Personal fitness trainers are expensive, more so if they are good. Not everyone can afford to hire someone to look after our fitness regimes, not unless we are celebrities. Most of us want to lose weight and stay fit, but not many of us are willing to spend a lot of money on the process.
Fitness apps can help! They are like our very own personal trainers, right inside our phones and sometimes on our wrists, pushing us to be more active and eat healthier. There are many of them to choose from: both free and paid, that can help us reach our health targets. Besides, some of the good fitness trackers don’t just give us advice on healthy living and exercising, but keeps a track of our activities and movements.
How does a Fitness Tracker App work?
Fitness Apps work in two ways: either they give you advice on what to eat and how to exercise, or they track your movements to determine how much exercise you need. Some fitness apps are meant to be accompanying a fitness tracker on your wrist; they take your heart rate, your pulse, your weight and daily physical exertion into account to come up with a regime for you.
The other type of fitness apps is the ones you simply download into your phones. They usually come with a free trial, but you can get the full version by paying a monthly or weekly fee. You need to put in your BMI, lifestyle and other details into these apps and get daily updates about what you should eat, how much exercise you need and how you can reach your perfect weight goal.
Both types of Fitness Apps can be quite helpful for you, but only if you are regular and determined. Unlike a personal trainer, these Apps have no way of detecting whether you are following its instructions. In order to successfully lose weight or stay fit, you have to be honest in following all the guidelines set by the Apps.
Usually, these Fitness Apps takes a number of personal and health information into account, i.e.
- BMI (Body Mass Index)
- Age
- Sex
- Lifestyle Choices
- Bad habits
- Eating habits
- Daily fitness regime/exercise habits
- Daily calorie intake
- Type of regular exercise
- Chronic diseases exercise limitations,
- Total time spent sitting/lying down, etc.
Exercise and weight loss regimes are usually different for men and women, as is their required calorie rate. The average fitness app takes everything into account to suggest a suitable food habit and exercise. Most of the Fitness trackers in your phone will also measure and track your movements, by taking is the distance travelled all through the day.
Your fitness apps can’t force you to exercise if you don’t want to; but if you simply need a daily reminder to stay active, and if the fitness apps available in the market can help you stay on track.
The Best Fitness App for you
It seems that new fitness apps are being released every day, but not all of them could be the right one for you. The good news is that most of the Fitness Apps come with a free trial, so you have time to decide if you like one of them and subscribe to them by paying a fee.
First of all, you need to decide if you want a Fitness App that only pays attention to your exercise regime or one that also keeps track of your eating habits. The more widespread and detailed apps take care of everything, advising you on when to wake up in the morning, how long to run or jog, what to eat for breakfast, how long to sleep and how much to walk all through the day.
Here are some of the best Android and iOS-based Fitness Apps that will be easy to follow, but also effective in the long run.
- My Fitness Pal
This fitness app is available for both Android and iOS users – a complete app that has everything. My Fitness Pal logs your exercise numbers, records all the calories you consume, met personal health and weight loss goals, and help change your habits by customizing your needs. Moreover, it comes with 350 cardio exercises that you can follow step-by-step, and syncs to 50 other exercise apps and devices.
- Daily Workouts Fitness Trainer
This is a budget-friendly fitness app that is also available on both Android and iOS. This app is completely free and has more than 95 workout sessions for men and women. This fitness app has been developed by a certified professional trailer and offers different types of workout sessions suitable for everyone; from 5-minute long sessions to 30-minute ones.
- Fooducate
Fooducate, on the other hand, focuses more on your food habits and calorie intake rather than your physical exercises. This app was first launched in 2010 but is still quite relevant today. This Android– and iOS-based app is great for when you are grocery-shopping; a simple barcode scanning of any product in the shop will tell you whether it is something healthy or not.
- Sworkit
This is a great Fitness App for beginners. It is available for both Android and iOS devices; this app comes with built-in cardio exercises, yoga instructions, stretching and strength moves. You can pick a category for a month or a week, based on different skill levels and decide on your own exercise duration. None of the exercises requires any equipment or tools and can be tried by any adult, men, and women.
- PEAR Personal Fitness Coach
Using this Android and iOS based fitness app is like having your very own pocket personal coach. It is much more than a regular app that can track your movements and count your calories. It can collect data from your smartphone and/or smartwatch to determine how active you are, and what exercise regime you need. Your data changes over time as you become more and more active, and advanced level exercises are selected for you.
Moreover, you will be guided by the voices of professional athletes, record holders and Olympians in this journey, not just an automated robotic voice.
Fitness apps are not for everyone; however, if you are determined to stay fit but just need a little guidance, these fitness apps are the best, the most convenient, the most affordable (sometimes, free) options you have!