These Top 9 Fitness Apps Will Make All Your Healthy Resolution Dreams Come True
It’s a New Year, and that means a new you, right? Everyone makes resolutions for the first few months of the year as a way to calibrate and prepare for the best year yet. Well, that’s the hope at least. While some resolve to establish cleaner living habits or better managing their finances, some still turn their attention to fitness.
It’s time to dial back on the chocolate, apple pie, and pizza and hone in on achieving that ever-coveted beach body. Or maybe you just want to get off the couch and tone up those muscles that have been hibernating since September. Whatever your reason is, there are plenty of tools out there to help you achieve your fitness goals without having to spend oodles of money that comes with hiring a personal trainer.
So prepare your gym membership, running shoes, or workout equipment and gear up to be in the best shape of your life this year with these best nine fitness apps to bring healthy habits with you everywhere you go.
FITBIT COACH
Say hello to a personal trainer. Sans the actual trainer, with the Fitbit Coach app, available for both Android and iOS. If you’re someone who needs that little extra push that a personal trainer provides but doesn’t want to shell out the extra money to schedule a trainer at the gym, this app is perfect for you.
Fitbit Coach works as your digital personal training coach. Customizing workouts based on your physical capabilities and daily activity, which is measured through either a Fitbit watch that is connected to the app or through your phone’s health app. All you have to do is make sure that your phone’s health app is connected with Fitbit Coach for it to track your activity.
These are carefully crafted to challenge you, without being overly difficult. And the best thing is that each video provides step-by-step instructions for each move, with plenty of variations in routines so you won’t get bored. Plus, each workout video even comes with a pre-made playlist to get you pumped up and ready to go.
All basic functions of Fitbit Coach are free, though there is a premium option to unlock other features and higher-level workouts if you choose.
COUCH TO 5K
All you runners out there, or aspiring runners, this app is for you. Many are familiar with the beloved running app, and the proof is in the pudding cause this sucker has been around for quite a while and has only gained popularity over time. Couch to 5K offers step-by-step, week-by-week inspiration to trade your house shoes for sneakers and kick those legs into high gear.
Coach to 5K is great for athletes of all levels, from beginners to experienced runners, and provides a digital training coach to help you get well on your way to running the day away. When setting up your profile, you’ll get to decide your interactive coach to keep you motivated along the way. For just 30 minutes, three days a week, for nine weeks, you’ll slowly work your way to running a 5K. And, while you’re training, the app tracks your pace and distance, so you monitor your performance and progress.
You can also have accountability for your running and let your friends and family know what you’ve been up to by connecting your profile to your social media accounts as well to create a supportive running community. Grab your shoes, your headphones, the Coach to 5K app and the hit the road to start your running journey.
MY FITNESS PAL
Unlike the previously mentioned apps, My Fitness Pal is a little different in that it isn’t about the workout, but the meal plan instead. It’s a well-known fact that, while exercise does the body a whole lot of good, workouts alone aren’t going to provide you with your dream body. Even if you’re working out two hours a day, if you’re still eating pizza and ice cream for dinner every night the chances of you getting where you want to be are pretty slim. You need to have proper nutrition. Enter, My Fitness Pal.
With an ever-growing database of more than 6 million foods, My Fitness Pal offers a calorie and macro counter to help you keep track of your daily food intake, and make sure that you’re keeping those macros in check. All you have to do is look up food items you’ve consumed and log it. Based on your initial profile, My Fitness Pal will keep track of how many calories, carbs, fats, and grams of protein you’ve consumed based on what your daily intake goal is. Plus, with the easy to use barcode scanner, you won’t have to guess about the nutrient content of what you’re eating.
My Fitness Pal also gathers information from other fitness apps, such as Fitbit and Apple Health, to measure your daily activity and take that into account when tracking your calories. For those who want to take fitness more seriously in the New Year, pair your fitness app with My Fitness Pal and watch the transformation begin.
FITSTAR YOGA
Maybe your fitness goals aren’t losing 20 pounds, running a 5K, or working out harder than you ever have in your life. Perhaps you’re already where you want to be physically but would like to bring mindfulness, flexibility, and continued strength to your daily training. If so, Fitstar Yoga will be your go-to app for this year’s fitness resolution.
Yoga is all the rage these days and can cater to these fitness goals. It can also sometimes be difficult to just pick up a mat and have at it, especially if you’ve never practiced a day in your life. As part of a collaboration with yogi Tara Stiles, Fitstar Yoga offers all the tools you’ll need to begin your practice, no matter your skill level, all from the comfort of your home. Through the app, you’ll have access to personalized yoga sessions that match your skill level, all of varying lengths.
Plus, you can sync the app with other fitness gear, such as your Fitbit or Apple Watch, so it’s easily accessible wherever you go. With Fitstar Yoga, you’ll be getting into that downward dog and pigeon pose in no time flat.
DIETBET
In the same lane as My Fitness Pal, DietBet takes getting into shape to the next level by offering an incentive to do so, a cash incentive to be exact. It seems almost too good to be true, right? While you don’t have access to workouts through the app or log your food, DietBet does encourage fitness through placing bets on yourself.
Since it started, more than 300,000 people have used DietBet, while losing 3.6 million pounds and earning a total of $16 million in the process. Here’s how it works. When you establish your profile, you’ll select the challenge that you want to participate in. Whether it’s four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks, or more, you decide how long you want the bet to last and how much you want to bet on yourself. At the end of the bet, if you’ve lost at least four percent of your body weight, then you can win back the money you bet on yourself, plus more.
During your journey, you can easily log your weigh-ins, keep track of your progress, and read and send motivational messages to others who are at various stages of the same journey. If you’re looking to have that added motivation and support to boost your fitness resolution, join the thousands who have benefitted from DietBet and begin your transformation to getting in the best shape of your life this year.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON OFFICIAL 7 MINUTE WORKOUT APP
For those just starting out on the fitness train, Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout App might be the perfect app for you. Available for both iOS and Android, the app puts an end to the common expression of not having enough time for a daily workout with the introduction to the 7 minute workout.
Using this app, you can kick-start your New Year resolution and stick to it by hitting the ground running for 7 minutes each morning to get that workout in. Each video is guided, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost or confused if you’re new to the fitness game. And, for fitness veterans who want to squeeze in a quick workout, the app also offers other short videos of varied intensities, and there is even a feature that can serve as a personal trainer if you’re interested. Plus, for those who want a space to create custom workouts, the app has capabilities for that as well.
Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute App offers everything you need to continue on your fitness journey, or get the ball rolling with it, all at the touch of a button. And the best part is you won’t have to spend a single penny to use it.
KEELO
Another quick workout app, Keelo is all the rage for those who want in on high-intensity interval training or HIIT for short. Offering intense, high-energy workouts that are quick but will still have you feeling it the next day, Keelo is a must-have for those who are ready to feel the burn, without having all your time burnt up.
Ranging from beginners to those who have more experience with fitness, Keelo’s exercises are available for all levels. They provide videos for everything from running to body-weight only exercises to even the use of basic gym equipment and weights. And, to top it all off, each workout will only take you between 7 to 20 minutes to complete, so you’ll always be able to squeeze in that workout no matter the time crunch.
To keep track of your daily activities and better gauge your fitness level, Keelo gathers information from the Apple Health app, though you will have to grant the app permission to do so. All videos available are instructed and most are free. Though for extra features that include additional workout plans and chat coaching, a premium price of $12.99 per month is offered, but not required.
The only downside to the app is that, as of right now, it’s only available for iOS, sorry Android! But, if you’re an Apple lover who wants to get it into high gear this year, Keelo is the app for you.
ALL TRAILS
If you’re wanting to increase your fitness, but aren’t too keen on the idea of heading to the gym or logging a daily workout, All Trails is a great alternative. Best suited for those who are lovers of the great outdoors, All Trails is available for both Android and iOS. It features information on more than 50,000 hiking and mountain biking trails all across North America.
When you create an account, All Trails will ask for access to your phone’s GPS to pinpoint your location and generate a list of the best trails near you. Ranked from nearest to farthest, each trail’s description gives the difficulty of the trail, how long it will take, and features photos taken and uploaded by other All Trails users. You can select filters for trails based on whether trails are dog, child, or wheelchair friendly, and you can save any trail you like to a list. So, even if you don’t have time to get to it today, you’ll still have access to it later.
The app also provides driving directions to the trailhead and will let you know what the parking situation looks like in that area, so the chances of you getting lost are slim. All Trails is free, though for $2.50 a month or $29.99 a year you can purchase the pro version to access maps offline, print and customize maps, along with several other map-related features. But, you don’t need that to get some excellent trailblazing exercise in and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the great outdoors.
ACTIVEx
ACTIVEx is not only one of the best free fitness apps out there for quality workouts, but it’s also the perfect space for those who want the community of a gym, without actually having to go to the gym. With ACTIVEx, users have the option of bringing their workouts to their house, while still having the support of a like-minded community with the similar fitness goals. It’s a win-win all the way around.
When you sign up for the account, you’ll be able to choose between customized personal workouts or group workouts, and both are Tabata-based interval workouts. You can even choose to participate in group training workouts that are led by in-app coaches to give you that extra bit of motivation. Plus, the app features downloadable training plans to run a 5K, 10K, or hit other fitness goals, and you can share those goals with friends and family on other social media platforms as well.
If you’re looking for an at-home workout with a supportive community, ACTIVEx is the app for you. With plenty of group and individual workouts, you’re sure to get a great workout in every time and hit all your goals. It’s just one app download away.
