Do you find it motivating to track your fitness and health progress, or that you need daily reminders or inspiration to stick to healthy habits? If any of these are the case, then health and fitness apps are likely to work for you.
There are many benefits to individuals’ health of the technologies now available on smartphones, for example, increasingly accurate heart monitors, GPS tracking and sleep movement monitoring. However, do be wary of the legitimacy and agendas of the app developers and avoid any that make you feel skeptical after you have checked the reviews and popularity ratings. It can never hurt to give a few apps a trial run and see how well they bode for you.
To help you to navigate the sometimes overwhelming world of fitness and health apps, we’ve listed 10 suggestions below.
Get moving
Strava (Strava Inc.) Strava allows you to record your running, cycling and other activities, compare performance over time, connect with your community, and share the photos, stories and highlights your adventures with friends. It works well with wearable technology as well as smartphones.
Daily Yoga (Daily Yoga Software Technology Co. Ltd) Daily Yoga inspires people of from beginner to advanced with the largest yoga pose base worldwide. It enables you to practice yoga on all mobile devices, ask questions about your practice and records your accomplishments and data.
Eat well
My Fitness Pal (Under Armour) is the leading resource in nutrition tracking to help you to lose weight, tone up, get healthy, change your habits, or start a new diet. It works in conjunction with a huge range of other apps ad wearable devices so that you can easily track your diet and exercise.
Lose it (FitNow Inc) Lose It! is the industry-leading digital health and fitness platform that is centered on the proven principles of calorie tracking and community support for healthy, sustainable weight loss.
Calm your mind
Headspace: Guided Meditation (Headspace Inc) Headspace will help you to learn to meditate and live mindfully. The guided meditations are tailored for specific situations, such as anxiety, focus, sleep or work.
Buddify (Mindfulness Everywhere Ltd) Buddify is designed for the busy modern lifestyle so it focuses on mobile or on-the-go meditation, which you can do wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. The selection of moods and types of meditation is also very extensive.
Focus on your holistic wellbeing
Fabulous (The Fabulous) Fabulous is a science-based app that will motivate you to improve your fitness & achieve your weight loss goals, reboot your sleep cycle, and discover mindfulness to reduce your anxiety. The app focuses on creating healthy habits and is beautifully designed too!
My Quit Buddy app (Australian Government and Quitline) My QuitBuddy is an app personalised to help you quit smoking on your terms. It’s a reliable source that will help to remind you why you want to quit and to keep on to your goals.
StressCheck (AIIR Consulting) Stress Check is a tool developed by psychologists with expertise in stress management and workplace performance. The app will diagnose where your stress levels are, but also includes stretches, exercises and meditations to help you reduce stress.
Recharge (ReachOut) Recharge is a personalised six-week program that helps improve your general health and wellbeing by focusing on creating a good sleep/wake routine. It includes practical tips that will improve your mood and daily routine, as well as track your progress.
So what are you waiting for? There is a world of assistance right at your fingertips! And don’t forget to let us know in the comments which health and fitness apps works best for you and why.
ACN is empowering nurses to take the time to look after themselves through our movement called NurseStrong. Join the Facebook group here. #ACNNurseStrong
