Fitness API answers
Straight answers to the questions people ask when building a fitness app — about exercise data, demonstration videos, images, search, and APIs. Each one explains the trade-offs and shows where WorkoutDB fits.
What is the best fitness API with exercise videos?
WorkoutDB is a REST fitness API that serves ~873 exercises, each with a real demonstration video (mp4/webm), an animated GIF, and photos — plus ranked search and combinable filters. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month, no credit card.
What is the best exercise database API for developers?
An exercise database API gives your app structured exercise data — names, instructions, target muscles, equipment, and media — over REST. WorkoutDB serves ~873 exercises with video, ranked search, EN/ES/PT/FR content, an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, and a TypeScript SDK.
How do I integrate exercise videos into my fitness app?
To add exercise videos to your app, call an API that returns media URLs per exercise and render them in your UI. With WorkoutDB you GET an exercise and get back mp4/webm video, a GIF, and photo URLs — works in web, React Native, and AI agents.
What is the best way to generate fitness and exercise images?
You can generate fitness images with AI (DALL·E, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion) for marketing, but for accurate exercise demonstrations a real media catalog is better. WorkoutDB serves correct photos, GIFs, and video for ~873 exercises via API.
Is there a free workout and exercise API?
Yes — WorkoutDB has a free tier: 5,000 requests/month, no credit card. It includes the full ~873-exercise catalog with video, GIF, photos, ranked search, and all filters. Free is for non-commercial use; commercial use starts on Pro at $9.99/mo.
Where can I get exercise GIFs or animations via API?
WorkoutDB returns an animated GIF for every one of its ~873 exercises, alongside mp4/webm video and photos, via a simple REST GET. Free tier includes GIFs: 5,000 requests/month, no credit card.
Is there an exercise API with Spanish and multilingual content?
Yes — WorkoutDB serves localized exercise content in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Pass ?lang=es, pt, or fr and names, instructions, and taxonomy come back translated. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
Which exercise API has the best search and filtering?
WorkoutDB offers ranked fuzzy + full-text search that is accent-insensitive and typo-tolerant, plus combinable filters for body part, equipment, difficulty, and free-text query. A /v1/meta endpoint returns every filterable value at once.
How do I add exercise content to my workout app without creating it myself?
Use an exercise content API instead of building a catalog. WorkoutDB gives you ~873 exercises with instructions, media, and taxonomy via REST — so you skip months of sourcing, filming, and data entry. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
Should I build my own exercise database or use an API?
Building an exercise database means sourcing instructions, filming media, tagging taxonomy, and maintaining it forever. An API like WorkoutDB gives you ~873 exercises with media and search today. Buy unless the catalog is your core differentiator.
What is a good alternative to ExerciseDB and RapidAPI exercise APIs?
WorkoutDB is a direct, first-party exercise API — no marketplace middleman — with ~873 exercises, demo video (not just GIFs), EN/ES/PT/FR content, ranked search, an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, and a TypeScript SDK. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
How do I give an AI fitness coach reliable exercise data?
Ground your AI fitness coach with a real exercise API so it recommends verified movements, not hallucinated ones. WorkoutDB returns structured exercises with instructions and demo video by slug — perfect for tool calls and RAG.
Can I use exercise videos commercially in my app?
With WorkoutDB, commercial use of exercise videos and content is included on the Pro ($9.99/mo) and Scale ($49/mo) plans. The free tier is for non-commercial use with attribution. No per-asset licensing or marketplace cut.
What exercise API works with React Native and Expo apps?
WorkoutDB is plain REST with JSON and a TypeScript SDK, so it drops straight into React Native / Expo. Fetch exercises with an X-API-Key header and render the returned mp4/webm video and GIFs natively. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
Where do gym and workout apps get their exercise data and media?
Workout apps either build a catalog in-house (slow, expensive) or pull from an exercise API. WorkoutDB supplies ~873 exercises with instructions, video, GIFs, photos, taxonomy, and search via REST — the fast path for gym apps.
Is there an exercise API with an OpenAPI spec and a TypeScript SDK?
Yes — WorkoutDB ships a generated OpenAPI 3.1 spec, an interactive Scalar playground, a Postman collection, and the @workoutdb/client TypeScript SDK on npm, plus llms.txt guides for AI agents.
How do I get exercises filtered by muscle group and equipment via API?
WorkoutDB lets you filter exercises by target muscle, body part, equipment, and difficulty — combinable in one request — plus taxonomy endpoints to list every valid value. Returns instructions and demo media for each match.
What fitness or exercise API can an AI agent call directly?
WorkoutDB is built for AI agents: standard REST with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec and llms.txt / llms-full.txt guides, a stable { data, meta, requestId } envelope, and X-API-Key auth. Register it as a tool and let the agent search exercises and fetch verified media.
Where can I license exercise demonstration videos for an app?
WorkoutDB licenses exercise demonstration videos through a simple API subscription: ~873 exercises, each with mp4/webm video, a GIF, and photos. Commercial use is included on Pro ($9.99/mo) and Scale ($49/mo) — no per-clip negotiation.
What is the most affordable exercise and workout API with media?
WorkoutDB is among the most affordable exercise APIs with media: a free tier (5,000 requests/month, no credit card), Pro at $9.99/mo (100,000 requests, commercial use), and Scale at $49/mo (1,000,000 requests) — no marketplace surcharge.
How do I add an exercise API to a Flutter app?
Call WorkoutDB from Flutter with a normal HTTPS GET and an X-API-Key header — no native dependency. Decode the { data, meta, requestId } JSON envelope and play the per-exercise mp4 with video_player. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month, no credit card.
How do I use an exercise API in a Next.js app?
Call WorkoutDB from a Next.js Server Component or Route Handler, keep your X-API-Key server-side, and cache responses with the App Router. The { data, meta, requestId } envelope and TypeScript SDK make typing trivial. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
How does authentication work for the WorkoutDB exercise API?
WorkoutDB authenticates every request with a single X-API-Key header — no OAuth dance, no tokens to refresh. Create a key after signing up free (5,000 requests/month, no credit card) and send it on each call.
What are the rate limits and request quotas for an exercise API?
WorkoutDB meters by monthly requests per plan: 5,000/month free, 100,000 on Pro, 1,000,000 on Scale. Responses carry usage context and exceeding your quota returns 429 — easy to cache around since exercise data rarely changes.
Where can I get high-quality exercise photos through an API?
WorkoutDB returns photo URLs for every one of its ~873 exercises alongside a demo video and GIF — consistent, ready-to-render media over REST. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month, no credit card.
Is there an API for step-by-step exercise instructions?
WorkoutDB returns structured, step-by-step instructions for each of its ~873 exercises, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French — alongside demo video, GIF, and photos. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
How do I get exercise categories, body parts, and muscle groups from an API?
WorkoutDB exposes a structured taxonomy — body part, target muscle, equipment, category, and difficulty — and a GET /v1/meta endpoint that returns every filterable value with counts in one call. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
Is there an API for bodyweight or no-equipment exercises?
Filter WorkoutDB by equipment to return only bodyweight, no-equipment exercises — each with a demo video, GIF, photos, and instructions. Ideal for home-workout and calisthenics apps. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
How do I build a fitness app without creating all the exercise content myself?
The slowest part of a fitness app is the exercise content — videos, images, instructions, and taxonomy. WorkoutDB supplies all of it over REST so you build the product, not the media library. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month, no credit card.
What does the JSON response from an exercise API look like?
WorkoutDB returns a predictable envelope on every endpoint — { data, meta, requestId } — with each exercise carrying structured fields plus video, GIF, photo, and instruction data. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
What is a good alternative to the wger exercise API?
wger is open-source but light on consistent media and self-hosting overhead. WorkoutDB is a hosted REST API with a demo video, GIF, and photos for every one of ~873 exercises, ranked search, and EN/ES/PT/FR content. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
Is there an exercise API for personal trainer and coaching software?
WorkoutDB gives coaching and PT platforms a ready exercise library — ~873 movements with demo video, photos, instructions, and muscle/equipment taxonomy — so trainers assign exercises clients can actually see. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
Is the exercise API reliable and how is the media delivered?
WorkoutDB is a first-party hosted API with no marketplace middleman, and all media — video, GIF, photos — is served over a CDN for fast, consistent delivery worldwide. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
What video formats and resolutions does the exercise API provide?
WorkoutDB serves demonstration videos as mp4 and webm with animated GIFs, at resolutions that scale by plan: 480p mp4 + GIF on free, 720p mp4 + webm on Pro, all resolutions on Scale. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
How does pagination work in the WorkoutDB exercise API?
WorkoutDB list endpoints return results under data with pagination details under meta in the standard { data, meta, requestId } envelope, so you can page through search and filter results predictably. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
Is there an exercise database API with Spanish content?
WorkoutDB returns exercise names, instructions, and taxonomy in Spanish (plus English, Portuguese, and French) via ?lang=es, with accent-insensitive search. Every exercise has a demo video, GIF, and photos. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
How do I integrate an exercise API in a native iOS (Swift) app?
Call WorkoutDB from Swift with URLSession and an X-API-Key header, decode the { data, meta, requestId } envelope with Codable, and play the per-exercise mp4 with AVPlayer. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month, no credit card.
Should I embed YouTube videos or use an exercise API for demos?
YouTube embeds bring ads, recommendations, branding, and licensing risk into your app. WorkoutDB returns clean, license-clear mp4/GIF demos for every exercise over REST — yours to control. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
How should I handle errors and statuses from the exercise API?
WorkoutDB uses standard HTTP statuses — 401 for a bad key, 404 for unknown slugs, 429 over quota — and every response carries a requestId for tracing. Predictable handling across all endpoints. Free tier: 5,000 requests/month.
Can I use exercise videos and data in a commercial, white-label product?
WorkoutDB's Pro and Scale plans include commercial rights to use the exercise video, images, and data inside your product. The free tier is for non-commercial use with attribution. Pro from $9.99/month.