The best Apple Watch workout tracking apps do three jobs well: they record what the watch is good at (heart rate, duration, distance), they read and write cleanly to Apple Health so your data isn't trapped in one app, and they make logging sets fast enough that you'll keep doing it. Apple's built-in Workout app already covers the first job for free. A third-party app earns its spot only if it adds something on top, like strength logging, programming or nutrition, without fighting Apple Health. Use the checklist below before you subscribe to anything.
Last updated: October 2026
The old way of choosing is breaking down
For years, people picked a watch fitness app by its watch face: big buttons, a nice ring animation, a satisfying haptic at the end of a set. That still matters a little. But the more apps you use, the more the real question shifts to plumbing. Where does the data end up, who can read it, and does anything useful happen to it after the workout ends?
If you've quit a watch app before, it probably wasn't because you lacked discipline. No wonder it fizzled: your data was split across apps that didn't talk to each other. Get the plumbing right and you can swap apps later without losing your history. Get it wrong and you've got three apps each holding a third of the picture.
What the watch already does without any app
Before paying for anything, it's worth knowing the baseline. The Workout app that ships on Apple Watch records a session, tracks heart rate and estimated calories, and saves the result to the Health app on your iPhone. Activity rings and step counts happen in the background.
So a third-party app isn't needed to record a run or a ride. It's needed when you want the watch's data to sit next to something the Workout app doesn't do: sets and reps, a program, a coach, food.
That's the frame for everything below.
The buyer's checklist
1. Is there a real watch app, or does it read Health from the phone?
These are different products. Some apps run on the watch itself, so you can start a session and log from your wrist. Others live only on the iPhone and pull in whatever the watch already saved to Apple Health. Neither is wrong. But a phone-only app means you'll start the session in Apple's Workout app (or not at all), and the third-party app picks it up afterward.
Check the App Store listing for a watch app before assuming one exists.
2. What does it read from Apple Health, and what does it write back?
Apple Health asks permission per data type: heart rate, workouts, steps, body weight and so on. When an app requests access, read the list. An app that reads your workouts but never writes its own strength sessions back means that history lives only inside that app. You can review and change each app's access later in the Health app's settings.
3. How does it handle duplicates?
Record the same session in two apps and you'll often see two workouts and double the calories. Apple Health lets you set a priority order for data sources, which helps, but the cleaner habit is one recorder per session.
4. How fast is strength logging, really?
My opinion, and I'll stand by it: tapping every set into a watch is overrated for lifting. The screen is small, your hands are chalky, and you'd rather spend your rest breathing. The watch is excellent at heart rate and session duration. Sets and reps go in faster by voice or on your phone between sets.
If you want a deeper look at what separates a good logger from a digital diary, our Workout Tracking App: What Actually Matters guide covers that side.
5. Does it fit how you actually train?
A running app and a lifting app want different things from the watch. If you do mixed-format sessions with rounds and time caps, a general tracker can struggle; our CrossFit WOD tracking app piece covers that case on its own.
6. Does it run on your phone today?
This sounds obvious. It isn't always. Some apps list Apple Health support that only works in a version that hasn't shipped yet, or only on one platform. Install the free tier, connect it, and look for your last workout before paying for anything.
Where AllStrong fits, honestly
Here's the straight answer, because this is an Apple Watch post: AllStrong doesn't sync with Apple Health today. The native iOS app is still in development, and Apple Health sync is planned to arrive with it.
What works right now on iPhone is the web app, which you can add to your home screen from Safari's share menu. You log workouts, meals, sleep and mood by typing what you did, and the app matches exercises against its library and tracks personal records automatically: your heaviest lifts across rep ranges from singles up to sets of 10, plus cardio, bodyweight reps and holds. Ask the coach and it will tell you where your records stand. It just won't pull in heart rate or steps from your watch yet.
On Android, the app (a beta you install from our download page for now) syncs with Health Connect, importing steps, heart rate, sleep, workout sessions and weigh-ins from watches and trackers. Wearable sync is on the free plan.
So if Apple Watch data inside the app is a must-have for you right now, that's a real gap, and you should weigh it. If what you want is fast chat-based logging plus nutrition and sleep in the same place, the web app covers that on iPhone today. Pair it with Apple's own Workout app for heart rate in the meantime.
Keep the habit bigger than the hardware
The fanciest watch setup does nothing if you stop logging after a few weeks. Pick the setup with the least friction, log every session, and treat it like any habit tracking app: the streak and the visible record do more work than another metric on your wrist.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a third-party app to track workouts on Apple Watch?
Not for cardio. The built-in Workout app records sessions, heart rate and estimated calories and saves them to Apple Health. A third-party app is worth adding when you want something the Workout app doesn't cover, such as logging sets and reps, following a program, or tracking nutrition alongside training. Check that it works with Apple Health before relying on it.
Does AllStrong work with Apple Watch?
Not yet. AllStrong doesn't sync with Apple Health today; the native iOS app is in development and Apple Health sync is planned to arrive with it. iPhone users can use the web app now to log workouts, meals and sleep by typing. On Android, the beta app syncs steps, heart rate, sleep, workout sessions and weigh-ins through Health Connect.
Why do my workouts show up twice in Apple Health?
Usually because two apps recorded the same session, for example the built-in Workout app and a third-party app running at once. Apple Health lets you set which source takes priority for each data type, which reduces double counting. The cleaner fix is to start each session in only one app and let others read it afterward.
Should I log strength sets on my watch or my phone?
Whatever's fastest for you, since speed decides whether you keep logging. Many lifters find the watch screen awkward between heavy sets and prefer typing or speaking on their phone. The watch still earns its place by recording heart rate and session length in the background while you train.