The Best Weight Lifting Apps for Every Kind of Strength Training

The Best Weight Lifting Apps Out There

Strength training is in and it's not going away anytime soon. Let's face it, though: Weight room vibes can be intimidating AF and personal trainers are pricey, so it's not always easy to jump in.

What's a lifter to do? Oh, just whip out your phone, download one of the many weight lifting apps out there, and get ready to get strong. Not even sure how to hold a kettlebell? There's a weight lifting app for you. Want to squat your bodyweight? There's an app for you, too. Just want to build muscle from a closet-sized hotel gym? Yep, you know the answer.

Whatever your goals and whatever fancy gym equipment you do (or don't!) have access to, these apps will help you build strength and confidence — and muscles — wherever you choose to sweat.

Fitbod

Driven by a super-smart algorithm, Fitbod uses your personal fitness information and goals to progressively adapt your workouts to help you get stronger.

This weight lifting app provides recommendations for which exercises to do and how much weight to use, then adapts based on your performance. It also incorporates new exercises at the right time to provide your body with the change of pace it needs and to keep you mentally motivated.

It's beginner-friendly with more than 400 demo videos, and also awards you when you knock off new fitness achievements.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $13/month or $80/year for Elite version and unlimited workout tracking.

Fit Body with Anna Victoria

Unlike some of her fellow fitfluencers, Instagram-famous trainer Anna Victoria is a NASM-certified trainer, so you better believe the workout programs in her Fit Body with Anna Victoria weight lifting app will help you get seriously strong. The app offers three programs to give you a killer workout no matter what equipment you have on hand.

• TONE: For workouts that require just dumbbells and your own bodyweight, check out her TONE program. These are gold if you only have a teeny-tiny hotel gym to work out in, or if you work out at home with limited equipment.
• SCULPT: If you have access to a full gym and a barbell — and want to build all the muscle — check out the SCULPT program. But FYI, this plan's workouts take about an hour to sweat through.
• SHRED: And if you're stuck in a sitch without any equipment, no worries — you can do one of the bodyweight-only SHRED workouts.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $20/month or $120/year to subscribe after a 7-day free trial.

Sworkit

With over 25 million users, you know Sworkit has to be a pretty damn good weight lifting app. The workouts and training programs use minimal equipment — and come in handy if you want a quality sweat using just a pair of dumbbells or a kettlebell.

In the app, you can choose workouts based on level of difficulty, time, and your goals — and even chat with certified personal trainers one-on-one for extra backup and motivation. Want to do your own thing? Use the app's 300+ customizable workouts to create your own routine.

Sworkit Premium members (and anyone who's completed more than five workouts in the app) can also join the Sworkit community, where users can share stories, transformations, and keep each other accountable.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $10/month or $60/year for full access after a 7-day free trial.

SWEAT

Since #BBG creator Kayla Itsines transformed her absurdly popular workout PDFs into the SWEAT app back in 2015, the workout platform has become home to a family of beloved training programs. Whatever your specific goals, SWEAT has a plan for you — there are tons of programs to choose from, but these are some great options that incorporate weights.

• Kayla Itsines' High Impact program builds on her original workouts to help newbies incorporate gym equipment into their routines.
• Kelsey Wells' PWR and PWR at Home programs feature weight-lifting workouts for building strength you can do at the gym or right from home. (Sample one of her PWR at Home workouts here.)
• Chontel Duncan's FIERCE program is ideal if you like your weights with a side of HIIT. Try it out to reveal your inner athlete.
• Stephanie Sanzo's BUILD program will teach you the ins and outs of lifting heavy and is the perfect program if you want to get serious about hitting the weights and building muscle.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $20/month to subscribe after a 7-day free trial.

Fitplan

With more than 50 training programs at your fingertips, the Fitplan app definitely has a weight lifting workout for you, whether you're at home with just some dumbbells or at the gym. You can also browse its extensive selection of "booty gains" workouts and train with Instagram sensations such as Katie Crewe. (Psst... Learn How to Properly Engage Your Glutes During These Key Exercises)

Every workout includes HD video instructions and tools for tracking your weight and reps. Plus, Fitplan adds new trainers and programs every month so you can easily switch up your routine. In addition to the workouts themselves, you'll also find motivational stories from other users, giveaways, and nutrition tips in the app.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $16/month or $70/year to access full training plans after a 7-day free trial.

Nike Training Club

Fans of Nike Run Club (one of the best free running apps out there) who want to do more than pound the pavement, behold: the Nike Training Club app.

In the Basic version of the app, you can browse workouts by the muscle group you want to target, the equipment you have access to, and the type of workout (such as strength or mobility) you want to do. From there, you can find your perfect routine by filtering for workout length, intensity, or level of difficulty.

In addition to more than 67 full-equipment strength training workouts, you'll also find recipes, trainer tips on form, and more. To unlock the app's selection of complete training programs and trainer-led classes, though, you'll have to download the Premium version of the app.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $15/month or $120/year to subscribe to NTC Premium after a 7-day free trial.

Freeletics

Freeletics uses your personal goals and fitness level (plus how much time and equipment you have!) to provide you with exactly the workout you need.

In the Premium version of the app, you can take a detailed fitness test and select customized training journeys — such as "Lift Big" or "Gain Muscle" — to work toward your long-term fitness goals. Freeletics' algorithm customizes and adapts your plan as you go, based on factors such as how much weight you lift in a given exercise.

Find yourself gym-less or have limited equipment access in the middle of a training journey? The Quick Adapt feature helps you adjust your workouts to match your environment so you can stay on track.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $12/month or $75/year for Premium access.

BodyFit

If your introduction to lifting weights involved perusing the bajillion training plans on Bodybuilding.com, you can now satisfy your inner meathead and follow along with your favorite trainers — such as Hannah Eden — with the BodyFit app.

BodyFit contains more than 60 weight-based training programs, along with nutrition guidelines, supplement recommendations, and advice from the trainers themselves. Plus, the app's tracking tools make logging your reps, sets, and weight — and monitoring your progress — easier than ever.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $7/month or $48/year for full access after a 7-day free trial.

JEFIT

This no-nonsense weight lifting app provides both an efficient way to track your lifts and a ton of strength training programs to follow.

You can use JEFIT to record your goals, then log your weights, sets, and reps, rest time, and more to reach them. You can even use the app to calculate your one-rep max for big lifts, such as squats. It offers programs for everyone from weightlifting newbies to weight room vets who want to try bodybuilding, powerlifting, or circuit training.

The PR tracker and weekly progress reports will help keep you motivated, whether you're penciling in those workouts at your local gym or on the go. To unlock certain training programs, though, you'll need to pay for the JEFIT Elite subscription.

Get it on iOS or Android. Free to download; $13/month or $70/year for JEFIT Elite.