--- description: Fitness may be its own reward, but these seven apps can sweeten the deal by prodding, encouraging and even paying users. title: 7 Exercise Apps For People Who Hate Working Out image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b93f4b849bb5570/6987eab72dce0132dc9e1448/536898581.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 7 Exercise Apps For People Who Hate Working Out  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 15, 2015 10:00 AM CUT  Young woman wearing armband drinking water Young woman wearing armband drinking waterAntonio Saba—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 15, 2015 10:00 AM CUT Looking to get in shape for summer? Fitness may be its own reward, but these seven apps can sweeten the deal by prodding, encouraging and even paying users to roll off of that couch and unleash their inner gym bunnies — or just move a bit more. No pressure. **Human** [Human](http://human.co/ "undefined") can track a whole range of movements, in and out of doors, whether the user is pounding the pavement or dancing alone in front of the mirror. Any activity short of shifting about in a chair counts toward a daily goal of 30 minutes in motion (busybodies can revise their goal upwards to 60 or 90 minutes). On those occasional inert days, the app automatically prods the user to get moving. It’s a great starter app for anyone who wants to get active, but doesn’t want to commit to a single, repetitive fitness routine. **Gympact** It pays to workout with [Gympact](http://www.gym-pact.com/ "undefined"), literally. A community of users bet $5 to $10 that they’ll stick to their weekly exercise routine. Those who break their pact automatically lose money, which is disbursed to those who uphold their end of the bargain. The app tracks progress toward your weekly goals using the phone’s motion sensor for movement and GPS for gym visits. With payouts ranging from $0.30 to $5, the carrot doesn’t quite match the stick. Then again, it’s one of the only workout apps to brandish a carrot and a stick in the first place. **Fitocracy** [Fitocracy](https://www.fitocracy.com/ "undefined") adds a competitive twist to the workout routine, awarding points for each recorded workout, badges for significant milestones and bragging rights on a social network of more than one million users ([including](http://www.fitocracy.com/knowledge/arnolds-1-challenge/ "undefined") Arnold Schwarzenegger). If points, public glory and a loose affiliation with the Terminator aren’t motivation enough, users can also hire a personal trainer for coaching and nutritional advice at $1 a day. **Couch to 5K** [Couch to 5K](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/couch-to-5k/id448474423?mt=8 "undefined") may sound like an ambitious goal for anyone on the couch-end of the spectrum, but this app’s training regimen starts easy and gradually ratchets up the run time from one training session to the next. Audio cues from a personal trainer prompt the user to push just a little bit longer than the previous session. Stick to the program, and novice runners can complete a 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) circuit within nine weeks. **RockMyRun** [RockMyRun](http://www.rockmyrun.com/ "undefined") arranges music mixes by tempo, so that the beat falls roughly in line with your running pace, whether its an easy jog (120 beats per minute) or a hard run (150 beats per minute). Android users can manually change the tempo, but iPhone users can take advantage of the latest feature: tempos that automatically sync up to footfalls or heartbeats. **Johnson & Johnson 7 Minute Workout** Ever since a groundbreaking fitness study [found](http://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2013/05000/HIGH%5FINTENSITY%5FCIRCUIT%5FTRAINING%5FUSING%5FBODY%5FWEIGHT%5F.5.aspx "undefined") that 7 minutes of exercise could yield impressive results, there has been a veritable explosion of 7-minute workout apps. Johnson & Johnson [whipped up](https://7minuteworkout.jnj.com/ "undefined") the cleanest looking interface. Reading the instructions is the easy part — actually following through on the high-intensity workout, not so much. On the upside, the end is always seven minutes in sight. **Type n Walk** The absolute last refuge for texting addicts, [Type n Walk](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/type-n-walk/id331043123?mt=8 "undefined") uses the smartphone camera to display the pavement immediately in front of you in real-time. Compose texts or emails against this moving backdrop. “This combined with your peripheral vision is just enough visual information to help you avoid obstacles,” the app makers [say](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/type-n-walk/id331043123?mt=8 "undefined"). Test their claim at your own risk. _Read next:_ [_The 10 Essential Rules of Gym Etiquette_](http://time.com/3667311/rules-gym-etiquette/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### Obesity in America: Photos From the Early Days of a National Health Crisis ![Bulging at beach in 1949, 197-pound Dorothy \[Bradley\] self-consciously leaves locker room for swim. She covered up embarrassment by being jolly and gregarious](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40025c14dc316a51/69877c915f570f1e4cb14fb0/150129-obesity-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp) Caption from LIFE. Bulging at beach in 1949, 197-pound Dorothy \[Bradley\] self-consciously leaves locker room for swim. She covered up embarrassment by being jolly and gregarious. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Hungry at drugstore after a day's work earning money for nursing school, Dorothy envies slim girl's milkshake, orders lemonade without sugar for herself. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, squeezes through turnstile, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley (right), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley (left), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, eyes dress in a store window, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Embarrassed at shop because she wears a size 40, Dorothy tries on new dress. A friend encouragingly points out that dieting has reduced waistline by two sizes Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In gym in New York sweat-suited Dorothy finds workout did not by itself remove pounds but did help avoid flabbiness as she lost weight dieting. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, measures her waist, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley (left), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, meets with a nutritionist, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, tries on a dress, 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Bradley, photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, works out in 1949. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE.Now down to 155 pounds, an attractive Dorothy dances at Navy Ball. Martha Holmes—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE magazine, March 8, 1954, "The Plague of Overweight." LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine, March 8, 1954, "The Plague of Overweight." LIFE Magazine [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3772922/workout-apps-gym/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3772922/workout-apps-gym/"},"headline":"7 Exercise Apps For People Who Hate Working Out","datePublished":"2015-04-15T10:00:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:56.677Z","description":"Whether you're motivated by money, competition or a simple push notification, there's an app to help you get moving","url":"https://time.com/3772922/workout-apps-gym/","keywords":["Tech","fitness","Exercise","apps","Workout","Running"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b93f4b849bb5570/6987eab72dce0132dc9e1448/536898581.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b93f4b849bb5570/6987eab72dce0132dc9e1448/536898581.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"536898581","caption":"536898581","creditText":"Antonio Saba—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3772922/workout-apps-gym/","name":"7 Exercise Apps For People Who Hate Working Out"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Pizza?","description":"You might be surprised that four out of five health experts give pizza the thumbs up. But don’t be fooled: these are not greasy thumbs.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/NvpgAWn5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-12T19:00:46.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NvpgAWn5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3772922/workout-apps-gym/","duration":"PT1M39S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3772922/workout-apps-gym/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```