Fitness apps are great to monitor and track your workouts as well as food and water. After losing 222 pounds I now have personal goals of 10,000 steps a day, 30 minutes of active workouts, 64 ounces of water, 60g of protein, fresh foods, and limiting refined sugars and salt.
I am a gym rat, go to the gym at least 6 days a week, belong to two gyms currently and will join a third soon.
I have used and discarded many apps and devices including UP24, Pulse, BASIS, a traditional pedometer and countless others I can’t recall.
Currently I use a Fitbit Flex (loved the Force, because it was a watch, used the original Fitbit, One, and the Zip) and Shine by Misfit and am adding Max, a smart pedometer from Virgin Pulse that I got free from my job through the health program.
So, without further ado, here are my top 5 fitness apps for iOS devices. Some may be available for Android as well, but I am a self-described Apple Fan girl.
1. FITBIT
I don’t take this off unless I need to charge it every seven days. I have been using some form of fitbit for more than two years. I use it via the dashboard to track my steps, miles walked, calories, water consumed, sleep analysis, active minutes, and weight (wirelessly via Aria scale which tracks weight, body fat percentage and BMI for up to five users).
You can set goals and have a fun competition with friends on 7 day steps as well as leaving messages or emoticons to cheer and taunt.
There is an extensive database for food tracking with calorie count.
My favorite feature is the silent alarm(s) you can set to warn you if you are not getting enough movement. I set alarms recently to remind me to take medicine several times a day. You can also set up to receive voice prompts during riser.
You can share your progress via social media. I have set this up to do automatically through twitter.
The app is free. The devices range from $59 to $99 and the scale is $129.
2. MISFIT
I am also rocking the Shine by Misfit. One can wear on the wrist (like a watch, great for swimming and walking/running), chest, waist, ankle, or in a pendant. Designer bands are available. Billed as “motivation at a glance” it’s a fitness and sleep monitor. It also logs food, but is waterproof up to 50 meters, uses a battery so there is no charging (the battery needs to be replace every 6 months); you can set your goals and earn points for cycling running or walking.
You can sync with the following apps: Lose it!, Walgreens (earn Balance Rewards points), RunKeeper, IFTTT, MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal and Health.
3. MYFITNESSPAL
A stand alone fitness app. You can log foods through the electronic diary, set goals, reminders, log nutrition info and have friends. You can sync with other devices and apps.
You can sign up with FaceBook so you don’t have to add another user name and password.
4. SPRING
“Spring is a music based rhythm service for exercise.” You can hand pick your workout hits from your favorite artists. I personally was introduced to songs I had not heard of from my favorite artists. Of course there is also a link to iTunes to purchase the songs.
Studies show that “running to music can lower perceived effort as much as 18%”. Time to exhaustion on a treadmill is also increased. I always exercise to music. Couldn’t make my daily step goal without it. Great motivation.
There are 30,000 songs and you get five hours of free streaming and you can get unlimited access for a monthly fee of $4.99 or annual of 29.99.
5. HEALTH
It comes free with iOS 8 and can be linked to other fitness apps. I am of course waiting with baited breath for the Apple Watch as well.
The dashboard has the capability of data by the day, week, month and year on sleep analysis, protein, steps, flights climbed, respiratory rate, heart rate.
Love, peace, compassion, blessings, and fitness.
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