Wondering why losing weight is often at the top of the list of New Year’s resolutions? Well, let me tell you that the average person gains at least 3.4% of their body weight every year. Those of us who enjoy our weekly trip to the restaurant, or even fast food, are much more affected by this phenomenon. In practical terms, if you weigh 68 kg today, you’re likely to weigh about 70.5 kg next year (remember… 3.4%). Fortunately, the many fitness apps are there to make our lives healthier.
These numbers are likely to worsen without regular exercise. In fact, many people wake up on the morning of their fortieth birthday to find that they are a few pounds heavier (this is an irony…), than they were 20 years ago!
Unfortunately, at least 80% of people who are resolved on New Year’s Eve end up forgetting themselves. In all of this, there’s good news: fitness apps are making it easier than ever to keep track of your physical reconditioning goals, and notifications can help you stick to your 2017 resolutions.
It’s also important to choose fitness apps that are easy to use and truly motivating. There are many options available, but we’ll take a closer look at five applications with necessary and unique features.
My Fiziq
People who choose to diet or start a regular fitness routine are often primarily concerned with their physical appearance. Therefore, it makes sense to focus on achieving a more “perfect” body (meeting her standards).
To lose weight or build muscle, it is important to be able to follow your physical progress. This is where My Fiziq comes in. Unlike typical fitness apps, My Fiziq does not focus on BMI (Body Mass Index) and other fitness metrics. Instead, it uses photos of your body to help you assess your physical changes, so you keep working towards your goal My Fiziq is free to download from the App Store.
Pact
Pact is the perfect app for people who tend to forget their fitness goals quickly, but are happy to get back into it with a little motivation.
The concept is simple: set your daily goals and bet on your ability to meet them. If you succeed, you get paid. If not, you have to pay! All the money goes into a common pot, and is used to reward those who win their bet.
Thus Pact has succeeded in motivating its users to go to a gym on an average of 85% of the number of days set. You earn money every day you keep your sports pact!
Here is what you can do with the Pact application:
– Validate your presence in a gym
– Import GPS verified sports activities with RunKeeper
– Share your workouts and jogs
– Monitor your Pact week by week
– See your total number of workouts and the amount of money you’ve earned!
Pact is free to download on Android.
Fooducate
Counting calories may not be much fun, but it is a necessary task on the road to weight loss. You can easily find dozens of calorie counting apps that will serve their basic purpose, but if you want more information, the choices are narrowed.
Fooducate goes much further by allowing you to set a weekly weight loss goal. In the long run, the app gives you nutritional information and suggests healthier alternatives for each food you add to your daily diary.
Fooducate also allows you to track your food, and in doing so, you can keep a history of what you have consumed in the pass. In this way, compare the foods and calories you have eaten in the past. If you are gluten intolerant, the free app will provide this information under the “Things to Know” option once you scan the barcode. If you need more in-depth information about other food allergies, diabetes and/or a low-carb diet, upgrade and pay for the Fooducate Premium.
The app is compatible with Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple Watch, and requires iOs version 7.0 or later.
C25K
Do you want to burn a lot of calories very quickly while simultaneously working towards the goal of completing a 5K race? C25K (Couch to 5k), makes it surprisingly easy to work on your strength until you are able to run for 30 minutes or more without taking a break.
The developers of this app understand that most people can’t start running long distances without training. So they suggest you work very slowly for 30 minutes daily, with walking. Over time, you will become more fit and confident in your abilities to cross the finish line of your first 5K. C25K is free to download on Android.
FitStar
FitStar is a comprehensive application offering personalized workouts and fitness tests. It provides a more complete body experience not to mention that you can also customize the app to focus on specific areas of your body.
The feedback feature even allows you to signal if exercises are too easy or too difficult for the application. FitStar then creates workouts that are better suited to your abilities. New movements are added regularly to make the exercises more fun and original: all you have to do is keep up.
Upgrade to Premium for less than the cost of a single personal training session. Access a full year of personalized programs exclusively designed to help you slim and tighten, lose weight, gain muscle and strengthen. FitStar is free to download on Android for all fitness enthusiasts.
