The ONLY reason I have a mobile phone is because I am in LOVE with apps (I actually HATE talking on the phone!!) Here are “8 Health and Fitness Apps for Couch Potatoes” by Anne Karasek.
Apps to get you moving
iTreadmill – $1.99 — No gym? No excuses. iTreadmill is a virtual treadmill (hence the name) that tracks everything a treadmill can track during use, including distance, current pace, average pace, current speed, average speed, calories, steps per minute, step count and elapsed time. Think of this app as a treadmill right in your hand. It also allows you to track your run history; shows graphs of your runs for motivation and even set goals for yourself. You don’t have to be a runner to use this app; many use iTreadmill for walking around the neighborhood, local malls or even running around the park.
C2K – Free — Imagine being able to run a 5k in just eight short weeks. All it takes is 30 minutes a day, three days a week. This app is amazing and totally fool-proof to get you there. With C2K, you basically have a personal trainer right in your hand as the app has an audio coach that alerts you when it’s time to run and when it’s time to walk. I’ve completed the first two weeks of the program, and I love it. It starts with a brisk five-minute warm up, alternates between 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of brisk walking for 20 minutes, and finishes with a five-minute cool down. As the workouts go along, you begin to walk less and run more, and it is a simple way to build your running capacity. This app also lets you jam out to your own music, and you can even alternate playing pump up songs during the running part and more chill songs during the walking part.
Runtastic – Free — Who wouldn’t want a personal cheerleader in her pocket? (OK, maybe not everyone; that would get annoying.) But if that’s your thing, Runtastic gives you live cheering during your workouts to help you stay motivated. Runtastic is your personal tracking app, and all-in-one exercise app for running, biking and other cardio activities. With a built in GPS, you can map out your activities, as well as track distance, time, speed, calories and pace. Haven’t you always wanted to know how long a walk from Fenway to Newbury Street really is, and how many calories you’ve burned on your way to get fro-yo? Well, now with this app, you can track it, burn calories and set goals.
Pocket Yoga – $2.99 — Get your Zen on anywhere and anytime. As a yoga-skeptic, I’ve been officially converted by using this app. Pocket Yoga allows you to do yoga at your own pace and on your own time. It features three different practices, three different difficulty levels and three different lengths of time for your workout, for a total of 27 different yoga sessions. Pocket Yoga also features detailed voice instructions and visual instructions to guide you through every pose, including breathing techniques. Pocket Yoga does feature soothing default music, but if you feel like listening to Jay Z while you Zen out, you can do that as well.
FitBit – Free; Device: $100 — This app is a little more of a commitment because first you need to purchase a FitBit monitor called, “The One,” priced at $100. If you are serious about getting healthy, this app is serious to get you there by turning health into a lifestyle for you. This little device measures your sleep cycle and helps you learn how to sleep better. During the day, it tracks your steps, distance, calories burned and even stairs climbed. By getting the free FitBit app, you can track your progress via the FitBit on your phone.
Apps as nutrition trackers
MyFitnessPal – Free — Nobody loves to track calories, but unfortunately, spring is coming, and we can no longer hide in our oversized coats and sweaters.With MyFitnessPal, you can track what you eat digitally. I’ve used MyFitnessPal for the past four years, and it helps me know how many calories I’m eating while also tracking my exercise and allowing me to set weight loss goals. It has a database of over 2 million foods and 350 exercises, and it allows you to create your own foods and exercises if you can’t find them in their database. You can also track with friends to motivate yourself because, according to MyFitnessPal, members who diet with friends lose three times more weight on average.
LoseIt! – Free — LoseIt! is another app that tracks your food input and exercise. It has a database of food and exercise activities, which allows you to accurately track what you eat. You can also earn badges for your successes and share your progress on Twitter and Facebook. Like MyFitnessPal, it creates a report on protein, fats, carbohydrates and more. It also lets you see how you’re doing with your weight loss goals.
LiveStrong – Lite free; full $2.99 — Although Lance may have let us down, the LiveStrong food and exercise app won’t. Created with MyPlate in mind (the new version of the food pyramid), its focus is on helping you eat a balanced and nutritional meal. It takes into account your age, gender and activity level, allowing you to customize your goals for nutrition or weight loss.
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