatible with smartphones, tablets, or apple watch.

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Obé Fitness App

I’ve been seeing lots of people using this program recently so I decided to look into it. The Obé Fitness app offers hundreds of new classes a week, and has workouts from dance cardio (sounds so fun!) to pilates, vinyasa yoga, heart meditation, sculpt classes, and plenty of others. They offer 28 minute classes and 10 minute express classes. They have a live class schedule as well as on-demand classes, which is great. There are individual classes, or you start a program that’s targeted to specific fitness goal. From the reviews they have, it seems really awesome!

Details

This app is on the expensive side compared to others at $27 a month or $199 a year, but they offer a 7-day free trial to let you see how you like it. The program is web and iOS app based. They say that the best experience is if you connect your computer to your TV or Apple TV, Fire stick, or Roku

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Non-App Workout Programs from my favorite bloggers

While there are a ton of fitness apps you can download, there are also a lot of strength training and workout resources online for free from bloggers. I know how much time it takes to create this type of content so the fact that they share so much for free online is an incredible resource. I also know there are a lot of options out there so how do you narrow it down? There are three women whom I know personally and trust for workout advice. I also do their workouts myself so I can vouch for their effectiveness. And, they’re also realistic workouts that aren’t overly complicated, which is important to me. Three of my go-to resources for workout inspiration are listed below!

Bess Carter

Bess Carter is a fitness and healthy lifestyle blogger who is  a NASM certified personal trainer and group fitness certified. I I LOVE her approach to working out and still enjoying life!! She posts a lot of workouts in her Instagram stories and saves them in her Story highlights. I’ve also purchased one of her workout guides. I just printed it off and choose a different workout to do 2-3x a week! The last time I did one of her workouts I was sore for two days, and it was only a 30 minute workout! But man, I was smoked! (She has prenatal fitness certifications and a prenatal workout guide if you are pregnant and need that option.) She also emails a workout in her newsletter each Monday so be sure to sign up for that!

Paleomg 

Juli Bauer posts workouts in her instagram feed regularly and they are SO good. I do one of her workouts about once a week. She shows video tutorials along with them and they are all working-out-at-home friendly right now. (Before gyms were shut down, she posted gym workouts too.) She also has a Power Program you can buy, along with a meal plan. I haven’t tried the program, but knowing Juli, I’d bet it’s FANTASTIC. If you want legit strength training workouts, check out Juli’s instagram.

Peanut Butter Runner

Jen Eddins is a group fitness instructor, yoga instructor and dedicated runner. She’s incredibly well educated on working out effectively and safely, and regularly shares workouts on her Instagram! I did this workout last Friday! It only took 20 minutes but I was beat by the end. She also has a TON of workouts on her blog and also shares yoga flows and tips. She’s a great resource if you want a variety of workouts since she shares  running tips, strength workouts and yoga practices!

What workouts have you been doing while you’re at home? Let me know in the comments!