Best Fitness Apps for Athletes in 2025

Staying on top of your training is a lot easier with the right app in your pocket. Whether you’re a beginner athlete logging your first workouts or a seasoned pro optimizing performance, there’s a fitness app that can help you train smarter. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best fitness apps for athletes – covering both free and paid options – to boost your athletic performance. We’ve got you covered with apps for tracking runs and rides, planning strength workouts, monitoring nutrition, and more, all in a friendly, conversational tone. Let’s dive in and find the perfect app to elevate your training!

A collage of logos from several popular fitness apps for athletes, including running, training, and tracking apps.

Strava – For Competitive Endurance Training

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “If it’s not on Strava, did it even happen?”, you know the cultural hold Strava has on athletes. Strava has become the go-to app for tracking runs, rides, and other endurance workouts, thanks to its accurate GPS mapping and social features
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. Runners, cyclists, and triathletes love Strava for its sense of community and competition – you can follow friends, share training updates, and even compete for top times on local route segments. The app’s leaderboard and virtual challenges add a fun competitive spark to your training. Strava also integrates with many devices (like Garmin or Apple Watch) and other apps, and offers premium features such as live safety tracking and detailed performance metrics for a monthly subscription
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. The base app is free, so beginner athletes can start using Strava at no cost, while serious athletes can opt for the paid plan (around $11.99/month) to unlock advanced analytics
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. If you thrive on a little friendly competition and detailed stats, Strava is a fantastic choice.

Nike Training Club – Free Workouts for All Levels

For a completely free and versatile training app, Nike Training Club (NTC) is hard to beat. Nike Training Club offers a massive workout library that includes guided one-off workouts as well as multi-week programs, all led by certified trainers – and it’s 100% free with no hidden paywalls
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. You’ll find strength training routines, HIIT, yoga, Pilates, mobility sessions, and more, organized by muscle group or fitness goal. The app is extremely beginner-friendly (while still offering challenges for advanced athletes) – you can filter workouts by difficulty, equipment available (even bodyweight only), and duration to find something that fits your needs
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. Each workout comes with video demonstrations and audio guidance, essentially giving you a personal trainer experience at home or in the gym. Since the pandemic, Nike made all premium content free, so budget-conscious athletes can access pro-level training programs without spending a dime
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. The only downside is that NTC relies on your self-motivation (it won’t force you to exercise, aside from optional reminder notifications). But if you need variety and expert-designed workouts without a subscription, Nike Training Club is a must-try app for athletes of any level.

MyFitnessPal – Nutrition and Workout Tracking

Achieving peak athletic performance isn’t just about workouts – it’s also about nutrition and recovery. MyFitnessPal has long been one of the most popular apps for logging your diet and linking it with your exercise routine
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. This app allows you to track daily food intake (calories and macros) alongside your training, giving you a holistic view of your fitness. For athletes, MyFitnessPal can be a game-changer: you can monitor whether you’re eating enough protein for muscle recovery or adjusting your calorie intake on heavy training days. The database of foods is enormous, making it easy to log meals, and you can even scan barcodes (a Premium feature) to input nutrition info quickly. On the exercise side, MyFitnessPal lets you record workouts (sets, reps, distances, etc.) and can sync with other apps or fitness devices to import activities
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. Essentially, it doubles as a workout log and nutrition journal in one. The app has a free version which is quite robust, and a paid subscription (~$19.99/month or $79.99/year) that unlocks advanced features like macro targets, deeper analysis, and removal of ads
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. MyFitnessPal is great for both beginners (to build healthy habits) and advanced athletes (to fine-tune diet for performance) – just be aware that many of the best features now require Premium. Overall, if you want to pair your training with smart nutrition tracking, MyFitnessPal is a top choice
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.

Strong – Strength Training Logbook and Planner

Serious about strength training? Strong is an app designed for weightlifters and power athletes to plan and record their workouts in detail. With Strong, you can create custom workout routines or use built-in templates for common programs – then easily log your sets, reps, and weights as you go. The app includes a comprehensive exercise library with instructional demos, so you can discover new exercises and ensure you’re doing them correctly
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. Athletes love the analytics Strong provides: the free version gives basic stats, and the affordable Premium (around $4/month) unlocks advanced charts, personal record tracking, and volume statistics to chart your progress over time
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. For example, you can review how your squat volume has increased over the past months or identify trends in your training frequency. Keep in mind, Strong is laser-focused on strength workouts – it doesn’t track cardio or other metrics – and it can feel a bit overwhelming to absolute beginners who aren’t familiar with weightlifting terminology
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. However, if you have some lifting experience (or are working with a coach) and want to digitize your training log, Strong is an excellent tool. It’s like having a digital notebook that also crunches the numbers for you. The clean interface and workout timing features (like built-in rest timers) make it easy to stick to your plan in the gym. For intermediate and advanced strength athletes aiming for science-backed progressive overload, Strong provides everything you need to stay on track.

Runkeeper – Running Coach for Beginners

Not everyone is a seasoned marathoner – if you’re new to running or getting back into it, Runkeeper is a fantastic app to guide you. Backed by the running shoe company ASICS, Runkeeper shines in helping beginner runners set and achieve goals. When you first set up the app, it asks about your running experience and goals, then offers personalized training plans – for example, to run longer without stopping, run a first 5K, or increase pace
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. This dynamic goal-setting and coaching approach makes running feel approachable and fun. Runkeeper can track your runs via GPS, giving you feedback on pace, distance, and time, and it even has an option to track shoe mileage (so you know when it’s time to replace your running shoes!)
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. The interface is simple and user-friendly, prioritizing the info new runners need without overwhelming them. While the core app is free, there is a premium subscription called Runkeeper Go (~$10/month) that provides more detailed progress insights and personalized training plans. One thing to note: Runkeeper is excellent for outdoor running; its indoor (treadmill) tracking is a bit limited, mainly offering time and audio cues rather than detailed stats
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. If you do have a wearable (like a smartwatch), pairing it can improve tracking accuracy. Overall, for beginner to intermediate runners, Runkeeper serves as a friendly digital coach – making that journey from a few minutes of jogging to crossing a finish line feel absolutely attainable.

TrainingPeaks – Data-Driven Plans for Serious Athletes

For competitive athletes who love data and structured training plans, TrainingPeaks is a powerhouse platform. TrainingPeaks isn’t just a tracker – it’s used by many professional coaches and serious amateurs to plan training cycles, analyze performance, and optimize for peak races. In fact, TrainingPeaks is built for endurance athletes (runners, cyclists, triathletes, etc.) to push their limits with powerful data metrics, scheduling tools, and fitness tracking
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. You can log every workout (from long rides to strength sessions), track metrics like heart rate, power, and pace, and see charts of your fitness/fatigue levels over time. The app/website syncs with popular devices and wearables (Garmin, Zwift, Apple Watch, etc.), consolidating all your training data in one place
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. One of TrainingPeaks’ strengths is its planning calendar: you or your coach can schedule workouts weeks or months in advance, complete with specific targets (e.g., run 5 miles at 8min/mile, or bike intervals at certain wattages). After completing workouts, you get color-coded feedback on how closely you hit the targets, which is super satisfying for data-driven athletes. TrainingPeaks offers a free version (which lets you see basic workout logs and sync data) and a Premium subscription for deeper analysis, chargeable monthly or annually. This platform is trusted by top sports organizations and coaches worldwide to prepare athletes for major competitions
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, which speaks to its credibility. If you’re a dedicated athlete aiming to take your training to the next level with data and expert planning, TrainingPeaks is worth the investment. It’s like having a high-tech coaching assistant always by your side.

Apple Fitness – All-in-One Tracker for Apple Users

If you’re firmly in the Apple ecosystem, Apple Fitness (the Fitness app on iPhone and Apple Watch) is a superb all-in-one fitness tracker that you already have at your fingertips. The Apple Fitness app comes pre-installed and free with every iPhone, and it provides a seamless experience for tracking a little bit of everything. Using your iPhone’s motion sensors (and even better, an Apple Watch if you have one), Apple Fitness logs your daily activity – from steps and running distance to flights of stairs climbed – and encourages you to close those famous three rings (Move, Exercise, Stand) each day
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. For workouts, Apple Fitness can track a wide variety of exercise types, including running, cycling, HIIT, yoga, swimming, and more. It records key metrics like heart rate, distance, pace, and calories burned, giving casual athletes a great overview of their exercise. The interface is beautifully intuitive, showing your progress in real time (especially if wearing an Apple Watch). Athletes who do a bit of everything will appreciate that Apple’s app can handle mixed workout routines – it’s not the best at advanced strength-training stats, but it can log basic sets and calories for weight sessions
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. One thing to note is that while nearly all features are free, Apple does offer a service called Apple Fitness+ (for ~$9.99/month) which provides on-demand workout classes. However, the tracking functionality itself doesn’t require a subscription. For beginners, Apple Fitness is a friendly introduction to fitness tracking, and for more experienced athletes, it serves as a solid general tracker that integrates with HealthKit and other apps. If you’re an Apple user, this app is a no-brainer to try – it’s already on your phone waiting to help you stay active!

Fitbit – Affordable Fitness Tracking (Great for Beginners)

Not an Apple person? Fitbit has you covered with a cross-platform fitness app that pairs with or without a wearable. The Fitbit app (available on both iOS and Android) is often praised as a great entry-level fitness tracker for people starting their health journey
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. With a Fitbit device (like a Fitbit band or smartwatch), the app will automatically track your steps, heart rate, sleep quality, and even stress levels or menstrual cycles – giving a broad picture of your wellness. But even if you don’t own a Fitbit gadget, the app can use your phone’s sensors to log basics like steps or runs (though admittedly with limited accuracy). One highlight is Fitbit’s focus on overall health: you can log your meals, water intake, weight, and sleep, all alongside exercise, making it a well-rounded lifestyle app
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. The app motivates you with badges for hitting milestones (your first 10,000-step day, for example) and has a social component where you can join challenges with friends for extra encouragement. Fitbit offers a Premium subscription (~$9.99/month or $79/year) that provides deeper insights like a daily “Readiness Score” (which tells you if your body is recovered enough for a tough workout) and advanced sleep analytics
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. However, the free version is sufficient for most beginners to track their activity and start building healthy habits. Overall, the Fitbit app is user-friendly and motivational without being overwhelming – perfect for beginner athletes or anyone focusing on general fitness. And if you later get a Fitbit wearable, it will seamlessly integrate and enhance the tracking accuracy and features. It’s an excellent way to dip your toes into fitness tech and stay accountable in your daily routine.

Conclusion: Finding the Right App for You

With so many fitness apps out there, the “best” one ultimately depends on your personal goals and what keeps you motivated. The apps we’ve discussed here cater to a wide range of needs – from the competitive camaraderie of Strava for endurance junkies, to Nike Training Club’s smorgasbord of free workouts, to specialized tools like Strong and TrainingPeaks for the data-obsessed athlete. The great news is that many of these apps have free versions or trials, so you can test them out and see which interface and features you enjoy most. As an athlete (or aspiring athlete), don’t be afraid to experiment with these digital training partners. Once you find the right fit, a good fitness app can become like an extra coach in your corner – offering guidance, tracking progress, and celebrating your victories along the way. Happy training!