What if the secret to adopting a healthier lifestyle were right there in the palm of your hand? Well, it is—sort of. Thanks to a surge in popularity of diet- and fitness-related apps, a smartphone might be the layman’s greatest tool in managing what they eat, finding the right workout, holding themselves accountable, and staying dedicated. Because let’s face it: Trainers and dieticians are expensive and good accountability partners are hard to come by. Apps should never take the place of an expert professional—some people really do need the guidance of a trainer or dietician—but if you’re just looking for a better way to track your progress and stay focused on your goal, one of these popular apps could help.
Remember, even though these apps are convenient, none of them should take the place of professional advice. Talk to your doctor before you start any diet or exercise routine, and if you need extra guidance, consult a trainer or dietitian who can give you some one-on-one counseling.
Here are six of the more popular apps to gain momentum recently and are projected to remain popular throughout 2020
Esquared–Gyms & Studios: Using the same application program interface (API) as Uber, Esquared Fitness helps you find nearby gyms that don’t require a membership to book one of their on-demand exercise classes. Because there are no commitments or fees to download and register with the app, you don’t have to worry about any extra expense.
If you’re on vacation, visiting family, taking a business trip, or moving to a new area, Esquared Fitness is an easy way to find classes for all kinds of workouts—aerobics, yoga, dance, kickboxing, strength training, cycling, and so forth.
Just specify the type of class you’re searching for, then select the class to reserve your spot and show up at the right time. You can even pay for your class through the app. It’s an easy, adventurous way to stick with your workout routine when you’re out of town.
My Fitness Pal: This is the go-to app most people use for weight loss, and with good reason! It’s an easy way to keep track of the food you eat and the physical activity you do. The app’s food database has about 300 million items you can search through to enter what you’ve eaten that day, plus you can enter what exercises you have done and for how long.
The app helps compare your calories in versus calories out so you can meet your daily targets. But it’s not just about calories—you can track your nutrients also to make sure you’re getting enough protein, for example, or enough iron.
And if motivation is a big struggle, you can use My Fitness Pal’s discussion forums to learn from others, swap tips, and get encouragement.
Couch to 5K: You’ve always wanted to be a runner, but you just don’t know where to start. The popular Couch to 5K app has helped thousands of people in the beginning stages start a workout routine by setting manageable goals, guiding them through what they should do each day, and gradually increasing their intensity and distance until they get to where they want to be.
Couch to 5K pledges that it can help you get ready to run a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) race in only three months with just a half-hour a day, three days a week. The app customizes your own training plan and lets you log your progress, providing an easy way for you to find out how much your distance has increased, see how your pace has improved, and compare your current workout with ones you undertook previously.
StrongLifts: An app that’s ideal for strength trainers, StrongLifts takes all the guess work out of creating your routine. It gives you the sets, reps, weights, and rest times you need to gain strength and build muscle, and it even provides you with video instructions so that you know you’re doing your lifts properly.
All you have to do is enter your current best lifts, and the app takes it from there. With the app’s guidance, you can figure out how to target specific body parts, such as your biceps or your chest, and how to strive for goals like muscle building, fat loss, or weight gain. The app is also great for tracking what you did each day and measuring your progress.
Sworkit: Sworkit is the fitness app for people who like to cross-train and try out a variety of exercises. All you have to do is let the app know your personal goal—whether it’s fat loss, muscle gain, improved flexibility, increased endurance, maintained weight, or some combination thereof—and how much time you have on a particular day, and the app will recommend the exercises you should do.
The app has about 300 unique workout routines using about 400 different exercises, so there are plenty of options to choose from. You can either create your own custom workout or let the app provide you with one.
If you need further advice, trainers are available to answer your questions, and the app even has nutrition recommendations so you can best fuel yourself through each of the different workouts.
Calorie Counter–MyNetDiary: Tracking your diet can be overwhelming, particularly because fueling your body is about more than counting calories—it’s about making sure those calories come from the right sources and that you’re getting the nutrients you need to function properly. Ranked highest among diet apps by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, Calorie Counter–MyNetDiary lets you log what you ate to track how many calories you’ve consumed, what percentage of your calories come from fat, carbohydrates and protein, and how much you’ve consumed of vital vitamins and minerals. You can either select from the 900,000-plus foods in the app’s database or scan the barcode on food packaging. You can even connect with an online community with advice from registered dietitians, online recipes and healthy tips.
