Strength training without the help of an instructor often does not give the desired results, which makes many beginners give up on their gym workouts. Luckily, thanks to technology, we now have dozens of instructor apps that we can use to work out at home. The best of them even take into account the user's gender and offer a wide range of exercises for both men and women.
Strong
Strong is not just an exercise log, but a full-fledged strength sports app with a rich set of workouts to which you can add your own. Moreover, each exercise is accompanied by a video with a detailed analysis of the technique.
Strong also pays due attention to the warm-up, an important element of each workout that significantly reduces the risk of injury when working with heavy weights. Beautiful graphs will help you track your progress, measuring your 1RM (maximum one-time repetitions) over a selected period of time. Syncing with Apple Watch and Google Fit is available. A great app, I definitely recommend it to all gym lovers!
The downsides include the lack of intense interval training sessions, a lack of kettlebell exercises, and only 3 sets of exercises in the free version.
Available for Android / iPhone.
JEFIT
JEFIT will help you both in setting and achieving your individual goals. The chosen training program can always be diversified with any of the 1300 exercises with detailed instructions.
The app also features workout programs provided by other JEFIT users, which will give you an extra boost of motivation on your way to your goal. A user group chat has recently been added. There are interval training and calisthenics (a form of strength training consisting of multiple movements that involve large muscle groups) exercises. Of course, you can track your working weights, reps, and other personal records.
Very good application, completely free, but there is advertising.
Available for Android / iPhone.
StrongLifts 5x5
There is nothing complicated about the 5x5 workout: you work with weights 3 times a week, doing only basic exercises, with five sets of five repetitions, and on all other days your body recovers. There are two programs: A and B, as well as recommendations for choosing the working weight.
StrongLifts 5×5 is a great workout companion, with detailed instructions and the ability to track your progress closely. On the downside, you need a paid subscription to use the warm-up and weight calculator.
Available for Android / iPhone.
Fitbod
This app will offer you strength training based on an AI algorithm. Fitbod's algorithm will think through every aspect of your workout, so you won't have to rack your brain over choosing a weight or number of reps - each workout lays the foundation for the next. As you progress, the app itself will recommend suitable weights, and a large selection of exercises will not let you idle either at home or in the gym.
Cons: sometimes it recommends clearly inappropriate weights, the instructions are not as detailed as I would like.
Available for Android / iPhone.
BodyFit
This app is developed by the famous Bodybuilding.com platform. Two main features of BodyFit that competitors do not have are menu planning and information about nutritional supplements. There are more than 60 training programs in total, including programs for both cutting and mass gain.
Each exercise comes with detailed instructions and videos from professional trainers, and the details of each workout can and should be recorded in the app's convenient journal to track overall progress.
I found 2 minuses in BodyFit - a small number of exercises for beginners and a trial period of only 7 days, and you must immediately specify a bank card number. If you suddenly don’t like the app - don’t forget to cancel the subscription! You can do this in Google Play by selecting the “Subscriptions” section.
Available for Android / iPhone.
FitnessAI
FitnessAI, like Fitbod, uses artificial intelligence to create individual training programs. It will tell you when and how much to rest and will calculate the weights for each session. According to the developers, the algorithms are based on a total of 5.9 million workouts. The application itself will introduce you to the available functions and help you choose the optimal program.
Available for iPhone.
Fitness Point
If you don't know English well, we recommend choosing Fitness Point. After choosing the language, you will immediately begin to create a special program for a particular muscle group. Eye-pleasing illustrations and animated instructions will show you the correct execution, and the AI algorithm will suggest the best exercises (there are more than 400 of them).
The app lets you keep a log, the data from which can be exported to a CSV file. Supports Apple Watch.
Available for Android / iPhone.
Hevy
Hevy offers several unique features: superset and dropset work, warm-ups, and over 200 quality videos on every type of strength training, from barbells to resistance bands. You can add notes to your workouts and track your progress with graphs for each muscle group.
For extra motivation, you can share your workouts with friends, organize competitions, borrow exercises, leave comments, and simply support each other in this difficult task.