Nike Training Club
Getting in shape can change your life - it makes you feel better in the short term, improves your long-term physical and mental health, helps fight chronic disease, and more.
Strength training is particularly important, as it's the best way to delay and even reverse the loss of bone density and muscle mass that come with getting older. (Cardio is great too, for other reasons.)
If you're looking for a fitness app to help you get stronger, Nike Training Club is one of your best options, and it's free.
For a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research in 2017, a team of researchers analyzed how well 28 different fitness apps matched the exercise guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
The app that the researchers found met the guidelines best overall was the Johnson & Johnson Official 7-Minute Workout app. But Nike's app, which came in second on the list, was almost as good - and scored better than the 7-Minute Workout for strength training.
We've analyzed some of the top apps from that study, and each offers distinct benefits, but Nike's app was one of our favorites.
The study reviewers said the app includes a great variety of both individual workouts and multiweek training programs. Plus, this app is free, and unlike other "free" apps we've tested, there's no pressure to upgrade to a paid or premium version.
In general, the government's recommended physical activity guidelines call for healthy adults to do at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity activity - or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity - weekly, along with muscle-strengthening exercises at least twice a week.
The ACSM takes those guidelines a few steps further, saying that all workout programs should include safety precautions, warm-up, conditioning that includes strengthening, and cool-down. Plus, they say programs should progress at a safe rate for each person, and that workout programs should include components of aerobic fitness, strength and resistance exercise, and flexibility.
Here's how the Nike Training Club app works.