If you are looking for a new workout buddy, fitness coach or nutritionist, you might not have to look farther than your back pocket. Thanks to a plethora of apps and digital resources, smartphones have turned a page when it comes to fitness. The enhanced technology makes it easy to find inspiration, motivation and guidance all at your fingertips. Here are just a few reasons why smartphones can be your new best friend when it comes to getting and staying on a track to fitness and health.
The Right Equipment
Not all phones are created equal. Take the time to research phones with features that specifically meet your needs. If you are accident prone, consider a water-resistant phone, like the Samsung Galaxy S7, to avoid an accidental drowning by protein shake. Or, for help keeping energy high, look into a phone that is compatible with T-Mobile Music Freedom.
Nutrition Help
Generally, weight loss is 75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise. So set yourself up for success with the right tools to guide you in the right nutritional direction. Fooducate is a free smart phone app that allows you to collect information on your food. You simply scan the barcode of the item in question to get the corresponding nutritional information, good and bad, and even get suggestions on alternate suggestions based on nutritional facts. This is a great way to kick start your diet, especially if you are looking to reduce or eliminate items, such as excessive sugar or trans fats.
Additionally, there are a variety of apps to help you manage your caloric balance (more calories out than in to lose weight). Calorie Counter by MyFitnessPal has the largest database of food and offers a barcode scanner for convenience. Additionally, it allows you to input your fitness and daily activity in one place.
Workouts
Whether you are looking for an at-home, guided workout or a few new sets to change up your current routine, there’s an app for that. For the former, check out The Daily Burn, which gives you access to a library of workout videos from cardio, strength, yoga, kickboxing and more. So, no matter what your fitness interest each day, you can find something that suits your style. If you are looking to build your own in-gym workout session, you can use the exercise drag-and-drop feature in FitnessBuilder or grab one of their pre-designed routines.
Interactive Motivation
If music is your fitness motivator, check out the Pump Up The Volume app. The app uses a heart rate monitor or a built-in pedometer to provide auditory stimulus and motivation through music. You set a target rate for your workout and as you drop below your target, the volume decreases. As you pick up the tempo and meet (or exceed) your target, the volume increases. Equally, you can use music to drive your pace with an app like RockMyRun. You can use the heart rate monitor or built-in pedometer to select music that matches your tempo, or you can manually set a tempo goal to deliver music to keep you on your targeted pace.
Mental Clarity
A key factor in health is a healthy mindset. Get your head clear and prepped to take on all of your new fitness and health challenges/goals with some brief meditation sessions to either begin or end your day. Use Headspace to guide you through short, daily meditations to get you on the right track.
