Tom Sims
Don?t tell my trainer, but my smartphone has become my favourite exercise companion. To novices, that may sound lonely and pathetic, but it?s nearly 2012 and the technology on offer is extraordinary. I have discovered a few high performing fitness apps that motivate and teach like a professional. They go where I want, when I want, at very little cost, and record my every move so that I can track my progress. And they?re fun.
Take it from a self-proclaimed appaholic and get with the programme. Here are a few of my favourites:
Endomondo is an app that derives its name from ?endorphin,? hormones that are released to the brain during sports, and ?mondo,? Italian for ?world.? It?s quite a kick for the globally minded. The app primarily maps and records your physical activity with GPS, but it does much more. Endomondo broadcasts your route to your worldwide network of friends, and even strangers if you allow, while you are on the move. Friends can track you and give you a pep talk along the way.
When I travel, I can peruse the app?s website for routes that locals have taken, download them and follow. No maps needed. Just the app.
One of its strengths is data collection. So far, I know I?ve clocked about 110 kilometers, mainly on walks to and from work, burning the equivalent of 14 hamburgers. It is more reliable than other GPS mapping apps I?ve tried, like Trailguru, because it runs undisturbed in the background while you use other apps.
RunKeeper works much like Endomondo and is just as reliable. It allows you to post your results directly to Facebook and Twitter; you can download the routes of others; and you can find friends nearby. The app is a classic, one of the first 200 on the iPhone.
Last month, RunKeeper added a few small features that enhance the app. Now an ?auto pause? means that you don?t have to keep stopping and starting the app every time you pause for a drink or face a red light. And, now both Android and iPhone versions allow you to take photos that appear on RunKeeper.com along your mapped route.
iMuscle will make you question why you are shelling out $80 dollars an hour on a personal trainer. It?s that good. The app doesn?t spot you as you bench press, and it won?t make you feel guilty for missing a session. But if you already feel comfortable at the gym, or want to learn new exercises, iMuscle is worth the small investment.
Calorie Tracker, developed by Lance Armstrong?s Livestrong.com, is a good app for tallying your caloric intake. The database contains more than 625,000 food and restaurant items. One day, the app quickly calculated that my breakfast (yogurt and grapefruit juice), lunch (Greek salad) and dinner (pad thai and green chicken curry with jasmine rice), added up to 1,364 calories. It figured that my 85-minute brisk walk home from the office burned 575 calories. All told, I went to bed having consumed only 39 percent of my recommended caloric intake.