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Workout Apps

April 12, 2017 by Audrey D

Workout Apps

Just like there are tons of apps out there for tracking and logging your nutrition and your fitness, there are also a flood of workout apps out there. The apps I’m going to talk about aren’t about tracking, but about actually giving you a workout to do.

When you don’t know what to do

Workout apps are just that. An app that takes you through a workout. I generally recommend you watch the workout through at least once beforehand so you know what to expect, but other than that, you generally just follow along doing the exercise shown on screen. Some of the apps will have a countdown timer showing how long until the next exercise if they have a video of the workout. Others simply list exercises and tell you how many of each to do, and you go from one exercise to the next in a circuit until you are finished (or you can complete the circuit multiple times if it’s too easy for you!) It’s like having your own personal trainer in your pocket.

When you’re short on time

Workout apps are great when you are short on time. Many of the workouts are five to ten minutes in length, letting you squeeze in a workout quickly. Some of the apps are focused on a particular body part, so you can quickly work your arms, and if you find another few minutes later in the day, you can  work your legs next. Others focus on giving you a full body workout each time.

When you are short on space

Workout apps are designed to be viewed on a cell phone, and perhaps because of the small screen size, most of the workouts don’t require a lot of physical space. At most, you generally need the amount of floor space needed for a yoga mat. This means you can generally do these workouts right in your living room.

When you have little to no equipment

Another bonus to workout apps is the workouts they put together are often body weight based, so they require little to no equipment. Lunges, squats, push-ups, crunches, etc. can all be done without a gym membership.

When you are traveling

Because workout apps tend to be designed to be short, space saving, and light on the requirements, they are fantastic for when you are traveling. I travel often for work and know that it can really throw my gym routine way off. Having these little workouts to do can give you something to work on while you’re traveling so that a vacation doesn’t set you way back.

When you need one

There are so many apps out there, it can be hard to make a list. Do a search for “fitness trainers” to see just how many there are! A very popular one is 7 Minute Workout. You can also search for a type of workout you are looking for such as “yoga” or “booty workout” to narrow it down. There is a company that makes a series of apps called “Daily Workout Apps” which has free workouts for butt, abs, yoga, cardio and arms. And if you have more time, YouTube has millions of fitness videos for every level, and of every type imaginable.

Do you have a go-to app for working out? Let me know below!

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Filed Under: Exercise, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: apps, Exercise

Nutrition Tracking Apps

April 5, 2017 by Audrey D

Nutrition Tracking Apps

Tracking what you are doing is the only way to know if what you are doing is actually getting you closer to your goals or not. Logging gives you an accurate picture of what you are consuming. While you can track your food manually using a journal, I have found that using an app is often faster and more convenient.

Apps do the manual work for you

The great thing about using an app is that much of the work is done for you. The apps generally come with a very large database of foods. Look up a food, and all the calories, macros and nutrients are listed for you. No need to do a separate search to find that information. Many apps come with pre-built in graphs as well so that you can get a visual representation of your habits without needing to built a chart on your own. Apps can also give you a big picture view. Many apps that let you track nutrition also let you track your exercise, weight, body fat and even measurements.

Apps making logging food fast and convenient

Aside from coming with a huge food database to make logging quick and easy, apps also come with other features to make getting an accurate picture of your intake as painless as possible. Many allow you to store your own recipes under your profile, so you can easily log foods you make at home. Just input the recipe once, and you can then log that food with one click in the future. Most also include a bar code scanner so that you simply scan the bar code of whatever you are eating and it will find the food and  log it.

Apps can come pre-configured

Many apps have websites associated with them. They can have meal plans on there for you to follow. Just make the foods that they list out for you to stick to the plan. Some can even take into account things like low-carb or vegetarian diets. Plug in your goals, and the app will tell you how much of what you should be eating. I will caution you to calculate your own TDEE using various calculators. For some reason, across the board, apps seem to be really bad at coming up with the right amount for people to eat.

Apps can offer support

Quite a few apps are part of a larger website. These sites often have large communities of people where you can find others with similar goals. There are message boards and groups based on geography, shared interests, and other demographics. This gives you a place you can turn to for support and accountability. (And I’m here for you too!)

Apps that are out there

Here is just a small sampling of apps that you can use to log your nutrition to help keep you on the right track!

  • SparkPeople – this is the one that I use and am most familiar with
  • My Fitness Pal – has a very large user base
  • Lose It! – very simple to use
  • Mike’s Macros – specifically designed for those who do a macro-based diet.

What about you? Do you use one of the nutrition trackers listed above? Share your favorite tracker in the comments below!

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Filed Under: Diet, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: apps, diet, Nutrition, Tracking

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