Workout apps are a great way to stay fit and prepare you for your next adventure. We know a lot of us are seeking alternatives to our sport to maintain our fitness while staying inside. We found some of the best workout and fitness apps that are specific to outdoor sports like climbing and cycling as well as home workout apps that will help you cross-train and maintain mobility and flexibility.
Crimpd
For: Climbers who want to work on their endurance, finger strength, technique, and footwork
Powered by Lattice Training, the Crimpd app is more than just a training track, it gives you access to world-class training programs and analyzes your progress.
World-class climbers and coaches, Tom Randall and Ollie Torr, developed workouts tailored to help climbers improve their endurance, power, mobility, and strength.
Once you download the app, you get a step-by-step guide through interactive exercises. They also have a built-in timer for their hangboarding and interval circuit workouts so you don’t have to leave the app to time yourself.
Another aspect of training you won’t have to track on your own are the workouts themselves. They’re stored in the app and Crimpd automatically calculates the workload for each workout. With the built-in analytics, you’ll be able to track your workouts and watch your progress.
User review: “I’ve loved using Crimpd. It’s incredibly helpful to have workouts already organized for me; and to have ways of assessing strength and training efficiently at my current strength level programmed into the app. I would highly recommend using Crimpd to anyone who climbs —even if you’re a beginner, there’s simple exercises like stretching and basic strength training that will be really helpful to make progression easy.”
Price: Free
Knots 3D App
For: Anyone who wants to learn about or refresh their memory on knot-tying.
Downtime is the best time to work on knots and hitches. Climbers can find a variety of knots like the alpine butterfly, flat overhand bend, bunny ears, and the double fisherman’s knot. With over 135 knots, Knots 3D is a go-to reference climbers, campers, fishermen, firefighters, and others.
The knots are presented and designed in a way that you can rotate them on the screen in order to see them from a 360° angle. You can watch the knot knot itself or use your finger to tie and untie the knot. Additionally, the Knots are organized by category and type. So if you want to learn about different types of bend knots, then you can select that. Alternatively, if you want to learn more climbing knots, you can search that way as well.
User review: “Whether you use knots all the time and need something to refresh your memory, or would just like to learn knots, hitches and their uses, this is a great program. 3D viewing makes tying the knot easy. Get yourself a nice length of rope and practice along with the program. Knots are in categories, making it easy to find the knot you want. Just browsing is fun, too. Since your phone always goes with you, it’s much more convenient than a book. The right knot for the right purpose is important for securing loads, fishing, boating, and camping. Losing a load on the way to the dump or having a tent come down in the rain because you used the wrong knot is easily avoided with this app and a bit of practice.”
Cost: $4.99
TrainerRoad
For: Cyclists or mountain bikers who want to stay or get in shape for the cycling season
Whether you’re stuck inside because of the horrendous weather or your state or county has issued a stay-at-home order, TrainerRoad is perfect for indoor bike trainer workouts. If you don’t have a coach, the next best thing is to follow TrainerRoad fitness plans.
By following the science-based training plans based on your specific goals and using their analysis tools, you will improve your performance on the bike by working on problem areas and maintaining strength. Because they have training plans for road, off-road, and triathlon, you can customize your workouts to reach peak fitness at the right time.
User Review: “Other then my smart trainer, this is the very best thing I’ve found to get faster, stronger and achieve better results! The plans are awesome and even if you have a coach, workouts are very easy to create/import. Add in the exceptional podcasts, the amazing customer support should you need it, and their speed os response, it’s a no brainer! I’ve used them since their beginning, and they have taken me so far! Join and experience what you can achieve with their experience to guide you. I love it and will continue to subscribe year after year……”
Price: $19.95/month
Note: Requires smart trainer; or a trainer paired with a speed sensor or power meter
Surf Athlete App
For: Surfers who want to build dynamic strength and endurance improve flexibility
The Surf Athlete app is a companion to Cris Mills’s Surf Athlete Training Program ($99). Cris Mills is a certified personal trainer, a licensed massage therapist, a neurokinetic therapist, and a nutritional coach, and he developed this program and companion app to help surfers build dynamic strength and endurance and improve their flexibility. There’s also a 2-week Free Surf Training Program you can access from the app.
The interface is very easy to use with an easy to follow, sequential, step-by-step program that teaches you the skills you need for lifelong surfing. Each phase is four weeks long and progresses to harder levels. Additionally, there are bonus workouts like breathwork, follow-alongs, and paddle training.
User Review: “Can clearly see that Cris has spent years on all the research and I think he’s done an awesome job in condensing it all into the surf strength coach app. Provides a great structure and base to stick to in terms of training and mobility around you surfing ! Thanks heaps Cris.”
Price: Free (program costs $99)
Runkeeper
For: Trailrunners who want to track their workouts and follow personalized plans.
The Runkeeper app is loaded with features to keep any runner enthralled. There is a built-in tracker that will track your activity in real time so you can know your pace, distance, and time through audio cues. The app also allows users to create goals such as running a 5K in a certain amount of time or hitting a specific weight.
If you don’t know how to reach your goal, Runkeeper also has personalized plans you can use that fit your fitness level and schedule. While the plans cost money, using the app as a workout tracker does not. During your training, if you need any extra motivation, the app has challenges, workout rewards, virtual races, and you can share your results with your friends. It also integrates with Spotify and iTunes.
User Review: “I’ve tried various couch to 5k apps, including the most popular one. All most of them offer for the price is the times you should be running and just a beep when to stop and start… With this you get high quality voice coaching with Erin, who is so motivational. This app has turned me from a couch potato to running in the freezing cold before work and actively looking forward to it.. which is saying something! Genuinely life changing- just give it a try.”
Basic Version Cost: Free
RunKeeper Go: $9.99/month or $39.99/year
Freeletics Bodyweight
For: Athletes who want to stay strong sans equipment when staying home.
When you create an account on Freeletics, there are a series of questions asked in order for the app to create a personalized plan for you based on your current fitness and goals. The plan is easily accessible from the dashboard of the app once you’re signed in. There is a built-in timer as well as how-to videos for each workout.
The app has 10-to-30-minute bodyweight workouts with a library of more than 140 different exercises giving you the flexibility to choose how often you want to workout. After each workout, the app asks how it went to gauge how to structure your workout the following week.
User Review: “This app has been one of the greatest tools for exercise that I’ve ever used! Have been working out consistently with it for 13 weeks now! I love the results and I love that it is simple to use and doesn’t require equipment other than the occasional chair or pull-up bar. Also, most of the workouts are between 25 and 45 minutes which is so helpful for my busy lifestyle! Even with how short the workouts are, they are really hard if you’re doing them honestly and following the counsel given by the coaching program. I highly recommend the coach. It’s pricey but nowhere near what a gym membership would be. I just wish there was an Apple Watch app! (Hint hint) All in all I love this app and I’m looking forward to using it for a long time!”
Cost: Starts at $74.99/year
Glo
For: Anyone who wants to crosstrain and increase their flexibility.
As soon as you sign up for an account, the app guides you through a series of quick questions in order to customize your yoga practice. First, it asks what you would like to focus on. Next it asks what type of teacher you are looking for. Finally, it asks how many classes have you taken.
Your workouts are based on how much time you have. Glo offers over 3,700 classes and has around 50 different teachers.
User Review: “I live in a small town with no gym. I also have young kids. This app has allowed me to stay fit, escape for a little while and feel great. There are so many options of classes and styles to choose from….I’ve been using YogaGlo for about 3 years and I feel like I have really improved in my yoga skills. I have gained a lot of strength and even flexibility. I also have been able to land a bunch of poses I could never do before. I really love it!”
Cost: $22.99/month after 15-day free trial
The Ready State
For: Athletes who want to resolve pain, perform better, and recover faster
The Ready State app was developed by Dr. Kelly Startett, a movement and mobility coach for players in the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA, Olympic gold medalists, and other world-class athletes. The app helps athletes with range of motion and mobility work in order to resolve pain, perform better in their chosen disciplines, and recover faster.
The Ready State defines mobility: “Mobility takes a systems approach to restoring your range of motion. It accounts for all the varied ways your body can lose its natural ability to move. Mobilizing restores your joints, sliding surfaces, soft tissue, and even blood flow. Plus it helps you develop the motor control you need to express that range of motion in your daily life.”
When you first sign up, you’ll go through a series of questions that will determine your Ready State score out of 88 points. You’ll get a customized plan to help improve your mobility. Once you login, you can choose what you want to focus on for the day: Workout, Pain, or Daily Maintenance.
User Review: “Mobility is one of the most challenging things when you’re training and your time is limited. Content is organized by sports, pre workout, post workout, body areas and not only addresses mobility but also proper mechanics and pain. I usually turn to it after I Row or on an off day to work on mobility. 5 stars. Plus I got super awesome customer service when I had questions about the app.”
Cost: $14.99 after 14-day trial
