Finding the fitness app right for you

Finding the fitness app right for you

The decision to lead a healthier life is extremely noble. We know what we want but we also know the frustration and difficulty in motivating yourself to lose weight.  Why not use a fitness app to help you reach your health goals?  Fitness apps can help you track your progress, try out new workouts, and share your success with others. 

Getting in shape is a big business and the advancement of technology has driven these computer programs designed to run on an electronic or mobile device into a phenomenal popular piece of software.  Since there are more than 100 apps available designed for fitness, nutrition, and overall health, it can be overwhelming when it comes to choosing which one is right for you. 

Here are a few popular apps that have been selected deserving a second look.  Each is based on their quality, user reviews, and overall reliability as a source of support for people wanting to up their fitness game:

·      MapMyFitness

This fitness tracker app allows you to use your mobile devices’ built-in GPS to track all your fitness activities.  You can record your duration, distance, pace, speed, calories burned, and route traveled using an interactive map.  It saves all your past workouts so you can look back at where you started and how far you have come in improving.  This app also allows you to connect with friends for a friendly competition in creating challenging workouts together.

·      Sworkit

Here’s a very popular app in which 25 million other people have approved and are using.  Sworkit provides guided and customized workout plans on any device you use.  You can sign up and have access to hundreds of workout plans that fit your physical fitness level.  You choose from a variety of workout options including yoga, cardio, strength training or stretching, or a combination of a well-rounded program targeting all areas of the body.  The app comes with a timer from 5 to 60 minutes and demonstrates all exercise so even a beginner can gain confidence before diving into an exercise routine. 

·      My Fitness Pal

If you want the ability to track your food intake and exercise anywhere, anytime for free, this app is for you.  You can track every bite you eat as you easily count calories using the built-in bar code scanner which has a food database of over 302,775,000 items allowing you to customize your unique weight loss goals.  This same app also tracks the number of calories you expend through exercise.  My Fitness Pal is compatible with a number of fitness trackers including Fitbit and Garmin Connect.  Connecting with friends and others using this app can be a great way to celebrate each other’s victories, helping motivate and inspire one another.

·      Charity Miles

If making a difference in the world suits you, then the Charity Miles app is what you are looking for.  This free app donates a few cents of your money on your behalf to charities of your choice for every mile run, walked, or bicycled.  Corporate sponsors such as Johnson and Johnson and Chobani make these donations on your behalf to charities such as Feeding America, and Habitat for Humanity.  Knowing you are not only getting fit but also helping out others in the process, can be an extra incentive to lace up your walking shoes or hop on your bike.

·      Lose It!

Here is another free app designed for helping you log exercise and counting calories.  You start by setting your goals to personalize your daily calorie budget.  Then, track your meals and moves with the food and exercise database and tracking tools.  Lose It! is compatible with a multitude of other fitness trackers and apps, including Fitbit, Nike + Fuelband and May My Fitness allowing you to import your data into the Lose It! App.  Lose It! also has a large, interactive weight loss community providing a constant source of inspiration, guidance, and support.