Our favorite fitness apps.
It’s January 2021...What’s your new year’s resolution? If fitness is at the top of your list, welcome to the club. But you’re serious...we know! Did you know that 80% of individuals give up on their New Year’s resolution by February? Especially with goals involving drastic lifestyle changes to our health and fitness, we could all use a helping hand to support us alongside our plans.
Let’s not be a statistic, at least we don’t plan to and let’s enlist our greatest weapon...the smartphone.
This year, we have seen how the fitness industry had to reinvent itself digitally due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. With gym closures and social distancing in effect, it may feel like reaching your fitness goal, and adopting healthy habits will be even more difficult than ever to sustain. But with the fitness industry going virtual, there are still plenty of ways to accomplish workouts and become fit.
Data alone isn’t going to be the missing puzzle piece for your health goals, but it could help understand what workouts are best for you or other realistic insights into your approach to fitness. These apps can work to support you in the way a workout partner or personal trainer could.
From tracking our nutrition, measuring our performance during physical activity, to connecting with other athletes, there is an app for you and your health journey. Go ahead and take a look at some of our favorite fitness apps below:
MyFitnessPal
WINNER! MyFitnessPal was the key to me losing 40 pounds in 2019. It’s more than being a calorie counter app. It’s here to focus you on eating healthy with tools, resources, and a community of others who are also on their weight loss journey. MyFitnessPal helps achieve your weight loss goals by allowing you to track your diet, nutrition, and eating habits.
MyFitnessPal offers a Premium version, which includes extra benefits such as an ad-free experience, personalized coaching, and greater insight into your meal planning. To get started, you can try a free 30-day trial here. I never upgraded and did just fine, but I was highly motivated and training for my first marathon.
Strava
Strava tracks insights and metrics about your running and cycling performance. In addition to providing stats about your performance, Strava also works as a social media platform where you can share your progress and favorite routes with other athletes. One of the unique offerings of Strava was Beacon, a location-sharing feature that provides information about our safety when we go out for a run or bike ride. Strava helps connect you with other fitness enthusiasts as well.
Strava has a free version, or for $5 a month version, which allows you to unlock the new and advanced features mentioned above with their subscription plan.
Runkeeper
From new runners embarking on their first mile or marathon fanatics, Runkeeper encourages everyone to reach their goals by providing personalized training and insights about your performance. The best part of Runkeeper is the motivation they provide along the way, such as calendars to plan your next run or a fun blast of animated confetti when you accomplish a goal.
Runkeeper offers a 90-day free trial. For more information, you can visit here.
Gaining insights about our fitness is now at our fingertips. You don’t need the new gadgets and toys on the market that track everything from your sleep, to steps taken for the day. Instead, you can turn to fitness apps, a simple but modern solution for people to learn about their workout. These fitness apps focus on different aspects of your overall wellness to help you achieve a healthy lifestyle.
To explore some other great fitness products, you can check out our monthly favorites page. We also have you covered when it comes to comfortable fitness apparel.
As for apps, there are so many out there. Try them out and see what works best for you. There are no excuses in today’s digital world. We look forward to seeing you at your best in 2021.