As we all know.. the bandwagons have continued into the mobile and social networking worlds for fitness, diet and nutrition. Well because I've tried everything on earth it seems I thought a blog about my experiences would be a good idea!
Fitocracy (www.fitocracy.com)
This site also has a mobile app for iPhones and iPads. The best part of this app is you can see your progress from your last work out and see your personal records at the touch of a button. I also enjoy being able to see what my work out last time was and being able to log my work out while at the gym.
Motivating aspects:
- you get points for each exercises, the social networking aspect is very motivating ( props from other members, forums) and for those of us who like success you Level up with every so many points.
- you also receive awards for things like - Running 100 miles in your life - lifting a percentage of your body weight.
- lots of supportive forums for all types of things from local to being into tattoos or running!
- very user friendly - posts to facebook and twitter as well if you enjoy those options.
Spark People (www.sparkpeople.com)
Online website with mobile app to upload food and see menus. I didn't like this site as much as I had hoped. It's very full, a lot of forums and user friendly is one thing it isn't. if you have a lot of time on your hands it's a good thing. However, I don't! I like quick easy and a lot of foods to search from over inputting my own. (which is something I had to do often) I did not use this site often it just seemed to overwhelming.
Motivating aspects:
- virtual races! This I loved!! you can sign up in a specific forum where weekly you can sign up to run or walk 5 km on your own then track your time. I only did this for two weeks but I thought it was a really cool feature.
My Fitness Pal (www.myfitnesspal.com)
I saw a lot of posting on Twitter about this app from numerous tweeps. One of the Fitness centres also recommends their clients us it here as well, I assume so they can assist with motivation by looking at clients daily diaries. Which is a great idea!
I loaded it on my iPhone and the user friendliness of this app is through the roof! I wasn't tracking my food because I often forget and get stressed/pressured when I count calories. However, this app doesn't seem to make me feel that way. It syncs automatically online, so if I load my meals from the laptop it immediately shows up on my phone. The best part of the App.. it houses all the local grocery store foods I eat! EASY PEASY!!
Motivating Aspects:
- online forums to discuss all different types of things - running, motivation, workouts, being a mommy etc.
- you add friends ( I'm still new and cant figure out how to add people or find people I know) but you can converse with people via inbox messages, post statuses. All of these are very motivating to keep yourself going and remembering to check in.
- the food log is fantastic! LOVE This ! Best food log I have ever used! Lots of local grocery store brands on there and just very user friendly.
Nike + Running App (http://nikeplus.nike.com/plus/products/gps_app/)
This is my FAVORITE running app! It is very user friendly doesn't require that ridiculous shoe coin that if you don't have Nike runners is a pain in the foot literally. The GPS on here is wonderful! I love being able to see my fastest points of my run and the length of it all. It also tracks how many kms/miles you've put on in total for runs, how many you have put on your current shoes and your fastest miles. It also syncs music for you and allows you to have a "power song" which is great when you start to feel the slow down. There are more abilities to this app and if you're a runner this is the best iPhone running app out there!
Motivating aspects:
- cheer team talks to you when you complete your run or your fastest mile
- tracks where you have gone and how long it takes you on a physical map
- tracks your paces and how that's changed over time.
I could likely talk about a few more app's but these are some of the popular ones that I have fallen upon. I am sure I have used others but I don't have an attention span for things that aren't user friendly or motivating!
Hope this serves you well!
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