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according to research, apps with the greatest potential to improve exercise adherence incorporate at least four behaviour modification strategies into their design and functionality.
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fitness apps and wearable technology (smart watches, fitness trackers, gps) have held a top 10 spot in the american college of sports medicine’s (acsm)’s annual list of worldwide fitness trends for the past several years. part of their popularity is based on a strong marketing push claiming apps help create exercise habits and improve adherence. but can an app really get more canadians moving?
it’s a tall order considering participaction claims only 46 per cent of canadians are accumulating the recommended 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. and given statista reports 25 million fitness and workouts apps were downloaded globally in january 2025, if they are, indeed, the missing link between intention and action certainly more canadians would be on the move instead of on the couch.
research into the efficacy of apps to promote a more active lifestyle has shown mixed results. in the first three months of use, users often see their daily step count increase (an additional 1,300 steps a day) and the amount of time spent being sedentary decrease (420 fewer sedentary minutes per week). but the boost in activity often tapers off or declines over time.
anybody who’s downloaded fitness apps on their phone knows they vary considerably in the type of experience they offer. some log physical activity and lifestyle data (number of active minutes, heart rate, step count, sleep, stand time, etc.) while others offer complete workouts led by a trainer. but it’s not only the user experience that differs so widely from one to the other, so is the science used to design the app.
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there are a number of well-established theories and techniques around how to influence exercise behaviour, including goal setting, self-monitoring (tracking steps, minutes, calories or workouts), prompts and cues (reminders to move or stand), feedback (acknowledging improvements or a decline in the number of active minutes, intensity or variety of workouts), social support (ability to share activity with others), activity planning (setting a calendar or reminders to be active), problem solving (identifying and mediating barriers to exercise adherence), habit stacking (linking exercise to other healthy habits like sleep, diet, mood) and reward systems and gamification. according to research, apps with the greatest potential to improve exercise adherence incorporate at least four behaviour modification strategies into their design and functionality.
but even with a strong reliance on the science of exercise adherence, an app needs to be user-friendly to engage and retain users. the best apps score high on perceived usefulness and ease of use, both subjective measures based on the user. the more comfortable the user is with technology, the less they are intimidated by the complexity of the app and its features.
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as for its perceived usefulness, the app needs to appeal to the unique needs and interests of the user, including the degree to which they perceive the app will help them achieve their goals, be it adding more active minutes to their day, training for a coming competition or tracking their workout metrics.
identifying those needs and the degree to which you want to engage in technology are two of the key decisions around choosing the right fitness app. if simplicity and accessibility are important, choose an app with an interface that requires little fuss to set up, use and access your exercise/activity/lifestyle stats. but if you want more interaction than tracking and storing exercise stats, including the ability to engage with a like-minded exercise community, or use gamification utilities like leader boards and activity challenges, an app with multiple functions and layers of engagement is a better match.
keep in mind fitness apps are a tool, offering assistance, but not guaranteeing long-term exercise adherence. in fact, an app that helps create your fitness habit might not be robust enough to sustain your interest once you’re active most days of the week. but if you need an extra push to get and stay active in 2026, a well-designed fitness app is an inexpensive resource to support your desire to change.
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apps worth downloading in 2026
strava is the apple watch app of the year (2025) and was ranked by statista as no. 2 in popularity in the fitness and sports category. easy to use, strava tracks and logs all sorts of activity (walking, running, yoga, cycling), has a strong social network, offers suggestions on suitable walking, running, cycling and hiking routes, provides personalized insights based on your training data, allows you to create and/or join challenges and syncs with most wearable fitness trackers like your watch or phone, making it a full-featured app with lots of tools designed to support your exercise habit.
gentler streak activity log (ios only) or habitify are great options for those new to or easily intimidated by fitness apps. both are focused on consistency not competition, logging your exercise and lifestyle habits and offering daily workout suggestions, positive feedback, goal setting and complementary health and wellness tools.
this article was originally published in the montreal gazette on january 4, 2026.
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