Updated July 23rd, 2017
Motivating Yourself To Get Back Into Shape With Help From A Fitness app is a great way to transform your phone into your own personal workout partner. Fitness apps are a great way to transform your phone into your own personal workout partner. Whether you’re looking to track your calorie intake or try a new workout, these are 10 of the best free and low-cost apps that can help you reach your fitness goals.
- Charity Miles (free)
If you’re looking for an app that makes both your body and soul feel rejuvenated after a workout, Charity Miles is the fitness tracker for you. When you sign up, Charity Miles gives you a variety of charities to choose from, including the ASPCA, Alzheimer’s Association, Feeding America and many more. But don’t worry about committing. You can change your charity whenever you want. For each mile you walk or run, a donation of 25 cents will be made to your charity, and for each mile you bike, 10 cents will be donated. Charity Miles allows you to choose between an indoor or outdoor walk, run or bike ride, making it an excellent option for yard work, shoveling snow or a trip to the gym. - MapMyRun (free or $29.99 per year for MVP)
For frequent runners, MapMyRun is a necessity. If you love to run outdoors but are tired of your usual route, MapMyRun will allow you to enter the amount of miles you’d like to run, then give you a specific route based on your location. MapMyRun also lets you record workouts to track your progress and set reminders for your next run. Perfect for frequent travelers, this app shows you various routes used frequently by local users, allowing you to see and experience an area’s hotspots. - Lose it! (free or $39.99 per year for premium)
If you’re looking for an app that will let you count calories and track exercise, Lose it! is a great option. When you sign up, the app will ask your current body stats, then ask you to set a goal weight with the date you’d like to reach it by. Each day, the app will give you a number of calories you should stick to in order to reach your goal weight. Lose it! gives you plenty of food and restaurant choices to enter for your calories for each meal plus snacks. The app also features a wide variety of exercise choices, which can help you record any type of movement from paragliding to lawn mowing, and will subtract these calories burned from your daily calorie intake. The app has a helpful nutrients page that tells you the grams of fat, carbs and protein you’ve consumed that day. - Daily Yoga (free or $9.99 per month for pro) Whether you’re looking to get into yoga or you’re already a yogi, Daily Yoga features a variety of video classes and instructions to help perfect your poses. The app allows you to choose your skill level and from there gives you several video series to choose from, each showing an example of a pose paired with verbal instructions. The Daily Yoga app can be programmed to remind you to practice your yoga every day.
- Johnson and Johnson 7 Minute Workout (free) If you want to get your exercise but don’t have much time to work out, the Johnson and Johnson 7 Minute Workout app is for you. It allows you to choose your skill level and complete a pertinent series of exercises that are clearly demonstrated by a trainer. The best part of this app, beyond the short and manageable workouts, is that the only necessary equipment is a chair.
- JEFIT (free or $4.99 for premium) This app lists many types of workout machines and lets you record how many reps and at what weight you’ve lifted. If you’re focused on working a specific part of your body but aren’t sure what to try, Jefit can suggest exercises that are doable both at the gym and at home. If you’re serious about your fitness progress, Jefit also allows you to track your specific body measurements each day. Simply looking for a workout schedule recommendation? Jefit can provide that as well.
- Couch to 5K (free or $9.99 for premium) If becoming a better runner is a goal of yours, Couch to 5k can help you with that. By alternating between walking and running to build endurance over an 8-week period, this app will eventually have you running a full 5k. Each day, C25k will have you walk and run for a set amount of time while tracking your distance using your phone’s GPS. At various points throughout the workout, C25k will give you words of encouragement to keep you motivated.
- Fooducate (free or $4.99 per month for premium) Fooducate is a fitness tracking app that stands out from the rest. Along with allowing you to record calories and food intake each day, this app also lets you track your sleep, mood, exercise, water intake and hunger level. Like other fitness apps, Fooducate lets you set a goal weight and gives you a daily allotment of calories. Need some inspiration? The app comes with a community forum where users can motivate each other and post helpful tips. Not sure what to make for lunch? Fooducate provides a plenty of healthy recipes. Considering a snack? Fooducate has rated hundreds of foods from A+ to F based on nutrition.
- Daily Water (free) If you are one of the many people who struggles to drink enough water each day, try the Daily Water app. You can adjust how many cups of water you want (or need) to drink, and the app will remind you to throw back some H2O periodically throughout the day.
- Welzen (free or $9.99 per month for premium) While physical health is important, mental health is also a vital part of healthcare that is often overlooked. Welzen teaches mindfulness by guiding you through relaxing meditations that can be targeted to reduce stress or anxiety, improve focus or boost creativity. This app also features several guided breathing techniques to help calm you in stressful situations.
