Need a way to motivate yourself to exercise? Or want to efficiently track your daily workouts? Let your smartphone or tablet help you do that with these apps.
There’s a gradual (and welcome) shift in the mobile segment’s focus on health and fitness. With flagship smartphones like the iPhone 5S and the Samsung Galaxy S5 putting fitness features firmly on the radar, we think it’s a great time to help you choose from the best health and fitness apps available for your iOS and Android device.
So, download these apps and let them help you get off your ass!
1. Runtastic Pro
Available on: iOS; Android
Price: Rs. 300
If you’re the kind of person who cannot go for a day without cardio workouts, jogging or exercise, then Runtastic Pro is the app for you. It gives you a comprehensive set of tools to track your workout regimen including a “voice coach” that gives you updates on your progress. Other neat features include the ability to receive “cheers” from friends while you’re on your run or workout, and the ability to monitor your heart rate and calorie intake.
Runtastic Pro is also available in a free ad-supported variant that cuts down on a few features.
2. Nike Running
Available on iOS; Android
Price: Free
Nike Running is probably the most popular running app on the planet and it reached that spot thanks to its simple but great looking interface. The app tracks your runs and highlights achievements. It also lets you compete with your friends on a leaderboard and keeps you motivated with the help of the Coach feature that you can use to train for marathons.
3. Cardiograph
Available on iOS; Android
Price: Rs. 120 (iOS); Free (Android)
For an app that only has one main feature, Cardiograph can prove very, very useful. Like its name suggests, you can use Cardiograph to measure your heart rate. All you need to do is run the app and place your index finger on your phone’s camera. The app saves your readings for future reference and you can also add multiple profiles of users and also add notes to every reading.
4. RunKeeper
Available on: iOS; Android
Price: Free
Love running? Then, RunKeeper is one app that you must download and try out. The app can track all the details of your runs including your speed, distance and time. If you keep your headphones plugged in during your jog, the app will also regularly update you on your progress and provide tips on how to run better. RunKeeper also makes it easy to share your runs across social networks and lets your friends follow your runs live.
5. Zombies, Run!
Available on: iOS; Android
Price: Rs. 250 (iOS); Rs. 255.17 (Android)
If keeping yourself fit and healthy isn’t motivating enough to go on a run, then perhaps fear is. That’s the logic that drives Zombies, Run! that places you in the starring role of a person running away from hordes of zombies. By using headphones, Zombies, Run! creates an immersive experience that makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and need to run to complete objectives and ensure your survival.
6. Seven- 7 minute workout
Available on: iOS; Android
Price: Free
Not everybody has the time to engage in hour long or even half-hour workouts everyday. If you want to get fitter but can only spend up to 10 minutes a day working out, then Seven is for you. Using the app, you can engage in 14 different exercises for 30 seconds each resulting in an intensive workout that only takes up seven minutes.
7. Calorie Counter – MyFitnessPal
Available on: iOS; Android
Price: Free
Do you want to manage your calorie intake in order to improve your health? Calorie Counter is one of the best apps that will help you to do so thanks to its massive library of over 3 million dishes and ingredients. You can use the app to scan the barcodes of your grocery purchases and also manually input whatever you may be eating.
Main image: Shutterstock/Dudarev Mikhail via Digital Trends