Fitness

Top fitness apps to help you stay in shape

Published

2 years ago

September 17, 2024

Top fitness apps to help you stay in shape

In this article, DANIEL ADAJI explores the different smart fitness technologies that are helping to transform the fitness landscape

The world of fitness is rapidly evolving, fuelled by advancements in technology that are reshaping how we exercise, monitor our health, and achieve our fitness goals.

Smart fitness technology, a blend of wearable devices, apps, and data-driven insights, has revolutionised the way people approach fitness by offering personalised, efficient, and connected workout experiences.

From tracking activity levels to optimising recovery, these innovations are becoming integral to our daily lives, improving overall well-being while also fostering a more dynamic, adaptable, and intelligent approach to staying healthy.

Rise of smart fitness technology

Smart fitness technology has its roots in the increasing use of sensors, algorithms, and data analytics in wearable devices, like fitness trackers and smartwatches.

Early versions of fitness technology, such as pedometers and heart rate monitors, laid the groundwork for today’s more advanced systems.

However, the explosion of interest in health tracking began with the rise of smartphones, which allowed more people to interact with health-related apps and devices.

As technology advanced, the fitness industry followed suit, adopting innovations that could not only monitor performance but also suggest improvements and optimize individual fitness plans.

The integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning has pushed this evolution even further.

AI-powered fitness platforms and wearable devices are now capable of delivering insights in real-time, adjusting workouts based on user feedback, and predicting future health trends based on patterns in a person’s data.

Key components of smart fitness technology

Smart fitness technology encompasses several components that work together to create a comprehensive health and fitness ecosystem. Some of the key elements include:

Wearable devices

Wearable devices, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, have become indispensable tools for monitoring physical activity, heart rate, sleep patterns, and even blood oxygen levels.

These innovative gadgets utilise advanced sensors to gather real-time data, providing users with detailed insights into their health and well-being. With features like GPS tracking, calorie burn monitoring, and personalized recommendations, wearables empower individuals to optimize their fitness regimens and make informed lifestyle choices.

Additionally, wearables offer alerts for abnormal heart rhythms, stress levels, and other vital signs, enabling proactive health management.

Their convenience and accuracy have made wearables a staple in modern health tracking.

Fitness apps

Many fitness apps seamlessly integrate with wearable devices or function independently, providing a comprehensive fitness experience.

They offer a diverse range of workouts, tracking capabilities, and progress reports, empowering users to monitor their journey. Leveraging AI technology, these apps suggest personalised workouts based on individual goals, fitness levels, and preferences.

Additionally, they utilise motivational tools, such as rewards, challenges, and social sharing, to keep users engaged and driven. With features like virtual coaching, nutrition planning, and mindfulness exercises, fitness apps provide a holistic approach to wellness, helping users achieve their goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Smart home gym equipment

High-tech home gym equipment, such as connected treadmills, stationary bikes, and smart weights, offer live workout classes and on-demand programs. These devices track a user’s performance and adjust settings automatically to ensure that workouts are challenging but safe.

Health Analytics

Behind many smart fitness devices is a powerful system of data analytics that helps users interpret the data collected during workouts.

This allows for personalised recommendations, such as adjusting intensity levels, recommending rest days, or even offering nutritional advice based on activity levels.

Virtual coaching and AI trainers

Virtual coaches are becoming more common in the fitness world. These AI-driven trainers offer real-time feedback during workouts, correct form, and push users to improve their performance.

This technology is especially helpful for people working out at home without a personal trainer or fitness instructor.

Recovery tools

Smart fitness technology has extended beyond workouts to include recovery. Tools like massage guns, compression boots, and smart foam rollers are equipped with sensors and analytics that help users recover faster and reduce muscle soreness.

Smart fitness devices and apps

Smart fitness technology is now a multi-billion-dollar industry with many players competing for consumer attention. Some of the most popular and widely used devices and apps in the market include:

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is one of the most recognised wearable fitness devices. It tracks various health metrics, including heart rate, sleep patterns, and activity levels. The integration with Apple’s ecosystem also allows users to sync their health data with their iPhones and other devices.

Fitbit

Fitbit remains a leader in wearable fitness technology. Its products offer a range of health-tracking features, from step counting to heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking. Fitbit also integrates with its app, providing insights and personalized recommendations based on the user’s data.

Peloton

Peloton is well-known for its connected stationary bikes and treadmills, which allow users to participate in live and on-demand fitness classes from home. Peloton’s devices also track performance metrics like speed, distance, and resistance, helping users track their progress over time.

WHOOP

WHOOP is a high-end fitness tracker designed for athletes and serious fitness enthusiasts. It focuses on monitoring recovery, strain, and sleep, offering insights into how to optimize performance.

The device doesn’t have a screen, but the data is accessible through the WHOOP app, which provides detailed analytics on recovery and performance.

MyFitnessPal

A popular app for tracking diet and exercise, MyFitnessPal allows users to log meals, track calories, and monitor macronutrient intake. It’s particularly helpful for those trying to lose weight or maintain a balanced diet in conjunction with their fitness goals.

Oura ring

The Oura Ring is a smart wearable that tracks sleep and activity by analysing key health indicators like heart rate variability, body temperature, and movement. The device provides insights into the user’s readiness to perform, helping them make informed decisions about rest and recovery.

Mirror

The Mirror is an innovative fitness device that offers a full workout experience in the form of a sleek, interactive display. It streams live and on-demand fitness classes and provides real-time feedback on form and technique. The Mirror is a smart solution for those who want a personalized fitness experience at home without bulky equipment.

How smart fitness technology enhances workouts

Smart fitness technology provides users with a deeper understanding of their health and fitness, allowing them to improve in ways that would be difficult to achieve otherwise.

Here are some ways it enhances workouts:

Personalisations

One of the major benefits of smart fitness technology is its ability to deliver personalised workout experiences. With AI-driven insights, wearables and apps can analyse a user’s fitness level, preferences, and goals to create tailored workouts. This increases the likelihood of long-term success by ensuring workouts are suited to individual needs.

Real-time feedback

Devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers provide real-time feedback on performance, allowing users to adjust their workouts on the fly. Whether it’s increasing the intensity, changing the duration, or adjusting the form, users have access to data that keeps them on track.

Tracking and progress monitoring

Tracking progress is one of the key motivators for fitness enthusiasts. Smart fitness devices record every metric, from the number of steps taken to calories burned, which helps users monitor their progress and stay motivated. Some apps even offer social sharing features, creating an extra layer of accountability.

Injury prevention

Smart fitness technology can help prevent injuries by monitoring body mechanics and identifying potential issues before they become serious problems. AI-driven virtual coaches can suggest adjustments to form during workouts, while wearables can alert users if they are pushing too hard.

Enhanced recovery

Recovery is a critical part of any fitness plan, and smart fitness technology helps optimize this aspect. Recovery-focused devices and apps analyze sleep patterns, heart rate, and stress levels, offering recommendations to improve recovery times and reduce fatigue.

Motivation and gamification

Many fitness apps use gamification to keep users engaged. They offer rewards for meeting goals, create challenges, and even allow users to compete with friends or other app users. This social and competitive element can be a powerful motivator for maintaining consistent workouts.

The role of Artificial Intelligence and data in fitness

At the heart of smart fitness technology is data, and AI plays a significant role in interpreting that data to make workouts more effective. Machine learning algorithms can analyse vast amounts of health data from wearable devices and fitness apps, creating actionable insights for users.

For example, AI can predict how well a person will perform in their next workout based on their recovery data, helping them avoid overtraining.

AI also plays a role in virtual coaching, with some systems capable of adapting workouts in real-time based on the user’s performance.

These virtual coaches can offer personalised feedback, track forms, and suggest changes in exercises based on user-specific data. This kind of real-time adjustment can replicate the benefits of having a personal trainer without the high costs associated with in-person coaching.

Future of smart fitness technology

Looking ahead, the future of smart fitness technology is bright. We are likely to see continued innovation in the areas of AI, virtual reality, and augmented reality, which will further personalize fitness experiences and make them more immersive.

For instance, VR workouts could transport users to virtual environments where they can engage in fitness activities that feel more like games than workouts, making the process more enjoyable and engaging.

Another future trend is the development of more advanced health metrics and sensors that go beyond basic heart rate monitoring. As research in this area progresses, wearable devices may soon be able to monitor a wider range of health indicators, including hormone levels, glucose levels, and mental health metrics.

This would allow users to get an even deeper understanding of their health and adjust their fitness routines accordingly.

Additionally, smart fitness technology may continue to integrate with other areas of personal health, such as nutrition, sleep, and mental wellness, creating a more holistic approach to well-being.

For example, AI-driven systems could offer not just workout advice but also dietary and mental health recommendations based on a user’s physical activity and biometric data.

The rise of smart fitness technology marks a turning point in how we approach fitness and health. With real-time data, AI-driven insights, and personalised experiences, these innovations are empowering individuals to take control of their health in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

Fitness

‘The pants don’t lie’: Lenny Kravitz’s bizarre workout trick

Published

1 hour ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

‘The pants don’t lie’: Lenny Kravitz’s bizarre workout trick

Lenny Kravitz has shared the secret to his incredible physique, but it’s not what you’d expect.

Alongside his intensive workout regimen, what the 62-year-old singer wears while working out also plays a huge role in keeping him in check – namely, his famed leather pants.

Lenny Kravitz works out just as he performs: in leather pants. Adam Berry

The star is known for performing in tight, restrictive outfits like denim and leather, and it makes sense to him to train in the same materials.

“I perform onstage in leather, denim, whatever, so those are the pants I wear to train,” he recently told Men’s Health.

“It also means I can fit in a workout anytime, anywhere.”

It was words from his good friend Denzel Washington that gave him the idea, sharing that the actor told him, “The pants don’t lie.”

“I can gauge everything by how I’m in my pants,” he said.

“Like, if my pants are a little tight, I know I’m getting outta’ shape.”

Kravitz is not the only health-conscious celebrity with a wacky approach to fitness.

Mark Wahlberg previously revealed his crazily early wake-up time to squeeze a workout in.

Lenny Kravitz working out in denim — The 62-year-old prefers working out in restrictive materials. Instagram/@lennykravitz

In 2022, the actor shared the details of his workout schedule with a photographer on the streets of New York.

“Tomorrow I’m getting up [at] 2.30, in the gym [by] 3.30, finish about 5.30, go to work 7.30,” he said, as per Fox News.

He also shared the rest of his bizarre routine to his Instagram stories back in 2018. It read:

Mark Wahlberg wakes up incredibly early to get to the gym. Instagram

2:30am wake up
2:45am prayer time
3:15am breakfast
3:40 – 5.15am workout
5:30am post-workout meal
6:00am shower
8:00am snack
9:30am cryo chamber recovery
10:30am snack
11:00am family time/meetings/work calls
1:00pm lunch
2:00pm meetings/work calls
3:30pm pick up kids @school
3.30pm snack
4:00pm workout
5:00pm shower
5:30pm dinner/family time
7.30pm bedtime

Fans were shocked by the early bedtime, though it makes sense with his early start time.

Meanwhile, The Hills star Audrina Patridge swears by an unusual hack for a home workout while making the most of her time: vacuuming in heels.

“When I’m sitting in front of the TV, I lift five-pound weights or do squats,” she said, as per Just Jared.

“And I wear heels when I vacuum because it works my calves and my butt.”

Liam Gallagher is another celebrity with a peculiar workout habit, having been spotted by The Sun running backwards on the streets of north London in 2014.

The Oasis star took part in the “retro running” trend, which has been used widely by athletes who play sports where they need to go in multiple directions.

The exercise targets different muscle groups and agility.

Fitness

“We naturally lose muscle mass, reaction speed and balance as we age,” says this elite Hollywood coach who’s trained everyone from Margot Robbie and Scarlet Johansson to Richard Madden and Pedro Pascal — but recommends doing step-ups to undo the damage of aging in your glutes, quads and calves

Published

13 hours ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

“We naturally lose muscle mass, reaction speed and balance as we age,” says this elite Hollywood coach who’s trained everyone from Margot Robbie and Scarlet Johansson to Richard Madden and Pedro Pascal — but recommends doing step-ups to undo the damage of aging in your glutes, quads and calves

There’s a reason why some of the most effective exercises tend to mirror movements in real life. It’s not because personal trainers and coaches lack imagination, but because the body doesn’t care how creative your programming is — it cares whether you can climb a flight of stairs without grabbing the banister, for example, or if you can catch yourself from a stumble.

These are just a few of the benchmarks that matter in later life, and for elite performance coach David Higgins — who has trained everyone from Margot Robbie and Scarlett Johansson to Samuel L. Jackson, David Harbour, Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden and the entire cast of The Batman, among many others — one exercise sits at the top of the list for anyone over 50: the step-up. Here’s why.

Lower-body power matters so much after 50

Most people understand that strength declines with age. What they underestimate, however, is how quickly it begins to matter in practical terms, despite not being able to be measured on the best smartwatches’ fitness age metrics.

The mistake most older adults make

Before thinking about adding height, load or additional reps, Higgins is more concerned with something more fundamental: the quality of the movement itself. “The biggest mistake older adults make is chasing fatigue instead of quality movement,” he says. “Rushing through reps, leaning through the hips, or pushing through the stronger side of the body.” Your nervous system, he says, “has to trust the movement before your body can own it.”

Rushing through step-ups doesn’t just reduce the benefit — it reinforces the compensations you’re trying to correct. If you’re relying on the trailing leg to push you up, or leaning forward as you step, you’re not actually building the unilateral strength and hip control the exercise is there to develop.

Instead, Higgins’ coaching cue is worth memorising: “push the floor away and finish tall through the glutes.” Most people pull themselves up through the knee, instead of driving through the hip. It’s a subtle distinction, but makes an enormous difference to where the effort is actually made.

How to get started — and when to progress

Muscular Man doing weighted step ups in gym

(Image credit: Getty Images / Ildar Abulkhanov)

To perform the step-up, stand facing a sturdy bench, box, or step. Place one foot fully on the platform, then drive through that heel to lift your body up until both feet are on the step. Step back down with control and repeat for the desired reps before switching legs. Keep your chest up and avoid pushing off excessively with the trailing leg.

For step height, beginners should start with a low box, roughly ankle to mid-shin height. “You want control, not compensation,” he says. Fitter adults with solid mobility, balance and hip control can work up to knee height.

As for volume, Higgins prescribes 2–3 sets of 8–12 controlled reps per leg. “Tempo matters more than volume,” he says. Drive through the whole foot, stand tall at the top and lower slowly under control.

Higgins confirms that just your bodyweight is sufficient resistance to begin with and, for many people over 50, it’s exactly where they should stay — probably for longer than they’d expect. “Most people over 50 need to relearn movement patterns before adding load,” he says. “Once control, balance and posture improve, adding dumbbells or a weighted vest is a brilliant progression.” The dumbbells can wait. As for frequency? Two to three sessions a week is enough to see real benefit, Higgins says. “Consistency beats intensity every time.”

Precautions

Step-ups are accessible to most people, but Higgins flags a few situations worth considering. Anyone with severe knee osteoarthritis, significant balance issues or acute hip pain should approach the exercise carefully and ideally with professional guidance. “Often it’s not that the exercise is wrong,” he says, “it’s that the height is too ambitious or the body isn’t controlling the movement properly yet.” Low and slow is always the right answer.

What leg-day moves are your go-tos in the gym? Have you tried the step-up yet? Let us know below.

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Fitness

HFA Submits Comments to USTR Regarding Trade Policy – Health & Fitness Association

Published

1 day ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

HFA Submits Comments to USTR Regarding Trade Policy – Health & Fitness Association

HFA urges targeted trade policies to protect the fitness industry.

This week, HFA submitted comments to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on two important trade policy dockets that could have significant implications for exercise equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and fitness facility operators.

Section 301 Tariff Proceeding
USTR sought comment on proposed tariffs from its Section 301 forced labor investigation, including possible product exclusions based on domestic availability and economic impact.

HFA submitted comments that advocated excluding exercise/rehabilitation equipment and critical components, citing irreplaceable global supply chains and the industry’s role in public health, chronic disease prevention, and military readiness.

US- China Board of Trade

USTR proposed a new Board to identify non-sensitive products for reciprocal tariff reductions with China.

In comments submitted to USTR, HFA recommended designating exercise equipment as “non-sensitive” and eligible for negotiation, prioritizing products that boost US manufacturing and affordability, and setting criteria recognizing public health, productivity, and military readiness benefits.

The HFA thanks member operators, manufacturers, and suppliers whose data strengthened these submissions. Your efforts are helping HFA advocate for trade policy that supports the fitness industry.