Tracking Your Fitness Goals: Which Apps Work Best?
Most people have fitness and health goals that they want to achieve, but are clueless about tracking and monitoring it. Fortunately, with the advancement of technology, there are a variety of apps that were created to help anyone to keep track of their fitness and health goals. In this article, we will be discussing various types of apps that will suit your preferences and lifestyle and make fitness tracking easy and effective.
But before we dive deep into the app world, let us first discuss the importance of tracking and monitoring our physical activity.
The Importance of Tracking Our Fitness Goals:
Self-improvement, personal transformation, and growth are central themes to human nature. We all want to be the best versions of ourselves and to achieve this, it takes a lot of hard work, determination and setting goals. Fitness is a key element of self-improvement as it is critical to overall health and wellbeing.
Tracking and monitoring fitness goals help to determine the effectiveness of our training routine, identify areas of improvement, and ensure a steady progression towards our ultimate goals.
Fitness apps are the perfect solution for tracking our physical activity as they offer personalized workout routines, nutrition tips, and can connect with other fitness enthusiasts around the world. Concentrating on achieving our fitness goals, with the help of technology, improves the likelihood of success.
Types of Fitness Apps:
- Activity Tracking Apps:
- Workout and Exercise Apps:
- Diet and Nutrition Apps:
- Meditation and Mindfulness Apps:
- Online Personal Training Apps:
Activity tracking apps monitor activity levels, including steps taken, miles walked, and minutes of physical activity. They can be integrated with a variety of wearable devices, such as Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Garmin. The most popular activity tracking app is Fitbit, offering a range of fitness tracking features such as tracking daily activity, calorie intake, and sleep cycles. Other notable apps include Google Fit, Runtastic, and MyFitnessPal.
Workout and exercise apps offer personalized workout routines. Whether you’re into yoga, cardio or weightlifting, there is an app for it. Workout and exercise apps offer tutorials, instructional videos, and tracking capabilities, which can help improve your technique and determine your progress. Among popular apps are Nike Training Club, 7 Minute Workout, and JEFIT.
Diet and nutrition apps help you track what you eat and drink. With the ability to scan barcodes on your food and drink, they provide detailed nutritional information, calorie counting, and meal planning. Notable apps include MyFitnessPal, Noom, and LoseIt.
Meditation and mindfulness apps are more geared towards mental health and wellbeing. These apps can help reduce stress, improve sleep patterns, and increase focus and productivity. Headspace, one of the most popular meditation apps, offers daily guided meditation practices for ten minutes or less.
Online personal training apps offer a more personalized fitness experience. A personal trainer creates a workout plan tailored to your body type, fitness goals, and experience level. The personal trainer is available for virtual consultations and offers coaching tips, motivation, and accountability. Notable apps include Aaptiv, Trainerize, and Fitness22.
Which Apps Work Best?
There are countless fitness apps available on the market, and each has its strengths and weaknesses, and what works for one person won’t necessarily work for everyone. Each app has a specific purpose, and it largely depends on your fitness goals, lifestyle, and preferences.
- Fitbit:
- Tracks steps taken, distance traveled, and calories burned.
- Monitors your sleep patterns and provides a sleep score.
- Provides reminders to move if you’ve been sitting for too long.
- Connect with friends and family for friendly competition.
- Syncs with other fitness and nutrition apps.
- Nike Training Club:
- Personalized workout plans with instructional videos.
- Customized meal plans and recipe recommendations.
- Option to syncs with Apple Watch.
- Flexibility to change the workout at any given time.
- Extensive library of tips and tricks from Nike Master trainers.
- MyFitnessPal:
- Tracks calories and macros for the day.
- Integrates with other fitness apps and all devices with Health app.
- Offers extensive reporting and analytics.
- Barcode scanning feature is perfect for easy food tracking.
- Exercise tracker for calories burned.
- Headspace:
- Track daily progress and introspect on improvements.
- Customize meditation sessions to last for varying durations.
- Offers meditation sessions on specific themes such as anger management or reducing stress.
- Can extend the session to include wake-up meditations and sleep music.
- Track progress and goals in meditation.
- Aaptiv:
- Personalized workouts with certified fitness instructors.
- Flexibility to choose from hundreds of workouts.
- Offers nutrition plans and time-bound challenges to keep things interesting.
- Customizable workout plans to cater to your personal routine and schedule.
- Constant feedback and guidance from personal instructors.
Fitbit is the most popular activity tracking app, offering features such as tracking daily activity, calorie intake and sleep cycles. The app is compatible with a range of wearable devices and is an excellent option for users who want detailed information on their daily activity. It is user-friendly and provides a comprehensive overview of your overall fitness data.
Key Features:
Price: Free with in-app purchases.
Nike Training Club is a popular workout and fitness app. The app offers multiple workout plans, from beginner to advanced, utilizing bodyweight or equipment. The app’s designed is focused on female fitness fanatics, although anyone can use the app.
Key Features:
Price: Free with in-app purchases.
MyFitnessPal is one of the most popular diet and nutrition tracking apps worldwide. The usefulness of this app is that it offers an extensive food database with over 11 million food items, including an option to scan the barcode of your food packages. It helps track nutritional intake including calories, fiber, fat, and protein intake. MyFitnessPal also has custom meal plans that cater to various diet plans, including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.
Key Features:
Price: Free with in-app purchases.
Headspace is one of the most popular meditation apps. It offers hundreds of guided meditation sessions and mindfulness exercises, making it accessible for beginners and experienced practitioners alike. It includes daily reminders to practice mindfulness and breathing techniques throughout the day. Daily meditation practice helps to improve focus, reduce stress, improve sleep patterns and increase self-awareness.
Key Features:
Price: Free with in-app purchases.
Aaptiv is an online personal training app. It offers a wide variety of workouts, including cardio, yoga, and strength training. A personal trainer designs all workout plans, ensuring a tailored approach for your specific fitness goals.
Key Features:
Price: $14.99 per month.
Conclusion
Physical fitness is an integral part of self-improvement, personal transformation, and growth. Technology has made it easier to track and monitor our fitness goals, and there are countless apps available in the market that cater to different needs and preferences. Choosing the right app that works best for you will ultimately improve your chances of progress towards your fitness goals. It’s important to experiment with various apps, and to find one that cater to your lifestyle and goals. Fitness is a continuous journey, aided by innovative technology, a little hard work, and dedication. Let us choose what is easy and positive for our growth.