With the advent of smartphones, tablets and mobile devices, there are at least 10,000 applications which focus on health and fitness that we can take advantage if we wan’t to get in shape. In an article published on March 21, 2011 on The Wall Street Journal, Molly Baker lists those top fitness apps.
Counting your calories?
Cooking healthier meals?
Mapping out your next daily run?
There are apps for that.
In fact, of the more than 400,000 software applications out there for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, at least 10,000 aim to help with diet and exercise.
We tested dozens of the most popular apps under the general heading of health and fitness. If you’re trying to get in shape, or stay that way, here are some of the best.
COUNTING CALORIES
Certainly dietitians and nutritionists would say that keeping track of what you eat every day is a big step toward eating better and possibly eating less. But many of these apps go a step or two further.
Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker
By: MyFitnessPal LLC
Cost: Free
Runs on: Android, iPhone, iPad (BlackBerry in progress)
What sets it apart: This app takes your diet public. Users link their account to either their Facebook profile or a defined circle of online friends. For better or worse, each weigh-in is broadcast to perhaps hundreds of “friends.”
For Josh McHugh, a user in San Francisco, that’s a key motivator. “If no one knows I’m doing it, does it really happen?” he asks. The daily counter also tracks nutritional intake. That way, you can see if you are getting enough of the recommended daily allowance of fiber or calcium or overdoing it on sodium and sugar.
Calorie Counter
By: FatSecret
Cost: Free
Runs on: BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: If manually entering your food intake burns too many calories, this app comes with a bar-code scanner feature. Simply use your phone’s camera to scan labels and log exactly what
you ate.
Eat This, Not That!
By: Rodale, Inc.
Cost: $7.99
Runs on: iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: If you aren’t eating in, this can help you be smarter about eating out. The app, like the popular book series, breaks down the ugly food facts for popular items at many chain restaurants, and then recommends smarter alternatives from the same menu. One negative? In a world of free and 99-cent apps, this one comes with a supersize price.
COOKING
Epicurious
By: Condé Nast
Cost: Free
Runs on: Android, iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: Has recipes, techniques and shopping lists for more than 30,000 dishes from the pages of Bon Appetit, Gourmet and Self magazines. User reviews and ratings are included for each recipe. That said, the recipes aren’t designed to be healthy, and there is no nutritional breakdown for each recipe (although there are nearly 2,000 recipes involving chocolate).
Good Food Healthy Recipes
By: BBC Worldwide Ltd.
Cost: $2.99
Runs on: iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: When it comes to trying to cook healthier, this app has it all: photos, clear instructions, nutritional breakdown, and a shopping list that can be organized by meal and checked off as purchased. The app comes with only 175 recipes. But more can be purchased within the program, from BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of British Broadcasting Corp.
Fooducate
By: Fooducate Ltd.
Cost: Free
Runs on: iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: Use the app’s bar-code scanning feature in your own kitchen or at the grocery store to recognize more than 200,000 food items. Each item is graded according to its nutritional value. There are warnings about trans fats, sugar and controversial additives. The app will also compare two items and offer healthier alternatives from its database.
EXERCISE
Numerous apps can help users track their exercise programs, add to their routines, and even begin a workout regimen. Robin Reiter-Moura, a physical therapist in New York, cautions against using mobile apps as a replacement for a trainer or instructor, who can help monitor body mechanics and guard against injury. “But for people who travel a lot or someone who can’t make it to the gym regularly, like a new mom, the fitness apps can be a great addition to a regular program,” she says.
Ms. Reiter-Moura is particularly a fan of apps that log runs and other cardio workouts. “You can tell your trainer that you did your exercises or went on your run, and they’ll never know,” she says. “But you can’t tell the app you ran; the app won’t believe you.”
These popular apps not only time and record workouts, but they also use a mobile device’s global positioning system to map the run and an accelerometer to count steps and even estimate a workout’s incline and topography.
Note that all of this data collection is a real workout, sapping much of a device’s battery life (just when you want to use your phone to, say, make a call).
RunKeeper Pro
By: FitnessKeeper LLC
Cost: Free
Runs on: Android, iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart:This app is favored by runners looking to track stats and data without the bells and whistles, cheering section and social component of similar programs. The program also lets you enter a target pace at the start of the workout and will give voice prompts letting you know if you are on pace.
iMapMyFitness
By: MapMyFitnessLLC
Cost: Free
Runs on: Android, iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: Ideal for runners who travel and already use the popular MapMyFitness website to map routes and find runs in unfamiliar cities. Uploads and integrates your workout with your profile and a database of searchable routes from more than two million other fitness-meets-tech fans.
Nike+ GPS
By: Nike Inc.
Cost: $1.99
Runs on: iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: The running app for social networkers. “Friends” can cheer you while you run. When displaying your completed route, the map shows red, yellow and green according to your speed—including a per-mile pace estimate for each section. Recorded messages from Lance Armstrong and other athletes inspire you during and after a workout.
Hundred PushUps
By: SoftwareX Ltd.
Cost: $1.99
Runs on: iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: This app—and the related Two Hundred Squats and Two Hundred SitUps—is a progressive push-up training program. It takes a user from a base level, be it four push-ups or 40, and leads them through a daily and weekly program of push-ups, increasing to 100. Like many of the best apps, it is singly focused. And like all fitness apps, it only works if you actually do it.
All-in Yoga HD
By: Arawella Corp
Cost: $3.99
Runs on: iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: Offers yoga workouts for all abilities, as well as the option to customize a program from 200 poses. Includes photos, video and audio instruction. This app, along with the company’s exercise-focused program, All-in Fitness, is a satisfying alternative when traveling or for days in between classes. Because of its rich visual nature, the app is best suited to the iPad.
MENTAL HEALTH
Mobile apps are also great for keeping the mind in shape. Here are two for when users on the go need to stop and take a break.
Scrabble
By: Electronic Arts Inc.
Cost: $4.99 Blackberry, 99 cents iPhone, $4.99 iPad
Runs on: BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: Scrabble on a mobile device is surprisingly satisfying. There are options to play with friends, anonymous opponents and the computer, so there’s always a game available. One caveat: While completely playable on a smartphone, Scrabble is better on the larger-format iPad and other tablets.
Relax With Andrew Johnson
By: Mindfulness Co.
Cost: $2.99
Runs on: BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad
What sets it apart: Andrew Johnson is a clinical hypnotherapist and relaxation specialist. The program is a 15- to 30-minute guided meditation session in your pocket, ready whenever you need it. Headphones recommended for best results. (When was the last time you said your cellphone made you feel more relaxed?)