5 fitness challenge apps to compete with friends to lose weight and get healthy

Losing weight or getting fitter is a tough journey to do on your own. Some people are motivated from within, but for many others, healthy competition with friends can be the nudge they need to get started. These fitness challenge apps encourage you to compete with friends to lose weight, count steps or get more exercise.

1. Compete (Android, iOS): Lose weight to win money in weekly matches and tournaments

Competish has one clear goal in mind: lose weight. Anyone can create a group and add friends or family to it. Each participant has to contribute a certain amount of money, which goes into the group pot. The group creator decides on the amount beforehand. You also need to decide how long you want the tournament to last.

Depending on the size of your group, Competish will match you with a different participant each week. You must record your weight daily using fitness tracker apps or photos as evidence. The winner of each week receives a small sum of the prize money. If you reach the total time limit, the top weight loser(s) will be awarded the remaining prize money.

While you can play the game without any money, the idea behind the app is to incentivize weight loss with a clear reward. Competish believes that the spirit of competition required for such a tournament is sparked by prizes, not bragging rights.

Download: compete for Android | iOS (Free)

2. better together (Android, iOS): Simple group weight loss competitions

BetterTogether is one of the most popular apps on the web to host a weight loss tournament with your friends, family or co-workers. Once you’ve created a group, you can add unlimited participants, but the creators recommend a maximum group size of 15 members. The creator can set the duration of the competition and add a prize at the end of the challenge.

The weight loss goal is set as a percentage. Each competitor records their starting weight, based on which the target weight is calculated by that percentage. Each week, participants must upload a photo of their weight while standing on a scale. The app also syncs with Google Fit, Apple Watch, and Fitbit. The leaderboard shows everyone’s progress and you can chat with other members in the group chat.

The Pro version of BetterTogether includes several additional features to enhance your weight loss journey. These include a daily pedometer and goal (and a step competition with other participants), a daily goal for floors climbed, reminders to drink water and track daily glasses, and motivational messages. BetterTogether Pro also has detailed charts to track your progress with various stats like weight, BMI, steps, etc.

Download: Better Together for Android | iOS (Free)

3. Compete2Beat (Android, iOS): Private or public weight loss and step competitions

Compete2Beat offers two types of fitness challenges to compete with others on: weight loss and pedometer. You can sync it to Google Fit, Apple Health, or Fitbit to sync your steps and weights, or add it manually. The app works on the honor system, so while people can cheat, there is no real need as there is no prize reward.

The challenge creator can set the target type. There are four types of goals in weight loss competitions: lose the highest percentage, lose the most pounds or kilos, a group weight loss goal, or an individual goal where each challenger sets their goal. Step counting contests have either a daily target number of steps as a goal or a total number of steps over the duration of the challenge.

Challenges can be private or public, and you can also enter public competitions. Compete2Beat does not show your weight to other competitors to protect your privacy, it only shows your progress. The app also includes a food diary to track what you eat and convert it into calories, which is the building block for weight loss.

Download: Compete2Beat for Android | iOS (Free)

4. overcome me (Web): Create training challenges to compete with friends

Outmuscle Me goes beyond simple weight loss and step counting challenges to let you create complex workout challenges. Currently the exercise list includes steps, plank, sit up, squat, push up, dip, pull up, bike, run, swim, row, jump, yoga, battle ropes, extensions and jumping jacks. The challenge creator can choose any or all of these exercises, and all participants can log their activities such as reps and sets, distance, or time.

Of course, not all exercises are created equal. This gives each activity points that can be adjusted by the group creator. For example, a sit-up might count 0.4 points while a push-up would count a full point. As participants log their activity, they earn points, which are then displayed on the group leaderboard. So even if you do different types of exercises, you can still compete with your friends for overall fitness.

Outmuscle Me also includes a built-in workout tracker to log exercises, add additional information and view your activity strip. From the looks of it, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to how many challenges you can create or how many people you can invite. In the settings there is an option to add custom exercises, but when we tried it we couldn’t see the exercise later in our dashboard.

5. challenge accepted (Android, iOS): Create custom fitness challenges with friends

None of the above apps allow for much customization in designing the fitness challenge with your friends. Enter Challenge Accepted, a free app that lets you create your own custom challenges (for fitness or otherwise) with complete control.

There are two types of challenges you can create: list based or calendar based. A calendar-based challenge is usually like “Sugar-free for 30 days,” and you mark each day that you’ve succeeded. In a list-based challenge, the creator makes a list of that challenge’s objectives, and you check them off when you complete them.

Challenge Accepted has a wide variety of public challenges that you can join and participate in, but you won’t see any other contestants. You have to add friends and can only track their progress if they start the same challenge as you. The app can send you reminders for different challenges on different days and times.

Download: Challenge accepted for Android | iOS (Free)

Don’t let the spirit of competition get angry

No matter which app you choose to compete with your friends, make sure the competitive spirit doesn’t turn sour. Everyone’s goal, of course, is to have healthy competition, but some people don’t take losing very well. If you are the group creator, be vigilant, nip such behavior in the bud, and foster a supportive environment for all participants.