Running, lifting, HIIT, circuits - here’s how the top Watch apps perform when your training routine spans more than one discipline.

Hybrid athletes aren’t niche anymore. More people are training across running, strength, and conditioning than ever before - and the Apple Watch has quietly become their favourite tool, among other watches like Garmin and Coros. It tracks pace, heart rate, reps, distance, recovery, and intensity. If your focus is mostly on running performance, our breakdown of the best Apple Watch running apps in 2025 goes deep on tempo, intervals and pacing. And if you’re training for HYROX, we’ve also tested the best Apple Watch apps for HYROX training.

What it doesn’t do is tell you how to integrate all of it into one training program.

Most Apple Watch fitness apps still think in silos: you’re either a runner, a lifter, or someone who enjoys HIIT classes. If you move between all three, your week quickly becomes a mess of separate apps, separate timers, and no single place where the work fits together.

So we tested six of the most commonly used Apple Watch fitness apps - Apple Fitness+, Strava, Runna, Strong, Freeletics, and Edge - to see which ones actually work for hybrid athletes.

Here’s how they compare.

Apple Fitness+: Polished classes, limited progression

Apple Fitness+ is clean, motivating, and brilliantly produced. It excels at variety - cycling one day, strength the next, mindfulness after that.

For hybrid athletes, though, it leaves big gaps.
There’s no structured running program, no progressive strength training, and no real way to see your week as a coherent block. It’s designed for movement and logging, not performance.

Good for: guided classes, general fitness
Less for: planned hybrid routines, long-term progress

Strava: Perfect for runners, thin for strength and conditioning

Strava is still the go-to for GPS runs and cycling. The social layer is unmatched, and the Watch app nails the basics: pace, splits, maps, all clean and familiar. We compare Strava directly against other running-focused apps in our guide to the best Apple Watch running apps.

But hybrid athletes need more than mileage. Strength days appear as generic “Workout” entries. Circuits don’t track properly. There’s no weekly structure bridging runs and lifts.

Good for: tracking runs and routes
Less for: strength training, circuits, hybrid progression

Runna: Strong for running, stops there

Runna’s Watch app is one of the best for structured running programs - clear pacing, well-designed workouts, intuitive interval guidance. If you’re purely chasing a running PB, that article on the top Apple Watch running apps is worth a read.

But hybrid athletes rarely run in isolation. Most are lifting 2–3 days per week, hitting conditioning, or prepping for hybrid events. Runna doesn’t guide strength or manage how running should complement lifting.

Good for: anyone training for a 5K to marathon
Less for: run-lift-HIIT 360 training plans

Strong: Great for lifters, not enough for hybrids

Strong is amongst the cleanest Apple Watch strength trackers - quick, simple, and genuinely useful. Log sets, reps, weights, and rest without friction.

But athletes need more than a logbook. There’s no running structure, no circuit mode, no interval pacing, and no cohesive program across disciplines.

Good for: pure strength training
Less for: integrating strength with running or conditioning

Freeletics: High intensity, low adaptability

Freeletics thrives in the HIIT/bodyweight space. Quick sessions, minimal equipment, and plenty of intensity.

But it’s intensity without context. No running plans, no progressive strength cycles, and no way to balance fatigue across the week.

Good for: fast sweat sessions & calisthenics
Less for: balanced hybrid programs

Edge: The only Apple Watch app built for hybrid athletes

Edge is the only app in the lineup that tackles the actual problem hybrid athletes face: how to combine running, lifting, HIIT and circuit work into one smart, structured training program.

On the Apple Watch, Edge gives you:

• Full running guidance - pace targets, intervals, tempo runs
  
  
• Strength sessions - sets, reps, rest, progression
  
  
• HIIT + conditioning - AMRAPs, EMOMs, Hyrox-style pieces
  
  
• Complete workouts on the Watch - no phone needed
  
  
• One system that treats your week as a single training engine
  
  

Where other apps specialise in one discipline, Edge specialises in the space between disciplines - the part hybrid athletes struggle with most. We’ve also tested how this holds up specifically for race-style formats in our guide to the best Apple Watch apps for HYROX training.

If you’re someone who lifts twice a week, runs three times, and fills the gaps with conditioning, Edge is the only Apple Watch experience that doesn’t force you to compromise.

Good for: hybrid athletes, hybrid training plans, run-lift routines, Hyrox / ATHX prep, anyone with a mixed weekly structure

Less for: people who only run or only lift

Verdict: The Apple Watch is powerful - but hybrid athletes need more than single-discipline apps

The reason most people struggle to build a consistent routine isn’t discipline. It’s fragmentation.

One app tells you to run faster.
Another tells you to lift heavier.
A third tells you to do more HIIT.
None of them tell you how to balance those demands so you don’t burn out or backslide.

Hybrid athletes need a Watch app that understands the whole training week - not just one slice of it. If you’re still deciding where to start, pair this guide with our Apple Watch running app comparison and our focused review of the top Apple Watch HYROX training apps so you can see how each app performs in isolation and under race-style demands.

Edge is the only app in this lineup built around that principle, which is why it stands out as the strongest Apple Watch fitness app for hybrid athletes in 2025.

👉 ‍ Try Edge and see why it leads in Apple Watch hybrid training

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