Being fit can be incredible, but quite often, you can feel alone in your fitness journey.
The nights when you feel all the pain from your workouts could be grueling.
However, that’s what fitness is about, pushing beyond your limits. That’s how you get stronger, fitter, or lose weight.
A lot of discipline, consistency, and accountability is needed throughout to reach your fitness goals.
Making fitness a routine requires guidance. But, thanks to technology, you can still receive the support you need. The best fitness apps act as a quasi-virtual trainer, keeping you motivated even when you’re alone.
There are so many options to consider when it comes to fitness apps. That’s why we have done most of the work and narrowed the choices down to these ten fitness (5) apps you can try out.
Freeletics
The Freeletics app focuses a lot on super-efficient and quick cardio exercises.
The app provides you with various exercises that can help you lose weight, such as squats, sit-ups, burpees, crunches. These exercises are easy and don’t require any extra equipment, which means they can be done anywhere at any time.
Freeletics provides free audio coaching through high-intensity training, which you can personalize.
The app has a free version and a paid version as well. With the free version, you can access 20 high-intensity training exercises, 20 audio-based workouts, and 25 individual exercises.
The paid version comes with a personal trainer powered by Artificial Intelligence.
After gathering basic information about your fitness level, goals, and preferences, this personal trainer creates personalized workouts for you.
The app is very convenient and friendly to new users who are either advanced athletes or beginners.
Pros:
· Quick workouts that you can do anywhere or anytime
· AI-powered virtual coaches who imitate real-life coaches
· Video workout of the highest quality
· A 2-week- money-back guarantee on subscription
Cons:
· Content for free accounts is limited
· Difficult to customize workouts on free accounts
· Some reviews say stretching before workout feels a bit too long
Map My Run
Cardio exercises are fundamental. Experts from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe cardio as one of the most important exercises as it helps build up endurance and prevents several diseases.
Cardio exercises serve as a good foundation for any workout plan because they allow you to do more. In addition, the more you do cardio, the fitter you’ll become.
One of the best ways to improve your cardio is through running.
Map My Run has originality and has been around for a while. It’s an app solely for running and helps make your experience better.
The app continues to improve as various features are usually added during updates.
The app has a variety of running routes in its database, with over 70 million different routes.
Map My Run takes detailed information such as your daily distance, your speed, number of calories burned, etc.
The beauty of the Map My Run app is that all this information is presented in real-time. So it helps to give you an idea of what’s happening and ensures you’re up to speed.
There is also real-time guidance from the GPS, which also tracks your runs.
The paid version allows you to get access to the tracking of more sophisticated information such as heart rate.
One of the standout features of Map My Run is how detailed the visual maps can be.
The app gives you the option of creating your route ahead of your workout. The easy-to-use interface also allows you to review the run details even after you log out.
The paid version of Map My Run allows your GPS to be tracked live so you can share it with family and friends for safety.
Pros:
· Most of the features on the app are free
·. Can track hundreds of activities apart from running
· Tracks how much mileage your shoe has covered to give you an idea of when you can change them
· Paid version allows more specific training programs
Cons:
· Longer runs can drain your battery
· Doesn’t support playing Music alongside using the app for runs
· Reported issues with Apple Watch integration
My Fitness Pal
My Fitness Pal app is highly recommended because of its diversity.
It does everything from checking your exercise rate to your calorie intake to tracking your health goals and others.
It includes over 50 other apps and devices that can track your workouts.
Its repository of cardio and strength exercises is never-ending, with over 350 cardio and strength exercises.
Quite often, fitness is interpreted as just exercises. However, it’s multidimensional and goes beyond that.
Food intake plays a crucial role in fitness journeys because it determines the level of calories in the body.
My Fitness Pal has a vast storage of information on over 11 million foods. This feature helps to give you an idea of the number of calories you take in a day.
The aim is to record every meal you take in, so you have an accurate idea of the amount of calorie intake.
Once you have an idea of the calorie intake, you can work on how much you need to burn and which exercise can help you do that.
The fundamental step is to know how many calories go inside, and that’s where My Fitness Pal comes in.
Pros
· Has nutritional information of more than 11 million foods
· Includes other devices and apps to enhance the experience
· Keeps track of food intake and level of physical activity
· Allows you to customize a workout based on fitness goals
· More than 300 workout routines are made available
Cons
· You need to pay for a subscription to access full features.
Strava
Research from the University of England shows that exercising in groups reduces stress by an additional 26% and improves your quality of life.
This statistic comes as no surprise because working out in groups can be fun and very engaging.
You have the chance to connect with other people who are on the same fitness journey as you.
Apart from the benefits stated above, working in fitness groups can motivate you to work harder because others are accountable.
The sense of belonging to a community pushes you to be consistent.
It is the concept deployed by Strava, which makes them stand out.
The app is built on the foundation of a community. To be able to get like-minded people who are striving to be fit to push each other.
If you fancy social connection and interacting with people while working out, then Strava is the app for you.
The spirit of friendly competition is also encouraged on the app as users can share their running, biking, or swimming times with others.
There are also various workout challenges available for you and other users to see who tops the leaderboard.
Friends can compare previous workouts and review performances to help improve their training.
You can share photos from your workout sessions and even watch which sessions your friends are completing.
It’s almost like a workout on social media.
Aside from the community aspect, Strava also tracks your workout speed, distance, and others.
With the paid version, you can customize your training and tailor them to your fitness goals. In addition, you will receive live feedback on these customized training so you can improve faster.
Pros:
· Very convenient and easy to use as the app helps track and record details from workouts
· You can get assistance when you want to train for races
· The app provides free fitness challenges every month to help you stay motivated
· Helps you connect with like-minded people who share similar fitness goals
Cons:
· Music hasn’t been integrated into the app yet, so you can’t enjoy your songs using Strava.
· You are required to pay to use some of the best features of the app.
JEFIT
Strength training can be delicate sometimes. It requires a deliberate plan and a lot of load management to gain strength without overstretching your muscles.
A lot of consistency is needed to gain strength. But aside from that, there are specific exercises for specific spots that are optimal to develop strength.
Do you want to strengthen your biceps, triceps, calves, hamstring, thigh, or upper body?
These various body parts all require different types of exercises to ensure that they are strengthened optimally.
That’s where JEFIT comes in. This fitness app which focuses on strength training, makes room for you to plan your development.
You have access to over 1,300 strength exercises which will allow you to plan for your weightlifting training sessions.
The app tracks the weights used and your total reps to help make recommendations for you.
Other details such as your body fat percentage, weight, body composition changes are tracked in the app log.
There is a community on JEFIT which gives you the chance to connect with other weightlifters as well.
The app is equipped with training programs from beginners through to experts.
With the paid version, you get no sponsored ads and access to more advanced reports from your training.
JEFIT also takes into consideration your rest times between workouts because it’s essential.
Pros:
· Mobile app is connected to a web-based app
· User interface is simple and easy to use
· The detailed demonstrations ensure you maintain proper form and keep safe
· Offers customized workout routines
· You can connect with other members of JEFIT
Cons:
· The premium features require you to pay for the app
· No music integration yet
Though these apps are great to supplement your workout program, we still agree that nothing beats human contact. That’s why we still encourage you to find a gym near you and get on a solid fitness program. Are you in Accra, Ghana? Why not check out the best gym in Accra and visit fitness1gh.com? We are here to help you get fit.
References
Myers, Jonathan. “Exercise and Cardiovascular Health.” Circulation, vol. 107, no. 1, 7 Jan. 2003, www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.CIR.0000048890.59383.8D, 10.1161/01.cir.0000048890.59383.8d.
Group exercises are more effective than individual workouts, the study says. “Group Exercise More Effective than Individual Workouts, Study Says.” UPI, UPI, 30 Oct. 2017, www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/10/30/Group-exercise-more-effective-than-individual-workouts-study-says/7031509372101/.
Group exercises are more effective than individual workouts, the study says. “Group Exercise More Effective than Individual Workouts, Study Says.” UPI, UPI, 30 Oct. 2017, www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/10/30/Group-exercise-more-effective-than-individual-workouts-study-says/7031509372101/.
“The 10 Best Fitness Apps to Download in 2020.” Verywell Fit, www.verywellfit.com/best-fitness-apps-4173707.
“The 10 Best Fitness Apps for 2021.” Forbes Health, 27 May 2021, www.forbes.com/health/body/best-fitness-apps/.