EvolveYou, formerly Tone and Sculpt, is my go-to workout app. As a fitness enthusiast hitting the gym consistently for the past 16 years, I've tried numerous workout programs and apps. Still, I always find myself coming back to this one. 

This app allows you to customize your fitness plan to the point that it feels like the program was created by your own personal trainer. You get to choose the trainer of your liking from coaches with different specialties like strength training, endurance, barre and yoga. You can also select the number of workout sessions you want to accomplish every week (three or five times per week), the level you are most comfortable with (beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert), equipment (you can also select if you will be working out from home or in a gym) and, lastly, nutrition preference. Depending on the program you select, you can expect the duration to be anywhere from eight weeks (yoga) to 67 weeks (strength training).

Once you've selected the program that best fits your goals and lifestyle, you'll see your dashboard, where you can find your weekly planner showing the workout routines by day of the week. You can change the order of the workouts in your planner and add any workouts or challenges from the workout library. Short videos and descriptions accompany each exercise to help you do it correctly. 

One of my favorite features of this app is the meal planner. You can choose from four different diet types: standard (best for omnivores), vegetarian, vegan and pescatarian. With the meal planner, you can input your own meals to track what you eat in a day, or you can ask the app to do it for you. If you let the app plan your meals, it will give you a shopping list and recipes for your meals. Most of these recipes are simple and easy to follow and they usually take 15 to 20 minutes to prep. All in all, this app offers the right programs and nutrition plans if you're looking to build muscle. If you would like to try it, check out the seven-day free trial.

If you’re serious about building up your strength, then check out the Stronger By The Day app. The SBTD creator, Meg Gallagher, a powerlifting coach and strength athlete, developed the app with women in mind, utilizing science-backed programming to help you reach your goals. I’ve been using this app for over a month, and I’ve already lifted more weight than I did before pregnancy – so it has definitely worked for me. The app (available on iOS and Android) offers a free 7-day trial, followed by a monthly subscription of $15. Alternatively, you can opt for a quarterly subscription for $40 or a yearly subscription for $100.

The program includes five workouts for the week, with the fifth one being optional. These workouts focus on lower and upper body days, and give you the option to select if you’re doing them in the gym, using bodyweight or if you need an express option. These workouts include warm-ups, video demonstrations, and explanations of the prescribed exercises. One of the features I like on this app is that it also allows you to substitute exercises if you don’t have access to a specific piece of equipment or if you have limitations. It also includes a conditioning workout option that you can include at the end of your workout if you have the time. 

Since the focus is on building strength, SBTD has a section where you can input your weights and reps neatly. If you hit a personal best, the app suggests a new weight goal for that specific exercise. One of the things I don’t like about this app is how the exercises are listed for the day once you hit play. Unless you memorize the initial preview of the workout, you have to skip through different slides to know what exercise comes next. This is tough when your attention span tends to be short, like mine.

Overall, this is a solid app for those well-versed in strength training who are looking to build strength. Stronger by the Day simplifies its workout program through its layout and even includes a resource section that provides educational videos on nutrition, proper breathing and exercise techniques. 

-Giselle Castro-Sloboda, fitness writer

When my gym shut down the beginning of the pandemic, I made my way to the Melissa Wood Health Method. I'd followed the founder, Melissa Wood-Tepperberg, on Instagram for about two years before that and sporadically took Pilates classes she shared on her profile. Once I was left without a gym to attend, I thought that it was a good time to subscribe to her app since I enjoyed her classes and her inspiring content so much. I subscribed to the seven-day free trial and decided to keep my membership because of how good the workouts made me feel.

The MWH Method aims to help you sculpt long, lean lines by practicing controlled, low-impact movements. At the beginning of each practice, you're prompted to set an intention for your workout. The idea behind the method is to work toward a stronger body and build a better relationship with yourself.

This app has an extensive selection of workouts to choose from, and every Monday a new workout is uploaded. Most of the MWH Method videos are 10 to 30 minutes long and combine low-impact Pilates and yoga movements. Don't be fooled by the "low-impact" wording -- that does not mean easy or low-effort. The subtle movements and prolonged repetition will have your muscles burning. She also occasionally mixes in dance movements as part of the warmups to get you in the mood for working out. In addition to the regular workouts, the program offers guided meditations, pre- and post-natal exercises and beginner workouts.

StrongHer was created by Melissa Chalmers when she began a fitness journey for her wedding. As she started seeing results and the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle, she decided to share what she had learned with the rest of the world. This fitness and nutrition program aims to provide a personal trainer that you can take anywhere with you through an app. What I like about the app is that you get personal training and fully customizable nutrition plans tied to your goals. The nutrition plan is just that, a plan with meals you can create with the recipes they provide (no meals will be delivered to your home).

When you download the app, the first thing you'll do is set your objectives -- it could be to lose weight, tone your muscles or build muscle mass. Then you'll be asked whether you'll be working out at home or at a gym and the type of workouts you enjoy most, followed by a series of questions about things like height, weight and lifestyle. 

You can customize your nutrition plan to your liking, choosing from a standard diet (no allergies or restrictions), keto or vegetarian. To all my fellow vegans, worry not. Although there isn't an official vegan option, if you select the vegetarian option, you can exclude foods like honey, milk and eggs to make your plan vegan-friendly. Similarly to WeightWatchers, StrongHer has a point system for the foods in your nutrition plan. Every food is assigned a number of points based on its calories, fat and protein. The number of points you have in your daily budget will depend on your personalized nutrition plan. 

What sets this workout app apart from the rest is the ability to track your progress through time. For example, suppose you started with 5-pound weights for bicep curls, and in two months you are able to lift 10 pounds. If you document it in the app, it'll show you historical data about your physical activity progress, calorie intake and water intake.

As for the workouts, I found them to be fun and you can make them as challenging as you want. The app will not recommend the amount of weight to use; instead, you decide what feels right or challenging enough for you. There is a quick outline and a short video demonstration for each exercise in case the movement is new to you or you wish to have more guidance on your form.

Alo Wellness Club is a fitness and wellness app from parent company Alo Yoga -- yes, the trendy brand responsible for getting us all hooked on the famous Alo Yoga Goddess Leggings. The app essentially connects you with instructors through an extensive array of classes.

What I like most about this app is that it's not limited to only yoga classes. With your membership, you get access to different workout classes like yoga, pilates, strength, barre, sculpt and HIIT along with other wellness practices like stretching, nutrition and self-care.

Lately, I've been loving the Gut Health Series, a collection that goes beyond workouts to include nutritional videos and pilates classes focused on core strength and digestion. I've also been liking the Hour Glass Method, which leans into strength training in a way that's approachable but still sculpts your body. The programming of this series is pretty smart -- progressively adding more weight without it feeling overwhelming or punishing.

One thing that stands out from this app is the instructors' energy and how it varies from one class to another. Most of my instructors from the restorative yoga series had such a calming and soothing presence that I made taking a yoga class part of my morning routine. On the other hand, the teachers from the kundalini or vinyasa classes radiate so much energy that you finish the class ready to take on the day. It's safe to say that there is a class for every type of mood. I should point out that, for the most part, instructors will describe the poses, but others assume that you know the pose they call out. This might make classes challenging to follow for beginners. Taking classes with Alo Wellness Club is comparable to taking a class in a studio, with the flexibility of going at your own pace. It offers a 14-day free trial.

The Sweat App was founded by Kayla Itsines, an Australian fitness guru who gained popularity on social media with her High Intensity with Kayla (formerly known as BBG) e-books back in 2015. Since then, the fitness program has evolved from a digital book to a fitness app, raking up over 1 million users every month.

It's not hard to see why this workout app is a fan favorite; it offers over 30 programs -- all designed to fit multiple workout preferences and achieve different results. Some of the most notable plans include at-home workouts, gym training plans, post-pregnancy programs and zero-equipment workouts. Even when you finish a program, there are so many other options to explore that it's doubtful you'll ever get bored with a routine. And like any other well-designed fitness app, Sweat strives to provide you with a personal trainer 24/7 right in the palm of your hand, along with a nutrition plan to help you reach your goals.

Before beginning your workout, you can set up your playlist (through Spotify or Apple Music) and select the equipment you have available. Based on your equipment selection, the app will recommend a routine that you can follow. I found this particularly helpful since most workout apps have fixed routines, and often you don't have the right equipment to complete them. Every exercise is paired with a video and description if you're unsure how to execute specific movements.

I think this app is best for experienced trainers because of how challenging the PWR program is. PWR focuses on muscle growth and body strength through hypertrophy, which is essentially an increase in muscle size that is achieved through progressive weight lifting. The workouts range from 45 to 60 minutes long and are meant to be performed in a gym. If you're into strength training but don't have access to a gym, you can opt for the PWR At Home program.

The nutrition plan is pretty on par with what other workout apps offer. It plans out your meals for the week and has recipes that you can follow to create at home. Sweat takes the planning out of your workouts and nutrition. Overall, the app is straightforward and user-friendly. It offers a seven-day free trial.