Kayla Dube · June 8, 2023 · 5 min read 
Keeping up with your fitness routine can certainly be challenging at times, especially if you find yourself growing bored with your activities or if you find yourself hitting a plateau. One method of getting around these obstacles is a “gamification” of your fitness. This means you treat your routine as a game, setting up multiple goals and rewards once you reach them.
There are many apps out there designed to help you gamify your fitness journey, which can be extremely helpful when you find yourself hitting roadblocks. Some place you in an in-game story where your fitness activities can help you progress. Others allow you to track your habits and provide you with experience and rewards for meeting your goals. Below we have listed the best gamified fitness apps to help you kickstart a new chapter of your fitness journey.
1. Walkr: Fitness Space Adventure
In Walkr, steps you take from walking are converted into energy, which can be used within the game to explore new planets, feed planet inhabitants, build space stations, and more. Besides this main function, you can also pick up missions to complete once you reach certain planets. You can also design your spaceship with new parts as you progress.
The app also tracks the number of steps you’ve taken overall and a log of planets you’ve discovered. You can also use the social platform on the app to invite friends and see their ranking on a leaderboard compared to your own. Overall, it’s a fun app if you’ve gotten bored with your regular walking routine.
Download Walkr for iOS
Download Walkr for Android
2. Zombies, Run!
This popular app was created to help gamify the physical activity of walking, running, and jogging. The app’s main feature is a post-apocalyptic zombie story that you can listen to while running and imitating the experience of being chased by zombies. You can complete missions to keep the story going whenever you get active.
Besides the zombie chase feature, the app also includes activity tracking with a GPS function, allows music to be played through Spotify or another music app, and you can set the duration of the run. The app also includes a base-building game which is fun to play in between runs or walks. Also, if zombies aren’t your thing, many other stories are available to play instead through the app, such as sci-fi or fantasy adventures.
Download Zombies, Run! for iOS
Download Zombies, Run! for Android
3. Nerd Fitness Journey
This app allows you to create a superhero persona and gain experience points as you complete workouts and exercise routines. This app is apt for any exercise and provides workout plans to complete each day. Besides the main training path, you can also add optional side quests to progress through. As you gain experience points, you’ll level up and can gain new items for your avatar. Your avatar is also fully customizable.
The app provides you with a free trial for seven days. However, after that trial period, you’ll need to pay for a subscription to continue– either quarterly at $38.99 for 3 months or annually at $98.99 for a year.
Download Nerd Fitness Journey for iOS
Download Nerd Fitness Journey for Android
4. Habitica
While this app isn’t focused on fitness, Habitica is still a great way to gamify your workout routines. It functions as a habit tracker where you can add your own tasks, and then when you complete them you’ll earn experience points to level up your character. Each level has set objectives for you to complete, and when you do so you can earn coins. These can be used to reward yourself with items for your character.
If you want a social aspect, Habitica allows you to invite friends to a party or join one yourself. By doing this, you can work with friends to complete objectives by just finishing your daily tasks. To make this fitness oriented, you only need to set tasks to achieve your fitness goals for the day.
Download Habitica for iOS
Download Habitica for Android
5. WayBetter
On this app, a fitness plan is laid out for you, and you can complete objectives to reach higher levels. Each level provides more objectives which will help you become more and more active. You can also find separate fitness games within the app, related to nutrition, fitness and mindset. These change throughout each month, so there’ll always be something new to do.
WayBetter also provides a couple of incentives you can add to your journey: You can plan to make financial commitments based on meeting your goals, or you can invite an accountability buddy to keep you on track.
Download WayBetter for iOS
Download WayBetter for Android
Turn Fitness Into a Game With These Apps
No matter where you are in your fitness journey, these workout mobile apps can help you stay motivated by using game elements to keep you incentivized. So whether you’re just looking to start healthy habits, have met some of your fitness milestones but need a reason to keep going, or just want to have some active fun, you’ll want to try out some of these best fitness apps.
