It’s a new year and it’s time to build a better you, starting with your health and some amazing fitness apps that can help you. Time for the good news and the bad news: the bad news is that it will take some work. Nothing worth having comes easy, especially not when it comes to the wonderful world of workouts. But the good news is that getting results you are proud of and feeling healthy is easier than ever before…and you don’t even need a personal trainer or expensive gym membership. How about downloading a $3.99 app on your phone to jumpstart your fitness routine? Now we’re talking!
The first step is a desire to get into better shape…you have to want it if you are going to achieve results. As Shape Magazine reports, according to Simon Rego, Ph.D., director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, self-motivation is an important part of the equation. “If you focus on how you feel each time you exercise, you’ll get all the benefits of burning calories, plus the reinforcement of remembering how good it felt to do it, which should increase your motivation to do more.” The initial motivation has to come from you; but when it comes to the expert advice, encouragement and actual workout logistics, well, there’s an app for that. Here are the 10 best fitness apps to jumpstart your workout routine right now.
1. Map My Run
This amazing app allows you to not only track your runs, your pace, miles traveled and calories burned in real time, but it also helps you map out future running routes by browsing runs completed by others in your area or by creating your own route. You simply drag your mouse (or finger on the app) along an actual street map to calculate how long a run is and where you should go.
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2. Nike Training Club
With a name like Nike behind it you know it has to be good. This app provides tons of workouts from pro athletes and Nike Master Trainers (trainers around the world deemed as masters in their field), plus it offers tips and advice from the pros. And if that’s not enough, it allows you to put together a workout crew so you can get fit with friends, share your progress online and cheer each other on.
3. GAIN Fitness
This app allows you to schedule your workouts at the gym or at home based on the equipment you have on hand and how much time you have. It offers suggested workout routines based on your goals and plays videos and audio to coach you as you work out. The video demonstrations (with a coach actually counting out the reps) makes it easy to keep up and hard to slack off.
4. Endomondo Sports Tracker
This app is like a coach in your pocket. It offers advice and feedback on your workouts, plus it harnesses the power of the community to help you achieve fitness goals by sharing your progress via social media so that not only you, but also your friends can hold you accountable. You’ll know your pals are keeping an eye on your workouts, so you’ll be encouraged to work harder. Plus it’s compatible with fitness-tracking devices like sports watches and Garmin GPS trackers.
5. Nexercise
This app turns fitness into a competitive game. It tracks your workouts, shows your progress and allows you to compete with others while also offering encouragement and support. Plus you can earn rewards for your sweat sessions, as if a healthier body isn’t reward enough!
6. FitBit
You’ve probably seen friends rocking the FitBit wristband or with a little black gadget in their pocket, keeping track of their every move, and it’s about time you hop on board. This tool and app track your steps, your sleep pattern, your calories burned, stairs climbed etc. And you can compete against friends and families by comparing your activity through the app. Even without the wristband, you can log workouts and track your fitness progress.
7. Zombies Run
This one scores major points for entertainment value and creativity. Load this app and turn a boring jog around town into a race for survival as zombies are chasing you. Yes, you heard us right. This app is an immersive running game where an exciting narrative pushes you to run faster and work harder. You’ll be so into the story and the intensity of the game that you won’t even realize how many calories you are burning.
8. Wello
This app allows you to access a personal trainer from your living room, no gym required and no expensive workout session. You download the app and specify what kind of workout you are looking for, what your goals are and when you would like to work out. The program then sets you up with a trainer who supplies the workout and motivation, all through your device and in the comfort of your home.
9. Lark
This program offers customized advice and motivation to help keep you on track so you can get into better shape, eat better, sleep better and feel amazing. By analyzing data from your smartphone the app provides insights into your health habits and then offers advice in a text-message format, so it feels like you are texting with a personalized coach or a friend.
10. Carrot Fit
This app is to the point and not for the feint of heart. It’s less of your best friend cheering you on and more of a boot camp trainer yelling at you to work harder. The app tracks your progress and offers motivational messages in the form of hilarious smack talk. The app description says that Carrot Fit’s goal is to, and we quote, “transform your flabby carcass into a Grade A specimen of the human race.” Intrigued? You should be, this app will help you tackle that workout plan and get it done.
