Buzz
Throughout the years, I’ve explored a wide variety of health and fitness apps—some for reviews, others out of curiosity, and some because they’ve truly become essential to my routine. Here’s my Fitness App Hall of Fame: the apps I rely on most, along with the ones I think are the most beneficial for everyone. All these apps are available on both iOS and Android.
Top apps for tracking nutrition: Cronometer and MacroFactor
I’m sharing two apps here because one of them (Macrofactor) requires a subscription to use. As a satisfied subscriber, I can recommend it, but for those who need a free option, I highly suggest Cronometer.
Cronometer is a nutrition tracker that, unlike some more popular apps (ahem, MFP), simply gets the job done without fuss. Don’t want a calorie goal showing on your dashboard? It’s easy to hide. Need to scan barcodes on food packaging? That’s a free feature. (While there's a premium version offering additional features, all the basics are included in the free version.)
By the way: Be sure to either follow my link or double-check the spelling when typing it into the app store. There’s at least one other app with a name that’s surprisingly similar.
MacroFactor is a nutrition tracker with a unique feature that is incredibly valuable but often overlooked in the fitness world: it tracks how many calories you've been consuming and monitors your weight changes. Based on that, it estimates your total daily calorie expenditure without requiring you to log exercise or rely on the accuracy of your wearable device. If you’re consistently eating 2,300 calories and your weight remains stable, that means your body burns about 2,300 calories a day.
MacroFactor is priced at $11.99 per month or roughly $71.99 per year. I learned a lot from monitoring my calorie burn with MacroFactor, and I wholeheartedly recommend it if you're comfortable with calorie tracking and are focused on gaining weight, losing weight, or optimizing your nutrition for workouts.
The top app for tracking your runs: Strava
If you have a favorite wearable, its corresponding app is likely the best for tracking your daily workouts (e.g., Garmin Connect for a Garmin watch, Fitbit for a Fitbit or Pixel watch, etc.). However, Strava gathers data from any wearable (or even none at all—you can manually log your runs) and provides maps, stats, plus lets you check out what your friends are doing too.
Here’s a heads-up: If you value privacy—and especially if you run in less populated areas—you should be mindful of Strava’s privacy concerns and adjust your settings if the default options aren’t to your liking. Despite these concerns, Strava remains my top pick for the best running app. It offers a premium version with advanced mapping tools for planning routes and extra analytics for tracking your pace and distance. It costs $11.99/month or $79.99/year.
The best app to keep you entertained on your runs: Nike Run Club
There are various options for finding workout plans, such as using a wearable like a Garmin or signing up for a subscription service like Apple Fitness+ or Peloton. However, one of the best options available is the free, user-friendly, and well-produced Nike Run Club. You don’t even need a watch to use it. Just start your run on your phone, and you'll quickly be guided by Coach Bennett or other friendly voices. I personally love this app and would highly recommend it to anyone who feels bored with their usual running routine.
The top app for tracking strength workouts: Hevy
I should mention upfront that I don’t typically use a strength training app. My workouts come from my personal coach through a coaching app used by my gym, and I record all essential details in a paper training journal. However, after experimenting with various strength training apps, I’ve developed a clear favorite: Hevy.
During my testing of the Pixel Watch 3’s fitness tracking features, I found that the Hevy app for the watch far outperformed the watch’s built-in strength training functions. It doesn’t monitor your heart rate, which is actually a positive aspect. Instead, it offers a wrist interface to track your lifts, syncing seamlessly with the phone app. Hevy is compatible with both iPhones and Apple Watches, and you can also use it solely on your phone.
Hevy allows you to plan your workout routine and even set timers for rest periods if you prefer. It tracks your progress over time, helping you visualize your increasing strength. There’s also a desktop version available, which gives you a larger screen to help with more detailed workout planning.
The top app for tracking injuries and health concerns: Bearable.
As R.E.M. once wisely said, everybody experiences pain now and then. Sometimes, we injure ourselves during a workout, or we might suddenly develop aches and pains out of nowhere, which we then need to work around in our routines. In some cases, especially with back pain, how we feel can be affected by various factors in our daily lives. For instance, you might notice that your back feels better on the days you exercise, but worsens when you’re stressed out at work.
It can be challenging to keep track of all these variables in your head, but I’ve found Bearable to be quite helpful. You can choose what to monitor each day—like your stress level or whether you completed your physical therapy exercises—and rate how much your sore back (or other ailments) is bothering you. Over time, patterns start to appear. During my use, I found it motivating to realize that my pain wasn’t always so severe, and that there were concrete actions within my control that helped me feel better. Bearable isn’t just for injuries either—it’s perfect for tracking chronic health issues or even mental health.
