Tired of your usual workouts? Sick of planning your own training schedule? You’re in luck — workout app options are growing by the day! Everywhere you turn, there’s a new exercise class you can stream to help you get sweating.
Future Fitness stands out from other fitness apps by matching you with a personal trainer to create a custom exercise plan that works with your lifestyle, workout preferences, and fitness goals.
While having a personal trainer in the palm of your hand sounds enticing, you may be wondering if Future Fitness is worth the price tag.
Keep reading for a full breakdown of Future Fitness, including hands-on insights from a member of the Healthline team.
Future Fitness is a fitness and coaching iPhone app that provides the benefits of personal training without having to leave your living room.
After you sign up, the app matches you with a personal trainer to create a customized workout plan. Your trainer’s notes and instructions are included in the app, along with links to pre-recorded workout videos.
Using an Apple Watch, the app also keeps track of your performance metrics, like heart rate and calorie burn, during your workout.
Using this data (along with any pictures or videos you choose to share), your trainer can check in, provide accountability, and offer feedback.
Pros
- accountability and feedback from a personal trainer
- customized workouts that take into account the fitness equipment and classes you have access to
- reputable trainers with impressive experience
Cons
- higher cost than some other options
- not ideal for people who prefer workouts longer or shorter than 30 minutes
- requires owning or renting an Apple Watch
- not available on Android devices
What you’ll need
To get started with Future Fitness, you’ll need the following:
- an Apple Watch Series 3 or later
- an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 14 or later
If you don’t own an Apple Watch, you can rent one from Future Fitness, though it does require a $199 deposit to cover the cost of the watch in the event that it gets lost or stolen.
Signing up and matching with a trainer
During the signup process, the Future App will ask a series of questions about your current exercise routine and fitness goals to help match you with a trainer.
You’ll also have the chance to read trainers’ resumes to learn more about their education and work experience before making your selection. Don’t worry, though — if you find out later that they’re not a match, you can swap trainers at any point.
Meeting your trainer
Once you’ve matched with a trainer, you’ll schedule a strategy FaceTime to discuss the types of exercise you enjoy and the kinds of workout equipment you have access to.
You’ll also talk about your overall fitness goals, such as losing weight, gaining muscle, or training for a race.
Your trainer will want to know if you enjoy attending studio classes or are part of a local running club so that they can factor these activities into your workout schedule.
After that initial call, you can message your trainer anytime through the app and schedule FaceTime check-ins.
Following your customized plan
Each week you’ll receive a workout agenda in the Future Fitness app.
You can preview each day’s workout by clicking on the day. This allows you to mentally prepare for the workout and reach out to your trainer if you need any additional modifications or have questions about the exercises.
Future Fitness is all about flexibility, so you can also switch workouts if needed. For example, if you can’t make your scheduled run, you can message your trainer and swap it for a weightlifting session or a recovery day. You can even suggest workout ideas to your trainer.
Additionally, Future Fitness allows you to let you input any upcoming trips, along with information about what workout equipment will (or won’t) be available during that time. Your trainer can then adjust your workouts accordingly.
Staying accountable
To help keep you moving toward your fitness goals, your Future Fitness trainer will regularly message you to check in on how the workouts are going and encourage you to finish your workouts for the week.
Trainers can see if you missed a day, skipped sections of the planned workout, or cut your session a few minutes short.
Another way the app helps with accountability is by allowing you to send progress photos to your trainer. You can also record yourself performing a workout and send the video to your trainer for feedback on your form.
Tracking your progress
Using data from your Apple watch, the Future Fitness app monitors health and performance data, including your heart rate and estimated calorie burn.
The app also allows you to track your workouts — including the ones that your trainer didn’t plan for you — and your weight loss or gain.
All of this data can be viewed in weekly progress reports, which also include the total number of calories that you’ve burned since joining Future.
If you’re subscribed to Noom, a nutrition and wellness app, you can sync your exercise, calorie burn, and weight data between apps.
Future Fitness costs $149 per month. There’s also a $199 deposit for an Apple Watch rental, which you’ll need to pay if you don’t already own a compatible model.
For new subscribers, the company regularly offers a promotion for half off your first month.
You can cancel your subscription at any time, and Future Fitness offers a full refund if you decide to cancel within the first month.
You can also pause your membership for 1, 2, or 3 months.
Future Fitness’ personal trainers have impressive backgrounds that range from training collegiate athletes to working at well-known gyms.
Many of the trainers have also worked with professional athletes and Olympians, and at least one of the trainers qualified for the Olympics herself!
As there is a wide variety of trainers of different ages, fitness backgrounds, and training styles, you can easily find a trainer who best matches your workout style and goals.
Who tried it
Why I decided to try Future Fitness
As someone who struggles with motivation to exercise and dislikes having to commit to scheduled fitness classes, I initially decided to give the Peloton app a chance.
While I appreciated not having to go to the gym and enjoyed having a wide variety of workouts to choose from, I still found myself skipping workouts because I didn’t want to spend the time figuring out which workout to do each day.
After doing a quick online search for personal trainers, I stumbled across Future Fitness.
In addition to not having to travel to the gym with a duffle bag of work clothes and makeup, I liked the idea of having a personal trainer who could make a workout plan tailored to my busy schedule. I also thought it would be helpful to have someone holding me accountable if I missed a workout.
My experience using the app
I was skeptical at first about how effective a virtual personal trainer would be. But after 4 months, I’ve already noticed positive changes in my fitness habits.
My personal trainer makes sure that I stay on top of my fitness goals so I can be the best healthy version of myself.
I love that she is always willing to hop on calls or quickly message me to discuss any injuries, exercise suggestions, or workout modifications. Being able to preview workouts has also been helpful because I’m able to ask my trainer questions a couple of days in advance.
Once I start a workout, I appreciate how the app includes gifs with proper form for each movement.
When I am not sure if my form is correct, I like that I can record a video of myself and send it to my personal trainer for feedback.
Another key to my success has been getting messages from my personal trainer when I miss a workout. In addition to keeping me accountable for the missed sweat session, she also helps me figure out ways to adjust my plan and keep me motivated.
Having one-on-one support and feedback from a personal trainer has been a total game-changer for me. I feel overall healthier since using the app and have noticed inches slowly melting away from all areas of my body.
According to Lau, Future Fitness is a great option for anyone who is looking for motivation to work out more and has trouble sticking with other fitness platforms due to the lack of accountability.
The app might also be a good fit if you have specific fitness goals that you’re hoping to achieve, have a busy schedule, or are frequently traveling for work.
On the other hand, Future Fitness is less widely available than other fitness apps. It’s compatible only with iPhone 6s or later. Plus, you need to own or rent an Apple Watch.
Future Fitness also is not cheap. If you don’t need a tailored workout or accountability check-ins, there are other more affordable apps and programs that are worth considering instead.
That said, if you are interested in personal training, Future Fitness is a convenient and more affordable alternative to hiring an in-person trainer.
Several fitness and personal training apps are on the market. Here’s a closer look at how Future Fitness compares to two of its main competitors:
| Cost | Exercise equipment | Workout options | Special features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Future Fitness | $149/month | • none required • workouts personalized based on what you have access to | fully customizable | • 1:1 personal trainer • accountability messages • syncs with Apple Watch and Noom • requires an iPhone and Apple Watch |
| FlexIt | • $40–$80 per session, depending on the duration • monthly packages range from $134–$734.30/month • $75/month for the Connected Training program | • none required • option for equipment-based workouts | • strength training • cardio • HIIT • core • boxing • Pilates • barre | • access to a range of specialists and health experts in addition to trainers • Connected Training program offers 16 personalized workouts you can do at any time • virtual check-ins with your personal trainer |
| Peloton Digital | • $12.99/month standard app • $44/month all-access membership (must own Peloton equipment) | • many classes require strength or cardio equipment • non-equipment workouts available | • cycling • running • walking • boot camp • strength • barre • core • mediation • stretching • Pilates | • live and on-demand classes • performance stats sync with Peloton equipment • syncs with the Apple Watch |
Is the Future Fitness app worth it?
Healthline SEO Associate Jenny Lau has been using Future Fitness for 4 months and reports that she finds the app to be well worth the cost for anyone who has trouble finding the motivation to exercise and wants a personalized approach to fitness.
At the time of publishing, the app also has a 4.9 out of 5 rating from more than 6,400 reviews in the Apple Store.
Do your goals have to be strength specific?
The Future Fitness app provides a completely customizable workout experience. Your personal trainer will create a workout plan that’s based on your fitness level and goals, such as training for a 5K or improving your golf game, as well as the types of exercises that you enjoy doing.
How much does Future cost per month?
The Future Fitness app costs $149 per month. The company also offers a full refund if you’re unsatisfied with your experience after the first 30 days.
While there are less expensive alternatives to consider, Future Fitness stands out for offering one-on-one coaching and support from a highly qualified personal trainer without having to step foot in a gym.
The workouts are tailored to your lifestyle and goals, and the trainers offer accountability through in-app messaging and FaceTime calls.
However, the app isn’t available on Android devices and it requires the purchase or rental of an Apple Watch.
Whether you decide to try Future Fitness or another exercise app, be sure to check with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your workout routine.
