With my 40th birthday approaching, I’ve started to notice how much things have changed. My nephews will never know the frustration (or joy) of trying to figure out song lyrics because all they have to do is Google it. They will never know the sound of a dial up modem. Everything from their favorite video game to a copy of the Constitution is in their pocket via smartphone.
When I started to reclaim my health and fitness over 16 years ago, the tools I used were also much different. I got workouts for the gym from books or magazines. My home workout option was Tae Bo with Billy Blanks on VHS. To count calories, one needed two books: one to look up the foods, and one to write them down in.
Now there’s an app for that. Do a search for health in the iTunes App store, and your choices may number over 40,000. With so many choices, finding the right app can feel overwhelming and send you back to your notebook and your favorite Jillian Michaels DVD. To help, I’ve narrowed the field to what I believe are the 10 essential apps for meeting any fitness goal:
Food: MyFitnessPal has proven to be the most popular and functional of food log apps. With a barcode scanner and the ability to easily import recipes, it makes keeping a food journal a snap. If you’re ready to switch to a more proactive approach, try the meal planning app Gathered Table. It syncs with their user-friendly website, gives you plenty of easy to make recipes and makes the shopping list for you. There’s a fee for the service, but they offer a free trial.
Workouts: Nike+ Training Club is a free app with a workout for every level. Choose among beginner, intermediate and advanced workouts, or opt for a Get Focused workout to target your trouble spot. The DailyBurn app is free, but you must pay a monthly fee to access the workouts (which are available on your iPhone, iPad, laptop or Roku). You can pick any of their programs to follow or choose a stand-alone workout to compliment your gym routine.
Stress: The Buddhify app may be the best $4.99 you’ll spend in the App Store. With gorgeous graphics and soothing voices, this meditation app has a practice for every level and situation. Around the wheel, you’ll find meditation exercises for when you can’t sleep, your next flight or taking a break at work. The simple exercises take the mystery out of meditation and make it accessible to everyone.
Sleep: Getting your seven to eight hours a night is important to your overall health. However, just as with food and exercise, it’s not just about quantity. If you’re waking up exhausted, your sleep quality may not be what it should be. The Sleep Cycle app takes cues from your movement to not only rate sleep quality but also wake you up at the optimal time in your sleep cycle. Add notes about your day to help determine what makes for your best night’s sleep.
Schedule: Cozi may be the go-to scheduling app for busy families, but did you know it also works well for scheduling workouts with friends or your running group? Use the color-coding to indicate different types of workouts, locations or groups.
Accountability: Need more than just a schedule to keep you on task? The PACT app works to keep you motivated via financial incentives. Check in at the gym and hit all your goals for the week and you get paid. Skip the gym and hit happy hour and you have to pay.
Motivation: Maybe getting paid isn’t the best motivator for you. How about earning dollars for your favorite cause? The Charity Miles app lets you log a walk or run and earn money for your favorite charity based on your effort.
Shop: We all know fruits and vegetables are good for us, but what about the cereal shouting more protein on the box? If you’re not sure if that breakfast cookie is really a good choice, scan the barcode on Fooducate and let the app decide. Fooducate assigns a grade (A through F) to a food, and then provides you a list of better choices if yours does not make the grade. Start by scanning the food in your own pantry. It can be pretty eye opening!
Technology may have changed how I manage my fitness journey, but I admit my actual workouts look very much like they did 16 years ago. I look forward to what the future of fitness holds, but nothing will ever replace the basics. It doesn’t matter if you do your squats at the gym or in a virtual group fitness class — they still work!
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The 10 Best Apps for Your Fitness Journey originally appeared on usnews.com
