Fitness applications can be very beneficial to improve your health and fun to use, but with over 100,000 to choose from, which ones are best for you?
When deciding on an app, first consider what you want to use it for. There are apps that track activities like running, walking and cycling. There are apps that track nutrition like calories, fat and water intake. There are apps that just count steps, and there are apps that do all of these things and more. Most of these apps have some form of social media tie-in as well. What’s the point to exercise if you can’t brag about it, right?
Most of these apps work fine with just your phone, but some have the ability to be used with additional devices that can be wrist-worn or ankle-worn. Please keep in mind that most of these apps use mobile data plans, so plan accordingly.
Here are some great free apps that are available for both iOS and Android devices.
- Map My Fitness
This is a great app for mapping and tracking a wide variety of activities. It has popular routes and training trails you can take, including several local Mid-Missouri ones. You are also able to log food and share activity with friends. - Fitbit
A Fitbit is a popular wrist-worn device used to track steps. But you don’t need one to use the app. This app tracks steps, floors and distance and lets you post achievements on social media. - Endomondo
This app has been around for a good 10 years now. It tracks your activities and provides motivational feedback and coaching. It is also designed to let you and your connections motivate each other. - MyFitnessPal
This is my personal favorite. MyFitnessPal is an app that lets you track what you eat and shows you how you are doing on calories, fat, sugar and other nutritional information. It also lets you track weight loss, water intake and exercise. It’s very easy to use and fun to keep up with. - Strava
This app is for the competitive fitness folks out there. This app tracks exercise and lets you compare against others, or yourself. There are also events and challenges you can compete in and unlock.
Do you have a favorite fitness app? Let us know in the comments.
