Best Fitness Apps for Getting Back in Shape in 2027
If you're over 30 and getting back into it after a few years off, the best fitness app is the one you'll still be opening in March. That takes three things: workouts short enough to fit your life, a reason to show up, and proof that it's working.
Most apps only give you the first one. Here are the seven worth your time in 2027, starting with the one that gives you all three.
Best overall for getting back in shape: The Weekly Combine
Best free workout library: Nike Training Club
Best for Apple Watch owners: Apple Fitness+
Best for classes and cardio: Peloton App
Best for strength with a coach: Ladder
Best for lifting at the gym: Fitbod
Best for logging your lifts: Caliber
Download The Weekly Combine free on the App Store
1. The Weekly Combine: best overall for getting back in shape
Price: Free · Time: about 4 minutes a day · Platform: iPhone
Yes, it's ours. We built it because every other app we tried had the same problem: you work hard for six weeks and have no idea if anything changed. So you quit.
The Weekly Combine fixes that with one number: your Athletic Age. It's the age your body actually performs like, based on real tests of strength, power, endurance and mobility. You're 44 but you test like a 39-year-old? You'll know. You test like a 51-year-old? Now you know what you're working with, and you get to watch that number drop.
Here's how it works:
A daily drill, about 4 minutes. One quick drill a day, Sunday through Friday. Each has a target set for your age and sex. Hit it, or just show up, and your Momentum streak keeps going.
The Weekly Combine. It opens every Saturday with four benchmarks, one from each pillar. You get all week to take your best shot, and your best result counts.
Your Athletic Age, updated every week. Your Combine results and your consistency roll up into one score you can actually track.
Crews. This is where it gets fun. Start a crew with your friends, your old teammates, or the dads from soccer pickup. Rank by Athletic Age, or go head-to-head on any single test. Nothing gets you off the couch like your buddy posting a better broad jump.
It feels like a sport again, which is the point. You're not grinding through workouts with nothing to show for it. You're training for something every week, with a scoreboard and people to beat.
And because it only takes a few minutes a day, it works on its own or alongside anything else on this list. Run with Peloton, lift with Fitbod, and let The Weekly Combine tell you whether it's paying off.
Best for: anyone 30+ who wants to get fitter, see the proof, and have some fun competing with friends along the way.
Get The Weekly Combine free on the App Store
2. Nike Training Club: best free workout library
Price: Free · Time: 5 to 60 minutes
Nike made the whole app free a few years ago, and it's still the easiest place to find a workout without paying. There are hundreds of sessions, from 5-minute mobility routines to full multi-week programs, and most need little or no equipment.
The catch is that nothing adapts to you. It won't notice that you skipped two weeks or that push-ups are getting easier, and all that choice can be a lot when you're just trying to get going.
Best for: trying a bit of everything without a subscription.
3. Apple Fitness+: best for Apple Watch owners
Price: about $10 a month · Time: 5 to 45 minutes
If you already wear an Apple Watch, Fitness+ is hard to beat for convenience. Your heart rate and calories show on screen during class, and the workouts close your rings. Plenty of classes run 10 or 20 minutes.
It works best inside Apple's world. Without the watch you lose a lot of what makes it good.
Best for: iPhone and Apple Watch users who like following an instructor.
4. Peloton App: best for classes and cardio
Price: from $12.99 a month · Time: 5 to 60 minutes
You don't need the bike. The app has running, walking, strength, yoga and outdoor audio classes, and the instructors are a big reason people stick with it. If you got fit once through group classes, this feels the most like that.
The paid tiers add up, and the best stuff is built around their equipment.
Best for: people who get moving for the energy and music more than for a plan.
5. Ladder: best for strength training with a coach
Price: $29.99 a month, or $179.99 a year · Time: 30 to 45 minutes
Ladder gives you a weekly strength plan from a coach and puts you on a team with other people following the same program. Video demos and in-ear coaching mean you're never guessing what to do next.
It's the priciest app here, but for someone who wants to be told exactly what to do, the structure is worth it.
Best for: a real program without designing one yourself.
6. Fitbod: best for lifting at the gym
Price: $15.99 a month, or $95.99 a year · Time: 30 to 60 minutes
Fitbod builds each workout from what you've done before, the equipment you have, and how recovered each muscle group is. It's smart about not hammering the same muscles two days in a row, which matters more after 40.
It assumes you're comfortable in a gym. If the barbell area still feels intimidating, start somewhere else first.
Best for: gym members who want each session planned for them.
7. Caliber: best for logging your lifts
Price: free, with a paid Plus tier · Time: you decide
Caliber is a clean, simple way to log strength training and watch your numbers climb. The free version covers logging and workouts, and the paid tier adds more programming.
It's a tracker first, so you'll get the most from it if you already know roughly what you want to do.
Best for: people who like numbers and want something free that stays out of the way.
How to pick a fitness app when you're getting back in shape
Skip the feature lists and ask yourself three things.
How much time do you really have? Be honest. If it's 20 minutes on a weeknight, pick something short. A 60-minute plan you do once is worse than a 4-minute drill you do every day.
What will make you show up? For some people it's an instructor. For a lot of us, it's competition. If you played sports growing up, a crew of friends and a weekly scoreboard will get you moving more than any program.
How will you know it's working? This is the one most people skip, and it's why so many New Year plans are done by February. Test yourself now, then test again every week. Seeing the number move is what keeps you going once the January buzz wears off. That's exactly what The Weekly Combine is built for.
One more thing for anyone over 40: start easier than you think you need to. Your heart and lungs come back faster than your tendons do, and most early injuries happen in weeks two and three, when you feel great and overdo it.
FAQ
What's the best fitness app to get back in shape in 2027?
The Weekly Combine is our top pick for adults 30+. It takes about 4 minutes a day, measures your progress every week with real fitness tests, and turns your results into an Athletic Age you can track and compete on with friends. It's free on the App Store.
What is the best free fitness app?
The Weekly Combine and Nike Training Club are both free. Nike Training Club gives you a big library of workouts, and The Weekly Combine gives you weekly tests, an Athletic Age score and crews to compete with. Many people use both.
What's the best fitness app for someone over 40?
Pick one with short sessions and age-adjusted goals. The Weekly Combine sets every target by age and sex, so a 45-year-old is measured against other 45-year-olds, not 25-year-olds. Ladder and Fitbod are strong if you want full strength programs.
What is Athletic Age?
Athletic Age is the age your body performs like, based on tests of strength, power, endurance and mobility. It's the main score in The Weekly Combine and updates every week as your results change.
How long does it take to get back in shape?
Most people feel a difference within 2 to 4 weeks. Measurable gains in strength and endurance usually show up within 6 to 8 weeks of steady training. Testing yourself every week makes those gains much easier to see.
Do I need more than one fitness app?
No, but two can work well together: one that tells you what to do, and one that shows whether it's working. Pair any workout app with The Weekly Combine and you've got both.
Start 2027 with a number to beat
You don't need a perfect plan to get back in shape. You need to start, see that it's working, and have a reason to come back next week. Take your first Combine, get your Athletic Age, and invite a few friends to see who can drop theirs the most by summer.