What Are Health and Fitness Apps?
Health and fitness apps, also known as mHealth (mobile health) apps, are small programs or applications that can be downloaded onto a mobile device to help users with exercise, other types of physical training, nutrition and diet, and other aspects of healthy living. A number of different apps are available for smartphones and tablets, and many of them are designed to be used anywhere at any time.
Some of the most popular health and fitness apps include workout programs, calorie counting, and fitness tracking. These apps are often free to download and can be very helpful for anyone who wants to get healthier or lose weight.
Calorie Counters
Keeping track of the calories you ingest is an essential part of any fitness program. A good calorie-counting app can provide a lot of helpful information, like nutrient breakdowns and calorie goals. Some apps even allow you to input your own food logs or automatically track your activity using a fitness tracker.
Workouts
Fitness apps often include short, guided workouts to help you stay motivated. For example, the Johnson & Johnson 7 Minute Workout app has workouts that are only seven minutes long and can fit into even the busiest schedules.
Music: Adding music to your workouts can help you focus and feel more connected to the activity, which is important for making it a positive experience. The FitRadio app, available for Android and Apple devices, offers a personalized playlist of DJ-made mixes that are specifically designed to inspire your workout. It consistently adds new music, so you can always find something fresh and motivating.
Challenges: For those who want to keep exercising interesting, there are fitness apps that offer challenges over a period of time. One of the best apps for this purpose is 30-Day Fitness Challenges, which provides a daily workout routine with increasing difficulty over thirty days. The app also includes videos of the exercises and can be accessed for a fee.
Socializing With Friends: The best health and fitness apps are often geared toward communities that are made up of people who share similar interests and motivations. A social component can make it easier to stick to a workout plan, so look for apps that offer classes and live streaming sessions with other members of your group.
Team Challenges: For a more challenging workout, consider joining an app that includes team challenges with your friends. These challenges can be as simple as having to complete the most repetitions of a certain workout or as complex as competing against others in a race.
Choosing a Quality and Effective Workout: It’s important to select an app with workouts that are safe, effective, and based on proper technique. For example, some workouts may not be appropriate for pregnant women or those with back issues. Other workouts may not be appropriate for beginners, so be sure to research your options before selecting a fitness app.
A study at the University of Florida analyzed 30 of the most popular fitness apps, and found that almost half provided an effective aerobic workout and nearly ninety percent met the American College of Sports Medicine’s guidelines for strength/resistance. Some of the best fitness apps include warm-ups and cool downs, and some even have visual workout guides to ensure safety.