Six apps to jumpstart your health resolutions.
Especially around the New Year, it’s common practice to use apps to aid us in our health journeys. But which ones are the most useful? Two local fitness experts share their favorites.
Luke Lamb, health and fitness specialist at the Jefferson City Area YMCA:
Way of Life — This app helps you build good habits and break bad ones. When you perform the good habit, or don’t do the bad habit, you simply check it off in the app for that day. You can also set alerts to remind you about your habits. The free version allows you to set up to three goals, and the paid version allows you to do even more. Some ideas for good habits: meditating every morning, lifting weights three times a week, stretching after work, etc. Some ideas for bad habits to break: drinking soda, smoking, having an extra drink after work, skipping workouts, etc. Once you start a streak, you won’t want to break it!
Headspace — Meditation is one of the best ways to calm your mind, reduce stress and anxiety, and help you feel better and think more clearly. When the mind is right, everything else becomes easier; a healthy mind leads to a healthy person. Headspace is the best introduction to meditation I’ve found. The “Take 10” is 10 days of 10 minutes of meditation for free, and it’s a great way to get started. The paid version offers more guided meditations to help with almost any situation: anxiety, forgiveness, creativity, etc.
Fitocracy — This is a social network that gamifies your workouts. It’s best when your friends join you, but you can also make new friends through the app. If you like to lift weights, this is one of the few apps that I’ve found that gives fairly weighted (pun intended) points to strength training in comparison to cardio training.
Ashley Swoboda, owner of Anytime Fitness of Jefferson City:
Anytime Workouts — This app allows members to access a library of over 1,100 workouts and over 7,000 exercises for free. Each exercise provides a detailed description and video demonstration so you can execute the move with confidence. This app has something to offer everyone. You can build your own workout or follow one that’s already made. If you’re traveling, you can choose what you want to work on, select the equipment you have access to, and find a workout based on that information. Our personal trainers can send detailed workouts for their clients to complete when they’re not training with them.
Charity Miles — This app allows you to earn money for charities every time you work out. What more can I say? You get to give back by getting fit — and it’s free!
MyFitnessPal — You may have heard the saying “you cannot outwork a bad diet.” I cannot stress enough how true that is. One of the first steps to improving your nutritional habits is becoming aware of what your body is consistently taking in. MyFitnessPal is a free app that has one of the largest food databases, making it super easy to track your food. Whether you’re eating out, grabbing something from the gas station, or preparing a meal at home, MyFitnessPal makes it easy and convenient to track your nutrition.