For someone new to a healthy lifestyle, the gym can be one of the most daunting places on campus. FitRec is often crawling with students who look like part-time bodybuilders, not to mention those workout machines that resemble ancient torture devices. So first I’d like to commend you for stepping out and heading to the gym! You are not alone in this new world of running shoes and broccoli (and adorable Lululemon yoga pants). And with the busy schedule and limited resources of a Collegiette™ like yourself, leading a healthy lifestyle can be pretty difficult. Here’s a list of the health and fitness apps that keep me on track.
Runners
This is by far my favorite running app. It syncs with your iPod to give you the best running experience andtracker! Unfortunately, you need the Nike+ iPod
gadgets ($29.00 at Apple) to track everything, but if you are a Nike fanatic, you will love it. You can tell your iPod how long you want to run for (miles and time) and it does all the work for you, even alerting you how far you have gone periodically. Then, when it syncs with Nike+ Running, you can see how far you ran, your average mile time, and how many calories you burned. You can even rate how it felt so that you can compare runs and track your progress!
RunKeeper
This one is for you Asics lovers…RunKeeper gets more personal. They ask for your weight and height, skill level, and your running goals (lose weight, finish a race, etc). With all that information, they give you a goal to hit like running a 5k in 10 weeks. Then, it gives you different training schedules to choose from so you don’t even have to think about it! You just follow what it says and accomplish your lofty running goals!
Strength Training
Nike Training Club
Okay, you guessed it. I love Nike. This app works for everyone and absolutely no gadgets are needed! First, you choose what goal you wish to achieve (Get Lean, Get Toned, Get Strong, or Get Focused). Next, you put in your skill level and the app gives you a few workouts you can choose from that are hard enough to make you sweat but easy enough for your skill level. Also, every time you finish a certain amount of workouts, it rewards you with a new title (and getting rewards is everyone’s favorite thing).
Daily Workouts
This app is a bit more flexible than the others. Every day, you just pick what you want to work on, whether it’s abs, arms, butt, legs, cardio, or even full body. Then you pick how long you want to work out for (5-30 minutes) and it goes through each workout with you until the workout is complete. I love using this one when I don’t feel like leaving my room but I want a workout because no equipment is needed for any of the moves!
ShopWell
MyFitnessPal
Have you ever heard that journaling what you eat is the best way to lose weight? Well, it helps tremendously and this app makes it so much easier! Again, this app asks for the usual height, weight, and goals information. It then sets up how much calories you should eat in a day along with the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. All you do is type in what you ate for each meal and it calculates your daily caloric intake. Then, you can go back and see what you ate on the days you may have had too much sugar or sodium. Very useful for us non-math majors!
So, there you go! Download all or some of these (FREE) apps and kick your healthy butt into gear – soon that overwhelming feeling you’ve been experiencing at the gym will be a thing of the past!
Image sources:
http://jonathonsfitness.com/2012/07/26/shop-well-app-review/
http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2012/06/nike_running_the_most_beautiful_app_you…
http://www.examiner.com/article/amazon-appstore-s-free-app-for-today-dai…