Exercise and a healthy diet are on top of almost everybody’s New Year Resolutions but most of us find it hard to keep our promise. You can boost your chances of success by using a fitness app. The Apple and Google Play Store is full of apps waiting for you to download and get started with your fitness goals.
These apps can give you a lot of new ideas, motivation, and inspiration to stick with your plans. They can also help you set and track goals. Some of these have challenges and an element of competition that keeps you on track.
Let’s have a look at the best fitness apps.
MyFitnessPal (iOS, Android)
Calorie counters and diet tracking apps are simple. You just need to enter what you have eaten all day and the app will track the number of calories in each food as well as a breakdown of the nutrients; protein, carbs, fats, etc. Any exercise you do will be converted into calories and deducted from your total calories consumption via food.
MyFitnessPal is and has been a leading app for quite some time now. The app is completely free and as of May 2018 had 19.1 million users in just the USA. A very useful feature of MyFitnessPal is that it has a barcode scanner option in which any food item not present in its database can be added via the picture of the barcode. The app is well designed, easy to use and systematic. Your actual nutrient intake versus your planned nutrient intake is displayed via an easy to read pie chart which makes the comparison a piece of cake.
Johnson & Johnson Official 7-Minute Workout (iOS, Android)
Workout apps are categorized based on different goals with a series of workouts that will help you achieve these goals. You don’t need a personal trainer all the time to show you different exercises or workout routines.
The Journal of Medical Internet Research has nominated Johnson & Johnson Official 7-Minute Workout app as the best app that meets all the guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine. This app follows the seven-minute workout ideology and has a wide range of workouts with different difficulty levels. It also has an option to start with a warm-up or go straight into the workout. Every workout movement has an illustrated video by Chris Jordan, the co-author of the article highlighting the benefits of a seven-minute workout himself. Nike training club is another good option.
Fitbit (iOS, Android)
Social fitness apps are great motivators for those who lack motivation. These apps allow you to share your fitness progress with your friends and family. The greatest app that uses social media as a motivator is Fitbit which allows you to share all your stats with your Fitbit family and friends.
Many companies now use Fitbit to add some excitement to the mundane workplace and make their employees healthier. The weekly leaderboard publicly displays who was the champion for the week. In research conducted in May 2018, Fitbit was found to have the most active users in the USA.
Strava (iOS, Android)
If sharing your fitness progress with just friends and family is not enough, it is time to take it to the next level. There are some really good apps that will make you compete with people having the same goals and fitness level.
Strava is one such app that tracks your miles via GPS. Running has a long list of benefits and this app will motivate you to run long distances. You can share, see and compare the progress of friends as well as rivals and pros. The Strava app is now so popular that as of August 2018, 15 million activities were uploaded by members in just a week and members had 32 sports to choose from.
Charity Miles (iOS, Android)
If you are not motivated by the competition, you should consider apps that use your exercise for a better cause. These apps encourage you to run or bike with sponsors who will donate an amount to charity for every mile completed.
The Charity Miles app will reward the charity that you choose for every mile you walk, run or ride on a bike. There are over 30 charities and many sponsors on the app that are willing to pay for the exercise you do.
You can see that there are many different types of fitness apps and you can choose what works for you. If competition is your fuel then opt for an app like Strava and if you just want some ideas, use the 7-minute workout.
