Fitness Apps!

Technology is a great way to jump start your fitness goals. Here are a few of my favorite apps related to fitness. These are all iPhone apps but I'm reasonably sure most apps are available on Android as well.

• NPT Boom: This app is great if you like the idea of doing circuit/interval type workouts but hate the thought of trying to focus on exercising and watching a watch at the same time. The app lets you set a time interval and every x seconds will play a tone over your music to let you know it's time to switch exercises. When I'm in the zone in my workouts I don't want to have to focus on anything except working out and this does just that. I'm sure there are other great features to it, but that's the one that I consistently use. 

• Fitness Free: If you're just getting into fitness and want to broaden your exercise background, this is a great free option for that. It offers hundreds of different exercises with reasonably good explanations on how to do them and what muscles they are working. It includes lots of different progressions/regressions of exercises as well so it caters nicely to different skill levels. 

• Runtastic Pro: I was always a fan of MapMyFitness+, but when they took away my heart rate monitoring tracking and tried making me pay for it AGAIN I took my talents (or lack of) elsewhere. Runtastic seems to be a great option so far and from what I've read here my initial impression doesn't seem to be far off. I love the actual workout tracking screen. It conveniently shows you heart rate information, speed, average speed, distance, and time, along with the map. swiping to either side brings up music controls (hooray!), a larger map, speed and elevation graphs, and a compass for when your significant other tells you to get lost. All in all I'm really loving this app for tracking activity. 

• Dropbox: This app saves my life on a regular basis. I upload all my clients workouts to my Dropbox because it seems like every week I need a new log or to change something on someone's workout. Having all my files at my fingertips allows me to do just that, all from the comfort of our training studio. 

While not technically "fitness" related by some definitions, these apps are my Big 3 of healthy eating:

• Fooducate: Ever wonder just how good for you the "Organic" Whole Wheat Packed With Superfoods and Vitamin A-Z crackers are at your local grocery store? Or just how much bad stuff is REALLY in a Twinkie (RIP)? Fooducate allows you to scan a barcode and get detailed feedback on just how good for you an item is. It contains information on controversial substances that may be used in the product along with a summary of overall nutritional value. Based on all these things it grades the product and offers alternatives. Really helpful app for cleaning up your diet.

• ZipList: I love to cook. Researching recipes and thinking how to make them healthy is one of my biggest productivity killers. This app is supported by a growing list of cooking websites and allows you to keep your entire recipe box right at your fingers. It also is by far the best grocery list app I've used. Find yourself some healthy recipes, make a grocery list and stick to it, and let this app help you clean up your diet!

• Lose It!: DISCLAIMER: I hate calorie counting. That being said, I've used this app for about a week consistently to test it out and really enjoyed it, at least as much as i can enjoy calorie counting. Like Fooducate, it lets you scan barcodes and brings the entry right up for you. That feature alone makes it great in my eyes. Others might have that but like I said, I don't like calorie counting and don't use these apps very often. It also lets you keep track of your weight and offers it up in a nice graphical interface. You can also track water intake, exercise history, and set goals. 

Technology is a great way to get your fitness goals on track. Head over to the App Store and give some of these apps a try!

Got an app you really enjoy? Share it in the comments section. I'd love to hear about it!