Previous Story
Keeping Fit: The Benefits of Using Apps to Monitor Health and Fitness
Apps seem to be the way forward in the health and fitness industry. They can monitor your blood pressure, tell you how many steps you’ve taken today, and maybe in the future will be able to run complex diagnostics. Here’s why you should consider using them right now to monitor your health and fitness.
Measuring Distance And Time
There are a lot of apps out there which calculate distance when walking or running. They use a Global Positioning System or GPS. The basics of these apps are distance, average pace or speed, and time. Of these, time and distance are probably the most important. Some apps are very simple, but most of them have features beyond what you would probably need.
For Android phones, got to TigerMobiles.com online to compare the different plans and handsets if you haven’t already got one, then check out apps like Endo Sports Tracker, and iMapMyRUN, are probably the two apps that stand out above the rest. They have excellent tracking features for monitoring current and historical performance.
You can also stay motivated with them because the apps give you comments during your workout. Both link to social networking sites like Facebook, so you can share workouts with friends. iMapMyRUN allows people to track their progress over time using real-time maps.
There are two common problems with GPS-driven apps, however. First, the fact that they rely on satellites can be problematic. The signal can be lost in the woods, tunnels, and sometimes when phones are put in a pocket or out of the way. Second, the phone’s battery life is sucked dry when using these apps because satellite connection and GPS monitoring are resource-hungry.
For example, Apple partnered with Nike to create an iPhone app using a sensor placed inside of Nike+ shoes. The sensor syncs with the phone or an iPod. And, it does a lot of the same features as the others. But, it’s also resource-intensive. Early models used up a lot of battery very quickly.
Fitness Applications
It seems like an endless number of choices out there for fitness apps. If you want resistance training, flexibility, or power yoga type stuff, you have choices. There are even weightlifting apps out there to help you record and monitor your lifts. Two specific apps give you information about your workouts, Body Fitness and Jefit, and they’re probably some of the best out there for general muscle toning and bodybuilding.
Niche apps like Strong let you focus on weightlifting.
These types of apps give you the freedom to choose which specific muscle groups you want to work on. And, they generate a list of exercises associated with the muscle group and your goals.
Many people like that aspect of them. And, they’ve become really popular. Apps directed toward flexibility also have a lot of options for users. The Yoga app gives yoga sessions on your phone, and there’s many other apps focused on martial arts like Tai-Chi. Stretch On-The-Go provides flexibility movements which stretch single or multiple muscles.
Diet And Weight Loss Apps
Dieting and losing weight is hard. There’s no shortage of diet and weight management apps out there. If you want to keep track of what you’re eating and how much weight you’re losing, you need one of them. The problem is, which one? Fast Food Calorie Lookup is a great one if you want to make healthier choices while eating out.
Of course, eating healthier is the best way to lose weight. So, an app like MyFitnessPal might be a better choice if you want full control over meals you make at home. It can also be used when you eat out, since its database of restaurants is impressively large.
If you’re doing the Weight Watchers thing, the Ultimate Weight Watchers Diary and Weight Watchers Calculator add up dietary, exercise, and daily intake points.
When you go out shopping, the WW ScanCalc lets you know nutritional info based on the barcode when it related to the Weight Watchers points. There are apps with grocery lists and recipes for people on a hypertensive or diabetic diet.
Conclusion
Using your smartphone with various apps makes it easier for you to get in shape, watch your calorie intake, or get stronger or just more focused about your health. There are a few things you need to know about using your mobile device though.
First, using it as a music player during exercise can be fun but also dangerous. Make sure you protect it with a case, and also protect it from sweat and water if you happen to be working out in a pool or around water. Smartphones can also increase the risk of you being distracted due to all the normal notifications and popups that occur on the phone.
Finally, smartphone technologies are wonderful tools to assist you in your workouts, but they’re not replacements for fitness professionals and doctors.
Brendan Ackroyed is a mobile phone expert at TigerMobiles.com. He heads up the help and advice section; answering customer questions and queries to help them make better buying decisions.
