19 of the best apps for runners – Runner’s World (UK)

Free on iOs and Android with in-app purchases.

If you are finding it hard to work out how to make the most of that small space between the sofa and the telly, Freeletics can help. It’s a fitness training programme that puts together 10-30-min workouts using your body weight: jumping jacks, burpees, pistol squats and other moves that make you sick just to think of them. There are over 900 training moves, all with videos. Want to make things a little more personalised? You can upgrade at a cost to get a bespoke coaching and/or nutritional guidance with meal plans, too.

£4.99 on iOS

This app turns your Apple Watch into an advanced GPS monitor. It offers all the functionality even the most ardent data fan could want – including 26 activity types, multiple and customisable data screens, the ability to configure interval workouts and import GPX routes, and vector maps with a visual ‘breadcrumb’ trail to show your route. After your run, the data is uploaded to the companion iPhone app, where you can analyse various metrics. And don’t worry about keeping your Strava feed ticking over, the data can be directly uploaded to it, too.

£36 a year on iOS and Android

We’ll assume that, by now, you know the many benefits of meditation and mindfulness. But scheduling quiet time between conference calls, homeschooling and workouts will test anyone’s patience. With more than 100 guided sessions for stress-busting, anxiety management and enhancing focus, Calmis your co-pilot to the land of chill – and it can also help you get to sleep. Specially selected bedtime tales narrated by the likes of Matthew McConaughey (really) and national treasure Stephen Fry will coax you into a higher state of subconsciousness.

£21 a month on iOS

A good option for runners who are new to yoga, with a wide variety of classes all in one place. We were impressed by the wide selection of options when searching ‘yoga for runners’. You can narrow down by duration and change your level to see a suggested list of classes and programmes you might be interested in. Each class has a video, allowing you to follow along with the instructor, and there are mat Pilates and meditation sessions available on the app, too. The monthly subscription is expensive for an app, but it’s a cost-effective alternative to live classes.

£30 on iOS and Android

If you’ve made it your mission to get leaner, quicker, fitter and/or stronger, this app is your 2020 action plan. Created by athlete- adventurer Ross Edgley and the experts at our sister magazine, Men’s Health, The World’s Fittest App has four exhaustive 12-week training programmes, each one tailored to your particular goal. Videos help you nail the moves with proper form and the plans knit them all together – and all for half the price of a PT session. The programmes are designed to transform your body into an instrument – not an ornament.

Free on iOS and Android

Perfect if you’re simply looking to increase activity levels after a long injury or if you are new to exercise. This isn’t the most advanced activity tracker, but it wins points as a strong motivator. The app works in the background, tracking the time that you spend being active (running, walking and cycling) and nudging you to hit your ‘Daily 30’ – 30 minutes ofexercise per day. But the real motivation comes from other people. Human compares your data with that of nearby users to create a leader board, so you can see how you rank against your neighbours.

Free on iOS and Android

Looking for a local run route that will be less crowded? Choose from one of more than 70 million routes on MapMyRun, Under Armour’s comprehensive tracker that records distance, pace, elevation, calories burned and more. You can also create your own routes on the map function and save them for other members to take advantage of (if you feel like sharing). It integrates with a variety of major wearable trackers, as well as the My Fitness Pal app, so you can sync your diet and exercise info to get a clearer picture of your health.

Free on iOS

No more rooting around trying to find music on your playlist that will sync with your running cadence. Finding music to match your stride is made much simpler with Weav Run, which remixes songs to match your pace. You can either set a desired cadence on the app before your run, if you know you’re going to be aiming for a specific pace, or you can simply hit play and start running, and the app’s canny technology adapts the song in real time without compressing it or drawing it out so that the voices are horribly (or comically) distorted.

Free on iOS and Android

Beginners: use this app to get yourself into a regular running routine. Pacer is centred on step-counting, but it’s a great launching point from which to develop a running habit, too. Like the Human app, Pacer works quietly in the background, logging your steps as you move around during the day to give you a picture of your activity level. Unlike Human, you can also track runs with GPS and join group challenges, and if you opt for Premium (£4 per month), you can access training plans with video workouts, which will be helpful as you become fitter.

Free to use the run platform, £13 a month for cycling on iOS and Android

A pioneer in remote training for riders and runners alike, Zwift brings an element of gamification by transforming tedious turbo rides and treadmill slogs into challenging, social sessions. Pair any Bluetooth-enabled treadmill or static bike with the app (use a tablet rather than your phone if you have one) and power your avatar around the roads of six virtual worlds, including a futuristic New York. There are more than 1,000 workouts to choose from, plus around 300 group races each day, giving you the chance to dish the dirt as they eat your (pixel) dust.

Free or £9.99 a month on iOS for more detailed customisation options.

One of the first nutrition-focused apps on the market. This won’t tell you what to eat but it will tell you how you’re eating. Simply plug in your weight-loss target and desired time frame, and it’ll give you your daily macro (fats/carbs/protein) and calorie targets to hit. You can then enter what you eat (manually or by using the barcode scan) for each meal and the chances are the app’s vast database of branded foods will have the nutritional information on them to give you the developing picture throughout the day.

Free on iOS and Android

GPS technology might be one of the world’s great game changers, but, nonetheless, it has its limits. Generally, it can’t take you to places that are unnamed or unmapped, or find you the best entrance to a station, or locate your pals when you take a wrong turn on a weekend trail run. This hugely impressive app divides the world into three-metre blocks and assigns each one a unique three-word address – available in 36 languages – so you can properly pinpoint a location. Team RW can normally be found at ‘starts.stacks.member’.

£2.99 plus in-app purchases on iOS

That persistent piriformis syndrome is not going to rehab itself, however hard you wish this was the case – this app is the next best thing to having your physiotherapist stand over you while you do your homework. It offers an extensive library of exercises, stretching and rolling videos – 41 at time of going to press – for all parts of the body. You can search by muscle group or type of exercise and while you need an internet connection the first time you play each video, thereafter it’s stored on your device for later use offline at your convenience.

£8.99 a month

This is one for the post-lockdown world. Given the chance, most of us would rather spend our commuting time working out than playing Candy Crush. But having nowhere to freshen up makes cardio commutes (and lunch-hour sprints) a problem. RunFriendly is a bit like Airbnb for showers. It has a growing database of sites – eg gyms and hotels– where you can shower and clean up, and you can use the map-search function to find the locations that are closest to your office. Best of all, your colleagues will be spared your ‘wild-eyed and red-faced in Lycra’ look.

£4.50 a month on iOS and Android

A combination of fitness programmes and healthy-eating plans, with one of the most customisable systems you’re likely to come across. On the fitness side, you can choose your type of goal (muscle building, weight loss etc), frequency and length of desired workout, and moves to avoid. The meal plans allow you to choose specific foods and food groups to shun, favoured types of cuisine and more – and then gives you a shopping list. Explanatory videos abound, the HIIT workouts are quick, simple and designed to be done almost anywhere.

£2.99 on iOS and Android

Build your confidence with this popular app, which does exactly what the name suggests: turns you from a sedentary couch potato into a runner. It guides you through three 30-minute workouts per week to get you ready for a 3.1-mile race in only nine weeks. Along the way, it tracks your time and distance via GPS and a virtual coach gives you verbal cues about your workout. After each run, you can log your data to active.com, and you can share your achievements with friends in the app’s newsfeed. Perfect for taking those tentative first steps.

£9.99 a month on iOS

If the lockdown means that, between trying to work from home and stopping your kids going feral, you haven’t the time for long workouts – how about giving it your all for seven minutes? You can tailor your options by gender, frequency and goals (‘lose weight’, ‘get strong’ etc) and then choose from one of 200 HIIT challenges, all of which involve body weight only. Each clearly explained move lasts for 30 seconds, but you will work hard. Some may not like the fact that there is no audio during the moves, but others will find this a blessed relief.

Free on iOS and Android

Wildly popular with cyclists and runners, Strava is a great choice for casual milers and pros alike. It’s partly a runners’ social media platform and partly an analytical tool; it offers in-depth GPS tracking, works with a variety of GPS devices and tracks all kinds of metrics. It’s also known for its popular Segments feature, which shows how you stack up against other runners on the same route. Premium Strava users also get access to Beacon, a safety option that allows three designated contacts to monitor your location while you’re out running.

£5.50 a month on iOS and Android

Poor sleep can seriously affect your health, so there’s no shortage of products that purport to help you nod off and sleep soundly. But for something cheap, contactless and ready at the tap of a screen, this app is one purchase you don’t need to, well, sleep on before you sign up. The ‘world’s most accurate sleep app’ uses your phone’s microphone to monitor your breathing rate and body movements, then presents a detailed breakdown of your sleep stages, along with a nightly score. It even comes with personalised tips to help you get better sleep. Rest easy.