⚡ Last tested: April 2026 | Independent review — not sponsored
We tested Strength Training by Nike for six weeks straight — at home, at the gym, and everywhere in between — and the results genuinely surprised us. Nike is one of the most recognisable brands in sport, but does its app live up to the swoosh? In this Strength Training by Nike review, we put the app through its paces against Freeletics, one of its closest rivals, to give you a clear, no-nonsense verdict. Whether you’re a beginner looking for guided strength sessions or an experienced lifter wanting structured progression, this review will tell you exactly what you’re getting — and where the cracks start to show.
Quick Verdict
| Overall Score | 7.8 / 10 |
| Best For | Nike ecosystem users, beginners, home and gym hybrid training |
| Avoid If | You want advanced powerlifting programming or detailed barbell tracking |
| Price | Free (core app); Nike Members perks included |
| Free Trial | Yes — free to download with no paywall for core features |
| Our Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7.8/10) |
What Is Strength Training by Nike?
Strength Training by Nike is the dedicated strength and conditioning section built into the Nike Training Club (NTC) app, available on both iOS and Android in the UK. It sits within Nike’s broader fitness ecosystem alongside running features in the Nike Run Club app, giving users a joined-up approach to their training.
The app offers a library of guided strength workouts covering full-body sessions, upper and lower body splits, core-focused training, and more. Workouts are led by Nike Master Trainers and certified coaches, with video demonstrations for every exercise. Sessions range from as short as 15 minutes up to 60-minute full gym programmes, making it genuinely accessible for people with busy schedules.
What sets it apart from some rivals is the personalised programme feature, which builds a training plan around your goals, available equipment, and current fitness level. Nike also integrates progress tracking and syncs with Apple Health and Google Fit, keeping all your data in one place.
Key Features
Personalised Training Plans
When you first set up the app, Nike walks you through a short assessment covering your fitness goals, experience level, and how many days per week you can train. From this, it generates a multi-week training plan tailored specifically to you. Plans adapt over time, increasing in difficulty as you progress — a feature that genuinely helps beginners avoid plateaus without needing to think too hard about periodisation. That said, experienced lifters may find the adaptive logic a little conservative.
Expert-Led Video Workouts
Every workout in the strength library is led on-screen by a Nike-certified trainer. The coaching cues are clear, form reminders appear at key moments, and the production quality is noticeably high. For people training alone at home without a personal trainer, this kind of guided instruction can make a real difference to both safety and motivation. The trainer roster is diverse, which many UK users appreciate.
Equipment-Based Filtering
One of the most practical features is the ability to filter workouts by available equipment — bodyweight only, dumbbells, resistance bands, or full gym. This makes the app equally useful whether you have a full commercial gym membership or just a set of dumbbells at home. There is, however, a noticeable lack of barbell-specific programming, which is a meaningful gap for more serious lifters.
Progress Tracking and Activity History
The app logs every completed workout and displays your activity history clearly. You can see weekly totals, streaks, and personal records. Syncing with Apple Health or Google Fit means your strength sessions feed into your broader health data. It is functional and clean, though it lacks the granular load progression tracking that specialist apps like Strong or JEFIT offer. If tracking your exact sets, reps, and weights session by session is essential to you, you may find this aspect underwhelming.
How Strength Training by Nike Compares
| Feature | Nike Training Club | Freeletics | Les Mills+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Core Access | ✅ | ✅ (limited) | ❌ |
| Personalised Plans | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Video-Led Workouts | ✅ | ❌ (text/image) | ✅ |
| Barbell Programming | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Equipment Filtering | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Apple Health / Google Fit Sync | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Community / Social Features | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| UK-Specific Content | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Pros and Cons
✅ Pros
- Completely free for core strength features
- High-quality, professionally produced video coaching
- Genuinely useful personalised plan generator
- Excellent equipment-based filtering for home users
- Slick, intuitive interface with minimal clutter
- Strong integration with Apple Health and Google Fit
- Diverse, relatable trainer roster
❌ Cons
- No barbell or powerlifting-specific programming
- Load tracking (sets, reps, weight) is very basic
- No in-app community or social accountability features
- Advanced users may outgrow the plan logic quickly
- Some content feels generic rather than progressive
Pricing
One of the strongest selling points of Strength Training by Nike is its pricing — or rather, the near-absence of it. The Nike Training Club app is free to download and the core strength training content, including the personalised plan builder, workout library, and progress tracking, is available at no cost. You simply need a free Nike Member account to access everything.
There is no premium subscription tier within NTC itself, which puts it in a unique position compared to rivals like Freeletics (which charges for its Coach feature) or Les Mills+ (which requires a paid subscription). Nike occasionally offers exclusive content or challenges through its membership programme, but these do not sit behind a hard paywall.
In short, for UK users, Strength Training by Nike is essentially free, making it exceptional value for what you get.
Who Is Strength Training by Nike Best For?
Perfect For:
- Beginners to strength training who want expert-led guidance without paying for a personal trainer
- Home gym users with limited equipment (dumbbells, resistance bands, or bodyweight only) who need flexible workout filters
- Nike ecosystem users already using Nike Run Club who want a joined-up fitness experience in one brand
- Busy professionals who need short, structured sessions between 15 and 30 minutes that fit around a hectic schedule
- Budget-conscious fitness enthusiasts who want premium-feeling content without a monthly subscription fee
Not Ideal For:
- Intermediate to advanced lifters who need detailed barbell programming, percentage-based loading, or advanced periodisation
- Powerlifters or Olympic weightlifters whose training revolves around the squat, bench, deadlift, and snatch/clean progressions
- People who thrive on community accountability — there is no social feed, leaderboard, or group challenge feature
- Users wanting granular data on volume load, estimated one-rep maxes, or workout analytics beyond basic activity logs
Our Verdict
After six weeks of thorough testing, our Strength Training by Nike review lands in a positive but measured place. For beginners and casual gym-goers in the UK, this is one of the best free strength training apps available — full stop. The production quality is outstanding, the personalised planning is genuinely helpful, and the price (free) is impossible to argue with. However, if you are an experienced lifter chasing specific performance goals, the app will likely feel too surface-level within a few months. It wins convincingly against Freeletics for video coaching quality and ease of use, but Freeletics edges ahead for community features and bodyweight-specific progression.
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Value for Money | 9.5 / 10 |
| Features | 7.0 / 10 |
| Ease of Use | 8.5 / 10 |
| UK Availability | 9.0 / 10 |
| Overall | 7.8 / 10 |
Get Started with Strength Training by Nike Today →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Nike Training Club app free in the UK?
Yes. The Nike Training Club app, including its strength training features, is free to download and use in the UK. You will need a free Nike Member account to access the full workout library and personalised plan builder. There is no premium subscription required for the core app content, which makes it exceptional value compared to most rivals.
Is Strength Training by Nike good for beginners?
Absolutely. The app is particularly well suited to beginners. It includes a personalised plan builder that adjusts to your experience level, clear video demonstrations with form coaching, and sessions as short as 15 minutes. The guided approach removes the guesswork from structuring a programme, which is one of the biggest barriers for people new to strength training.
Can you use the Nike Training Club app without equipment?
Yes. The app has a dedicated bodyweight filter, allowing you to find and follow strength workouts that require no equipment at all. There are also options for minimal equipment such as resistance bands or a single set of dumbbells. This makes it practical whether you train at home, in a hotel room, or in a fully equipped commercial gym.
How does Nike Training Club compare to Freeletics?
Nike Training Club wins on video coaching quality, ease of use, and breadth of workout styles. Freeletics has an edge in community features, bodyweight progression logic, and its AI Coach system for those who pay for the premium tier. For most UK beginners, Nike Training Club is the better starting point. More experienced or community-driven users may prefer Freeletics.
Does the Nike Training Club app track weights and reps?
The app tracks completed workouts, activity history, and general progress over time, but it does not offer detailed set-by-set weight logging in the way dedicated strength apps like Strong or JEFIT do. If tracking exact loads and progressive overload data is central to your training, you may want to use a specialist lifting log alongside the Nike app.