Top 5 Fitness Apps
By Wendy Toth
Getting motivated to workout, try a new routine or push yourself to a higher level of fitness can be even tougher than doing the exercises themselves. Luckily, just about everyone has this problem, and some of those people created apps to help.
From using video game technology to literally scare you into running, to giving you over 27 ready-made yoga routines, these five apps will make working out seem like a breeze.
#1. Zombies, Run!
Who says video games are bad for your health? Zombies, Run! sets you in a post-apocalyptic world full of the undead and gives you missions and running supplies from base to base. Periodic zombie attacks make for amazing, terrified interval training. You can even keep track of your pace, distance and calories burned as you unlock “supplies” within the game, and track it all online. The fun storyline can be combined with your own soundtrack to keep you running…for your life.
Price: $7.99 for the original, $3.99 for 5K Training
Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, Andriod, Windows Phone
Photo courtesy of iTunes
#2. Gympact
What if you could earn a little money for going to the gym, but had to pay up if you skipped? This positive and negative reward system is the motivational secret behind Gympact, where you link your credit card and Paypal account to your app, then choose an amount of money per gym visit and a minimum number of visits for the week. Then check-in at your gym to make good on your pact. Players who miss a workout fund the payoff for players who make it.
Price: Free
Compatibility: iPhone and Android
Photo courtesy of iTunes
#3. Pocket Yoga
The school of Gaia Flow Yoga brings you easy-to-follow narrations alongside clear animation, for a reason to do yoga at home, every day. The app includes an encyclopedia of moves, in case you get stuck, as well as the ability to customize by practice type, level and duration for a total of 27 different sessions. An ongoing log helps you track your progress and build your practice. True yogis can download the “Practice Builder” version to come up with customized routines.
Price: $2.99
Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, Android
Photo courtesy of iTunes
If you want full-body workouts you can do at home, you just met your new personal trainer. Nike Training Club lets you choose a list of workouts based on your fitness level and goals like getting lean, strong or focused, then it provides you with instructions for each drill and video demonstrations by a Nike professional trainer. All your results are tracked, and build up to cool rewards like fitness advice and new workouts.
Price: Free
Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, Andriod
Photo courtesy of iTunes
#5. iTreadmill
Sometimes fitting in a workout really is overwhelming. iTreadmill makes it incredibly simple to track your steps, distance and average speed as you go about your day. Then you can set goals to help yourself get more active in your everyday life, all with your phone in pocket or hand…not a nerdy pedometer holder.
Price: $1.99
Compatibility: iPhone and iPad
Photo courtesy of iTunes
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Wendy Toth writes and edits stories about fitness, beauty (inner and outer), health and pets for outlets like The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Weight Watchers and Pet360. She lives in Pennsylvania and Brooklyn, which is complicated, but fun. You can ask her about it through wendytoth.com.
Thank you for being one of the few sites who list apps for Android in their “top apps” lists. I’m checking most of them out right now